Found some hops at a nice price online

[BlindLemonLars]

And are you happy with today's results?

Internet shopping is usually far more successful and accurate than over the phone. Humans constantly make mistakes, computers seldom do. In this case, a human failed to keep track of his inventory.

 

[BlindLemonLars]

I don't think anyone handed their money out up front (I didn't order any so I can't say for sure)...it seems to me like this guy didn't fill the orders or charge the cards of the people who he sent emails to.

I don't understand your point, unless you think that he filled the entire orders at $3/oz and charged the cards like that...which quite obviously didn't happen.

I paid with PayPal, so I was charged in advance. To his credit, my requested refund was promptly posted to my account.

I don't think he's a scammer, just a spectacularly bad businessman who doesn't know how to properly setup or maintain a commerce website. Too bad, he's irritated the wrong crowd.

 

[ohiobrewtus]

I don't think anyone handed their money out up front (I didn't order any so I can't say for sure)...it seems to me like this guy didn't fill the orders or charge the cards of the people who he sent emails to.

I don't understand your point, unless you think that he filled the entire orders at $3/oz and charged the cards like that...which quite obviously didn't happen.

So the buyers' failure to call first cost them nothing but dashed hopes.

Not true. This ********* charged my card already and I got the email. I have tried calling multiple times today and always get an answering machine. I did call yesterday before I ordered and I talked to the same dud as the poster below who said that he didn't have anything to do with online orders.

I just sent this dude a nasty email telling him that if he's going to sell online and enforce purchase limitations that he needs to update his freaking website. I told him to either fill my order as I made it or cancel it and reverse my charge immediately.

I have no interest in 5 oz of hops at $3/oz. I can get them cheaper than that from places that I know will actually fill my orders.

Isn't there a 'crappy vendor' thread around here somewhere that we can add this guy to soon? If there isn't one then there should be. I don't see this ending well.

 

[Raffie]

Not true. This ********* charged my card already and I got the email. I have tried calling multiple times today and always get an answering machine. I did call yesterday before I ordered and i talked to the same dud as the poster below whoe said that he didn't have anything to do with online orders.

I just sent this dude a nasty email telling him that if he's goinig to sell online and ennforce purchase limitations that he needs to update his freaking website. I told him to either fill my order as I made it or cancel it and reverse my charge immediately.

I have no interest in 5 oz of hops at $3/oz. I can get them cheaper than that from placecs that I know will actually fill my orders.

Isn't there a 'crappy vendor' thread around here somewhere that we cann add this guy to soon? If there isn't one then there should be. I don't see this ending well.

File a dispute with your credit card to get the cash back and keep the hops.

 

[nealf]

I sent an email requesting for him to cancel my order; he has tried in 3 emails to keep me from canceling my order. If the shipping wasn't $20 I might at least consider buying something.

edit: He just canceled the order

 

[ohiobrewtus]

I just received this response from them:

I certainly do appreciate your input. It is not always the easiest thing
keeping the website synchronized with the HOP industry. But, I do agree it
has somewhat caused me a maintenance night mare. I have many orders and I am
usually able to come up with something satisfactory. Of course, it is always
nice to bump into someone like yourself to do business with. I will do my
best to help you with your order. I am sure you know how tough the hop
business is now given your experience in the Homebrew world. We have
actually modified our website to state what is available and what is not
available in regards to and as related to the HOP Shortage. Unfortunately, I
think you are one of the customers that may have either missed the
information or possibly placed your order prior to our updating the site
with the most accurrate and current information. I am certainly not looking
for a bad review anywhere. I don't think you will find one for us either. We
truly do our best to please everyone. We can't always please everyone but we
certainly try and we are not always successful. I hope you understand.
Here is what I can provide you at this time in Pellets.
Crystal - 5oz
Centennial - 5oz
Saaz - 5oz
Liberty - 3oz
Millenium - 2oz
Willamette - 5oz
Gelina -3oz
Cascade -5oz
Phoenix -2oz
Fuggel Domestic - 5oz
Kent Golding -5oz
Challenger - 2oz
Bramling - 3oz
I will give them to you for $2.50 per oz.
If this is acceptable please let me know.
Thanks!
I really appreciate your input and welcome your feedback!
Best regards,
Tom

Certainly not what I wanted, but at least he admitted that it was his mistake and that the website has now been updated stating that orders may not be able to be filled.

