An Ish Club?

[JulieSherris]

Ok, this idea has been rattling for a while, & this post should probably be in the allotment forum, but I'll put the idea out there & see what the rest of you think.....

Marshall's seeds are running a members club for allotment groups & such. Discounts can be as much as 50%, and P & P are free, so it's all good.
Now - the Club Admin registers & then sends out the info the members via email/newsletters/catalogues - altho in our case email is probably best & then the members go to the site, put in their order, pays & waits.
The Club Admin is informed of the impending orders, then at the cut-off date, the order is sent to the Admin address, where it is distributed to the members.

Well, I was thinking.... could/would an 'Ish Club' work? We could order our seeds with a discount & then all we'd have to do is make a postage payment in advance to the Admin, & wait for the Admin to post our order on to us.

But what we need is someone in the Uk to do the Admin job - and maybe set up a paypal account for the postage to be paid into - SS-ish could even make a small profit from this as well.

Marshalls Club details: http://www.marshalls-garden-club.com/

It was a thought is all - what do ya think, could it work?

[Green Aura]

Sounds interesting Julie. I have a couple of thoughts. Who would administer it and would it still be cheaper with the added p+p?

I'm guessing it might be easier for different areas to have their own - like the Wiltshire crew and I know there are a few Ishers near you.

I suddenly feel all alone

[JulieSherris]

See Maggie, I was thinking that with enough of a discount, you would still save even with the P & P that you pay to the admin, which would be royal mail minimal costs... and there isn't any P & P from Marshall's when they send out to the clubs.

I was thinking that a full-on Ish Club, rather than splinter groups, would give a larger discount as I think that the amount of the discount is dependent on numbers - so a larger club would get bigger discounts.

(edited, cos the opening sentence made no sense whatsoever!!)

[ina]

I suddenly feel all alone

Don't cry - I realised that not long ago I almost passed by your front door! So you do have other Ishers within a day's drive...

But I don't think it would make a lot of sense for myself - I only need very few seeds every year.

[Green Aura]

Still interested. If enough people want to give it a go it would be worth trying it out once to see how it works out. It might be good for non-UK residents who get charged daft amounts.

You volunteering?

[bonniethomas06]

If the discount is 50%, I think it would probably be worth the extra postage, as seeds are not heavy.

Even if local ishers get together, it would be more expensive to drive and collect them than it would be to send them out, surely?

I think it could be a goer, definitely and would be happy to join in.

In fact (not to threadnap the subject) I was thinking of suggesting a Suma co-operative for ishers to order bulk buys like bread flour and olive oil and stuff (as they have a minimum £250 order value) though that would obviously have to be local.

Go ishy buying power!!

[JulieSherris]

I'd volunteer like a shot if I was still in the UK!

It just sort of makes sense - and could be another way of generating a small profit for the website as well - obviously, we'd have to sign up & register as members of the seed club, and there would have to be a paypal account for the P & P costs, but I'm sure Mr Headstrong could deal with that (he does this sort of thing SO well)

The good thing is that the admin would receive a box of goodies with all the members orders already separated & labelled, so even that is dealt with..... anyone else out there not doing much fancy stepping up??

[Big Al]

I will need to look at hte details first as I don't buy seeds from them but I could be happy to act as do it all if people wanted so long as the only thing it "cost" me was time.


Take care,

Big Al

[JulieSherris]

Al, what a superstar! I think we would need Andy & Dave's blessings as well & get them to check the scheme out, but I reckon it could work quite well, especially if there is plenty of interest & that way everyone saves a bit, which is always nice!

I know that over here, there were a few suppliers who agreed to get on board with another forum & offered discounts - the forum closed, but in essence, it was a great idea! Then there was a member who sold Chillingdon Hoes, who offered discounts through the forum, but I don't know how many took him up on the offer, as the forum wasn't very well populated - shame.

So.... Andy? Dave? John? Your thoughts would be most welcome!

[Big Al]

That was going to be my next question in that has anyone asked andy and dave etc.

I've looked at the site and it looks ok but a couple of questions.
1 Marshals say it's a good way to order potatoes... Very heavy for the organiser to post out
2 as the members pay marshals direct then how will I get the postage to send out each package?
3, don't forget that there is a surcharge of £1 on individual member orders of less than £12.50.
4. there won't be anything in it for Andy, dave or the site as all the moneys go direct to marshals.

I am willing to act as admin etc providing there are no heavy irems such as the potatoes because i don't have any transport and lugging bags of tatties on and off the bus isn't something I want to do, certainly with my back as it is at the moment.

[pelmetman]

Interesting idea Julie. Our local gardening club does something similar with one of the seed companies. They have an administrator, she collects all the orders and collects payments then seeds are collected at club meetings.

