FAQ
General Questions
What is GBS?
GBS is the Group Buying Site plugin that you will provide the core functionality for your site. GBS is a bundle of the GBS shop theme and the GBS plugin. You will be also have access to the GBS support forums will hundreds of customization instructions.
What is group buying?
Group buying allows consumers to group together in order to obtain great discounts on products and services offered by merchants.
How does group buying work?
A merchant partners with a group buying website to offer incredible discounts (usually 50% off or more) on their service. For example, a restaurant might offer $20 worth of food and drinks for only $10. The group buying site owner promotes the deal on his/her website to obtain sales in the form of printable vouchers (coupons). After purchasing the voucher, the buyer takes it to the merchant to redeem it for its value. Because these deals offer such great savings for consumers and they’re only offered for a brief period of time (1-2 days), they sell out very quickly. It’s not unusual for large group buying sites like Groupon and LivingSocial to sell tens of thousands of deal coupons in a single day.
Since most daily deal sites collect 50% of the revenue for each voucher that’s sold, and they sell out rapidly, group buying sites represent one of the most profitable and fastest growing businesses on the Web. Despite the huge players like Groupon, the vast majority of the group buying market is still waiting to be claimed. Groupon has primarily targeted major cities in the United States leaving a near infinite number of smaller cities and niche markets available for the taking. Bootstrapping entrepreneurs, perhaps like yourself, that have the guts and determination to grasp this time-sensitive opportunity will most likely be very successful at generating substantial online revenues.
Will Group Buying Site (GBS) work with my current website?
The GBS plugin and theme were built specifically to work with WordPress (WP). If your website is based on a self-hosted version of WordPress (WordPress.org), it’s easy to install our plugin or theme. If you don’t have a WordPress site, you can get one for free as most hosting companies include it with the purchase of a hosting plan.
What is WordPress?
WordPress is a complete, easy-to-use open source content management system. Because of its ease of use and versatility, content creation and development on WordPress is highly desirable. In addition, WordPress is freely available for installation through most web hosting providers and it requires almost no technical knowledge to deploy it.
What is a content management system?
It’s basically a complete website where you can easily create, edit, and manage your site without any programming skills. There’s no need to know HTML, PHP or any other programming languages. WordPress lets you create pages, publish articles, and add new user accounts without requiring any technical knowledge.
What are the requirements to use Group Buying Site?
You just need a basic WordPress website in order to use our GBS plugin or theme. GBS runs in combination with WordPress (v3.0 or later), so once WordPress is setup, you just need to upload the plugin or theme to the correct directory and activate it. If you don’t know how to do this, we can assist you.
Pre-Sales Questions
What are the hosting requirements to use GBS?
1. A WordPress website (version 3.0 or greater) hosted on Linux (not Windows) with Apache web server software (not Zeus).
2. Make sure mod_rewrite is installed and working on your server so you can use custom permalinks.
3. PHP 5 with safe_mode off
4. MySQL v4.1.2 or higher
Can I also sell physical products and downloadable goods using GBS?
Yes, you can! Since the release of GBS v3.4 you can now sell physical goods from your GBS-powered website. We offer lots of various shipping and tax options to sell your tangible goods online. If you would like to sell downloadable goods (e.g. ebooks, videos, photos, music files, etc.) on your site, checkout the digital products add-on.
Can I call you?
We do not offer phone based consulting. This allows us to keep prices as low as we can. We do however reply to emails as quickly as possible so contact us if you have any additional questions.
Do you have a demo version that can be tested before purchasing?
Yes, you can find the demo link and the testing instructions for the demo here. Please take some time to check out the additional GBS feature information and screenshots.
What features are included with my GBS product?
You can find a comparison list of features for our products here and additional feature information here.
What happens when I purchase the Group Buying Theme or your Group Buying Plugin?
After selecting a product (plugin/theme) you’ll be taken to PayPal to make the purchase. Once that’s completed, you’ll be automatically redirected back to GBS where you’ll create a username and password so you can download the product. Make sure you don’t lose your username or password because you’ll need it to gain access to support and updates for the product you purchased.
How many sites can I install the GBS plugin or theme on?
Any GBS product may only be installed on the number of websites that the license you purchase allows and all those sites must be owned by you. Again, you are NOT allowed to install it on any websites that you do NOT own (i.e. your friends’ sites) and you may NOT share, distribute, or resell the plugin or theme.
Do I get support and software updates?
Yes, as long as you’re a GroupBuyingSite.com member, you’ll be able to download software updates and you’ll have access to forums, feedback pages, video tutorials, and documentation available to GBS members.
How is support provided and when is it available?
GBS members are provided access to instructional videos, documentation, and forums to address GBS related questions and offer instructional assistance for operating the default GBS software. Support is available to current GBS members Monday through Friday excluding U.S. holidays. All support requests are addressed in the forums according to priority and the order in which the support request was received. Top priority is given to the most urgent issues with less urgent support requests addressed thereafter. Response times vary with the number of open support issues submitted and the quality of information provided in the support request. Customization is not included with the purchase/membership. If you need a custom feature or custom design, you may contact developers with GBS experience to request a quote. While experience with GBS is recommended for custom development, developers that possess proficient skills in PHP, CSS, and WordPress shouldn’t have much difficulty applying custom CSS/code to the theme templates we provide.
How much does a GBS membership cost?
Membership pricing is based on the product license you choose. The costs cover unlimited access to future updates and unlimited support requests as long as you’re a member.
What happens if I cancel my membership to GBS?
