Can't deal with delivery fees? Save money and foster the kampung spirit by joining your neighbourhood's group buy channel, Lifestyle News

PUBLISHED ONJune 22, 2021 6:35 AMByDiane Lam

A couple of weeks ago, I saw an ad for Bakery Brera on my Instagram stories and was hit with an insatiable craving for rustic French pastries. I decided to sleep it off and hope that the craving would subside.

Serendipitously (or should I say, creepily) enough, I spotted a post the very next day about a Serangoon group buy channel collating orders for cold brew coffee, blackout brownies, and – you guessed it – Bakery Brera.

There was a $2 admin fee for orders, but that was a bargain compared to Bakery Brera’s $10 islandwide delivery fee. The group buy’s pickup point is also across the street from my block, meaning I’d only have to spend 10 minutes retrieving my order. Joining the group was a no-brainer.

Only after joining the group did I realise how much I’d been missing out on. By sharing orders, neighbours save on delivery fee, foster a bit of kampung spirit, and help local merchants keep their businesses afloat.

Group administrators need the patience of a saint, since liaising with vendors, sorting out orders, and maintaining the group’s multiplatform channels can be rather laborious. And try being the messenger when orders go missing. Running a group buy is akin to a part-time job, which is why we wanted to show a little love to all the group buy channels out there.

Scroll down to see the ones that are still active now. This list is by no means exhaustive, since new group buy accounts pop up all the time, so if you don’t see your neighbourhood on here, don’t fret – either you live somewhere that’s central enough to not necessitate a group buy, or perhaps you should be the one to start it.