response from grainfather management

[BrunDog]

...Next time you get seated in a lousy spot in a restaurant - follow your own advice and just sit there. Don't ask for a better spot, you have no right to expect it. Contracts is contracts, you're not special, etc. Or, ask politely, it never hurts to ask. If you don't like me posting the answer I got, too bad.

True it doesn't hurt to ask. But in your case, you didn't like the answer so you came into a forum to gripe about the manufacturer, when they did nothing wrong. Like you noted, you executed a contract. So live with its terms now. Besides, you're probably wasting more money writing about it than dollars you would bill if you did something productive with your time.

 

[mattd2]

...I will not purchase directly from grain father again. Lesson learned.

Considering you have already bought the Grainfather - what else were you actually going to buy direct from them anyway?

...However, I'm a little surprised that Grainfather is insinuating that you will get support for their product if you buy it from them direct, but you will not receive manufacturer support if you buy from various reputable online dealers. We're not talking about buying from an unknown Ebay seller...these are homebrew shops masses of people use to get exposure to some of the latest and greatest homebrew equipment.

Is this how anyone else reads it, that you don't get Grainfather support if you buy from other online stores (such as morebeer, homebrewsupply, etc)?

I'll go back and read it again...

No - they are saying that you will be supported by the company that you bought it off. Buy from morebeer and you have a problem, you contact morebeer.

...I don't think it is unreasonable to ask a manufacturer what it can do for you, when you face this situation. You can, and should, always ask what can you do for me? It's the normal business thing to do...

Nothing unreasonable in asking if they will refund you, it is unreasonable for you to expect them to do something.

 

[treacheroustexan]

FWIW, I bought my grainfather from morebeer and still receive awesome support from grainfather.

 

[RevKev]

Well looks like terms of fair market trade haven't been negotiated across the market for Grainfather and probably won't be, natural of the beast. Take it with a grain of salt and buy from an authorized retailer who sells at the best price as you'll always have support and customer service from two entities.

 

[madscientist451]

I am not way off base and you don't know much about business.

If you bought a new car and a few days or a week later a dealer was offering the same car for 10% less, would you contact the manufacturer asking for a rebate? Maybe you would, but I'd say you'd be better off brewing up another batch in your new Grainfather system and then relaxing and having a homebrew.

 

[wishingiwasfishing]

The people selling them new on ebay are distributors... How do you think they obtain them in bulk and sell them for so little? just my 2 cents but perhaps if they all charged more they could become as big as the distributors you mention But I for one would rather buy it with less of a markup.. I havent needed any "support" for how to use a kettle or plate chiller so im good saving a considerable amount of money instead. ebay and paypal both have purchase protection in case I ever do have a problem.

Hi auggiedoggy!


When I asked sparger the questions it was to clarify what he had done. I knew that he bought directly from the manufacturer, but I wanted answers to a few other questions rather than making assumptions and giving a response based upon assumptions. Over the years I've found it works best for me to get clarity before writing a response.

I do not have anything against Ebay sellers, I can understand how you may think I do from the way I wrote my response, to sparger. The reason I separated larger online retailers from Ebay retailers because of my experience with manufacturers in general. I've found that it is not uncommon that manufacturers offer no support from a sale on Ebay and some other smaller online shops. On the other side, my experience with some manufacturers is that many times they do offer their support if a product is purchased from larger brick & mortar stores.

The reason for me even questioning the manufacturers support of the product was not because sparger was talking about price matching from an online retailer...but because of the wording in the response from Grainfather themselves.

When referencing support, I was thinking more in lines of defects with the materials, or in intended operation...not how to questions. One may assume that a manufacturer would certainly cover any product defects in the materials...but it cannot always be taken for granted that the manufacturer will cover defects if you purchase from an "unauthorized seller".

Paypal certainly does offer protection and I purchase with them quite a bit. I've also been caught up in a Paypal snafu before. It was incredibly difficult, and lengthy, to get out of the situation. If after many phone calls, if I hadn't (finally) been in contact with that one Paypal support worker who took the time to actually listen to what my problem actually was (instead of their error code and operating procedures telling them what the problem is written up as)...if I hadn't gotten that person...it would have even more difficult to remedy the situation. During this time, I was unable to purchase anything online that used the Paypal engine...this included every seller that even uses Paypal on the back side of their online checkout. It became surprising to me how many checkout carts still use some portion of Paypals services while not giving the customer any idea that it's a Paypal transaction.

No - they are saying that you will be supported by the company that you bought it off. Buy from morebeer and you have a problem, you contact morebeer.

That's how I read it too. While I can agree with them that if you bought it from a distributer, you should start you services with them. If it's an issue with quality, operational defect, etc...and the retailer you bought it from isn't taking care of the problem for you...I would certainly hope the manufacturer would step in and take over your service and make things right. From their wording, it sounds as if it is you an the retailer...if so, that is a shame.

FWIW, I bought my grainfather from morebeer and still receive awesome support from grainfather.

That is awesome to hear...and how I hoped Grainfather would stand behind their product. I was a little surprised to see their wording, and that concerned me more than the pricing issue.

On the pricing issue, that's just the way it goes. I believe responsibility falls on the consumer. A person cannot like it...but that's how it goes. If anyone really wants a possibility to get some of the years best pricing...I'd recommend waiting until the post Thanksgiving sales...but you're still not assured any confidence in pricing then either.



Either way...enjoy your Grainfather!

 

[Photopilot]

Guess you never heard of Apple. They have maximum control over their distributors. That Iphone is always the same price everywhere. Only place I've seen the price go down is Costco - they are the only one who've been able to negotiate to sell at a lower price (that I've seen).

You should have bought the I-grainfather.

 

[augiedoggy]

Guess you never heard of Apple. They have maximum control over their distributors. That Iphone is always the same price everywhere. Only place I've seen the price go down is Costco - they are the only one who've been able to negotiate to sell at a lower price (that I've seen). FYI - those manufacturer rebates you see on many products is also being driven by the normal process. Manufacturers sometimes let retailers drop the price by a specified amount. Costco even posts them and charges you on the undiscounted price.

Its ironic you chose this analogy... Do you do a lot of shopping on your iphone? do you know that the prices that come up at a lot of retailers are often higher when viewed from apple or android devices?
http://lifehacker.com/5973689/how-w...your-information-and-what-you-can-do-about-it
http://www.cbs46.com/story/27923981/cbs-investigates-online-shopping-disparities
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/do-companies-charge-online-shoppers-different-prices/

and of course the system apple uses to sell the iphone... Its actually not a very good system for distributors and they make very small profits compared to other sales.http://www.macworld.com/article/2024257/how-apple-sets-its-prices.html