Shipping & Guarantee

Thanks to those who voiced their like issues, In as much as someone mentioning Fed-EX, I too began having issues with UPS tossing my large box over the fence and driving away, TWICE! I have had many conversations with the foreman of our UPS facility, Yeast smak-paks, grain, etc all packed nice until the box is dumped over the gate…I am on a signature delivery only now… the Fed-EX man would at least knock and run…

I’ve actually avoided online stores (not just homebrew stores) that use UPS. I have seen first hand my package sit in their warehouse for three days and no action was taken… and that was DURING the week, not a weekend.

Then there was the time that I ordered a set of wheels online and they delivered three to me and sent the other to Atlanta. It took an additional week to get back to me. Even when I called, their customer service was rude, unapologetic, and could care less. I even tried to rationalize with them the dangers of me driving a vehicle with only three wheels. :wink:

AVOID UPS

I just put together an order on NB for an Irish Red Ale and Honey Weizen Extract kit with Wyeast options…put the same order together on Midwest…and with shipping included, NB beat Midwest by a little more than $1.00…so in fairness to NB, at least on this order, they’re still holding their own! And, business being business…they still have to, and are entitled to a profit!

If they can remain competetive, they’ll still get the majority of my online business…because I’ve come to trust them and know them for great customer service and quality products!

:cheers:

I hear & feel the last 2 posts, I will possibly try MoreBeer who offers free shipping on $59+ orders. The UPS problem is ever-present, I have to say I would be far happier if Fed-Ex was the shipper. Midwest has discounts and coupons in my e-mail inbox twice a week or so & NB sends advertisements to my inbox, with an occasional discount or coupon code once a month if that.

Again this Guarantee thing is a waste of Profit, time, effort and as far as I can see opens the company up for a real big spiral down the toilet. I have not yet rec’d my kit via UPS but I say it failed, send me a new one, ASAP!

If each person who orders a kit or 2 from NB, chooses to say the kit (or kits) was a failure, then NB will be sending out TWO (or more) kits for each one sold, which will soon cause BANKRUPTCY. Or an confused CPA when trying to figure Profits & Loss…

I am MOST CERTAINLY shopping around, LHBS is VERY limited, next closest is 50 miles away…Online retailers beware…

I just ordered from brewmasterswarehouse.com. 6.99 flat rate shipping. I ordered 2 all grain kits last night at 9 pm. It shipped at 2 pm today. Expected delivery Thursday this week! Gotta check them out…sorry Northern Brewer, you lost me. I post on the forum here to inform others of Brewmasterswarehouse.com. And No I am not a paid sppokesmans or an employee of Brewmasterswarehouse.com.

I definitely gotta check them out. Thanks for the tip.

Brewmasters warehouse has been on my online shopping list since before we ordered our starter kit from NB in Dec 2011. They are worth checking out, I like their brew recipe database!

It has been a while since I ordered from NB, but they have always shipped fast for me. I just placed an order with Midwest last Monday–intentionally waiting until the start of the week to place my order, so my yeast would only be in transit two days. They packed my order on Thursday, but it didn’t leave their warehouse until Friday. So now instead of two days, my yeast will have been out of cold storage for five days! Absolutely unacceptable! :mad:

Edit: I ordered the “deluxe” shipping pack, but in m experience the cold pack is no longer cold after only two days in transit.

I think we need to step down off our pedestals people. Does anyone remember having to call a place to order and go C.O.D. or fill out a form in a catalog and mail a check back in the day? wait weeks to get your stuff? I can now order anything I can find on the internets at 3AM on a Wednesday in my boxer shorts and it arrives within a week.

Per NB site http://www.northernbrewer.com/shipping/ they only say “Most in-stock orders ship within 1 business day” for UPS ground. There is a guarantee for three day, two day and next day. If it isn’t at your door on time, a call or email is in order instead of complaining on this forum. The only way they will know they are not making their customers happy is if they are told by their customer that they are not happy.

I’ve emailed NB a couple of times about various things and have always received an answer.

Shizzy, I would agree. However, my problem isn’t with NB. Its with them using UPS after the treatment I received, and numerous other people I have spoken to, I refuse to use them.

What can Brown do for me? Erroneously send my package thousands miles away, tell me to deal with it, and take their time getting back to me… or let my package sit in a warehouse for three days?

No thanks.

I’m no accountant by any means, but I’m sure they’ll notice a drop in web sales when they do their quarterly’s.

[quote=“Loopie Beer”]Shizzy, I would agree. However, my problem isn’t with NB. Its with them using UPS after the treatment I received, and numerous other people I have spoken to, I refuse to use them.

What can Brown do for me? Erroneously send my package thousands miles away, tell me to deal with it, and take their time getting back to me… or let my package sit in a warehouse for three days?

No thanks.[/quote]

I’ve had nothing but great experience with UPS. In fact, there have been a couple times recently that they’ve delivered my package early. It’s FedEx that I’ve had bad experiences with.

Last week ordered 11:00 PM. Next day at 11:00 AM saw the deal for for 6 gallon carboy with $150 order. Thought why not cancel the order and reorder with one more kit. Sent email; couldn’t cancel; because order was already processed. About 5:00 PM get email notice order shipped. Nest day at 3:00 PM order received. The order was with the standard shipping rate and time. I have never received an order that fast from any retailer even with paying for overnite delivery.

who has free shipping?

http://morebeer.com/content/shipping_policy

In my experience it always takes them a full week to process the order when I select the free shipping option, but it’s normally worth it. Just have to plan ahead.

[quote=“kcbeersnob”]http://morebeer.com/content/shipping_policy

In my experience it always takes them a full week to process the order when I select the free shipping option, but it’s normally worth it. Just have to plan ahead.[/quote]
I would agree there. In addition, depending on where you live, it can take a week through its travels. I personally don’t want my yeast that warm for that long.

Definitely. That’s why I’m pissed at Midwest right now. Instead of 2 day shipping, my package sat in their warehouse for a night and now will take an additional 4 days to arrive. That’s 5 days out of cold storage! I’m not happy and I’ve told them so.

Definitely. That’s why I’m pissed at Midwest right now. Instead of 2 day shipping, my package sat in their warehouse for a night and now will take an additional 4 days to arrive. That’s 5 days out of cold storage! I’m not happy and I’ve told them so.[/quote]
That really surprises me as they ALWAYS get my stuff to me quickly. I have noticed a slight lag with getting the packages out though, but not that long.

I never thought of ordering anywhere other than NB, until I realized everything at NB changed…

flars, i ordered $190 plus dollar order. next day i got the email about free carboy. I called and yes they would honor my previous day order and do the carboy so that was cool - downside - it was galls and i had to pay shipping whcih was Ok but I refuse to use glass anymore. I have one sitting in my office not using it. if it were better bottle I would have picked up on it. anyway - they were willing to do the deal. I thought that was great.