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BrewRI

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Joined
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Location
Narragansett, RI
Walking out of my local, largely overpriced local liquor store I had the idea for a website. The site out develop a national standard for liquor prices in the US either on a national or state level (Most likely state due to different liquor laws). People could submit liquor stores in a wiki style and put what they bought and the price the bought it at. The website would then serve to give locations of liquor stores as well as the general markup price of their products (Their price compared to the standardized price). Kind of an off an unlikely idea to ever happen but what do you guys think?
 
well i can tell you that in Pennsylvania all liquor prices are the same, no matter where you go. The state owns our liquor distribution locations and regulates them. I must add that they are "fairly" priced. i wouldn't need a site like the one you ponder, not just because i live in PA, but a buck or two isnt that big of a deal to me, only because I dont buy a lot of liquor. for other people though, it may serve a great purpose.
 
well i can tell you that in Pennsylvania all liquor prices are the same, no matter where you go. The state owns our liquor distribution locations and regulates them. I must add that they are "fairly" priced. i wouldn't need a site like the one you ponder, not just because i live in PA, but a buck or two isnt that big of a deal to me, only because I dont buy a lot of liquor. for other people though, it may serve a great purpose.

Do they control hard alcohol and wine only or all types of liquor? I remember the state of NH owned the hard and wine selling rights but beer was available at a lot of gas stations. In RI I've had 5-6 dollar differences in packs of 30 and 20-30 difference for kegs.
 
When I moved from socal to Boston I couldn't believe how much more cheap beer was. I'm use to paying 50-60 cents a can for the cheap stuff, and here there is no point it's basically the same price as sam adams. The prices across regions can vary so drastically and I think its more to do with marketing and clase than cost of distributions.

That being said here in the boston area i've seen bottles of wine at one store for $10 be $18 at another, and when SWMBO is a wino....well, you learn quick to stock up at the cheap place.

Also - the main advantage for me besides the price, could be the selection. Like if I really wanted a certain microbrew, I could know where to find it.
 
Also - the main advantage for me besides the price, could be the selection. Like if I really wanted a certain microbrew, I could know where to find it.

Yeah, but for that to work, the site would need to be dialed in to inventory systems and the like. Some special releases run out super fast, and I'd think that it would be difficult to keep that sort of thing updated. Knowing the price of regular beer at a regular store is cool, but with seasonals, specials, and the like, it would be very cumbersome.
 
Do they control hard alcohol and wine only or all types of liquor? I remember the state of NH owned the hard and wine selling rights but beer was available at a lot of gas stations. In RI I've had 5-6 dollar differences in packs of 30 and 20-30 difference for kegs.

the state owns the liquor stores for wine and liquor. the state regulates beer distribution. it's set up as beer distributors only able to sell cases and 30 packs, kegs, smokes, co2, stuff like that.

you can buy 6 packs or 12 packs at bars and/or restaraunts with liqour licenses. you wont find beer, wine, or liquor at any gas station, walmart or target.

6 packs and 12 packs sold at bars are ridicuoulsy overpriced, but the cases are normal. as i mentioned earlier, the wine and liquor are fairly priced. i just drive to jersey though, it's less than 5 miles from my house.
 
I dont think it'll have to be dialed in. For a couple reason, limited supplied beers would create more buzz on the site, and be more accurate than the average product.

Also - liquor stores usually order from the same brands, so if you could find a store that had your brand it's a good chance it would have the seasonal of that brand, and once you've gone that far pickup the phone and call to confirm.
 
well i can tell you that in Pennsylvania all liquor prices are the same, no matter where you go. The state owns our liquor distribution locations and regulates them. I must add that they are "fairly" priced.

If you can call a 24%(18% 1936 Johnstown flood tax + 6% sales tax) markup with absolutely no savings passed to the buyer from the bulk discount the PLCB gets as one of the largest purchasers of liquor in the world a fair price... :cross:
 
Just as a general question how many of you have a noticeable difference in price depending on the store and how many of you have relatively even prices throughout the state?
 
Since you asked I'd say regular idea.
I know what store has the best selection
and what store has the best prices where I live.
And I'd guess that most others have their favorite
stores as well. Think about it , if you're decide you
want to purchase some beer are you really going to look at web site
to find the best local deal ? I guess it might be of some use if your're
seeking out something hard to find,or out of town,
but personally for me not so much.
 
Anything that puts more information in the hands of consumers is a good thing, so I like this idea.

In addition to the approach where people post what they bought and what they paid for it, it would be great to have a list of standardized products the prices of which can be tracked geographically so comparisons are valid.

So for example, choose perhaps 6 or 10 items that are pretty much universally available and see how the prices differ from region to region or within a region. For example, six-pack of Sam Adams Boston Lager, 26 oz of Jim Beam, etc etc etc.

