which one?
The new one and midwest are not that far apart and if I am going to pick up a few carboys or something where the prices are much different, 30 bucks saved is well worth it.
I havent bought a bucket lately but last time I did NB had the cheap ones without the supports on the bottom and midwest had the nice ones with all the support pieces on the bottom and cheaper[/quote]
The Lyndale one. Driving to Midwest would require driving Thrice the distance that now includes 20 stoplights on Lake street and maneuvering through Uptown. Again, not worth the trouble for a few dollars worth of saving.
If you price shop I think you will always find a few bucks here, there, etc. My preference is to buy from Northern Brewer. They are competitive in pricing, have everything I need, excellant customer service, produce BrewingTv (free), and ultimately I am lazy so price shopping for a few bucks off the total order is not worth it to me.
which one?
The new one and midwest are not that far apart and if I am going to pick up a few carboys or something where the prices are much different, 30 bucks saved is well worth it.
I havent bought a bucket lately but last time I did NB had the cheap ones without the supports on the bottom and midwest had the nice ones with all the support pieces on the bottom and cheaper[/quote]
The Lyndale one. Driving to Midwest would require driving Thrice the distance that now includes 20 stoplights on Lake street and maneuvering through Uptown. Again, not worth the trouble for a few dollars worth of saving.[/quote].
It’s called a highway. Ha anyways Midwest is maybe 4 or 5 miles further a few bucks yeah I wouldn’t bother either. 30 bucks is a different story
I’ve gotta NB props for all the positive things already mentioned AND they have this FREE forum and don’t bother interfering with a discussion about where else people buy their supplies. Pretty damn cool of them in my book.
I figured out a long time ago that I am willing to pay a little extra for outstanding service. That is exactly what NB has given me. Whether it’s something missing in my order, or a smack pack exploding in my face (yes, it happened. My wife said I smelled digusting, although I kind of liked it), they have been on the spot for me. They are the first place I look when I want supplies, inless I’m taking the wife out to dinner down in Ft. Collins, then it’s a stop at the LHBS there.
Chinaski, you may want to revisit your original thought about NB interjecting into threads it seems you missed something.
All locations charge the same?? Really? That’s great. So NB has two retail stores in St Paul/ Mpls and one in Milwaukee and a warehouse that are close to all logistical chains and hubs be it air, rail, truck freight etc…
So why should your prices vary? Your suppliers charge the same if not less due to your volume across your “spread” now and the logistics make it cheap to bring it to your doors? What point am I supposed to be missing here?
Look Vaughn or whomever you are. I will not continue down this line as I have mentioned this before but the ROI for a LHBS such as NB is no laughing matter and I do not even want to know the net bottom line but there are some mass product inventories that ALL LHBS make Gross 50-150% on inventory investment. Most businesses are lucky to see 30-50% on boom years and some years may eck out 5-15%. Who cares about the citra or other hop shortage, we all know why and it doesn’t much matter in the broad scope of this discussion. I just think a bit of caution is in order on how you approach a discussion such as this you are not really helping remedy anything for us with your “explanation”. I remember Chris Farley coming onto the board once in all these years to “explain” the older hop shortage ( IE: 2007 etc…)and rationing principles used which was the right way to do business at that time irregardless of the hop buying Consumers perception. He was concise and to the point and I thought much better of your company as a whole when I saw him make the RARE interjection that gave the real deal about HIS company on HIS forum. Also most importantly he gave facts not a bland sugar coat of industry this blah upswing etc… premium blah.
With that said Chris Farley’s mission statement sums up the justification of your organizations current overall pricing scheme and therefore negates any reason for any NB owner/ employee etc… to make any comment what so ever on a thread such as this. If you look back in the forum over the years this topic arises almost every year its just people blowing off steam because face it unless you bulk or group buy this hobby does cost money, as does golf or any other many hobbies that cost tons of money to do. If the reward and relaxation is worth it then you pay what it costs and just lump it or reduce your own costs with creative ways and means. Overall I have patronized Nb’s St Paul store since the mid nineties and will continue to spend cash with NB probably better than 50% of the time and I understand Chris’s mission statement fully but as a consumer I will shop where it fits me bottom line and if your prices are wack I goto the guy with a reasonable price.
Though I used to order from NB a lot when I first started brewing, I now make most of my purchases at a shop about 30 miles from my house. It’s not the most convenient, but I often find myself near there because of my work and make a stop when I’m in the area. When I know that I’ll be near there soon, I make sure to make a list of ingredients and other supplies I’ll need for my next couple batches.
I still use NB for some specialty malts that the local shop doesn’t always have in stock, and for some equipment. I like NB’s flat shipping charges and always great customer service. I just wish there was a way I could get the flat shipping on 50# sacks of grain.
I’m not sure what you’re getting at ITsPossible, I was just posting my experiences. No harm intended. Of course you’re free to shop at other places. I don’t mind people talking about price changes, if anything I was agreeing with most of the things posted so far.
I use NB for all my extract kits (for now I am extract/PM only brewer, I don’t have time/money/space for all grain) and most of my equipment that can be bought with the 7.99 shipping. There are a few “local” shops that are both 25 miles or so away, and with gas prices, 7.99 is cheaper since my impreza gets 28mpg. BUT, if I am near the shops, I will pick up a few things that I need.
