# CSUSA Group Buy October 2011



## Balasharc (Oct 19, 2011)

*This Group purchase has hit it's maximum number of participants and is now closed to new buyers.

Thank you all for participating.
 
This buy which is focused on  the maximum quantity discount of 25% is open to the first 12  respondents to this thread who are interested in a minimum of 10 kits  and willing to work with the following restrictions:* (Thanks to Mannie and George for allowing me to cut and paste there rules and spreadsheet)

I spent a few hours today  updating the spreadsheet and deleted any out of stock items. CLOSEOUT  and out of stock items have been removed from the sheet. If I can't  expect to fulfill the orders, I am not going to solicit them.

*PAYPAL only*....*I will be placing the order on Friday, **October 28*. *Must have PayPal funded by Wednesday, October 26, 11:59 PM Central*  US (avoids the midnight/AM/PM questions! I know we have a few sticklers  running about). If you have not made the PP payment by that time I will  drop you from the buy. We are all big boys and girls here and I should  not have to remind anyone to send the PP payment. I will PM your total  and my PayPal info. Please don't sign up then not follow through, it  knocks someone else out of a chance to participate.

SHIPPING:
Will be defaulted to $10.95 via  USPS Priority Flat rate medium box (within USA). It will include  tracking. For smaller orders that will fit the smaller priority box,  shipping (within USA) I will refund the difference in shipping.

If you have very large orders,  they may not be able to fit into one flat rate box. I'll give you my  best estimate on shipping once you place your order and we'll go from  there. USPS now has the large priority mail flat rate box for $14.95  which is 50% bigger.

Listed Kits: I spent several  hours today going through the CSUSA website updating available kits and  costs. If you want kits that are not listed, add the *kit ID* *and description*  to the bottom of the spreadsheet. For the 25% discount we need to reach  a 100 kit minimum so the apprentice kits, which follow a different  discount pattern *will not be included in the 10 kit minimum.* I  will PM your total with appropriate discounts when quantities have been  met. Also, if I missed adding in a kit that was out-of-stock last time  and it now shows in stock, you may add it in.

I am not willing to order other kits/projects at this time, but tubes and bushings will be included. 

*NO Backorders*. See that little dot, it's a period. Out of stock items will be refunded.

I have updated pricing in the  attached spreadsheet, any changes or inaccuracies will be corrected when  order is placed with CSUSA. I believe the spreadsheet is accurate, but  will not make up any differences if I have mistyped or transposed  numbers.

Domestic Insurance:
I do not require that you pay  for Insurance. But I also will not be responsible for what happens to  your order after it leaves my control. The domestic shipping charges are  below. Do not include the shipping cost in calculating insurance costs.

$1.80 ................ $0.01 to $50
$2.30 ................ $50.01 to $100
$2.85 ................ $100.01 to $200
$4.75 ................ $200.01 to $300
$5.80 ................ $300.01 to $400
$6.85 ................ $400.01 to $500
$7.90 ................ $500.01 to $600

International orders will be  accommodated but shipping and PayPal fees will cost more and will  require insurance. Sorry, I cannot give rates since I have no idea. FYI,  I will only do USPS shipping and the cheaper means may not be  insurable. Order at your own risk...or pay the premium. Here is how I  will handle International Orders: I will give you an estimate that will  be too high. You Pay Pal me that amount. Once I have the final amount  with shipping and Pay Pal charges, I will refund you the difference. I  will not be responsible for any loss or damage once the items leave my  hands. In the event it is needed, I will assist on any claims as much as  I can.

The attached spreadsheet will  calculate your total cost. There will be an additional discount from  CSUSA, but I will not have the exact amount until placing the order. You  will be refunded this difference via Paypal. The net was 13% on the  last order (on top of the volume discounts!).

I hope these terms are acceptable to everyone. Thank you 

Please indicate your NAME and IAP USERNAME on all payments and correspondence. 

Post in this thread that you  are in with at least the 10 kit minimum. I will PM to confirm and send  you my email for you to send the filled in spread sheet back to me.

Thanks for playing....and  thanks to Mannie and George for letting me steal and modify their  spreadsheet and write up from the last GB they ran.


