Northern Brewer Shipping

I used to use Northern Brewer quite a bit, until a recent order I made. It was for bulk grains, a few AG kits, a few extract kits, and some odds and ends. Their shipping quote was insanely high. I always liked their kits a lot, and the variety. Why pay full rate shipping when you can order from another vendor that offers el-cheapo flate rate? Are they trying to move away from the mail order/online game?

ackbrew said:

I used to use Northern Brewer quite a bit, until a recent order I made. It was for bulk grains, a few AG kits, a few extract kits, and some odds and ends. I always liked their kits a lot, and the variety. Are they trying to move away from the mail order/online game?

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What did you find wrong with the whole process this last time you ordered?

They recently said that there flat rate system was only on a few items and it was making order more complex so they got rid of their flat rate system but apparently they lowered prices to accommodate for the increase in shipping. I personally never got the cheap flat rate because my orders always weigh a lot or have many different items in them. It only cost me 20$ for shipping last time and it included a keg, a fermentor, an extract kit, and a few odds and ends so I personally do not feel that their shipping is that excessive.

I've checked several places over the past couple days, and although their prices beat my LHBS going and coming, the LHBS wins once we figure shipping. That's with Northern, Midwest, Austin... The big names, anyway.

ETA: The point being that shipping is high everywhere.

I have checked on my last three orders and if you are over $60 MoreBeer seems the cheapest for ingredients.

Once you figure shipping in most are pretty similar. Some have lower cost but higher shipping, some higher cost, but lower shipping. Shop around. Look to see which of the big names are closest to you, that might make a difference. Also look to see if there are some smaller stores with a web store in your state, alot of times they will have the best prices, and cheap shipping.

Austin Homebrew supply is 6.99 under $100 or 4.99 over 100. Love them

Add up the price of each item you want to purchase and add shipping. Do this for several suppliers. I'll bet there isn't much difference. Shipping is expensive and somebody has to pay. Check your LHBS for the same things. Cheaper? Maybe a little but storefronts aren't free either and that has to be factored into the price too. Did you also factor in the fuel and maintenance on your vehicle. Somebody has to pay that too.

RM-MN said:

Add up the price of each item you want to purchase and add shipping. Do this for several suppliers. I'll bet there isn't much difference. Shipping is expensive and somebody has to pay.

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I have done exactly this on my last several orders. You're right; not much more than a few $ difference between the ones I have compared: (NB, Midwest, Austin, MoreBeer, & BrewMasters). In the end I still order from either NB or Midwest...I get the order quicker.

I sometimes want to order from downstate and always get hung up on shipping. Seems like it should be cheaper.

Then I think about not just the cost of my gas to drive 1.5 hours each way, but the time spent doing it. The shipping doesn't sound that bad after all.

I still prefer to hit the 'local' shop when I'm down that way anyway, but honestly, shipping isn't too bad for someone who doesn't have a very local option to choose from.

I added up everything from NB and Austin including shipping and Austin was 13 dollars cheaper.

Thanks to the OP for this thread and for reminding me to check and re-check terms & prices.

You saved me 10$ today!

RJ

I placed a large order with NB this morning, and shipping was going to be about $17. Out of curiosity, I decided to see what would happen if I added a 55 lb bag of Maris Otter. The delivery cost increased by all of 5 bucks. Five dollars to have a full sack of grain brought to my door? Yes, please.

Yeah, the shipping now is pretty screwy...

I got a $20 gift card not long ago and I can't even get 2 bags of caps shipped for under $20!

Sure, it could work out in someone's favor for large orders, but the ones who want to order just an item or two can't get away without paying $13+ shipping, no matter the size or weight of the item.

I've backed out of placing several small orders with them because I can't get anything shipped for less than $13!!

h4mmy86 said:

Yeah, the shipping now is pretty screwy...

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Definitely true. After adding the full bag of malt, I deleted a bottle of Star-San from my cart, and the shipping shot up by more than the Star-San itself -- from $22 to $35! I'd rather spend the cash on sanitizer than shipping, so I reverted.

