Beer Pricing - A Moral Responsibility?

Me too... but I wouldn't start a thread about my moral responsibility to do so.

Maybe someone here was being that harsh and I didn't notice, but I don't get the sense that people are really claiming this. The name calling seems to be coming more from the "moral" side. Either way, I don't think the level of debate here makes too much sense given the subject matter of this website. All of the analogies about Tiffany lamps and whatnot are an indication that it's not really a beer discussion.

 

Also the fact that some bodega's prices are constantly inconstant, esp depending on who is running the register.

 

Again, this is not a case of someone choosing to pay market price for an established service over another service that is cheaper (taxi/uber analogy). $2.50 for a bottle of KBS is, at best, half of market price. While there is a small possibility that it is priced this way intentionally and with the owner's full knowledge that they are taking a bath on the sale of their KBS, the likelihood of that being the case is miniscule. It's also not a case of a store failing to markup an "aged" bottle of something--I don't know what WWS retails for normally, but failing to capitalize on some secondary inflated value is not the same as LOSING MONEY on the wholesale price of a good. The only analogy that works for this scenario is one where someone is obviously (this is where the price factors in, because charging $10 for a $24 product is a lot more obvious than charging $20 for a $24 product) losing money, you know it, and do nothing about it.

And I agree that it's not a wise use of time to tell stores how to run their business. But that's really not what's going on here. This is not a case of getting on your bully pulpit to lecture the bodega owner that he's way under charging for KBS and if he had any sense at all, he would charge closer to market price. This is a simple "hey man, I'm not sure if you realize, but these seem really cheap--are you sure they are priced right?" Then it's on the owner to do with that information what he will.

It's not a "high moral standard", and while I personally feel saying something is the right thing to do, I'm not going to paint everyone who doesn't as some morally bereft grifter. Because as you and every other rationalizer on this thread has pointed out, in the grand scheme of things, the impact is minor. But the question was asked, so here we are.

 

situation has happened to me quite a few times including as recently mentioned a shop had Vanilla Rye for $21 a bottle. in this instance, i asked the owner specifically if he was sure he wasn't losing money, which was met with a: do i look like i flunked kindergarten kind of chuckle followed by a yes i'm sure. based on later info it sounds like the distributor originally rushed out the allocation neglecting to adjust pricing from the prior year release, both for bombers & 12oz.

to be fair, before someone says the store should have done what some are arguing about at the consumer level here, the info was not known until long after the 1st delivery of stuff was gone anyway. the first major clue was when the second wave of product was distributed the price on all variants were increased wholesale at least $20/case.

that's one of a few examples i've bumped into where the store is NOT getting burned. on the flip, you have to love a store that doesn't take that kind of shit & say hmm, we can run with 75%+ markup and get away with it but instead keeps their margin in-line & passes it to the customer.

 

Gotta love BA, people will argue anything. Something as simple as having common courtesy and decency in giving a small store owner a heads-up that they have made an obvious pricing mistake on an incredibly in demand product isn't so simple for too many people.

 

No they won't!

 

I'd vote for, buy one, and afterward comment that it goes for a lot more than that elsewhere. And I say, "after," just in case s/he is the type to double-check and try to charge you the higher price once you point it out.

But to the "morality" debate, I do not believe it is not the consumer's responsibility to correct the retailer's pricing. It is the consumer's choice, just like it is the retailer's choice as to what they charge.

 

Yes they will!!!

 

Strongly doubt that. What is the typical retail markup, something like 20%? And the lowest reported prices have been $20-$22 four packs? It's almost impossible that this was priced higher than whole sale price. Therefore it was a mistake. If they got that price from the distributor, which I strongly doubt given how much hoopla there is for KBS, then you may not be hurting the store by cleaning them out at the $10. Even if that were the case, is it not possible the distributor would notice the pricing error and attempt to get that money back upon their next interaction? I mean, I'm not in the retail business, but something tells me "you messed up, so we get to keep this stock at an artificially low price and there isn't shit you can do about it, suckers!" isn't how it works.

 

I don't. Hopefully you read the original post and you are aware of what a bodega is. I live in NY and have been to quite a few bodegas. My reasoning: KBS isn't something that anyone who goes to a bodega would seek out at a bodega nor is it the type of thing a bodega owner would normally stock. These stores are small and their prices are normally along the lines of the local 7-11. Hell, some of them [illegally and at a premium] sell single cigarettes. I'm thinking it was something delivered in error [translation: the owner had no idea what it cost since it wasn't on any invoice or bill] and said owner just wanted to make sure it sold, therefore the $10 price tag, perhaps also near or just over the price as the most expensive beer at the store.

 

Buy one four pack and leave the rest for another lucky guy or gal. Not my responsibility to help shops price their products.

 

Yawn... It also seems simple to accept that a good % of this board doesn't agree with your position. This isn't murder we're talking about here. Nice soapbox

 

Agree to disagree then. I have been to a number of bodegas in NYC and we have similar stores all over SF, which BTW almost always carry the same standards from a small number of craft brands (Lagunitas, Anchor, Stone, Speakeasy...yawn). Anyway, I recall paying around $14 for a six pack of Brooklyn Lager at an NYC one a few years ago - I do hope that is abnormally high. I'm sure their systems aren't overly complicated, but not knowing the wholesale cost of their items and pricing accordingly? Yeah, I'm a bit skeptical of that.

 

Nobody in NYC cares what a tourist thinks. Your 2 NYC bodega experience means nothing

 

Thanks, bro!

Edit: do you run a bodega? Can you please enlighten me as to how they work?

 

I'd buy a 4 pack or two, tell some close friends and sleep easy at night.

 

My two cents: You don't need to sort out what responsibility, if any, to you have to this business or its competitors. The fact that you asked this question shows that you think informing the bodega might be a nice thing to do.So do it. Your self-respect will be its own reward.

 

Google "25 Places You’ll Find Bodega Cats" to see them on the job.

 

There are no Morals in buying or selling beer, be it the little guy or the big guy. I would have been tempted to buy it all!!!!