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## Silverado (Oct 19, 2011)

Hi John

You can count me in.

Thanks Tim


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## Silverado (Oct 19, 2011)

Hi John

I am good for 20-40 kits  Thanks for doing this!

Tim


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## Monty (Oct 19, 2011)

I'm in for at least 10 kits
http://www.penturners.org/forum/showthread.php?t=87787


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## Live2Dive (Oct 19, 2011)

Woot!  I am in!


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## Robert Sherlock (Oct 19, 2011)

John, count me in as well. 

Robert


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## GoodTurns (Oct 19, 2011)

I'll play...need some goodies!


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## pianomanpj (Oct 19, 2011)

I'm in for at least ten as well! Thanks!


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## dennisg (Oct 19, 2011)

I'd be in for 10


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## nsfr1206 (Oct 19, 2011)

And i. 10 for sure.


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## tomas (Oct 19, 2011)

I am in.

Tomas


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## gt64155 (Oct 19, 2011)

I'm in if it's still open.


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## mg_dreyer (Oct 19, 2011)

I am in - if still open.


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## Russianwolf (Oct 19, 2011)

well that's that.


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## OKLAHOMAN (Oct 19, 2011)

Two hours and one minute, seems that the IAP has been wanting this badly.


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## alphageek (Oct 19, 2011)

OKLAHOMAN said:


> Two hours and one minute, seems that the IAP has been wanting this badly.



Agreed!   I don't need anything from CSUSA right now, but hopefully someone will be willing to step up and take another group.   It would be great to see these become common place again.   With a group our size, I'll bet there would be enough demand to run one of these every week or 2 with this size of groups.    

This may be alot more manageable that the 40-50 people buys that happened in the past.


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## RDH79 (Oct 19, 2011)

Jm in If anyone drops out.
Thanks
Rich H.


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## OKLAHOMAN (Oct 19, 2011)

Dean, I think you're absolutely right a small G/B once every two -three weeks instead of the massive ones in the past will keep most here in stock and making them smaller they will be so much easier for the person to handle.


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## Balasharc (Oct 19, 2011)

*The group buy is now closed to further participants so we can move along.

*This is the list of people participating in the CSUSA group buy:
*dennisg 
GoodTurns 
Live2Dive 
Monty 
nsfr1206 
pianomanpj 
Robert Sherlock 
Silverado 
tomas
gt64155
mg_dreyer 
RDH79* 
There may be 1 more but I am waiting on a PM

Name in *black *= I have sent you a Pm and waiting on your list.
Name in *blue* means received list and waiting on Pay-pal $$
Name in *green* means Received Pay-pal $$ and your done.

I will keep everyone posted and up to date as it goes along. Please be  patient with me as this is my 1st GB I am leading and I work rotating shifts 4-5 days a week.


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## Smitty37 (Oct 19, 2011)

*too many shut out*



alphageek said:


> OKLAHOMAN said:
> 
> 
> > Two hours and one minute, seems that the IAP has been wanting this badly.
> ...


 
My opinion is that this type of limited participant buy shuts too many people out...folks 2 time zones away will miss unless they spend a whole lot of time on the computer. This one filled at 7:27am pacific time, before most folks were even out of the shower.   I think that's a little too restrictive.


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## SCR0LL3R (Oct 19, 2011)

It's a lot of time and money involved for the coordinator so I understand the desire for these limitations. Hopefully this just means we can have them more often.


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## OKLAHOMAN (Oct 19, 2011)

Smitty37 said:


> alphageek said:
> 
> 
> > OKLAHOMAN said:
> ...


 
LeRoy somebody has to step up to the plate and do a larger buy, maybe the next few small buys could be started in the late afternoon :wink:


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## Balasharc (Oct 19, 2011)

It's my 1st Coordinated GB. I plan on doing more but I would like to keep the 1st a little on the small side just to make sure I can handle the $$ and Time end of it since it has to be all put on 1 card for the discounts and will take most of a day to sort everything out and pack. I know it left a lot of people out and I feel bad, but I only have so much free time. According to the wife I have no free time. I have time at work or family time. If all goes well I plan on another the end of Nov or beginning of Dec.


