NB - still working?

[Broothru]

When MoreBeer had their California presence they were about 4 hours from me. When I'd order from them I'd usually get my order within 2, sometimes 3 days tops, and I once had an order delivered to my front door less than 24 hours from placing it. I have a current order with them at their new location that I placed two weeks ago.....still waiting. I'm willing to cut them some slack since they've recently set up in the new location, plus it is the holiday season and delays are inevitable. But if this 2+ weeks becomes the norm I'll be looking elsewhere.

Agree. My recent fiasco with UPS and 2nd Day Air guaranteed delivery that took 5 days on the first go-around and 4 days on the reorder of yeast. Must be the holidays. They are usually on top, but dropped the ball twice in one week. With MoreBeer, it could be that + growing pains at the new facility.

 

[mac_1103]

me wants beer

 

[SkyPilot]

I do like MoreBeer and have ordered much from them in the past 30 years or so. I ordered my first brew kettle from them (still have it), and I really liked when they opened the Pittsburgh facility a few years back. Less than 80 miles from my front door, with UPS and FedEx transshipment facilities less than an hour away. It was almost as fast as ordering from Amazon while living next door to a fulfillment warehouse.

Even though I grew up in K.C. and am happy to see MoreBeer open a facility there, I hate loosing their warehouse so close to where I’ve lived on the East Coast for 35 years. Hope they finally start selling all the different grains (Weyermann) that have been “out of stock” for so long.

Interesting. When I ordered from Morebeer, as late as this spring, the typical schedule was. order in the morning and shipped that same day. When shipped from the Pittsburgh warehouse I received my order in Hershey Pa the next day. From California it took about 4 days total. Since the closure of Pittsburgh when I window shop they are out of many things and those in stock show a delivery time of 14+ days. Considering that there are major UPS and FedEx facilities near them in KC and here in Harrisburg I have to conclude most of the delay is internal.
When I order from Bobby in NJ in the morning I usually get same day processing and next day delivery unless they are backed up in the shop in which case it’s an extra day.

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

When I order from ...

... and when I order from RiteBrew, Farmhouse Brewing Supply, Home Brew Ohio, Williams Brewing, or Yakima Valley Hops they

• fulfill the order on the the same day (when I place the order the previous evening)
• the package is picked up by the carrier the same day, and
• the carrier delivers within the defined window.

Most of those suppliers are HomeBrewTalk sponsors.

Order for 1 sack of grain placed Saturday evening, 7-Dec.
Filled Monday morning before 1100 CST, UPS acknowledged possession of package at 1456.
Received UPS Ground at 1200 on 11-Dec. Three (3) business days.
I am satisfied with that timing.

Note: Order filled out of SC, I am in IL.

Hopefully, the 1st of many anecdotal experiences that the new NB will fulfill on the same day and their carrier(s) will deliver within the defined window.

At the moment, the regional stores that I use seem to have a pricing advantage over both MoreBeer and NB. And some of the west coast stores (Williams, F.H. Steinbart) currently have items that I can't find elsewhere.

 

[simbabrew]

Good point to support HomeBrewTalk sponsors. I do not believe NB or Morebeer do.

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

I do not believe NB or Morebeer do.

Given the "over the top" ranting about NB (over the duration of it's previous two owners), why would the new owner be a sponsor?

I like competition for my home brew supply dollars.

So I remain cautiously optimistic with regard to the new owners of NB. It looks like they can fulfill / ship what they have in stock in a timely manner.

As for their "out of stock" items, there are other stores until NB gets those items back in stock.

After that, competitive pricing makes them a supplier worth considering.

---

Commenting about recent slow fulfillment and/or recent slow deliver seems reasonable.

