MYS Buying Group is one of the oldest buying groups that many use to earn extra miles, points, and cash back. Resale through buyers groups can be a great way of earning a massive number of miles and points or consolidating spending for a welcome bonus. To learn more about, check out our overview of buying groups.
I’ve gotten a lot of interest in my experience with buyers groups from my own readers, a few miles and points groups I’m in, and because of a presentation I did at the Chicago Seminars. This post is the first in a series of posts that will profile the buyers groups that I have experience working with.
About MYS
MYS Buying Group has been around since 2018 and sources consumer electronics for resale. Year-round, MYS buys mostly Apple products, Amazon devices, and smartphones but will buy other items during sales such as Prime Day or Black Friday. Most activity with MYS happens around these sale events.
MYS has a warehouse in New Castle, Delaware is run (owned?) by Yosef Greenwald. The group is associated with SGM Socher, a wholesale distributor.
Problems with MYS: Payment times got out of control
In late 2023, I stopped buying for MYS. I had generally been satisfied with them, but payment times crept up to unacceptable delays. While the MYS website promised normal payment times within 7 days, at the end, payments were delayed by over two months. Here are the last three payments I requested and received from MYS.
- Payment requested: 10/26/23. Payment received 12/14/23. Days: 49
- Payment requested: 11/27/23. Payment received: 2/9/24. Days: 74
- Payment requested: 11/28/23. Payment received: 2/14/24. Days: 78
Others in private Facebook groups, on Reddit, and elsewhere were having similar issues getting paid by MYS.
MYS might be fixing payment times
MYS is clearly aware that payment times have gotten out of control. And the group may be taking action to clean up payment times. Here’s an email I received about this, in which the group now promises 20-day payment turnaround times. (Emphasis is mine.)
Dear Esteemed MYS Members,
With nearly 8 years of leadership in the buying group sector, our dedication to reliability and trust has remained steadfast. Your trust and confidence in us are paramount, and we are committed to prioritizing your interests and ensuring timely payments, fostering mutual success for all involved.
I was disappointed to learn of payment delays being experienced by some of our buyers. To those affected by these delays, please accept my sincerest apologies.(Some of you may have seen a recent article published on Facebook that sparked unnecessary stress and panic within our community. It is regrettable that the author of that article didn’t seek my perspective or verify facts before drawing conclusions.)
Immediate action has been taken to rectify the situation. Rest assured, all payments are up to date.
Additionally, I am pleased to announce the implementation of a robust system update to ensure that no buyer will face payment delays exceeding 20 business days in the future.
These measures underscore our ongoing commitment to refining our processes and earning your satisfaction and trust in our buying group. With these enhancements in place and our foundational dedication to honesty and mutual success, I am confident that we will continue to serve you with excellence and uphold our reputation for reliability.
Thank you for your understanding and steadfast support.
Warm regards,
Yosef Greenwald
Email received from MYS on May 6, 2024
CEO of MYS Buying Group
Am I willing to shift all of my buying group purchasing to MYS based on this email? Absolutely not. But I am running an experiment to see what current payment times are and will update this post when I am paid.
Working with MYS: What you need to know
Payment timeframes: Expectations vs reality
What MYS promises: When you submit a payment request with MYS, you’ll get a popup that states when you should expect payment in most cases within 6-12 business days following your payment request. In some cases, you might receive your payment within 12 to 20 business days. MYS promises on this screen that maximum processing durations are 30 days. (This contradicts the information in the email MYS sent out, promising no payments later than 20 days.)
Keep in mind that MYS’s definition of a business day may differ from yours. Many buyers groups are run by Orthodox Jews who strictly observe Jewish holidays. MYS likely considers both U.S. bank holidays and some Jewish holidays to be “non-business” days. Chabad.org has an article outlining the Jewish holidays in 2024 that states when work is permitted.
Reality of MYS payment timeframes: In the past, payment timeframes have stretched over two months long in my experience, before I stopped buying for MYS. I’ll update this post when I have more data on payments.
Bottom line
I feel like it’s fair to emphasize that MYS has always paid me what they owed me. But when those payments started showing up really, really late, I decided to bail on them rather than risk buying any more merchandise for them.
As of late 2023, I stopped working with MYS. Payment timeframes of more than two months were unacceptable. Currently, I’m running an experiment to see if the payment times have improved.