Sue

[Rosendula]

I don't know if anyone spotted the additional terms and conditions

Additional Terms and Conditions – Allotment Clubs and Societies

15.1 In accepting the offer from Marshalls to join the Garden Club, the organiser and co-organiser confirm that the organisation they represent is a bona fide club consisting of at least 10 members whose intention is to buy seeds and / or other garden items offered by Marshalls. They both acknowledge that they act with the agreement and authority of their organisation.
15.2 In the event that fewer than 10 members order from Marshalls Garden Club at the nominated first cut off date, Marshalls shall at its discretion choose whether it delivers or cancels an order or series of orders.
15.3 Marshalls shall advise the organisers of a cut off date for ordering which shall appear on their organisations access page on the Marshalls Garden Club Web Site. Following this cut-off date, a new cut-off date will be implemented by Marshalls. The cut-off date may be varied to suit individual customer needs by prior agreement with Marshalls.
15.4 The organiser and co-organiser undertake to immediately advise the Marshalls Garden Club of any change to their personal or deliver details to ensure that Marshalls communicate details of orders and despatches and make delivery to the correct address.
15.5 Marshalls shall deliver to the delivery address as nominated by the organisers at the date of packing members’ orders.
15.6 The primary contact for communication with your organisation shall be the organiser. In the event that we are unable to contact the organiser for any reason whatsoever we shall contact the co-organiser and all matters agreed with the co-organiser shall be treated as if the organiser and co-organiser are one and the same person acting with the same authority from the organisation.
15.7 In ordering from the Marshalls Garden Club the individual buyer acknowledges that they are a member of the organisation indicated on seller’s web site.
Members or individuals who order under the umbrella heading of a Garden Club registered organisation, acknowledge that they are acting in accordance with the rules of that organisation. They also acknowledge that Marshalls may communicate with them by postal and electronic means for the purposes of keeping them informed about Marshalls products and services.
15.8 Members of allotment clubs and organisations who order from the S E Marshall and Co Ltd shall have their orders made available to be delivered to the address most recently advised by the organisers, which may not be the address shown on the Marshalls Garden Club web site at the time of ordering.
15.9 Ownership and shall transfer at the point of despatch and orders placed with S E Marshall and Co for bulk delivery to the delivery address nominated by the organisers shall be deemed as delivery to an individual buyer purchasing under the scheme.

So it's alright having more than 10 members, but if less than 10 members actually place an order, Marshalls can decide not to bother with anyone's order. We need to be sure that at least 10 people will order, otherwise it could be pretty frustrating for the others.

Also, on the subject of postage: everyone's seeds would go to Al, with each order individually packaged. Depending on how it is packaged, Al may have to then buy postage bags/labels. He'd then have to weigh the items (or take them to the post office to have them weighed) and pay the postage. There will be Paypal fees and I'm assuming Al will incur travel expenses in going to the post office. All this will have to be repaid to Al as 'postage and package'. We must ensure that he will not be out of pocket.

I think the most sensible thing to do is to ask for a membership fee (refundable if you leave), to allow Al to purchase essentials in advance without dipping into his own wallet, but I think people would be understandably reluctant to pay such a fee.

[Big Al]

Also, on the subject of postage: everyone's seeds would go to Al, with each order individually packaged. Depending on how it is packaged, Al may have to then buy postage bags/labels. He'd then have to weigh the items (or take them to the post office to have them weighed) and pay the postage. There will be Paypal fees and I'm assuming Al will incur travel expenses in going to the post office. All this will have to be repaid to Al as 'postage and package'. We must ensure that he will not be out of pocket.

I think the most sensible thing to do is to ask for a membership fee (refundable if you leave), to allow Al to purchase essentials in advance without dipping into his own wallet, but I think people would be understandably reluctant to pay such a fee.

Travel expenses will probably be nothing as I have a spaka bus pass. I don't have a paypal account and have no intention of having one as I don't trust them. That said I know a lot do have them. As for being repaid, sadly it will have to be upfront as i don't have any spare cash at all. People look at me with disbelief when i say some weeks we have no money even for food !! Until the 17th of this month I'm in that situation as our total wealth until then is £8.71 but hell knows we will survive for another mortgage payment, lol.

As for buying seeds I will not be buying them from this club or T&M as I prefer to buy my seeds from here http://www.realseeds.co.uk/ so is there more than ten people to order ?

[Rosendula]

As for being repaid, sadly it will have to be upfront as i don't have any spare cash at all. People look at me with disbelief when i say some weeks we have no money even for food !! Until the 17th of this month I'm in that situation as our total wealth until then is £8.71 but hell knows we will survive for another mortgage payment, lol.

Sorry Al. I didn't mean to put you in an awkward position there. When I was typing, I originally put that the member would have to pay upfront, but then I changed it when I had the idea of a membership fee, thinking the money from that could be used upfront, and the repayment would go back into that pot. I was being constantly interrupted by my 4YO nagging for an icepop while I was typing, so I didn't manage the concentration I needed to type it well. I should have waited until she was in bed, but I didn't want to forget it all.

I was also wondering about different currencies and how that would work.

[oldjerry]

I quite like this idea,but to be honest,I'm not sure about it for seeds.Mainly because I like to buy different varieties and have never bought everything from one company.(It may be worth looking at buying bulk quantities of common stuff (lettuce ,beetroot,carrot etc.) from somewhere like Kings or whoever Colegrave have become now,then dividing them up).
There could be other stuff we use regularly that would be worth buying in bulk (?) eg. preserving jars(?) White wine vinegar(?) wool (?) maybe not.........semtex(?)..