I just had a few small issues with an order received yesterday from NB. One 3.15lb malt extract was leaky (only leaked a teaspoon or two), and I got a 5oz corn sugar when I ordered a pound. I emailed them only concerned about the corn sugar (since the extract is still fine) and not only did they ship me the pound I ordered originally, but I was given a coupon code to enter next time I order for $5 off my next order, for the Extract issue! Say what you want, but THAT is the kind of Customer Service that will keep this home brewer ordering from NB for life! Never had any other issues with them, so I think it was just a fluke. For what its worth, I had a shipping notice of the priming sugar before I even had the reply e-mail! Great company.
When I started out I used NB all the time. They do sell good products and have fantastic customer service. I then found a great LHBS, so I kept my money local. But now I get in on group buys for grain and hops. I’d like to give NB and my LHBS more business, but when I’m paying 55¢ to 70¢ per pound for grain and well under $1 per ounce for hops… I just can’t justify paying retail. I still hit up my LHBS for yeast, kegging related items and small amounts of hops and grain. But as a whole, group bulk buys are the way to go.
I just placed an order for 156lbs of grain in a local group bulk buy:
55lbs Pale malt
28lbs Vienna
28lbs Dark Munich
18lbs C40
14lbs C120
14lbs Carapils
It’s good to get these posts on the forum. You can bet that if NB starts to lose customers to a certain level they will adjust marketing and pricing to reflect the new data. However you have to lose a LOT of customers to adjust your profit margin so I doubt that will happen because they do a good job everywhere else.
with everything said, Ill still shop at my nearest store. ill keep my dollars local. the internets are great for finding deals, but if I can support the guy in my neighborhood I will.
My LHBS owner is a member of the community I live in, and his employee is, too. Even though I could save 50% or more buying from the internet, it’s worth it to me to support my community.
I live near both the new NB and Midwest. I’m a big fan of NB and the culture they’ve created. They support the Brewing Network, produce BTV, act as ambassadors for homebrewing in MN and WI. I’ve only been brewing for a little over a year and have learned a lot from TBN and BTV so I prefer to support the store that is more involved in the brewing community.
That being said - there is a price difference between the two and I’ve made the choice to conduct most of my business with NB - for now. I tend to think that the products should be cheaper in the retail locations though - the flat rate shipping must cost them money which is likely why they can price things a bit higher. If they aren’t having to compensate for the flat rate shipping - the local consumer should save.
I’m a big fan of NB. I discovered them when looking for stuff my LHBS didn’t carry, and ordered from them regularly before moving out of the US. Just wish they shipped international - you can’t imagine how great the difference is between what they stock and what my new LHBS carries - not just in price, but in variety. I’ll still support my local guy, but there are times when I would gladly pay transatlantic shipping just to get something that isn’t sold over here.
I was thinking their prices have been climbing quite a bit recently myself…
i was perusing their most recent mailing, and the collaboration beer PARAGON APRICOT BLONDE seems rediculously high priced for what it is. $57 dollars with dry yeast, and that’s before the 7.99 shipping…and this is a mild gravity beer too…I understand it has fruit puree and fruit extract…but hot damn…waaaay too much for me…and I brew hoppy IPAs that I always thought were kinda pricey.
[quote=“n8young”]I was thinking their prices have been climbing quite a bit recently myself…
i was perusing their most recent mailing, and the collaboration beer PARAGON APRICOT BLONDE seems rediculously high priced for what it is. $57 dollars with dry yeast, and that’s before the 7.99 shipping…and this is a mild gravity beer too…I understand it has fruit puree and fruit extract…but hot damn…waaaay too much for me…and I brew hoppy IPAs that I always thought were kinda pricey.
Anyway…my thoughts right there for ya[/quote]
anything with fruit puree is through the roof. one can of that stuff is almost 20 bucks I think and most of the kits come with 2 cans
[quote=“grainbelt”][quote=“n8young”]I was thinking their prices have been climbing quite a bit recently myself…
i was perusing their most recent mailing, and the collaboration beer PARAGON APRICOT BLONDE seems rediculously high priced for what it is. $57 dollars with dry yeast, and that’s before the 7.99 shipping…and this is a mild gravity beer too…I understand it has fruit puree and fruit extract…but hot damn…waaaay too much for me…and I brew hoppy IPAs that I always thought were kinda pricey.
Anyway…my thoughts right there for ya[/quote]
anything with fruit puree is through the roof. one can of that stuff is almost 20 bucks I think[/quote]
After i got onto brewing i ordered the NB kits, both extract, partial, and then all grain and had good success with their kits and help with questions from their customer service when needed . This forum has been an invaluable source of information. As i matured (somewhat) as a brewer i looked for other sources of supplies and came across a supplier know to many in Marietta Ga. They were within 3 miles of Interstate 75 that i traveled each week. They had good prices, convenient, and well stocked. After they moved to a new location and have experienced a large growth in internet sales, I find most of my recent orders have at least one out of stock item on them for in store pick up as they have not been able to adjust to their increase demand (i have never had an out of stock item from NB on an order). I have actually been told they would have grain available for pick up to find the are low and will not sell me the bag grain after coming to their store. I will be changing employment in the near future in which i will loose the in store pickup advantage they offer. I expect to increase my NB orders because if i am going to pay a shipping cost it will be to NB.
