Sales all the time!!!

[CBelli]

I must assume that the HBS community must be in a real financial slowdown. The amount of email offers I get daily is crazy

Every day I get dozens of emails with great special offers...
30% off storewide
20% off any single item
Free shipping

Then I get the ones that make me scratch my head...
buy 3 kits and get a free ferm bucket?
buy 3 boring beer kits for $14.92ea?
spent $150 and get something free that you already have?


Not all deals appeal to everyone or are really good...
I almost get the impression that these Large HBS feel compelled to send email blasts out 4-5 times a week for fear that you will forget they exist.


If I ever need anything, I'll just have to wait a week or so to either get a 20% off deal on hardware or 30% savings on hops.

I think these larger HBS have shot themselves in the foot with overdoing special offers.

Would anyone ever buy anything at full price?

 

[IslandLizard]

Yup, it's all about being/becoming/remaining top dog. And most things they have you can get at a better price elsewhere, everyday or with patience.

I'm rarely impressed either. But I did get 10% off during a 1 hour Flash Sale that opened up in the side bar a few days ago. I so happened to have a shopping list ready for some pound size hops.

I do check HomebrewFinds at least daily. 90% is the same stuff over and over again. But those other 10% make it worth looking, even if it was to stay current.

BTW, you can simply unsubscribe from those mass mailings.

 

[D-Train]

I'm not complaining. One of the bigger ones with a store presence in my area regularly sends 20% off one item emails, good for online or in store. I always use that email to go to the store and get my ingredients for my next brew. They won't automatically ring it up at the register, but if you ask them to then they will add the 20% off.

 

[mongoose33]

If I had a world-class system, perhaps those offers would appeal to me less. However, I'm still new at this and there are all sorts of things I want/need/lust after.

And it often makes sense to find a deal on something and then combine it with other items I need, in order to make shipping minimums OR because once I have shipping covered on the big item, it's "free" shipping on the other items I include.

 

[agrazela]

Email is a cheap way to advertise. And I hate being advertised to. But for beer, I make an exception.

 

[agrazela]

But I don't like ads that lie.

For example, "FREE FLAT RATE SHIPPING ON ALL ORDERS OVER $XX", then you go to the site and, no, in fact the things you want DON'T actually qualify.

That's not what the word "ALL" means.

 

[kh54s10]

Most of the ones that offer 30% off are usually 25% more expensive than other sites so you might be getting 5% off.......

Though I did get some of my Better Bottles on a 2 for one sale.... Occasionally other good buys pop up. But most are for things I don't need or don't want.

As said email is cheap advertising. If you don't want them = unsubscribe!!!

 

[m1k3]

I was happy to see the Northern Brewer add for 20% any single item... but the new ball lock keg I wanted was less expensive at Williams at full price... and the new Perlick faucet was less expensive from MoreBeer at their listed price so I just bought it from them.

Oh, and the 50# sack of gain cost more to ship than the sack of grain! Bought it at the local store.

 

[treacheroustexan]

Northern Brewer and midwest get me alll the time.

 

[dyqik]

Then I get the ones that make me scratch my head...
buy 3 kits and get a free ferm bucket?

Seems like a reasonable way to ship 3 kits - inside a bucket. Probably isn't really any more expensive to add a bucket than it is to box up the kits in a suitable shipping container (presumably you can use a weaker box for shipping kits in a bucket).

 

[atom]

it's the same with cigar vendors. i swear all i get is beer and cigar spam.

 

[MeanLowerLow]

I just got the 4 un-reconditioned ball lacks that I ordered last week for $99 on flash sale - 3 of them same under 40+psi right out of the box! I have to look into the fourth though - the lid looks a bit mangled but I think the root of the problem is the lid clamp.

Either way, I'm a fan of finding the brew deals!

 

[CBelli]

Seems like a reasonable way to ship 3 kits - inside a bucket. Probably isn't really any more expensive to add a bucket than it is to box up the kits in a suitable shipping container (presumably you can use a weaker box for shipping kits in a bucket).

But my point is, while it is no more expensive to ship it in the bucket is the customer really getting a deal? I think not.

 

[CBelli]

The point of my post is how we (the home brewing customer) don't buy anything at retail
price anymore because there are so many online sales all the time. The home brewing industry seems to be slowing up because these retailers are now fighting tooth & nail for our business....

 

[wi_brewer]

That's what I like about RiteBrew.com.

No gimmicks, no sales, just great everyday prices and excellent service.

 

[jojacques]

You lucky Americans
With the Canadian dollar being so low, there are barely any sales from our Canadian HBS... SOMETIMES you would see a 5% discount on certain items, but that's it....

Mix that with no free shipping, it's getting expensive to get quality items up north.

 

[Jim311]

So because companies want to sell you stuff the whole industry is on the decline? No way. They want to make money. They're playing a markdown game just like every other retailer. If they can knock 10% off and get hundreds or thousands of dollars in sales then it was worth the effort wasn't it? People like to at least THINK they're getting a deal and seeing a sale makes people want to buy, pure and simple.

 

[Baja_Brewer]

Most of the ones that offer 30% off are usually 25% more expensive than other sites so you might be getting 5% off.......

Or not even this. I saw one for a sale on faucets recently - when I clicked through, their "sale" prices were still 10-20% higher than the standard online vendor I go to.

Makes me wonder if they just hope that consumers will get caught up in the excitement of consuming that they won't use their heads and get a good price.

