Edit 1/31/15 - buy cycle is closed, but this thread is discussing other alternatives and buy options. Check the latest posts for info.
Edit 11/15: September buy complete. We're in process of organizing December pickup.
First 42 unique sacks of grain get on the pallet. After that the splits will be open.
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OK Folks - Buy is open starting 11/1.
I've finally got off my butt and set up a website to try and organize the buy (vs. using the googledoc spreadsheet. Please bear with me - if it works, we'll continue to use it. If not, i'll get the orders moved back to Google doc form.
For those of you who are new - the majority of the rules were inherited from the folks who did Buy #1 and #2.
Finally - everyone who wants in should click on the google doc link after the overview section. I'll add you to the website and give access to the pricelists per HBT rules.
Overview:
1. Group buy 9 will be rolling - goal is to close and distribute a buy every 1-2 months (or as soon as a pallet fills). Target is to close the first Buy in early October.
2. Operating costs - delivery, pickup location costs/shelving, odds and ends is 0.14/lb ($7/50#). This is much simpler than trying to guess monthly costs and then refund after. See below for details on why this is needed and what we'll do if the value goes over.
3. Paypal/checkout fees are $3.00 + 0.30 for the order. That cost is built in, so you'll get a discount If you're doing check/money order. Since we're using an invite only website this time, ONLY CHOOSE GROUP BUY PAYMENT OPTION. BOGUS GATEWAY (OBVIOUSLY) WON'T WORK.
3a. Chemicals, additives, etc. are taxable. Grains/hops are not. You should see this reflected in the "shopping cart."
4. Small items (hops, non bulk items) tend to be out of stock at Brewcraft, so I'll put them up if I have them on hand (Brewcraft's stock management is horrific). If you *need* yeast let me know, and I'll try to order some.
5. I'll post updates with peoples orders and the splits on a daily basis so people know what is open.
6. SPLITS - Anything marked "bulk" should have an option for the appropriate split (1/4, 1/10, etc. as appropriate). If you want more, put in a higher quantity (e.g. qty 2 for a 1/2 split.
7. There's no good way to do tips on this site, so they're not included. If you want to give a tip to defray the volunteer's grain costs, we'd be happy to take it during pick-up!
The rest of the content below is from the regular group buy rules.
IMPORTANT - PLEASE READ AND UNDERSTAND THE FOLLOWING:
Please fill out THIS GOOGLE FORM to get access to the buy. You must be a HBT member in good standing to take part in the buy.
**If you've already participated, just put in your HBT Username, email address, and any info that may have changed from the last buy. Otherwise fill out all input **
~First & Last Name
~HBT Username
~Contact Number
~Address
~payment method - check/money order or Paypal
- Confirm Paypal® address is the same as email using or give your Paypal® Address.
If I do not receive this information you will not gain access to the buy.
(All of the above information will be kept private. I will only contact you by phone if something may be out of stock and I need to get a hold of you quickly. I will also use your city info to post to a list so everyone can see where people are located. This can be used to carpool or have someone close to you pick up your grain. You will have to make arrangements with that person. Again I will not share info except the city. Let me know if you do not want that to be shared.)
Here's the deal:
1. We need to fill at least one pallet which is about 42 sacks. If we go over we need to get as close to 84 sacks to make the shipping reasonable throughout the second pallet.
2. Buyers will have to come pick up their bags at the drop off location (Pittsburgh, PA 15203). I will include the exact address when I send invoices. If you can't make the group buy day we can work out an alternative date.
3. Payments will be accepted through PayPal® or bank/cashiers check/money order (PayPal preferred) only because it is the easiest way to collect money from this many people. PayPal fee is approx. 4% extra.
4. Shipping is approximately $0.14/lb in 10lb increments ($7.00 per 50# sack) and will be calculated for you.
5. Taxes must be collected on chemicals and additives - everything else is a food item and tax free.
6. Since we're running this through a website, all previous (unfilled) items aren't being carried over. Everything going forward will be rolling.
7. You can keep a track on completed orders by viewing the googledoc spreadsheet provided when you sign up.
When I get your info I'll send the price list and grain list, and send an invite to the group buy page.
We're using a website to try and simplify the buy - easiest way is to search for items. If there is anything in the catalog that is not in the full bag or split bag that you would like please email me for info.
PAYMENTS:
Payments will be collected as each pallet is closed (e.g. we have secured 42 sacks). For now any "payment at time of order" options have been disabled on the website (wanted to avoid taking payments until orders were ready) If you have issues with paying via PayPal® contact me. If you do not make payment within 1 week from the time invoices are sent with actual pricing, you risk forfeiting your right to buy your grain on this buy. If you can't make your payment within 1 week, please contact me. Do this out of courtesy for the group.
Operating Costs:
Group buys have a few overhead items - monthly fee for storage unit where we get and store the grain (has a lift gate and people to receive/monitor orders), pallet shipping charges, gas overages (usually 25-30% of shipping fees), chemical hazard fees, last minute price changes, and people reneging on orders at the last minute. 8 Pallets/year is the break even mark (short orders come out of my pocket).
Operating costs are calculated as "shipping cost" for the order. This is *MUCH* simpler than any other method we've tried in Group Buy's #3 - #8. If there is surplus at the end of the year, it can be refunded, donated to the Brew House association (where we have pickup gatherings), or rolled over to decrease the operating costs for next year - your choice.
PROCESS
1. Buy will be officially open on 9/1, but feel free to send emails earlier
2. I will submit order for finalized pricing
3. Invoices will be sent as soon as the buy closes
4. After all payments are received order will be placed
5. Will give everyone an ETA.
6. Pick up your grains and we all say cheers! (literally - there's lots of good homebrews at pickup)
~Pickup address will be provided on invoices
~You, as the buyer, are responsible for picking up your grain or for making arrangements for someone else to pick it up for you.
Bring your invoice to the pick up location to help ease the process.
FOR SPLIT SACKS:
Work out the details with your partners. Bring something to put your share in, weigh it out on site, and take your portion. Or, one of you picks up the whole sack and deal with the splitting on your own time. Thats your decision to make with you splitting partners.
~For reference a 5 gallon bucket holds a 25# of most grains.
DONATIONS:The people who work these grain buys do a lot of back end work to make these buys go as smoothly as possible. If you would like to show your appreciation please feel free to bring a donation on pickup day.
FINAL THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND:
- Some people have issues with google docs if they don't have a google account. If that's the case you may need to create one.
- Only update the first tab in the spreadsheet. If you put your order on the other tabs, it will be lost.
- Grain is heavy. If you're planning on picking up grain for people, check the cargo capacity of your vehicle. Most passenger cars are 800# or less.
Edit 11/15: September buy complete. We're in process of organizing December pickup.
First 42 unique sacks of grain get on the pallet. After that the splits will be open.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
OK Folks - Buy is open starting 11/1.
I've finally got off my butt and set up a website to try and organize the buy (vs. using the googledoc spreadsheet. Please bear with me - if it works, we'll continue to use it. If not, i'll get the orders moved back to Google doc form.
For those of you who are new - the majority of the rules were inherited from the folks who did Buy #1 and #2.
Finally - everyone who wants in should click on the google doc link after the overview section. I'll add you to the website and give access to the pricelists per HBT rules.
Overview:
1. Group buy 9 will be rolling - goal is to close and distribute a buy every 1-2 months (or as soon as a pallet fills). Target is to close the first Buy in early October.
2. Operating costs - delivery, pickup location costs/shelving, odds and ends is 0.14/lb ($7/50#). This is much simpler than trying to guess monthly costs and then refund after. See below for details on why this is needed and what we'll do if the value goes over.
3. Paypal/checkout fees are $3.00 + 0.30 for the order. That cost is built in, so you'll get a discount If you're doing check/money order. Since we're using an invite only website this time, ONLY CHOOSE GROUP BUY PAYMENT OPTION. BOGUS GATEWAY (OBVIOUSLY) WON'T WORK.
3a. Chemicals, additives, etc. are taxable. Grains/hops are not. You should see this reflected in the "shopping cart."
4. Small items (hops, non bulk items) tend to be out of stock at Brewcraft, so I'll put them up if I have them on hand (Brewcraft's stock management is horrific). If you *need* yeast let me know, and I'll try to order some.
5. I'll post updates with peoples orders and the splits on a daily basis so people know what is open.
6. SPLITS - Anything marked "bulk" should have an option for the appropriate split (1/4, 1/10, etc. as appropriate). If you want more, put in a higher quantity (e.g. qty 2 for a 1/2 split.
7. There's no good way to do tips on this site, so they're not included. If you want to give a tip to defray the volunteer's grain costs, we'd be happy to take it during pick-up!
The rest of the content below is from the regular group buy rules.
