Buying group rebate

Definition

Money a co-operative pays back after the fact, earned on the volume its members buy together.

Why It Matters

A meaningful share of a supply house's profit does not come from the customer. It arrives months later from the group, and it depends on volume tiers, on program participation, and on the house still being a member in good standing. That makes it the most fragile line in the earnings a seller quotes: a change of ownership can reset a tier, and the group decides whether the membership transfers at all. Ask for two years of rebate statements, the tier each was earned on, and the group's own transfer rule.