quote TomT: "What exactly is this? Basically a message board? "
No, not at all, but that's about what I thought at first too though.
I'd call it an order aggregating deal. Massdrop essentially approaches manufacturers, asks about quantity discounts at given quantities that would ship to only one location, the Massdrop warehouse in NJ. Typically there are two quantity/price thresholds - and you can tell them you're only committing at the lower price (higher quantity). Once a purchase number commitment is reached, they'll keep the drop open a couple days in case others want to buy at that price point, then they all ship to NJ where they're broken out and shipped by the Massdrop folks to individual buyers.