I had 8 recipes in my brewing list. I put them all in the shopping cart. Then I remembered that I could get a free Big Mouth Bubbler with my order so I entered the discount code and sure enough it took away from the cost of the Big Mouth Bubbler. Guess what else it did? It added another $14 in shipping. I call BS!!! :shock:
I had the exact same experience.
I only wanted one recipe though. I padded out the order to get to $125, more StarSan, more PBW, bottle caps, a hauler for the new big mouth. a couple of new airlocks, some stoppers…
Went to checkout and my jaw dropped at the almost $23 shipping charge.
I even chatted with one of the reps. It’s not like I was demanding the order be shipped free; I just said I didn’t think it was reasonable for the shipping to jump by $15 for a promo item and asked if there was anything they could do? I even pointed out that Midwest, offers the BM bubbler over Amazon for $6.95 shipping. I would have paid reasonable shipping for the “free” BM bubbler AND the $7.99 for the rest of the order.
“I can pass that on to the marketing reps.” was the reply. – That’s CSR speak for “I ain’t doing jack!”
Sooo, guess what, the BM bubbler, and all the other extra stuff I didn’t actually need got dropped from the cart.
Promotions are supposed to make customers feel like they are getting a deal, not getting the shaft.
This is really almost the end for me. I really like this site but they know exactly what they are doing and it happens too often. It’s the same thing that happened on 4th of July sale. Why didn’t they make all recipes available for their special? I’ll tell you why. They look at surplus inventory(grain etc.) that they need to move and that’s what becomes the 4th of July special. I went ahead and ordered but this purchase will last me a while so that will give me some time to look for another supplier. I want to look elsewhere. I don’t want to start a war here but I have been a good customer for the short period of time I have started brewing. It really makes me sad. 
Buying separately the same Big Mouth would have cost you $52.67
I would give them a call back and ask to speak to a manager. They have always seemed willing to work with people. Stay calm and ask nicely before getting angry.
I’m pretty sure that the shipping on the carboys is due to their size moreso than their weight. I do see on Amazon the same plastic big mouth with $6.95 shipping. I saw this sale and decided it wasn’t worth it to me as I already have a 6.5 glass EVO 2 that I’m very happy with and a standard 6.5 gal glass carboy plus two 5 gallons. Looking back at my orders, I paid $12.38 shipping for my glass carboy, which to me was worth it at the time.
I too jumped on the buy 2 get one free AG kits special. I ended up with Black IPA (which I’ve made extract and loved) the Kiwi express (which I just brewed last weekend) and got West coast Radical Red for free. That’s a $28.31 savings on a 3 kit AG order. Being AG kits, if they are moving stock, more power to them. I just popped the hops in the freezer when they arrived and leave the grain bagged in my cellar till I’m ready to brew. Would I have liked more selection? Sure! Did I just get 5 gallons of free beer? Yup!
Try to remember that NB is running a business and if businesses don’t make money, they go out of business. Their customer service is top notch from the different experiences I have had with them over the past three years of brewing. Sometimes I feel their sales are very worthwhile and I take advantage of them. Sometimes the sales they run aren’t that interesting to me. If you feel $14 additional for shipping is unfair for a free $29.99 item, then buy your order as you were intending and go pick it up off Amazon for $36.94 if you still want one. Remind yourself of the fact that 75 lbs of product is only costing you $7.99 to ship (which when you think about it is a really nice deal) Pass on this NB sale and maybe they’ll run one later you will be more interested in.
:cheers:
Rad
I went ahead and ordered everything I wanted. I didn’t bother talking to anyone. I shouldn’t have to. I have bought only from NB. This is about loyalty. That loyalty was shaken a few times. I would never get angry over that. I will just start buying from other suppliers. It doesn’t mean I won’t buy from NB ever. It just means that they won’t be my first choice. They know what they are doing. That just makes them like any other place. Nothing special about them in my book.
[quote=“Radagast”]
Try to remember that NB is running a business and if businesses don’t make money, they go out of business.
:cheers:
Rad[/quote]
You are absolutely right. It is a business. And they won’t be getting any of mine. They will survive. 
Hey guys,
We are here to help. If you are frustrated with us, please contact us. We are on chat, email and phones seven days a week and can usually find a resolution to ease frustrations.
The shipping rates on these screenshots should be the same shipping totals that you would see today if you have the same cart. Because of volumetric shipping, our fermentors cost us more to ship compared to some of our other products. We identify the products that do not qualify with “standard shipping rates apply” icon to the right of the product name.
Regarding the all-grain promotion, we limit the available kits to promise fast processing in the warehouse and grainroom. We know that order turn-around is very important to our customers and we do not want to cause any missed brew days.
If you would like to discuss this further, you can send me an email at Todd.Jackson@NorthernBrewer.com or I would be happy to chat on the phone too. My direct line is 651-289-9771.
Cheers,
Todd J
I did go through the same exact process awhile back with a 24.99 shipping charge doubling the price for the plastic bubbler. I did go through customer service and basically they heard me out but no adjustments, etc.
Really I agree with Radagast it is their cost of doing business, the huge box takes up space on the truck, I get it.
I also agree with Brentconn in that I will be more selective in the type of products I buy in the future from NB. Think small.
