Questions about Group Buys

So I just want some info from anyone that has organized a group buy before; especially from North Country Malt group. I know it depends on how sacks of grain are bought but after shipping and everything else how much do you end up saving? How much grain do you need to buy to make it worth your wild? I could have it shipped to my dock at work would that make it any cheaper? Any info you could give would be great. I already contacted the sales group at North Country but I just wanted some first hand experiences.

Look in the Chicago Group - it's the top thread; luckily there is a warehouse just south of Chicago so one of the guys (the organizer) did the pickup. Cheapest grain was 2Row for $27 - I think it'd be worth your while if you can gather up enough interest.

-OCD

How much to make it worth it? It depends on how much you normally pay for grain. Use Maris Otter for a gauge. NCM has T&F Maris for about $37. Locally I'd pay about $65. From there, look at the pallet rate to figure out the per sack shipping rate. My pallet rate was $125. So, at 10 sacks, shipping per sack was $12.50. That's still only $50 per sack where locally it would be 65. I'd say 10 is the threshold.

Incidentally, I filled the pallet with 42 sacks and had to turn people away.

I was getting it from a brew pub for 28 a sack but the kid is just not getting back to me anymore. The cheapest I can get it from a store would be 50. I really don't want to pay more then 35 for a sack but I would pay the 37 if need be. How many sacks can fit on one pallet?

thedude123 said:

I was getting it from a brew pub for 28 a sack but the kid is just not getting back to me anymore. The cheapest I can get it from a store would be 50. I really don't want to pay more then 35 for a sack but I would pay the 37 if need be. How many sacks can fit on one pallet?

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I did a group order last fall. 40 bags - freight was $315 - around $8 per bag. Maris Otter/Pilsner/Munich/Vienna was around $40-$45 per bag. Two row around $30-$35. North Country was great to deal with - took a while to get the funds gathered up. Got shorted one bag - called them up the next day - they shipped the bag FedEx - no questions asked. I would do this again any time.

The freight wouldn't be bad for me because the warehouse is right in New York, so it should be a good deal.

If you get the Canadian 2row, I think it's only 30 a sack. Based on an assumed 100 freight fee, ten sacks will run $10 a piece for shipping. That still beats your $50.

You can get 42 sacks on a pallet. The more you get on the pallet, the cheaper shipping gets but the more money gathering and physical labor you can expect on delivery day.