Press J to jump to the feed. I've only used it during the winter though, so it has not been fully put to the test. I'm thinking about getting this, but am still on the fence. Now you might ask "does the quality justify the cost?" Therefore, I no longer belief jack about anything they say, because I've caught them in, if not a big fat lie, a big fat deceit, and I will not support a biz who knowingly deceives. They have been running out of their hand soap refills lately so we bought the shampoo refill because it's the same exact ingredients. Then, he goes out to sell them for $1.50 each, claiming he is selling them at cost. You could also sell access to your members to other companies, providing detailed information on them such as home and email addresses, search criteria and other logistical and quantifiable data points, presumably with your members' approval. Our dentist friends got upset because Public Goods toothpaste doesn't contain fluoride. If you can identify (or just make an educated guess of) the total costs, including shipping and handling, you could absolutely sell everything you can purchase at that cost and have a viable business model. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. I can tell you that their "cost" prices are greatly inflated, and most definitely are not at the actual cost of making the product. Maybe this makes sense in the context of what OP is referring to as 'Public Goods', but its entirely possible to sell goods at cost or even under cost, but this system doesn't work well on its own. I knew supporting it was a bit of a gamble. It is good motivation for me to be more cautious about what I support in the future. Costco has been a huge money saver for me, but I loved the idea of being able to get smaller quantities. The act of finding the proper items (finding the good from the bad for example) then storing, rotating, and delivering must be factored in, plus costs born by employees and the physical locations that must be owned. These are high end products at great prices. I liked what I saw so I backed it to receive a lifetime membership. I'm considering buying a lifetime membership. Their prices were fairly low in the beta stage while they were getting investors and selling memberships. The prices quickly rose and I find I can do better on Amazon or Vitacost. $14 for that same tube filled with 4.7 oz of toothpaste? The kicker is their “non member” price. Very interested in this thread and I will take my questions to the creators so I'll get back with the answers. The CS person was rude enough that I publicly call out their crappy CS. I am afraid everything will smell the same. I no longer trust that they are honest in their business practices. I like brandless better. I plan to incorporate it into my own business. Mickey makes some super-easy money. I signed up for their lifetime membership! Companies have been using this model for years. However you would never be able to sell at the "lowest price" because other retailers will sell loss leaders intentionally to draw customers into their buildings as part of their advertising budgets. The concept became widely known as the "tragedy of the commons" over a century later due to an article written by the American ecologist and philosopher Garrett Hardin in 1968. I don't think you are forced to buy anything monthly. I've ordered twice from them at this point and I've noticed a couple of troubling things. Maybe I’m not the target market - I see they advertise how clean and healthy their products are so maybe their target market is people who would normally be purchasing premium boutique/health food store type products. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/494595922/public-goods-revolutionizing-household-products/rewards. Sadly, I'm beginning to regret my decision. It did start out competitively priced at first, but the costs are rising for every new product. You aren't the target market. If not, then I guess I can see why he'd be so snarky in his emails to me...he's frustrated that he didn't make a better biz deal. I was already done with them. Also there are other examples like the buying returned items at well below the cost of such items, which can be big business and there are even videos on YouTube showing people buying pallets of returned items in the hope of recouping costs, but the returned items themselves are not sold at cost, instead they are often sold well under that. I really like what the company is trying to do and they have a good message. I apologize for posting it. Did I just waste $50 or whatever backing this project? Now, picture this, my son is a company called Murphy, and they sell candy bars at cost. All of that must be shared by every purchaser, and if you have to have a membership the total number of people who will share in the cost goes down, meaning the price per item must inflate over a store with a much broader market. I'm going to bet that Morgan is part of more than just...Morgan's. Yes, this is while charging labor/living wage for myself, insuring myself/my biz, as well as being able to sell that product wholesale for the prices they are charging as "cost". So maybe I’m missing something, but I backed this on Kickstarter and have a lifetime membership - today I got the email to sign up and after logging in, I was surprised at the prices which seem like a ripoff for most products. They're expanding to groceries next you so I'm hoping that will also be natural/vegan! Cookies help us deliver our Services.