IMPORTANT - PLEASE READ AND UNDERSTAND THE FOLLOWING:
Please fill out THIS GOOGLE FORM to get access to the buy. You must be a HBT member in good standing to take part in the buy.
**If you've already participated, just put in your HBT Username, email address, and any info that may have changed from the last buy. Otherwise fill out all input **
~First & Last Name
~HBT Username
~Contact Number
~Address
~payment method - check/money order or Paypal
- Confirm Paypal® address is the same as email using or give your Paypal® Address.
If I do not receive this information you will not gain access to the buy.
(All of the above information will be kept private. I will only contact you by phone if something may be out of stock and I need to get a hold of you quickly. I will also use your city info to post to a list so everyone can see where people are located. This can be used to carpool or have someone close to you pick up your grain. You will have to make arrangements with that person. Again I will not share info except the city. Let me know if you do not want that to be shared.)
Here's the deal:
1. We need to fill at least one pallet which is about 42 sacks. If we go over we need to get as close to 84 sacks to make the shipping reasonable throughout the second pallet.
2. Buyers will have to come pick up their bags at the drop off location (Pittsburgh, PA 15203). I will include the exact address when I send invoices. If you can't make the group buy day we can work out an alternative date.
3. Payments will be accepted through PayPal® or bank/cashiers check/money order (PayPal preferred) only because it is the easiest way to collect money from this many people. PayPal fee is approx. 4% extra.
4. Shipping is approximately $0.14/lb in 10lb increments ($7.00 per 50# sack) and will be calculated for you.
5. Taxes must be collected on chemicals and additives - everything else is a food item and tax free.
6. Since we're running this through a website, all previous (unfilled) items aren't being carried over. Everything going forward will be rolling.
7. You can keep a track on completed orders by viewing the googledoc spreadsheet provided when you sign up.
When I get your info I'll send the price list and grain list, and send an invite to the group buy page.
We're using a website to try and simplify the buy - easiest way is to search for items. If there is anything in the catalog that is not in the full bag or split bag that you would like please email me for info.
PAYMENTS:
Payments will be collected as each pallet is closed (e.g. we have secured 42 sacks). For now any "payment at time of order" options have been disabled on the website (wanted to avoid taking payments until orders were ready) If you have issues with paying via PayPal® contact me. If you do not make payment within 1 week from the time invoices are sent with actual pricing, you risk forfeiting your right to buy your grain on this buy. If you can't make your payment within 1 week, please contact me. Do this out of courtesy for the group.
Operating Costs:
Group buys have a few overhead items - monthly fee for storage unit where we get and store the grain (has a lift gate and people to receive/monitor orders), pallet shipping charges, gas overages (usually 25-30% of shipping fees), chemical hazard fees, last minute price changes, and people reneging on orders at the last minute. 8 Pallets/year is the break even mark (short orders come out of my pocket).
Operating costs are calculated as "shipping cost" for the order. This is *MUCH* simpler than any other method we've tried in Group Buy's #3 - #8. If there is surplus at the end of the year, it can be refunded, donated to the Brew House association (where we have pickup gatherings), or rolled over to decrease the operating costs for next year - your choice.
PROCESS
1. Buy will be officially open on 9/1, but feel free to send emails earlier
2. I will submit order for finalized pricing
3. Invoices will be sent as soon as the buy closes
4. After all payments are received order will be placed
5. Will give everyone an ETA.
6. Pick up your grains and we all say cheers! (literally - there's lots of good homebrews at pickup)
~Pickup address will be provided on invoices
~You, as the buyer, are responsible for picking up your grain or for making arrangements for someone else to pick it up for you.
Bring your invoice to the pick up location to help ease the process.
FOR SPLIT SACKS:
Work out the details with your partners. Bring something to put your share in, weigh it out on site, and take your portion. Or, one of you picks up the whole sack and deal with the splitting on your own time. Thats your decision to make with you splitting partners.
~For reference a 5 gallon bucket holds a 25# of most grains.
DONATIONS:The people who work these grain buys do a lot of back end work to make these buys go as smoothly as possible. If you would like to show your appreciation please feel free to bring a donation on pickup day.
FINAL THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND:
- Some people have issues with google docs if they don't have a google account. If that's the case you may need to create one.
- Only update the first tab in the spreadsheet. If you put your order on the other tabs, it will be lost.
- Grain is heavy. If you're planning on picking up grain for people, check the cargo capacity of your vehicle. Most passenger cars are 800# or less.
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