OTOH, there's that "44Arrows" post:

Joined in 2015, one "just curious" post in 2021, and 'crickets' since then?​

​

​

 

[Bobby_M]

Interesting. When I ordered from Morebeer, as late as this spring, the typical schedule was. order in the morning and shipped that same day. When shipped from the Pittsburgh warehouse I received my order in Hershey Pa the next day. From California it took about 4 days total. Since the closure of Pittsburgh when I window shop they are out of many things and those in stock show a delivery time of 14+ days. Considering that there are major UPS and FedEx facilities near them in KC and here in Harrisburg I have to conclude most of the delay is internal.
When I order from Bobby in NJ in the morning I usually get same day processing and next day delivery unless they are backed up in the shop in which case it’s an extra day.

Morebeer's warehouse in KS is in pretty bad shape process/staffwise. You're not going to get low/midlevel staff to move from PA to KS so they have to fully staff and train, and that takes time. I never had a call to customer service go unanswered in the last 5 years until the other day and I've had a few tickets just fly into the void lately as well.

 

[BongoYodeler]

Agreed Bobby, MB is a mess right now. I have a current order in with them and, if it’s delivered tomorrow, it’ll be 16 days since the day I placed the order. They sat on the order for 8 days before USPS took possession of it. Another 8 days for USPS to get it to me (if it does indeed get delivered tomorrow).

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

You're not going to get low/midlevel staff to move from PA to KS so they have to fully staff and train, and that takes time.

Or from MN to SC.

---

Anecdotal: My MoreBeer order on Oct 11 (fulfilled in KS while they were moving the CA store) arrived on time. IIRC, it was one day fulfillment and two days shipping.

My plan is to give them (MoreBeer) about six months (starting in Sept) to get "up to speed" in KS. Then I'll take a look at pricing for commodity items.

In between I am willing to order products unique to them and give them the benefit of the doubt on fulfillment and shipping times for the next couple of months.

I would do the same with the new NB ownership if they had unique products or prices better than MoreBeer.

 

[MaxStout]

In the past I always had good experiences with Morebeer, but haven't ordered from them in a few years. I might sit back and wait until I hear of them getting the bugs worked out. Sort of like when a restaurant gets new management and staff--I'll wait before going there.

In the meantime, there are plenty of other options.

 

[mashdar]

Morebeer's warehouse in KS is in pretty bad shape process/staffwise.

I needed some stuff from them in November. The order took ~10 days to ship.

I wont pass judgement after one order. Hopefully they get everything sorted.

 

[Bobby_M]

I'm also speaking from one of their wholesale accounts rather than an end user but the end result is kind of the same. Long delays getting shipments out, bad inventory counts, shipping the wrong items and slow response to customer service inquiries.

 

[Broothru]

Or from MN to SC.

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Anecdotal: My MoreBeer order on Oct 11 (fulfilled in KS while they were moving the CA store) arrived on time. IIRC, it was one day fulfillment and two days shipping.

My plan is to give them (MoreBeer) about six months (starting in Sept) to get "up to speed" in KS. Then I'll take a look at pricing for commodity items.

In between I am willing to order products unique to them and give them the benefit of the doubt on fulfillment and shipping times for the next couple of months.

I would do the same with the new NB ownership if they had unique products or prices better than MoreBeer.

Agree. In the meantime I’ll support my LHBS as much as I can, and turn to Bobby M for the things they can’t readily supply.

 

[Yesfan]

Agreed Bobby, MB is a mess right now. I have a current order in with them and, if it’s delivered tomorrow, it’ll be 16 days since the day I placed the order. They sat on the order for 8 days before USPS took possession of it. Another 8 days for USPS to get it to me (if it does indeed get delivered tomorrow).

Did you receive your order? I placed mine on the 5th. After I emailed them, they created a ticket on the 9th and I emailed them back earlier today for an update as I hadn't heard back from them other than they created a ticket.

Looks like you're going on 16 days since you ordered so was curious. I ordered some small parts (Duotight items), so hoping mine arrives sometime this week.

 

[BongoYodeler]

Did you receive your order? I placed mine on the 5th. After I emailed them, they created a ticket on the 9th and I emailed them back earlier today for an update as I hadn't heard back from them other than they created a ticket.

Looks like you're going on 16 days since you ordered so was curious. I ordered some small parts (Duotight items), so hoping mine arrives sometime this week.