You’ll lose access to all future product updates and support. To regain access to support and obtain updates for products, you’ll need to purchase the product again. Hence, it is in your best interest to not cancel your membership.
What forms of payment do you accept?
We use PayPal exclusively. But if you don’t have a PayPal account you can still pay using your credit or debit card through the PayPal payment system. After you click on the “Purchase” button to buy one of our products, you’ll be directed to PayPal where you’ll see a link titled “Don’t have a PayPal account?”. Simply click on the “continue” link and you’ll be able to pay with your credit card instead.
Can you customize a GBS product for me?
Custom development services (e.g. customization, hands-on assistance) aren’t included with the purchase of GBS products and must be purchased separately. If you need custom development services, contact a GBS-proficient developer to request a quote. Make sure to check the GBS Marketplace before submitting your request as a similar feature or theme might be available there already.
Can you install the Group Buying Theme or Group Buying Plugin for me?
Yes, whether you have an existing WordPress site or you need us to install WordPress too, we can complete the entire installation for you.
Is the GBS source code encrypted?
Absolutely not. After purchasing our Group Buying Theme or our Group Buying Plugin, you’ll have complete access to the code so that you can customize it to fit your needs.
What if I have additional questions about your products?
Contact us and we’ll reply as soon as possible.
What payment gateways does GBS support?
We’ve integrated PayPal, Authorize.net, Authorize.net CIM, EasyPay, Paymentexpress, NMI, Beanstream, eWay Direct Payments, Stripe Payments, PayFast, Moneris, BluePay, SagePay, PagSeguro, Borgun.is, Argofire, and Payment Sense. PayPal, Authorize.net (not CIM) and NMI are included in the software. The other payment gateway options mentioned are available as add-ons in the GBS Marketplace along with this offline payment add-on. If you want to add another payment gateway, you can contact a GBS-proficient developer to do it for you at an additional cost. Integrating a new payment gateway requires a considerable amount of effort and time to connect all GBS features (e.g. referral credits, maximum purchases, minimum purchases, etc.).
Can I run multiple deals at the same time and schedule deals to be published at a later time?
Yes, you can create and publish as many deals as you want. You can even schedule them in advance and they’ll end automatically.
Is the software localized and translated into other languages besides English?
Our software has been localized and we provide step by step video instructions for translating the GBS frontend and backend into any language.
Can I use your software for selling adult products or adult services?
No, websites with illegal, pornography, and/or sex related merchandising/services are strictly prohibited from using GBS and will not be provided support. We do our best to keep the GBS members area and other GBS services safe for everyone. Our position on illegal, pornography, and sex related merchandise/services is not unlike Twitter’s, Google’s, or Facebook’s.
Can I purchase the single site plan and upgrade to another plan later?
Yes, you can upgrade at any time just by paying the price difference for the software and obtaining a new membership. Contact us if you’d like to upgrade and we’ll send you instructions for doing so.
Can I use a non-GBS theme with the GBS plugin?
You’ll need a GBS theme as the GBS plugin has only been tested on the Twenty Ten theme, Twenty Eleven theme, our GBS themes. Thus we cannot guarantee that non-GBS themes used on your WordPress site will be compatible with our GBS plugin. The GBS themes also include many features not possible with the GBS plugin alone (e.g. countdown timer, subscription form, etc.). If you’d rather have your own design, we provide a template for which you can apply your own code based customizations to the GBS themes. This will allow you to update the software to a new version without losing your modifications.
Post Purchase Questions
Can I get a refund after making the purchase?
We are happy to consider a refund within the first 30 days of a purchase if the software fails to perform the basic functions as designed and the buyer has worked with our support team in an attempt to resolve the reported issue(s). The refund has to be contingent upon the buyer allowing us to assist them with their issues so they don’t give up on the product without first giving us the opportunity to provide support services. Since GBS is a downloadable product it cannot be returned and therefore our refund policy cannot be as flexible as we’d like it to be. Rest assured, however, we very rarely have someone ask us for a refund since our products are well designed and we frequently update them with new features.
I just purchased a GBS product but I don’t know how to download it. What should I do?
After purchasing the GBS product you were sent download instructions to your email address. Follow those to download the product you purchased. You can also download the product by logging into your account and clicking on the product’s download button.
Why can’t I access the support forum or get updates anymore?
You most likely didn’t purchase a GBS product from us, or you canceled your membership subscription. In either case you must purchase the product from us in order to gain/regain access to support and any future updates to the product.
Affiliate Questions
Is there a Group Buying Site affiliate program?
Yes, please take some time to review the GBS affiliate program and join us to start earning commission today!
Legal Questions
Can I share the GBS plugin or theme with other people?
No. You are NOT allowed to distribute the GBS plugin or theme; the license extends to you and you alone.
Does GBS have partner sites that resell or distribute its products?
The only other authorized seller of GBS is CrowdFundingSite.net. All other websites that are selling or offering copies of our products for free are unauthorized to do so and are therefore susceptible to legal prosecution. If you see this occurring, please report it to us immediately. Absolutely nobody is licensed to resell or distribute our products. Furthermore, downloading free copies of our products from other sites is quite dangerous. Have you ever asked yourself why someone would want to break the law to offer free copies of products they don’t own? Most likely they’ve introduced some malicious code into the product so that when you download it, it infects your computer with a virus in an attempt to gain access to your bank account. Once you’ve uploaded the infected product, they’ll be able to gain access to your website too. See this and other articles for more information about malware.