[quote=“brentconn”][quote=“Radagast”]
Try to remember that NB is running a business and if businesses don’t make money, they go out of business.
:cheers:
Rad[/quote]
You are absolutely right. It is a business. And they won’t be getting any of mine. They will survive. [/quote]
Don’t take this the wrong way, but would you sell an item to someone, and then take a $15 dollar loss on it because the buyer didn’t like the shipping cost?
Didn’t think so… :mrgreen:
Don’t buy kits. If you want to save money, don’t fall for the kit b.s.
Buy malt (sacks), buy hops (pounds), buy yeast and reuse it; use the kit recipes as a guide, but use other sources too.
Play around, build a “war-chest” of specialty malts and use what’s on-hand, and don’t get gypped by sites that make you buy kits to get “freebies.”
Free yourself from the kit!!
:cheers:
Glass I can see,but not plastic…
The big shippers started charging by “dimensional weight”, meaning they assume a big box weighs a lot, as it takes up more space on their trucks
http://www.efulfillmentservice.com/2014 ... ght-rules/Exactly, dimensional shipping or volumetric as stated by NB, is the problem. As a guy that used to work for UPS in the 80’s, space on those trucks gets cramped, especially during the holiday season. It’s not really the weight in this situation. I’ll buy big stuff when I can from the LHBS. Now I also know that carboys from other sites may have better shipping rates. The plastic bubbler I bought from NB, my second(now full of house hefe) wasn’t available at my LHBS.
Unfortunately I don’t have the space to store malt in bulk and I don’t brew high volume(more than 5 gallon batches)but we are blessed with a full service homebrew shop just about 10 miles away. Others are not so lucky so…Nothing wrong with buying kits. NB does a good job with these and when I started out I was like a kid on Christmas morning when they would show up! I primarily design my own recipes now, which is really where this gets fun!
They’re not making money on your shipping fees, in fact, they are probably losing more money on situations like this.
Kits are heavy-ish. Bubblers are large.
Shipping is exactly why I try smaller orders and in-person visits, but I’m lucky enough to be able to do that
[quote=“65SS427”][quote=“brentconn”][quote=“Radagast”]
Try to remember that NB is running a business and if businesses don’t make money, they go out of business.
:cheers:
Rad[/quote]
You are absolutely right. It is a business. And they won’t be getting any of mine. They will survive. [/quote]
Don’t take this the wrong way, but would you sell an item to someone, and then take a $15 dollar loss on it because the buyer didn’t like the shipping cost?
Didn’t think so… :mrgreen: [/quote]
I won’t take it the wrong way. But honestly I don’t think you understand how business works. Let’s just say you buy $150 worth of stuff and they give you 10 % off. Are they losing $15? Yes, they are on that sale. That’s why they call it “promotion” or “leader”. They are banking on you being a repeat customer, which I am. I just don’t like gimmicky crap and that is what that Big Mouth Bubbler promo was. I like N.B. but for me the loyalty thing is gone. I am going to start shopping around now instead of maybe paying an extra dollar or two because N.B. has treated me well. That’s just the cost of business. I hope you understand that. :mrgreen:
[quote=“brentconn”][quote=“65SS427”][quote=“brentconn”]
You are absolutely right. It is a business. And they won’t be getting any of mine. They will survive. [/quote]
Don’t take this the wrong way, but would you sell an item to someone, and then take a $15 dollar loss on it because the buyer didn’t like the shipping cost?
Didn’t think so… :mrgreen: [/quote]
I won’t take it the wrong way. But honestly I don’t think you understand how business works. Let’s just say you buy $150 worth of stuff and they give you 10 % off. Are they losing $15? Yes, they are on that sale. That’s why they call it “promotion” or “leader”. They are banking on you being a repeat customer, which I am. I just don’t like gimmicky crap and that is what that Big Mouth Bubbler promo was. I like N.B. but for me the loyalty thing is gone. I am going to start shopping around now instead of maybe paying an extra dollar or two because N.B. has treated me well. That’s just the cost of business. I hope you understand that. :mrgreen: [/quote]
I understand exactly how business works, and, unfortunately, every business has to draw the line somewhere as to how much loss they can or will accept. Also unfortunately, NB drew the line somewhere north of where you were willing to go.
I think I understand maybe where Brent is coming from. I think that if the promotion had been-“spend x number of dollars and get a bubbler for only $22.95 shipping”- then everything is on the table up front and nobody feels like they’ve been sucked in. Kinda like all those tv ads where they say “free, just pay shipping and handling” , and when you get to the shipping and handling, it’s almost as much as the value of the “free” item.
To me it’s not so much the cost of the shipping, as it is the somewhat misleading promise of “free”.
Ron
Good damn thing we ALL have choices to how much and where we spend our money… I have found anything stainless for fittings, NB has close to the best prices…… That said, I can go to local breweries and get malt at such a bargain price I won’t consider buying online…. Again, shipping costs. But so does you having to drive to get what you need. I do my best to PLAN ahead. I won’t find fault in any business, because I have a choice. They will do well ifn they don’t price themselves out of business, so NB has been chasing this around fer a while and have done well. Sneezles61 :cheers:
