What is wrong with some places?

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lumpher

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Exact same 10 dry yeasts, 2 different companies, with shipping to my house. First 1 is "free shipping" because it was over $59. This is what "free" means:

Total
$71.40

Total:
$36.35
 
To be fair, RiteBrew has pretty much the best prices out there … even compared to the other places that are upfront and honest about their shipping costs. (Though now that I look, I see that BrewHardware is pretty darn close.)
 
meh.

#1 is not a typical shopping cart.

And one can make the comparison worse by ordering $50 of yeast from ritebrew to capture the $5 off on shipping.

A couple of years ago, LabelPeelers would ship (U.S. Mail) single sachets of dry yeast at an attractive price.

Product depth is a consideration for some people (including me on occasion) - and RiteBrew doesn't stock all the items that I'm interested in brewing with.

I price check my typical orders periodically. Since 2018, the combination of RiteBrew and the regional shipper they use has resulted in the best price for me for the ingredients I typically use. Farmhouse, Home Brew Ohio, and Willams (all HomeBrewTalk sponsors) are close - and have products that I can't get at RiteBrew.

As for NB/MWS/AIH/AHS and MoreBeer pricing, I may price check some typical shopping carts much later this year.
 
I don't look at it like wrong vs. right but just that certain pricing models do weird things when certain combinations of items are put into the cart. Don't get me wrong, I think all inclusive pricing favors customers who are further away and penalizes closer ones as a general rule. Not only that, it feels like a sleazy game. I try to be as consistent and fair on pricing across the board. I take my cost of landing the product in the warehouse/store, mark it up approximately 30-50% (factor in any additional handling costs that are inherent in the product category) and then charge actual shipping. If you walk in the store, you shouldn't have to pay a 20% premium because I had to ship the same product across the country earlier that day. I also don't blame people on the other side of the country from trying to find the product cheaper because of the expensive distant shipping.
 
Along these lines, I would recommend people check out a local or regional shop that ships. I have ordered from my local shop (RIP...they closed recently) a few times. Their prices were never rock bottom, but usually a little lower than places like MoreBeer or Northern Brewer. Shipping for a box of items was maybe $8 and came in 1-2 days. That is a fine trade off when I could not fit in a trip to the store and the final price was in line with the "free shipping" stores. Shipping a package across the country is much more expensive than shipping 50 miles.
 
Open a bunch of browser tabs, each pointing to a different vendor. Load up the cart in each, with shipping. See who's the lowest.

Of course, there are other factors, like estimated shipping times, etc. Especially with yeast, you might be better served picking a vendor that's closer or has shorter ship times.

If you're just ordering a packet or two of dry, Label Peelers may be the best option. They just stick it in an envelope and mail it out.
 
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