Why is that? I would expect things at my LHBS to be slightly more expensive than online. They have to pay for shipping as well, although I would hope they get better pricing than what we can get.
They raised the price of a 55-pound sack by about $30; I can find it (non-blended) online for $40 cheaper and still come out ahead with shipping. I'm pretty sure they didn't raise their by-the-pound price, so now I'd only save $15 by buying a full sack. That doesn't seem like a very good savings considering that an employee doesn't have to scoop out the grains by hand, weigh them, mill them and then seal them in a bag.
Selling one of the main ingredients they sell at the shop for cost doesn't sound sustainable in the least.
I'm fine with them making a reasonable profit, but when I can save money by paying Fedex almost $40 to ship a 55-pound sack of grain then something is wrong.
I don't think bulk grain sales are a large part of my local store's business, since I've never seen anyone but myself lugging one around in the dozens of times I've stopped in. I already buy my hops by the pound online, but reasonable bulk grain prices are what bring me to make the 20-mile drive to my local store and I usually pick up some yeast and other odds and ends while I'm there. If I can find better prices on sacks of grain online then I'll probably take advantage of the better online prices for yeast and hops and cut out my LHBS completely. And that would suck because they're nice people.
The next time I stop in I'll ask about the price increase. I'll also visit their competitor's store for the first time and see what their prices are like.
