Should I Purchase Retail or Group Buy (Co-Op) Vanilla Beans?

What is the quality difference between retail vanilla beans and group buy (co-op) vanilla beans?

Absolutely nothing.

The grade-A vanilla beans we offer through our group buy are the same grade-A vanilla beans we sell through our retail store. The quality is the same. The source is the same. They are packaged in the same facility, with the same pouches and the same labels. They adhere to 100% of our quality standards as our retail vanilla beans do. Both retail and co-op vanilla beans are backed by a 100%, no-questions-asked, money-back guarantee if you are ever not satisfied.

So why is the group buy less expensive?

Because it gives us the chance to bundle our orders with our farmers and it allows us to pouch and ship a large batch of beans immediately, without the need to warehouse them for extended periods of time. 

When you purchase through the group buy, you're helping us avoid warehousing and inventory holding costs and you're helping us pouch a single type of bean in a larger volume at the same time which is more cost efficient. And we pass 100% of those savings on to you. Based on volume discounts from our farmers, some of the savings are significant. 

In addition to pricing, another upside of the group is the availability of new vanilla bean special buys that are not available through our retail program, such as Jayapura Indonesian, Kisoro Ugandan, Sambava Madagascar and many more. These low price special buys are never available at retail, only through the co-op.

The downside of ordering through the group buy is that you have to wait 4-8 weeks for your order to ship, but the savings are worth it to our many co-op members. If you ever need vanilla beans immediately, however, you can order our retail vanilla beans and they ship within 1-3 business days. 

There is no fee or membership requirement to participate in group buy orders. You can order through the group buy program or through retail whenever you'd like. We are a rolling group buy, which means we take orders of all group buy vanilla beans all the time. We ask that you share our group buy with friends and return to write a review on the product your purchased. 

If you combine a group buy (co-op) product and a retail product on the same order, that order will not ship until the group buy beans are available. So we encourage you to make your orders either 100% group buy (co-op) or 100% retail. All of our vanilla beans are labeled "Co-Op" or "Retail" so you know if if group buy ("co-op") product is in your cart. 

Click here to order group buy (co-op) vanilla beans. Or,

Click here to order retail vanilla beans.