Why Isn't Anybody Making/Selling New Crates?

[GrowleyMonster]

It sure would be nice to be able to buy new plastic bottle crates for a reasonable price. I have a bunch of old 24 bottle Coke cases and they hold 12oz bottles just fine. Unfortunately most of my bottles are 16oz flip top and only about a case of 12oz and some 22oz. I have two 12 bottle Falstaff crates that I paid way too much for, and I really don't want to pay $35 or more each shipped, for enough crates to store a reasonable amount of beer. I didn't see any crates at NB or MB. I could make wooden ones, but my time is worth something. I like the form factor of the 12 bottle Falstaff crates, which do hold the 16 oz bottles nicely. People think they are made out of gold or something. A lot of them don't have the dividers, either. The original cardboard boxes that the bottles ship in are fine, until they have been moved around a few times, or have gotten wet. Also salvaged bottles don't always come in cases, depending on source.

So I am just wondering what homebrewers are doing for cases, those who bottle. I generally keg, but I am looking at probably bottling the current batch due to lack of empty kegs. Mine are all full which is a good thing I guess but I don't want to buy more kegs. It makes Mrs. Monster see red when I mention that I am all out of kegs and need a couple more. Plus sometimes it is handy to have nice portable bottles on hand. In nice, portable, protective crates.

 

[twd000]

look on Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace for used milk crates - they're around

 

[Golddiggie]

I bought some new plastic milk crates from Amazon not that long ago (May of this year). Was using them to hold cans of homebrew in the keezer, until I got a new beverage fridge for that.
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B074V99K1C/These are pretty sturdy units and I have no complaints. Not as cheap as the old ones I got decades ago, but what is??

 

[MaxStout]

I'd just be happy to find some cardboard beer case boxes with dividers. They have them at Uline, but at $10.30 a box, I can buy a box with 24 new bottles for a few bucks more from the LHBS.

Alibaba has them for $0.89 ea., but min order of 500. I would think this could be a money maker for a brew store--they could turn around and sell them for $3 or $4 a pop.

 

[PCABrewing]

I'd just be happy to find some cardboard beer case boxes with dividers. They have them at Uline, but at $10.30 a box, I can buy a box with 24 new bottles for a few bucks more from the LHBS.

Alibaba has them for $0.89 ea., but min order of 500. I would think this could be a money maker for a brew store--they could turn around and sell them for $3 or $4 a pop.

Storing 500 would probably blow their profit for many small LHBS.