Consumer United makes Stuff Magazine's Hot 100

Stuff Magazine highlighted Consumer United in its "Hot 100" list, adding that our group "helps shoppers band together to negotiate better deals on everything from utilities to health insurance."

ConsumerUnited.com was singled out in Stuff Magazine's "HOT BUY: Collective Buying" section, alongside start-up coupon sites like BuyWithMe.com and Groupon.com.

Consumer United is an online community that uses group buying power to negotiate better deals on basic services from top providers.

"The core of most people's expenses are their bills and it's very hard for people to find savings there. We use the size of this group to negotiate and to pool buying power. And it turns out that companies are excited to work with a large group of consumers and give them a better deal," says Justin Dangel, founder and CEO of Consumer United.

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Consumer United on pooling buying power

Chronicle interviews Consumer United founder, Justin Dangel, where he discusses the power of consumers banding together to negotiate better deals.

"The core of most people's expenses are their bills and it's very hard for people to find savings there," Dangel tells Chronicle. "We use the size of this group to negotiate and to pool buying power. And it turns out that companies are excited to work with a large group of consumers and give them a better deal."

Dangel, who says he's saved his members over $300,000 on insurance and utilities, says the economy's careening costs drive people like Missy Lioz to search for bargains.

"You go to the supermarket and you look at your utility bills and everything is going up and it's frightening. I get bargains on everything and it never occurred to me that you could negotiate on utilities," Lioz adds. "It feels like finally someone is doing something about what seems like an out-of-control system."