I told him to cancel my order and reverse the cc charge. if he does so quickly, I'll have no issue with this place.

 

[Raffie]

I just received this response from them:



Certainly not what I wanted, but at least he admitted that it was his mistake and that the website has now been updated stating that orders may not be able to be filled.

I told him to cancel my order and reverse the cc charge. if he does so quickly, I'll have no issue with this place.

HAHAHAHHAHA $2.50 /oz.. just like everyone else on the planet.....

 

[mr x]

Internet shopping is usually far more successful and accurate than over the phone. Humans constantly make mistakes, computers seldom do. In this case, a human failed to keep track of his inventory.

I'm not debating methods, and I stated earlier I don't call every person I deal with over the internet, and I order art and jewelery from around the globe. I'm just saying when something doesn't look right, be diligent.

 

[Evan!]

Not true. This ********* charged my card already and I got the email. I have tried calling multiple times today and always get an answering machine. I did call yesterday before I ordered and I talked to the same dud as the poster below who said that he didn't have anything to do with online orders.

I just sent this dude a nasty email telling him that if he's going to sell online and enforce purchase limitations that he needs to update his freaking website. I told him to either fill my order as I made it or cancel it and reverse my charge immediately.

I have no interest in 5 oz of hops at $3/oz. I can get them cheaper than that from places that I know will actually fill my orders.

Isn't there a 'crappy vendor' thread around here somewhere that we can add this guy to soon? If there isn't one then there should be. I don't see this ending well.

That's a different story then. Guess what, Mister Douchie, you just lost a dickload of potential business. What a dumb bastard.

 

[ohiobrewtus]

That's a different story then. Guess what, Mister Douchie, you just lost a dickload of potential business. What a dumb bastard.

I would have been willing to pay a bit more for the quantities that I ordered, as I understand that the pinch the hop shortage has put suppliers in... but 2 oz of this, 3 oz of that - no thanks, pal.

 

[Evan!]

I would have been willing to pay a bit more for the quantities that I ordered, as I understand that the pinch the hop shortage has put suppliers in... but 2 oz of this, 3 oz of that - no thanks, pal.

yeah, that's trash...ugh. Sorry dude.

 

[homebrewer_99]

I just got a refund notice from Tom and PayPal.

He apologized and said they are in the process of updating the website.

 

[Raffie]

Damn, think posting this thread was a bad thing for most people, also should have ordered WAY more hops while their guard was down.

I am hitting the web hard to find another site like this one to buy more hops.
I know there is one out there, just gotta hammer hard to get it.

 

[Desert_Sky]

Just got my email. Oh well, no harm no foul

But I bet that guy is really wishing he had kept an updated website. I wonder how much $$$ he has had to refund today

 

[Bobby_M]

I think it's pretty tough for generally small LHBS to do the right thing in this fast paced interwebs world. You have people telling the guy that he's crazy for not having a website and selling mail order to open up his customer base, but then he really can't hire someone to run that leg of the business because it's so cost prohibitive and competitive. I'm not trying to bail him out by any means, but I'm saying that there are probably 100 shops online that really aren't capable of supporting that business.

 

[homebrewer_99]

So true, Bobby, so true...

 

[enderwig]

Well, he is trying to make up for it, I just got another e-mail offering a 10% discount on another order....

 

[homebrewer_99]

Well, he is trying to make up for it, I just got another e-mail offering a 10% discount on another order....

Well, he didn't offer me anything, but he sent another email saying he was grateful I didn't beat him up like a lot of other people are doing.

 

[beerthirty]

I got my refund earlier and replyed if he wanted to give me pound pricing for the 5 oz portions to let me know. Maybe he will go for it but I doubt it.

 

[BlindLemonLars]

Based on what others have said, and upon the lengthy, detailed emails I've recieved, this guy certainly cares about his business! Still, I don't think he realizes yet just how screwed up his website is, and he's rather defensive. While he's made changes and added disclaimers, I can still go on and order a pound of hops for $2 less than three ounces of hops! As long as his site is this buggy, he's going to have problems.

He also defended the $20 shipping charges, saying they are calculated by UPS. However, when I enter the appropriate zipcodes into the UPS calculator (figuring a generous 4lb total weight to ship 3lb of hops) I get $13.00.

I'm not going to beat him up any further, he's clearly got enough to deal with. Still, I can't imagine every ordering anything from him with any confidence that I'd actually receive it.