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## Smitty37 (Oct 19, 2011)

*24 hours*



OKLAHOMAN said:


> Smitty37 said:
> 
> 
> > alphageek said:
> ...


My thought is that group buys should be left open for a minimum of 24 hours to give all members at least a shot at getting in.  I agree that it will be a lot of work and not much reward for someone to do that so it probably won't happen. 

I almost joined this one myself (I was at the site when it was posted ) but I wasn't too sure it would be ethical for me to buy kits from them and then offer them for sale at a price lower than theirs or keep another member who wanted kits to turn from getting them.:biggrin:


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## Smitty37 (Oct 19, 2011)

*Don't feel bad*



Balasharc said:


> It's my 1st Coordinated GB. I plan on doing more but I would like to keep the 1st a little on the small side just to make sure I can handle the $$ and Time end of it since it has to be all put on 1 card for the discounts and will take most of a day to sort everything out and pack. I know it left a lot of people out and I feel bad, but I only have so much free time. According to the wife I have no free time. I have time at work or family time. If all goes well I plan on another the end of Nov or beginning of Dec.


 There's no need for you to feel bad - it will take a lot of time and it will be a lot of work, probably more than you anticipate.  You'll get your kits at a lower price but you will earn them.  I certainly didn't intend for my comment to be taken as being critical of you for doing this.


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## Trillium (Oct 19, 2011)

I woulda been in if I had seen it in time..... btw, I only count 8.... ?


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## keithkarl2007 (Oct 19, 2011)

Bummer, i knew I'd miss this again.


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## Russianwolf (Oct 19, 2011)

I've done several of these group buys. Without limits on participation they can easily run over a thousand items to sort, pack and ship. It can be overwhelming. The organizer needs to be aware of their limits. Time and financial. Remember that in the past CSUSA buys have needed the organizer to have a limit on their cc in the thousands to place the order. It ain't easy. For example, My time limitations have prevented me from running another buy.

John, I think you are doing good to get your feet wet on a smaller one. No need to jump in the deep end on this.


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## RDH79 (Oct 20, 2011)

I am one of the fortunate ones that was able to get into the group buy. After all the negative comments about this group buy and the rules and how it was run, I can see why no one wants to do them.


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## SCR0LL3R (Oct 20, 2011)

RDH79 said:


> I am one of the fortunate ones that was able to get into the group buy. After all the negative comments about this group buy and the rules and how it was run, I can see why no one wants to do them.



The only negative comments were from a couple people wishing they could get in and those people all understand the reasons that they couldn't. I don't think anybody's feelings were hurt.  I think the reason why people don't want to do them is because of the time and financial burdens.

We only need 100 kits to get the maximum discount... There's no need or benefit to making the group buy any bigger than that, we just need to do them more often.


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## RDH79 (Oct 20, 2011)

RDH79 said:


> I am one of the fortunate ones that was able to get into the group buy. After all the negative comments about this group buy and the rules and how it was run, I can see why no one wants to do them.



I guess that went the wrong way. I meant that all the work and emails and things that go with doing a group buy, is why they are not done a often. 
I can see also that doing 12 would be enough. 
Posting that the first 12 would be in is probably the fairest way to do it also.


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## Texatdurango (Oct 20, 2011)

Smitty37 said:


> ......My opinion is that this type of limited participant buy shuts too many people out
> 
> ......My thought is that group buys should be left open for a minimum of 24 hours to give all members at least a shot at getting in......


 
Looks like several people missed out on this one so why not act on your opinion and thoughts and start another buy yourself then you could leave it open for another day or two or better yet, leave it open for a week so those not in the office today will get a chance to read it.


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## Smitty37 (Oct 20, 2011)

*Not likely*



Texatdurango said:


> Smitty37 said:
> 
> 
> > ......My opinion is that this type of limited participant buy shuts too many people out
> ...


 
For the same reasons I did not join the buy and you often express opinions that you don't act on.  And most of the large sales (buys) I have conducted were open for at least a week.

Actually CSUSA is a fine company but they are a competitor and we are in direct competition for a few products and virtual competition (similar but not exactly the same products) on others.