I tend to place large orders every few months, and the new scheme seems to work out pretty well for that. But it seems wrong that you can't get a couple bags of caps shipped for under $20 (more a comment on shipping costs in general than a comment on NB).

My orders from Austin have all been ~$20 cheaper on similar orders vs NB. I really liked NB.

Graintoglasshomebrew is insanely cheap shipping.

NB vs AHS - NB is much faster to process and ship an order. Last time I ordered yeast from them, the pack was maybe 10 days old which is amazing. AHS was 5 days to process an order. NB was one.

Label Peelers has reasonable shipping to me mostly due to proximity. Brewbrothers is okay, about a buck a pound on average for a 10-12 lb order.

I buy two kits a month plus odds and ends. I started out with NB when they had the flate rate. I gave Austin a shot but the cost of the kits was a little more depending on what your buying. So in that respect it evened out to maybe a cople of dollers cheaper. Right now im using Morebeer and couldnt be happer. There kits are on par if not better than the rest. There extract is the best ive used bar none. Cali to NYC free shipping.

To follow up my last post,

I called NB today thinking to myself "Surely if I tell them that the online shopping cart is calculating shipping to be $13 for 2 bags of bottle caps, they'll agree that's a little bit much and work out something a bit more reasonable for me."

Wrong... The person I spoke with cut me off mid-sentence and insisted that was the most reasonable shipping rate they could offer for my area (nevermind he didn't take any of my information and had no clue where I was calling from)

I could easily ship them a manilla envelope with paid return shipping for less than what they're asking!

...oh well, no use in beating a dead horse I suppose.

I was going to place an order last week with Northern Brewer for some grains, hops, and yeast for a recipe I wanted to do, but when shipping was nearly half the price of the items in the cart, I checked out other places. Austin Homebrew came in a few dollars less on the items and shipping was only 6.99 so I jumped to them. Both places seem to have very fresh ingredients and good prices on their items, but Northern Brewer wanted something like $12.99 for ground shipping for a $31 order where Austin Homebrew came in at $34 shipped for the same exact items. I like NB and all the videos and things they do with their website, and maybe the changes they made are going to pop up among other places like them, but for now anyway I will go somewhere that shipping isn't nearly 1/2 again the cost of the order.

MoreBeer gets the nod on this order, good call. Free over $59 on most orders. As for the bottle caps from NB: Think about how many caps you can jam into a USPS flat rate box... food for thought

288 Bottle Caps from Northern Brewer:

Subtotal $14.00
Shipping & Handling (Ship Method - Shipping Information - UPS Ground ( 5 business days )) $13.45

I agree ordering from NB now would really only work out for larger orders, I think primarily because the only shipping service offered is through UPS.

Another thing I take into consideration when ordering online is whether or not I'm getting charged tax. I pay about 10% sales tax at my LHBS, and that tends to make paying for shipping less of a problem, since I don't pay sales tax for most online stores.

I ordered 3 AG kits, 40 or 50lbs of 2 row, and a sack of some specialty from Austin and my order totalled $203 shipped. I just found the invoice and took a quick look at the total. I recently went to buy two extract kits from northern brewer, and my total was ~$180. C'mon man!

There seems to be a lot of negativity against Northern Brewer lately. I can't say that I have personally had any problems with them, but I typically get stuff from them about 3 times a year and some of that is direct from their Milwaukee store, not shipped. I'll have to keep my eye on this and see how it goes. I've always believed you can make a statement with how and where you spend your money and this will be no exception.

I have recently switched to all grain and with shipping prices what they are I have found that for grain and hops my LHBS is not only competitive but cheaper than most online places

I wish I had a LHBS... Nearest one to me is about 2.5 hour drive

...and it's still not very good.

NB used to be my go to online store due to decent pricing and where I live the items would arrive in 2 or 3 days. My last few orders have been from Austin Homebrew. Most orders are 10-15$ cheaper, most of what is the difference in shipping. Austin takes a little longer to get to me but all it does is force me to plan ahead better.