Cheaper to buy kits

[Britinusa]

I was doing some research on prices today and to my surprise its cheaper to buy a 5 gallon kit than to buy the grains separately, ($8.00 cheaper) its also cheaper for me to buy the kit online and pay shipping than to go to my local HBS.
Total opposite of my expectations.
I guess if I was buying in bulk and crushing own it would be cheaper.

 

[ronjonacron]

Whats ite were you looking at? Ive found northern brewer is usually within a couple dollars in favor of the kit versus buying each ingredient. Plus you dont havet o buy a pound of something you only need .25 or .5 pound of

 

[Britinusa]

I was looking on northern brewer, i looked at a couple of other sites and they were more expensive.

 

[forstmeister]

I think part of it is that you usually have to buy grains in at least one pound increments, or pay a ton if they will sell by the ounce. Many if the NB kits have small amounts of specialty grains in them.

 

[thadius856]

Is there a question here?

Austin Homebrew has a very wide selection of great kits available behind their flat rate shipping program. If I were still doing kits, that's definitely where I'd buy mine.

 

[PleasantValleyHops]

I was doing some research on prices today and to my surprise its cheaper to buy a 5 gallon kit than to buy the grains separately, ($8.00 cheaper) its also cheaper for me to buy the kit online and pay shipping than to go to my local HBS.
Total opposite of my expectations.
I guess if I was buying in bulk and crushing own it would be cheaper.

I think this has more variables tho too. If u buy ur base malts in bulk then u can save loads of $$. Also if u harvest yeast then u save even more. I can normally brew my ipa recipes for aroun 14$ a batch. Buy in bulk and save. Normally all i have to do is pick up spec grain from the lhbs.!

 

[ljforster701]

That could be the case but I would rather support my lhbs. On another note I haven't brewed my first AG batch but as mentioned buying base malts in bulk saves money. What are some of the recommended base malts that would be good to have on hand?

 

[Britinusa]

Unfortunately my local HBS is more expensive than online, I need to shop around more and start buying in bulk.

 

[Herky21]

Unfortunately my local HBS is more expensive than online, I need to shop around more and start buying in bulk.

Sounds like your LHBS kind of sucks. It is always way cheaper for me to buy anything I've looked at online at my LHBS. I would want to give them business though, so I"d probably tell them that you think they have their stuff priced a little to high and that you could get the same products for cheaper. Tell them you'd rather get it from them, tell them the price you could get it for, and see if they want your business.

 

[BrutalBrew]

My LHBS is usually few dollars more than ordering online including shipping. At first I really didnt understand why. It would be cheaper to have stuff shipped to me? But My LHBS doesnt have the business that Northern Brewer / Midwest supply and other do.There are a family owned/ operated business and cater to the locals. I like to support them due to the family/local thing. But I do tend to order equipment online due to the amazing price differences. For the same price it was going to cost me for a bulkhead/SS ball valve/barb for my cooler. I ordered from Bargainfittings and got 2 sets , so I was able to equip my sparge cooler and a mesh tube as well for same price. Actually less. $80 from LHBS for 1 ball valve/bulkhead/mesh. $108 for 2x ball valves/2x bulkhead/2xbarbs/1 mesh/and silicone tubing.
At times you just cant afford to support your LHBS but l get my grains and such locally.

 

[ArcaneXor]

Small local homebrew stores provide a lot of value-added service that online stores cannot (samples, custom iterative recipe design, hands-on troubleshooting, hands-on demonstrations, being able to chew grains and smell hops), plus they don't have the advantage of economies of scale and often cannot order from some suppliers at all because of minimum purchase requirements.

Pre-made kits are often discounted because there is less on-demand labor involved in making them. The downside is that you don't know how long the kits have been sitting around with hops and crushed grains being stored at room temperature...

 

[Fizzycist]

At my LHBS ingredients are just about the same as online, and he does enough business that the turnover keeps stuff fresh. For gear, his stuff is a a bit more expensive than online, but with shipping most items even out and I don't have to wait for the mail. I only order stuff he doesn't have, or if I'm getting enough stuff at once that the shipping is free.

More importantly, he's a nice guy, knows his stuff, has his own homebrew in kegs to share samples, and likes to try my stuff and give advice. Way more satisfying than a trip to the internet.

Bottom line, if your LHBS won't change to improve, it sounds like you need to find a new one, even if it's further away.

 

[amandabab]

I was doing some research on prices today and to my surprise its cheaper to buy a 5 gallon kit than to buy the grains separately, ($8.00 cheaper) its also cheaper for me to buy the kit online and pay shipping than to go to my local HBS.
Total opposite of my expectations.
I guess if I was buying in bulk and crushing own it would be cheaper.

I find online cheaper.
kits vs bulk being the cheaper route depends on how you brew. if you look at a kit recipe and need to buy all of it. ingredients might be more than the kit.
buying ingredients for 2 kits is even worse because kits tend to add a little of everything so its cheaper to buy the kit.

most of my recipes are based around 3 base malts, 1 type of extract, and a few specialties so buying in bulk is always cheaper (for me). anything new only requires buying a couple extra things .

 

[Britinusa]

I guess you guys have more HBS choice than we do, my only one is about 1/2 hour away, its a small store the owner is very nice.
The next closest is an hour away, to be fair to them I have only shopped there once, they dont seem to have much in the way of equipment they mostly do grains and hops.
I guess I was wanting to see if anyone else is finding the same cost difference as I am.

 

[doby]

Morebeer has free shipping with orders over $60, There bulk grains are high because they don't qualify for the $60 shipping but you can order 10lb increments of grains and they do ship free, they have great kits also.

I like midwest kits but to be cost effective you have to order 3 or 4 at a time because of there shipping cost

 

[gunrock]

Surprisingly, kits and equipment at my LHBS are on par with online offerings...makes it a lot easier to support local AND he organizes group meetings every month for local brewers.

 

[ds762]

I've given lots of money to the LHBS's in my area over the years but their prices have gone from a little high to plumb F'ing stupid.

I'm done shopping the LHBS unless its an absolute must have! From now on I order damn near everything online from Midwest Supplies and its still cheaper after shipping than some other mail order places or the dreaded LHBS!