Buy With Me

There's little that can't be accomplished when the many work together, like when dozens of scientists wrestled with the tiniest of particles during the Manhattan Project, or when 50 tiny people wrestled with the largest of elephants on that Fox show. Harnessing the power of many to offer insane local deals, Buy With Me.

Hatched in Boston in May, BWM's now brought their "group buying" operation to DC -- basically a system wherein vendors honor deep-discount offers only upon a legitimate show of interest from the masses, or at least you and a bunch of friends you've convinced are as close to unemployment as you are. How it works: each week, BWM will post and email 2-3 heavily slashed offers on gear, events, services, grub, etc, which only become valid if a minimum "trigger" number of users sign up w/ their credit card; if the trigger number isn't reached before the deal's activation window closes, the offer becomes null, you aren't charged a penny, and the vendor and his offer retreat shamefully into the netherworlds of the internet, like so many wacky house pet videos. Full details on upcoming deals are known by only the most senior Shaolin monks and level 14+ Scientologists, but in the coming week or so, expect to see up to half-off on scuba, biking, and tennis lessons, as well as exclusive restaurant and wine action; take advantage of as many as you want, though mixing wine and scuba might leave interested parties one short in meeting future trigger numbers.

Though quietly launched for friends and family last friday, Buy With Me goes live for realz today, with 70% savings on two, three-hour rock climbing lessons from Earth Trek Climbing, where you'll learn fundamental ascent and rappel techniques, and receive a crash course in harness and rope tying -- because what good is an entire tiny-person army if you can't attach them to the elephant?