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## Smitty37 (Oct 20, 2011)

Texatdurango said:


> SCR0LL3R said:
> 
> 
> > .....The only negative comments were from a couple people wishing they could get in and those people all understand the reasons that they couldn't. I don't think anybody's feelings were hurt.  I think the reason why people don't want to do them is because of the time and financial burdens......
> ...


 
As I read the thread, there weren't any negative comments.


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## Monty (Oct 20, 2011)

OK, There have been several posts about the way John has decided to run his GB. These posts contribute nothing to the thread and I've asked the mods to remove them.
A GB can very quickly become overwhelming, especially for someone that has never done one. If you feel you can do a better job or can handle more orders, PM me that you would like to run run and I'll get you set up.


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## joefyffe (Oct 21, 2011)

GOOD FOR YOU MONTY!!!:wink:  I didn't get in on this one myself, BUT because I'm not in a great need at the time.  I've gotten in on a gb or two but have never conducted one.  But I danged sure appreciate those who are willing to take on the responsibility of doing it for the benefit of the rest of us.  Those who do not appreciate can go %$#+#$@!>< themselves!



Monty said:


> OK, There have been several posts about the way John has decided to run his GB. These posts contribute nothing to the thread and I've asked the mods to remove them.
> A GB can very quickly become overwhelming, especially for someone that has never done one. If you feel you can do a better job or can handle more orders, PM me that you would like to run run and I'll get you set up.


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## Balasharc (Oct 23, 2011)

*Update*

Just keeping everyone up to date. 
* Remember I Must have List and PayPal funded by Wednesday, October 26, 11:59 PM Central  US.*

This is the list of people participating in the CSUSA group buy:

*dennisg 
GoodTurns 
Live2Dive 
Monty
nsfr1206 
pianomanpj 
Robert Sherlock
Silverado 
tomas
gt64155
mg_dreyer 
RDH79* 


Name in *black *= Waiting on your list.
Name in *blue* means received list and waiting on Pay-pal $$
Name in *green* means Received Pay-pal $$ and your done.

I will keep everyone posted and up to date as it goes along. Please be   patient with me as this is my 1st GB I am leading and I work rotating  shifts 4-5 days a week.


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## Balasharc (Oct 25, 2011)

Just keeping everyone up to date. 29hrs left
* Remember I Must have List and PayPal funded by Wednesday, October 26, 11:59 PM Central  US.*

This is the list of people participating in the CSUSA group buy:

*dennisg 
GoodTurns 
Live2Dive 
Monty
nsfr1206 
pianomanpj 
Robert Sherlock
Silverado 
**gt64155
mg_dreyer 
RDH79
**tomas
* 


Name in *black *= Waiting on your list.
Name in *blue* means received list and waiting on Pay-pal $$
Name in *green* means Received Pay-pal $$ and your done.


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## Balasharc (Oct 28, 2011)

OK!! Everything was ordered this morning and scheduled to be shiped out this afternoon.

$3450 and 302 kits 

Only one item was not in stock and back ordered until late December the JR GENTLEMENS II FOUNTAIN - BLACK TITANIUM w/threaded end cap. 

After everything I pack everything up and mail them out I will issue credits to those affected. Also I will try to pack the smaller orders in a small flat rate box if possible and issue those refunds also. If anyone wishes to donate there refunds to the IAP please let me know so I can do so.

Thank you all for participating.


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## Balasharc (Oct 31, 2011)

Last update till shipping. The package should be at my door by 4:30pm on11/3/11.
All packages should mailed out on the 4th or 5th.


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## Balasharc (Nov 4, 2011)

All packages but one have been shipped. Refunds will be issued soon to those affected. 3 of the 11 went out in flat rate envelopes.


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## pianomanpj (Nov 8, 2011)

Just got my package from John yesterday! Thank you very much for running this group buy. It was quick and painless, and went incredibly smooth. My hat is off to you, sir! :biggrin::biggrin::biggrin:

I have one question, though: When are you going to run another one? :wink:


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## Balasharc (Nov 8, 2011)

Today!! keep an eye out


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## Live2Dive (Nov 8, 2011)

I also received my package yesterday.  Thanks for the quickness on your end.


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