Introduction

• Pages: 1-6

A Primer on the Law of Joint Purchasing

I. Introduction

Joint purchasing is a growing phenomenon.

Businesses are joining together in a variety of

purchasing arrangements—from traditional

buying cooperatives to business-to-business

(B2B) Internet ventures—to reduce overhead

costs and achieve lower purchase prices. The

antitrust laws are most often applied to activi-

ties involving sellers, but they also apply to buy-

ers. While agreements between buyers are

generally treated more leniently than agree-

ments between sellers, antitrust issues can be

presented by various features of a buying group,

including the group’sstructure (Is this an effi-

ciency-enhancing, pro-competitive joint venture

or a “naked” buyer price-fixing cartel?), mem-

bership policies (Are businesses that need ac-

cess in order to compete barred from

membership unfairly?), purchase volumes (Is

this group so large that it effectively controls

market prices for purchased goods and ser-

vices?), cost of collectively purchased items

(Does the cost of collectively purchased inputs

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