 

[stella_tigre]

I stopped in at a brew store where my mom lives (6 hour drive away,) thinking to buy a kegging system off of him, but he didn't really have anything in stock. He did say that after a boom a couple of years ago, it's slowed down a lot. It's kind of sad, I would buy local, but if they can't afford to have at least some inventory for instant gratification, I may as well order it myself. In fact, our closest brew store (still an hour's drive away) orders from the some of the same folks I do - and often doesn't have what I need if I stop by.

I order from Ritebrew a lot, and just put the keg system on order from Kegconnection.

 

[agrazela]

My favorite LHBS suddenly increased their prices about 15-20% across the board since the last time I stopped in just about 2 weeks before. They did just open a tap room, so maybe they need the cash to support that? And maybe they needed to open the tap room to compete with the other half-dozen tap rooms on that block alone?

Whatever the reason, higher prices + even less available parking now + now having to wade through an even bigger throng of hipsters = probably going to be buying a lot more online now.

Too bad, I really liked that place.

 

[broadbill]

On Friday I got a "10% off everything" blast from an online vendor, then Sunday I got the "Warning-10% off everything is almost over" blast from them. The offer ended at Sunday at midnight, and then this morning I have a third blast saying everything is 10% off again...WTF?

 

[grizzly2378]

That's what I like about RiteBrew.com.

No gimmicks, no sales, just great everyday prices and excellent service.

What he said. I just placed an order from Ritebrew this morning. Got the order confirmation email at 11:43 (right after I ordered). Got a shipping notification at 11:55. Took em all of 12 minutes to fill the order. Granted, it wasn't a complex order (three different unmilled grains in one grain bill, hops and yeast), but that's still pretty damn fast. And cheaper than any of the other big homebrew retailers I've seen.

 

[broadbill]

maybe you guys can help me see the appeal of RiteBrew. Grain prices are good, but similar to the other online shops sell for. The shipping is deal-breaker though...$20 bucks for FedEx ground to my neck of the woods. Is it just that you guys are closer?

 

[grizzly2378]

maybe you guys can help me see the appeal of RiteBrew. Grain prices are good, but similar to the other online shops sell for. The shipping is deal-breaker though...$20 bucks for FedEx ground to my neck of the woods. Is it just that you guys are closer?

I live in South Dakota, which is within the SpeeDee delivery area (it's like FedEx, but doesn't deliver nationwide). The majority of my orders get shipped SpeeDee for $10 or less (today's was $7.57, I believe). Maybe up to $15 bucks if it's a big order. When I compare prices side by side with Northern Brewer (and their $7.99 flat rate shipping), Ritebrew is almost always cheaper, even if I have to pay a bit extra for the shipping. Usually get my stuff in 3-4 working days, so same as FedEx or UPS ground. I can see how the shipping would get prohibitive if you were further away.

One downfall to Ritebrew that I've seen is they don't have quite the grain inventory that some other retailers have. If you're looking for a very specific specialty grain, they don't always have it.

 

[CBelli]

So because companies want to sell you stuff the whole industry is on the decline? No way. They want to make money. They're playing a markdown game just like every other retailer. If they can knock 10% off and get hundreds or thousands of dollars in sales then it was worth the effort wasn't it? People like to at least THINK they're getting a deal and seeing a sale makes people want to buy, pure and simple.

my point was not to knock the sales or special offers, but to suggest that no one would buy from these companies at full price. So they have, from a profit point of view, possibly shot themselves in the foot.

 

[CBelli]

on friday i got a "10% off everything" blast from an online vendor, then sunday i got the "warning-10% off everything is almost over" blast from them. The offer ended at sunday at midnight, and then this morning i have a third blast saying everything is 10% off again...wtf?

exactly!!!

 

[MatterOne]

maybe you guys can help me see the appeal of RiteBrew. Grain prices are good, but similar to the other online shops sell for. The shipping is deal-breaker though...$20 bucks for FedEx ground to my neck of the woods. Is it just that you guys are closer?

I recently bought some kegging equipment from them. Not only did they have the lowest prices on every single component, but shipping was stupidly cheap (around $1.57 or so) after a $5 discount and I had my stuff two days later.

I've never bought grains from them, as I just pick them up locally.

 

[mongoose33]

maybe you guys can help me see the appeal of RiteBrew. Grain prices are good, but similar to the other online shops sell for. The shipping is deal-breaker though...$20 bucks for FedEx ground to my neck of the woods. Is it just that you guys are closer?

It all....depends. I live in Wisconsin, RiteBrew is in Wisconsin, I'm in the 1-day shipping zone. They use a service called Speedy Delivery instead of UPS when it's cheaper. I've done the cheap ship option from Northern Brewer, Midwest, MoreBeer--and while it's likely to arrive in a week, it's indeterminate. With RiteBrew I know that if I place the order by 1pm I'll almost certainly get it the next day.

SpeedyDelivery is way cheaper for me; on 105 pounds of grain the SpeedyDelivery cost is $20.66; with FedEx ground it's $52.03. That's to ship the grain less than 200 miles.

They also offer local pickup. I was up in their neck of the woods yesterday and picked up a bunch of stuff including 60+ pounds of grain. Shipping charge? Nada.



I think with all these places you simply figure out what it's costing you including shipping, and after you've done your due diligence, you choose the one that works best.