 

[beerthirty]

his website is fixed at least for me. It only offers ounces now. Anybody ask him how old they are? I got a 10 percent discount but that still doubles the price I had ordered at. I think his $20 dollar shipping might be a flat rate, because I originally ordered 5 lbs and was charged $20 also.

 

[Brew2u]

Hello Everyone,

I have read all of the comments and I stand guilty as charged for the problems and excitement generated from "http://www.makewinebeer.com" aka "http://www.hamiltonhomebrew.com" with good reason.

We have been in business for several years now and have been providing homebrew supplies without a hitch until this mishap. Please be assured that no one has ever gotten beaten or taken for an online transaction with us. We run an honest and secure online business.

The problem you experienced was actually something easy to fix but has unfortunately caused a false perception of how we do business which has resulted in leaving you with an unlpleasent "first impression/last impression" experience which I deeply regret.

Our website is mainly built for retail business. We also provide business to select customers who purchase from us at a bulk discounted rate which was obviously very attractive to many of you when you found the error. During a massive update to our database our retail site was updated by mistake using our bulk rate pricing options that are only provided and made available to designated accounts. These accounts are provided a different web address and require specific and unique access. The access was made available to everyone in error.

This was not done intentionally it was done by mistake. Both retail and wholsale portions of our site use the same DB format but operate differently in regards to pricing. This was purely an accident which was found and resolved quickly.

Shipping - It is true (fact) that our site uses UPS online integration engines to price out shipping from our location to the customer destination. In this case the pricing was a flat rate shipping charge baseed on pounds not ounces and that was also a problem related to bulk pricing that carried over. Also, additional charges may have been impossed based on the shipping method selected such as UPS Next day, UPS 3 Day or Ground as well as UPS Glass handling charges for bottles and carboys which is valid.

HOPS by the ounce - We believe our pricing for 1oz HOPS are in line with the competition online. $3.00 an ounce retail is not bad guys. I have extended a 10% discount to most everyone that complained and even some of you at $2.50. The lowest I went today (for those that could give me a comparison) was $2.25. If I forgot some of you (my apologies) it applies to all who have experienced a problem with my site. We are not as big as HomeBrew Heaven($3.50 per 1oz) or Austin Home Brew ($3.49 per 1oz) and their shipping costs by the ounce is actually slightly higher than us and they are reasonable too. I do take into consideration that it might not seem to be as attractive after the excitement of placing your orders at the bulk pricing in error. But, you really can't compare local home brew store retail cost with online business. They are two different animals.

I believe the majority of people that experienced a problem came from your forum and I wanted to come here to apologize to all of you personally.

Many of you were completely understanding in regards to the mishap that transpired. I truly want to thank each and every one of you for your patience, respect, cooperation and trust in me as a business professional while making every attempt to resolve the situation at hand.

Some of you were very angry and disapointed. It is completely understandable. After reviewing the orders from our website I noticed that this was your first order/experience with us. Had you been a return customer I am confident in saying that I seriously doubt that you would have the same impression that was left with you today. There would be no question in regards to our reputation and/or integrity and it may have been less alarming to you. I sincerely apologize for the problem that transpired and most of all for disapointing and/or inconveniencing you.

I will say, in my experience I have never been referred to as "a dumb M'FER", "a Deuche Bag", and certainly not "a poor business man" over an honest/admitted mistake. The best of the best make mistakes and we do not pretend to be perfect and make mistakes at times. I doubt that this will be the last. I can promise you that we will continue to make the neccessary adjustments needed to progress and/or improve in the future.

There were some comments about charges to cards. There were no charges to cards unless your order was confirmed and processed. The bank provides approval codes to us when you place your order and the card is not charged until we confirm the transaction can be satisfied. Your card is charged once we know we can fill the order. If you believe you have been charged in error, please contact me directly and I will research the problem immediately and guarantee a complete refund if due.

I think I covered mostly everything I wanted to communicate. I thank you for the opportunity to express myself on your forum and I apologize once again for the mishap that transpired earliar. If you should have any problems, questions or concerns please do not hesitate to contact me.

Respectfully, Sincerely,

Tom
http://www.makewinebeer.com

 

[olllllo]

Well now I have to apologize. I stopped following this thread as soon as the, "too good to be true", prices didn't pan out.

I would have shut this down before all of the ad-hominem attacks.

People need to learn how to make a point without name-calling.