bulk buy whoas

[Yuri_Rage]

Man some of you are getting ripped on this stuff.

I'm not getting ripped off if I buy from the cheapest source I can access. My LHBS is pretty much defunct (they stopped carrying grain and their selection of everything else stinks). So, online is my only choice.

 

[Jesse17]

I just bought 4 cases of bottles from you. I already had them in my cart on another site, but then realized what the shipping would be. So I ordered them from you at $1 more per case. This was a steel since I saved $30 on shipping. While I was at it, I bought everything I could think of needing in the near future because I wanted it all to be bundled in the same $6.99 shipping. This is stuff that I had planned on not buying until later. I suggest you do everything you can to keep the flat shipping. I don't know how you do it, but WE ALL love it.

I don't have a LHBS but like everything eles, I try to support my local stores. However, when it cost me $160 a roll for electrical wire at my local ACE and I need 4 rolls, which I can get for $106 each at Home Depot. I will drive the 300 miles round trip to Home Depot every time. Then when I need $50 worth of connectors, and accessories for it, I buy them at my local ACE.

 

[iamjonsharp]

Do the majority of people buy their grains in bulk? If I was a LHBS and a small minority of people came to me and said I can buy it cheaper, I'd just tell them that's fine go shop where you can get it cheaper. If they represented a huge portion of the customer base, then it may be worthwhile to look into. I'd think a good portion of homebrew shop's customers aren't buying bulk grain, they are buying kits or enough grain for a couple recipes.

 

[Beerthoven]

Do the majority of people buy their grains in bulk? If I was a LHBS and a small minority of people came to me and said I can buy it cheaper, I'd just tell them that's fine go shop where you can get it cheaper. If they represented a huge portion of the customer base, then it may be worthwhile to look into. I'd think a good portion of homebrew shop's customers aren't buying bulk grain, they are buying kits or enough grain for a couple recipes.

I see your point, but if I were an LHBS owner I would organize the bulk buys for my heavy brewing customers. I'd set a minimum buy-in of one or two 55# bags. That would keep the rinky-dink out while also making the big brewers happy.

The LHBS business seems very tight, from what I have read in this thread. So building good will among a core set of customers might be more important than protecting profit margins on some grain sales. And as you point out, most customers aren't going to buy bulk grain, so the profit hit would likely be small.

 

[iamjonsharp]

I see your point, but if I were an LHBS owner I would organize the bulk buys for my heavy brewing customers. I'd set a minimum buy-in of one or two 55# bags. That would keep the rinky-dink out while also making the big brewers happy.

The LHBS business seems very tight, from what I have read in this thread. So building good will among a core set of customers might be more important than protecting profit margins on some grain sales.

I don't see how you could make a profit this way. A group could make a bulk buy without the LHBS. The only way the homebrew store could make money if they charge on top of the cost of distributor, which would cost more than the group buying straight from the distributor.

I don't think it is a reasonable expectation that a homebrew store has to go out of its way to cater to people who buy in bulk. Would I buy in bulk from a distributor who can get it to me cheaper? Yes. Do I expect a LHBS to match the price, or even be able to match the price? No.

 

[Beerthoven]

I don't see how you could make a profit this way. A group could make a bulk buy without the LHBS. The only way the homebrew store could make money if they charge on top of the cost of distributor, which would cost more than the group buying straight from the distributor.

I don't think it is a reasonable expectation that a homebrew store has to go out of its way to cater to people who buy in bulk. Would I buy in bulk from a distributor who can get it to me cheaper? Yes. Do I expect a LHBS to match the price, or even be able to match the price? No.

I hear you. I think most LHBS owners feel the same way you do since they seem pretty opposed to facilitating bulk buys, because they fear the lost profit from those grain sales.

If I were an LHBS owner, I would want to move as much grain and other supplies as possible through my store. Brewers who buy bulk base grains also buy a lot other stuff, like specialty grains, hops, yeast, equipment, books, etc. As an LHBS owner, I would want these heavy users to come to my store first. So, I would be willing to give up the profits on a some of my base grain sales to build good will among this core set of customers.

Good will and customer service can go a long way to building a successful business. If facilitating bulk grain buys for heavy consumers of other brewing goods would help build a good reputation for my store, then I think I would do it.

 

[iamjonsharp]

I hear you. I think most LHBS owners feel the same way you do since they seem pretty opposed to facilitating bulk buys, because they fear the lost profit from those grain sales.

If I were an LHBS owner, I would want to move as much grain and other supplies as possible through my store. Brewers who buy bulk base grains also buy a lot other stuff, like specialty grains, hops, yeast, equipment, books, etc. As an LHBS owner, I would want these heavy users to come to my store first. So, I would be willing to give up the profits on a some of my base grain sales to build good will among this core set of customers.

Good will and customer service can go a long way to building a successful business. If facilitating bulk grain buys for heavy consumers of other brewing goods would help build a good reputation for my store, then I think I would do it.

I agree that customer service is very important. If an owner told me that he simply couldn't make a profit by offering bulk grains cheaper than than the distributors, it wouldn't stop me from buying specialty grains, hops, yeast, equipment, books, etc from him. I would still be buying all the things from the store that do make the store a profit. Just because you don't provide bulk grain at cost, doesn't mean you can't provide excellent customer service that will keep your customers coming back.

Looking at this poll, https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=641&highlight=grain+extract+poll, the percentage of people here doing all grain only is about 30%. What percentage of that 30% buys their grain from a distributor rather than a homebrew store, or even keeps 100's of pounds of grains sitting around their house? I wouldn't think the percentage of the homebrewers doing this is that much (granted I am one of those homebrewers).

 

[Chriso]

I will drive the 300 miles round trip to Home Depot every time. Then when I need $50 worth of connectors, and accessories for it, I buy them at my local ACE.

Perhaps you mentioned somewhere else, but where in the bojangles are you from?? 150 miles to a Home Depot? Heck, Nebraska's football team might as well start dressing orange instead of red, we have so many of the dang stores.

 

[Brewpastor]

Right Tex,
I couldn't agree more. How dare these people express a differing opinion. A lynching is to good for them. Too bad we can't burn people at the stake. Maybe we should ban anyone that offers an opinion that differs from the main stream.

Why don't you write a sticky letting us lesser mortals know how we should properly express ourselves.

Is that meant for me? And if so is it meant as a joke or a slap? I want to be clear before I make a response.

 

[Yuri_Rage]

Why are there so many posts speculating on the means by which Homebrew Supply Stores make their profits? And why are folks arguing about it? As a consumer, I don't care. I just buy from the place that offers the best price on the goods I want or need.

There is much ado about nothing here.

Chill.