Group Order

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Synonyms: GO, GOM
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Group Orders are a popular way for fans to share international shipping costs by bundling the orders of many fans in one country. The thing being ordered can be fan-made items like zines or official merch. GOs are often organised for preordered items.

Group orders (GOs) are managed by group order masters (GOMs).

The GO system is based on mutual trust between fans. There have been cases of GOMs scamming or ghosting their buyers, thereby making them lose money. There is little recourse in these cases as GOMs often only accept PayPal payments through the friends and family option.

Kpop Group Orders

The phenomenon of GOs managed by individual GOMs is widespread and important to the international fandom ecosystem. The GOMs coordinate the bulk purchase of items. They usually do not profit from GOs. Fanclubs overlap in function with GOs to a certain extent but cannot replace the role of GOMs to international fans entirely at present.

In the case of album GOs, they are generally set up to fufill one or more of these goals:

notes 🍉there may be more than 4 payments in total depending on when you want your item(s) and your preferred album version --->ex1. the figurines may arrive to usa earlier than the doll, so i can ship the figurines to you first if you wish so --->ex2. the albums will arrive to the US a lot earlier than the goods, i can ship the albums to you first and then the goods --->currently, only the departure ver. price is announced, markleebar said that the arrival ver. price should be announced on the 20th. I will pay out of pocket first if arrival ver. is more expensive than departure ver. and will collect those amount afterwards 🍉i will cancel your order if you submit the form before paying 2nd payment 🍉if you fail to make any payments on time, your order will be canceled and will be up for claim to others 🍉i won't be responsible if the items are damaged or lost during any shipping processes 🍉absolutely no returns or backing out I, @gramlee, reserve the right of final explanation. I, @gracmlee, reserve the right of final explanation.
Notes regarding a GO with Markleebar managed by @gracmlee
  • Lowering the costs of albums for individual fans. The shipping fee for albums from Korea to other parts or the world can be very pricey. GOs can mitigate those cost by splitting the cost shipping fee between a large group of fans. The shipping cost is often paid in two or three installments for each part of the shipping process (from Korea to the GOM, to the GOM to individual fans...).
  • Getting specific photocards/album benefit. Since the inclusions of K-pop albums, notably photocards, is randomized, it is difficult for fans to get their bias' merch. GOMs offer photocard sorting, which involves each buyer ranking their photocard preferences and the GOM unsealing albums and try to match the buyers with their top choice. This system is flawed as the popularity of members varies and inclusions can be mixed poorly in a given batch of albums. GOs nonetheless decrease randomness and overall increase one's chances of getting one of their top biases' merch
    • This may be particularly relevant with large groups such as NCT, which contains 23 members.
  • Getting exclusive merch or fan created goods. K-pop companies sometimes release exclusive inclusions tied to specific stores. Fanclubs also tend to only operate in Asia and/or within national borders for individual purchases, all the while being open to work with GOMs. Another example is Japan releases only sold in Japan. As such, GOs help international fans gain access to exclusive items.
  • Increasing the number of sales the GMO has to their name. The access to certain special events such as fan meets is based on a lottery where each purchased album is equal to an entry. By buying a bulk of albums, GOMs can increase their chances of winning. In these cases, GOMs will at times take on a portion of each album's cost, making them more affordable to others.
Oct 31st: Hey! Yes it was awaken! Sadly millie has even gone as far to ignoring her dad because people have also called her dad about her ghosting, Its very crazy now a days!! Again thank you so much sel! Then November 7th: Hihi! I hope you're doing well! Just wanted to know if you have any update for korgou? Then Novembre 13th: Hey sorry to bother but any update? Then November 20th: Hihi sorry to bother you so late, Any updates?
Texts between @JaeilGOs and @valentineorders

Examples of scams and controversies in the Kpop GO system

For example, valentineorders (Sel) was a trusted GOM for about a year in 2019 before suddenly abandoning her orders. Her orders got forwarded to calliesGOs (Callie), who also took over the @valentineorders account. In early 2020, JaeilGOs (Nath) began to help Callie. After a few months, Callie became unresponsive. Nath continued to work on the orders but couldn't get in touch with Sel or Callie. In the end, Nath also abandoned valentineorders as well as her own GO account, leaving many disappointed buyers behind.[1]

References

  1. ^ [1], Screenshot of text messages between @JaeilGOs and @valentineorders