I suggest you register www.boozepricetracker.com immediately :)
 
Walking out of my local, largely overpriced local liquor store I had the idea for a website. The site out develop a national standard for liquor prices in the US either on a national or state level (Most likely state due to different liquor laws). People could submit liquor stores in a wiki style and put what they bought and the price the bought it at. The website would then serve to give locations of liquor stores as well as the general markup price of their products (Their price compared to the standardized price). Kind of an off an unlikely idea to ever happen but what do you guys think?

Just as a general question how many of you have a noticeable difference in price depending on the store and how many of you have relatively even prices throughout the state?

Virginia ABCs are state run, so liquor prices are the same throughout the state. The price list is available online: http://www.abc.state.va.us/Pricelist/price.html
 
All the power to ya buddy, if it makes you happy. You asked for opinions though, and I personally do not see what this site would accomplish. Someone mentinoed gasbuddy.com - this allows people options as to where, in town, to buy their gas. I doubt people are willing to drive an extra 10 minutes to save a dollar on a six pack. just my 2 bits.
 
If you implement this as a web service that's a backend to an Android (or iPhone if Steve Jobs doesn't flag it as immoral) app then it moves closer to being a pretty damn good idea.
 
All the power to ya buddy, if it makes you happy. You asked for opinions though, and I personally do not see what this site would accomplish. Someone mentinoed gasbuddy.com - this allows people options as to where, in town, to buy their gas. I doubt people are willing to drive an extra 10 minutes to save a dollar on a six pack. just my 2 bits.

It's more about knowing where the best places are, so you can go there when you're on that side of town. And, finding out which places carry what brands if you're looking for something new.
 
If you can call a 24%(18% 1936 Johnstown flood tax + 6% sales tax) markup with absolutely no savings passed to the buyer from the bulk discount the PLCB gets as one of the largest purchasers of liquor in the world a fair price... :cross:

18% flood tax? thats a problem you have to take up with your local ordinance. that is not implemented by the PLCB. there prices are the same across the state of PA. Sales tax is also not implemented by the PLCB. You can't include that in the markup. I dont pay an 18% flood tax on my liquor in southeastern PA. Sounds like Johnstown city officials have been getting away with the flood tax for well over 100 years now. i think after 100 years, they finished paying off for the recovery. i thought only big govt took advantage of its citizens, but it appears your local government is doing the same. you could easily bring this up with your city officials. Wikipedia it and you will see the flood tax was implemented by Johnstown to help pay for the recovery of the great flood. my advice to you......distill your own or drive outside of town.

prices listed in PA

http://www.lcbapps.lcb.state.pa.us/webapp/Product_Management/psi_ProductDefault_inter.asp
 
18% flood tax? thats a problem you have to take up with your local ordinance. that is not implemented by the PLCB. there prices are the same across the state of PA. Sales tax is also not implemented by the PLCB. You can't include that in the markup. I dont pay an 18% flood tax on my liquor in southeastern PA.

Yes, you do. It's included in the "list price" of all liquor sold in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

http://www.wgal.com/money/4711497/detail.html
http://pittsburgh.about.com/b/2007/08/27/the.htm
http://www.johnstownfloodtax.com/
 
holy **** man. you're right. because it's a hidden tax i had no idea, it's not printed on my receipt anywhere. oh well. the wines i buy are never more than $15....and i spend no more than $60 a year on wine...so i'm not complaining. i stand corrected for sure.
 
All the power to ya buddy, if it makes you happy. You asked for opinions though, and I personally do not see what this site would accomplish. Someone mentinoed gasbuddy.com - this allows people options as to where, in town, to buy their gas. I doubt people are willing to drive an extra 10 minutes to save a dollar on a six pack. just my 2 bits.

But people already do for gas... and for the people i know, savings a couple bucks on a 12 pack goes a lot further than savings a few cents per gallon on gas
 
It's more about knowing where the best places are, so you can go there when you're on that side of town. And, finding out which places carry what brands if you're looking for something new.

Now you are talking. I did not get the price thing, but brands would be awesome. Although, I cannot see enough people using the system to make it worthwhile. Starting up would be so much work to have enough info to attract interest, it would be a full time job. AND - that would only accomplish getting the data for your own area. If you have time though.... I would use it if there was local info I could utilize. I am always on the search for where to buy some untried beers!
 
Now you are talking. I did not get the price thing, but brands would be awesome. Although, I cannot see enough people using the system to make it worthwhile. Starting up would be so much work to have enough info to attract interest, it would be a full time job. AND - that would only accomplish getting the data for your own area. If you have time though.... I would use it if there was local info I could utilize. I am always on the search for where to buy some untried beers!

It might not be that hard to contact the retailers and get a printout of their brands/prices. I'm sure they would do that if they thought it would promote sales. You just have to word it the right way to motivate them.

Like: "I'm looking for a retailer to set up a corporate account with, and I require a list of your products and their respective pricing".
 
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