Group purchase in China

A colleague recently sent me this example from China - group purchase (tuangou) organised through social networks, or (in some respects 'shopping flashmobs').

What happens is detailed here - an organiser posts details of a car that he would like to buy, with necessary specs, and a link to a group on a site like QQ. Others who are interested join the group, and then the group leader, when he has assessed the level of demand, starts negotiation with car dealerships. When the time to buy arrives, the group members all meet for the first time, picking up their cars.

But, as Sam Flemming relates, this is just the beginning:

"Through the group purchase process, group members become familiar with each other, and, as they are all owners of the same kind of car, they tend to interact even more than normal netizens. Many group purchase group members continue to visit their QQ group, sharing their experiences with their new cars. Group members will often organize together again to purchase accessories and upgrades, or meet for offline activities. Once the group purchase is over, the group leader’s leadership position and influence continues on. When group members encounter problems with their cars, they often out of habit seek out the group leader, and future group purchases and offline activities are often organized by the group leader."

It can go wrong - see this video here (in Chinese) of a sort of riot at a Ford dealership.

More info at Wikipedia, including attempts to do this in the West - and it seems that there is a Facebook app , and a company in the US trying to get this going