Akademik

n.

The purchase of a large quantity of a single item by aggregating individual buyers.

"Here's how the new world of communal purchasing works: You place an order for a Palm V, say, and give Accompany 72 hours to assemble a group of buyers. Accompany will bundle you with other Palm V seekers — 25, 100, 500 at a time — and negotiate a purchase in bulk, so you can share in the kinds of stepped discounts usually reserved for larger corporate buyers."

— Chip Bayers, "Why Buy Retail?," Wired