Vendor FAQs

V3. What is The Freedom Buying Club for vendors?

The Freedom Buying Club is a new kind of eCommerce Marketplace. During our MVP we will be focused on building both the Buy-side and the Sell-side. We will be working with Alliance Partners to encourage new Members to Sign Up, Submit their Anonymous Profile and then to Begin Inviting Friends. During our MVP, new Members can also participate in Paid Surveys and Focus Groups initiated by Vendors.

Vendors are encouraged to Sign Up at this early stage to show support for a new kind of Manufacturer-Direct-to-Consumer eCommerce marketplace that will offer Free advertising to our Members who have Opted-In, then later we will expand into D2C sales to our Members. Our Anonymous Consumer Profiles will be available for you to advertise free forever.

Vendors may also become Marketing Alliance Partners. You can start by referring a small group of employees with your Alliance Partner Referral Link. If there is strong interest, you can share that link more widely with employees and earn the Marketing Alliance Partner referral amount — $100 after 24 months, single payout only — for each referred member who stays an active paid Club Member.

V4. Can a vendor also be a Marketing Alliance Partner?

Yes. A vendor can hold both roles. As a Marketing Alliance Partner, you can refer people to The Freedom Buying Club with your Personal Partner Referral Link and you can earn $100 after 24 months, single payout only, for each referred member who becomes and stays an active paid Club Member.

Many vendors begin with a small group of employees. If interest is strong, you may want to share the link more widely with employees. The Referral Credits could quickly become very substantial. Product listing and advertising stay separate from this referral role.

V5. How do I get started?

Sign Up and complete an Indication of interest first. Your Indication of interest will state your intention to move to the next level of Participation when we hit our first Membership Threshold of One Thousand Members who have Submitted their Anonymous Profiles to the Marketplace.

V6. What information do you need for an indication of interest?

First name, last name, title, work email, Cell phone and then just Check the Box Indicating that you are interested in helping to make this Marketplace grow and that you will consider taking your involvement to the next Level when our Membership grows significantly.

V7. Are ads really free forever?

Yes. Ads on The Freedom Buying Club are free permanently. Vendors have the option to submit requests for Members to participate in Vendor paid Surveys and Focus Groups. These fees go directly to the Member as a Credit on any of his or her in-Club Purchases. The Club’s sole source of revenue is membership dues.

V8. What do vendors pay the club?

Zero for ads. When you run surveys or focus groups, you pay the club in cash and the consumer receives 100% as Tips. The club takes none of that money. Instant Rebates are pre-funded by you.

V9. What do I see about consumers?

Anonymous Profile Attributes and counts — Total Membership Counts, also Counts for any single Attribute or any Combination of the following Attributes of age range, sex, education, income range, marital status, zip. So you will be able to see clearly the number of Members in your Primary Market and beyond, if desired. No Personally Identifiable Information, such as name, address, phone, or email will ever be available.

This Marketing Venue is based on the premise that Marketers don’t need to see a Consumer’s Personally Identifiable Information, they only want to be sure their message is reaching their intended Audience – and additionally, its viewership is confirmed when the recipient responds to a few multiple choice questions.

V10. What information are Vendors able to see about the total Marketplace composition of the Buy-side and the Sell-side?

Once we have a few hundred members: Vendors will be able to see Member counts as described In V9. above plus Vendor counts by Category.

V11. How can Vendors message consumers or reach my intended Market?

Vendors don’t message consumers directly. During our MVP, Vendors may submit requests to the Marketplace in general for Members to see and to Participate in Surveys and Focus Groups or to a preferred Subset of Members. Members have the option of responding to these Requests or not.

After we launch our formal Membership Drive to One Million Members, though, Vendors can upload messages to the Marketplace which then can be seen and viewed by Members who have Opted-In to see messaging from certain Brands or Categories of Interest to them in their Preferences.

Members will be able to see Vendors by Brand Name, Category, Sub-category and Model Number and D2C Pricing on that Model. Members will also be able to see a Vendor’s Ads linked to each Product Model offered by a Vendor.

V12. What is D2C here?

Direct-to-Consumer. Vendors set their D2C Purchase Price. The member buys from you through the Club without a store in the middle.

V13. What is an Instant Rebate?

You may post an Instant Rebate that further reduces the Net Purchase Price at the Club. That Instant Rebate converts to Tips and Purchasing Credits for the Member to use on future in-Club Purchases.

V14. Can I post a different Instant Rebate for purchases outside the club?

Yes. You may post a different and separate Instant Rebate redeemable if the Member buys your product from a retailer outside The Freedom Buying Club, with an uploaded receipt. Two distinct Instant Rebates, not one. The amounts can differ. Value can be realized by incentivizing these Purchases to reduce Retailers’ Inventory at end-of-Product-Cycle.

V15. Do I have to match Amazon or Walmart on D2C price?

You set the price. Many vendors will not want to set D2C prices below what they sell to those retailers. They can still make attractive offers by posting a slightly higher D2C and then use an Instant Rebate to lower the Net Purchase Price for the Member — so they do not cause friction with current distribution channels.

V16. Do the Vendors pre-fund the Instant Rebates?

Yes, the Vendor pre-funds an estimated 30 days worth of Instant Rebates.

V17. How do surveys and focus groups work?

You describe the Survey and the estimated time to complete it and stipulate the payment the Member will receive upon completion and pre-fund the costs in advance. The consumer receives 100% as a Credit to his or her Tips Account.

V18. When can I go live with products?

Prior to the official Launch of the Official Membership Drive to One Million Members you can use our API to Upload your Products into the Marketplace. Then you are live and you can set the D2C Purchase Price and an Instant Rebate on each. We anticipate Launching the Membership Drive when we have 5 to 10 thousand Members and 20 or more Major Consumer Brands.

V19. Is an indication of interest a contract?

No. a check on the Indication of Interest sheet means interest, not a signed commitment.

V20. Will you sell me Member personal information?

No. Marketing stays anonymous. We did not build this to sell Personally Identifiable Info.

V21. Who pays for membership fees on the consumer side?

Consumers. They pay dues of $10/month or $100/year.

V22. Can consumers cash out of Credits or Tips?

No. Tips are for in-Club Purchasing only. Members cannot cash Tips out.

V23. What categories can I list?

All Major Brands Consumer Products and Services are acceptble. Start with your indication of interest; category setup comes when we announce the date for our Official Membership Drive. Then you can use our API to upload your Products and Services by Brand Name, Category, Model #, D2C Custom Prices and Instant Rebates as needed.

V24. Do I need a phone call to get in?

No. We will conduct a standard B2B Marketing Campaign to 100+ Largest Consumer Brands.

V25. When do I get a private site preview?

Interested vendors get a preview before public go-live.

V26. Who approves vendors?

The CEO. Member recommendations of brands go to the CEO before they appear on a public list.

V27. What company is behind this?

America First Freedom Foundation. DBA: The Freedom Buying Club. Founder & CEO: Eugene A. Fusz.