My tracking number shows “out for delivery” so it should arrive today.

 

[BongoYodeler]

Did you receive your order? I placed mine on the 5th. After I emailed them, they created a ticket on the 9th and I emailed them back earlier today for an update as I hadn't heard back from them other than they created a ticket.

Looks like you're going on 16 days since you ordered so was curious. I ordered some small parts (Duotight items), so hoping mine arrives sometime this week.

My tracking number shows “out for delivery” so it should arrive today.

Arrived at 4pm today, 16 days after I placed the order.

 

[Kirkwooder]

I just placed an order yesterday, 12/16. I'll keep this updated.

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

I just placed an order yesterday, 12/16. I'll keep this updated.

Weather: Dense fog advisory in that part of SC this morning.

Season: "last minute" on-line buying (increased shipping volumes) may also be a consideration.

Note that these considerations apply to all online purchases.

 

[Kirkwooder]

I just placed an order yesterday, 12/16. I'll keep this updated.

Just got an email saying that my order has shipped.

 

[Yesfan]

Arrived at 4pm today, 16 days after I placed the order.

Got mine earlier today. 12 days for me.

Last post from me about More Beer in this thread. Sorry for the off topic gang.

 

[Kirkwooder]

Just got an email saying that my order has shipped.

UPS just dropped off my order, complete, as ordered. Well done NB! 3 days.

 

[Yesfan]

I see Northern is now selling the Fermonster, but they're about $14 more than the other vendors....smh......

 

[PCABrewing]

For anybody who is interested.
I received an order Saturday (3 days) that was damaged.
I raised a support issue on Sunday, today I received new replacements (3 days).
They seem to be doing OK.

 

[mashdar]

For anybody who is interested.
I received an order Saturday (3 days) that was damaged.
I raised a support issue on Sunday, today I received new replacements (3 days).
They seem to be doing OK.

I'd call that downright promising.

 

[Snuffy]

Had $10 worth of Rewards at AHS (NBs little step brother) and decided to order a kit and use it up. Of course, all the European Clones are "Sold Out", so I put a White Shield together from scratch. It arrived in 5 days just fine but with a note scrawled on the Pick Ticket "IYA09 will ship later". O...k. How soon is later? It's not a huge deal cause I'm not brewing this immediately, but now I'm in foot tap mode watching the mailbox. I guess I should have just used the Notty I keep on-hand, but I wanted to try Imperial Pub. I wonder if the liquid yeast gods have heard me rooting for dry and now I get the finger...

 

[Ramjet]

I ordered something 2 days before Christmas and received it within a week

 

[Maylar]

I've used Northern Brewer for years and have always been happy with their service. A recent experience however leaves me with a bitter taste in my mouth. Let me explain -

I ordered the famous Portuguese floor corker from them. Price and shipping were acceptable. Delivery was prompt. Packing was well done. So what's there to complain about? SPAM.

I made the mistake of leaving an item in my shopping cart. I started getting daily emails from them saying, "Your cart looks lonely". Daily. Their unsubscribe link doesn't work. I emailed them and a guy named Chris replied that he had removed me from their marketing email list. Nope. Still got emails. I notified him again and got another reply, saying the same thing. Ten minutes later I got another sales email...
Next I followed a Google link to NB for a yeast that I wanted specs on. Next day I get a marketing email asking if I was interested in buying it. I didn't log in, so they're obviously tracking me via cookies.

OK. Good bye. My email client lets me block a domain and I did so. I'm never going back there.

It's really too bad. My purchase experiences with them have always been top notch. They need to get their act together.

[Edited by Moderator for language]

 

[Rish]

[Edited by Moderator for language]

Was it something related to "floor corker"?

 

[MaxStout]

Does NB have a wish list option that you can move items into, instead of the cart? If so, that might stop the constant nagging.

 

[mashdar]

I didn't log in, so they're obviously tracking me via cookies.

FWIW I use firefox for general browsing, and it's set to nuke itself from orbit every time it closes. (I use other browsers for banking/email/work stuff.)