I downloaded the app on my Kindle and have been following them for about three months now. Bought once, a special stout box that was outside of the normal monthly delivery. No problem with delivery thanks to COVID-19 stay at home orders. I like what I've seen.
I have also started seeing the "Sold Out" status being displayed for the last couple of beers. I wonder again how that differs from when the beer is taken off the list altogether. They have been sticking to just two beers a day this week whereas they'd post up to 4 on some days previously. And beers have been selling in less than an hour.
It was speculated that beers that don't sell out in one market, get pushed into another, perhaps contributing to additional releases within a day outside of the original two. With how fast things are selling out, there aren't any leftover beers to hit different markets. That and some beers are being removed and added to bundles. I've also seen the 'sold out' banners recently. I don't have proof, but it makes me think they switched to the format to avoid lengthy waitlists when beers are already selling out without a waitlist.
Beers from Parish and Weldwerks are still available from yesterday afternoon. That's odd these days, but good to see. Also, I have requested waitlist on a number of beers over time, but have never heard back. I figured it should be called wish list instead.
I don't use the waitlist very much, but I have gotten offered the beers after joining the waitlist maybe 3 or 4 times out of 8? 10? times using it. Keep in mind the waitlist also goes in order of when you joined it, so the sooner you get on the waitlist, the sooner you'll get the opportunity to grab a bottle/can if one comes available.
I received a crate today. The order was closed 4/7, shipped on 4/9, and arrived this morning. As a pro, Tavour estimated delivery next Wednesday. As a con, the courier QCS does not arrange a delivery window as Tavour states, though to their credit I did check Tavour afterwards and the crate was listed as out for delivery. Overall I have no complaints about things on Tavour's end of the operation.
Parish? We didn't get that here. Been after their beers so that is a bit annoying. Maybe they will swing them by here too.
And I bought Ghost Machine at my local Total Wine in February. I can't begin to make sense of Tavour's MO. Maybe that's just what they want. All in all, I'm hanging in there.
I don't know what their logic is either. Some oddities, Narrow Gauge and 2nd Shift - both Missouri breweries - sell their beer on the platform. As a MO resident, I was offered 2nd Shift, but we never get Narrow Gauge - odd. Especially considering 2nd Shift distributes and is available across the state, but Narrow Gauge doesn't distribute. Then we also get Prairie in the app and in stores locally, although the distributor responsible for bringing us Prairie locally closed permanently due to COVID-19. The Prairie beers in the app were well prior to this shut-down.
my honest take on Tavour, and these points will not be applicable to everyone of course Pros -Easy interface, app needs some improvement but otherwise I dig it -Shipping dates can be changed at will. Let’s say I have 12 beers for the month and I can’t justify the shipping so I can push it back until I have 25-30 beers. Not sure how far back, I’ll have to test this. Neutral -Selection is hit and miss, which is fine, keeps me from spending money. -Price points can range from great(bundles) to fair to dumb(I’m looking at you ADWTD) Cons -Setting up delivery can be a pain in the ass. I don’t get notified by my courier at all so I end up setting up a pick up from them instead of delivery because there’s some planet express level incompetency going on there. -At times a cringe-inducing hype train All in all I like it as an alternative or supplement to a weird time in beer shopping
In a twist of events the tutti-frutti box went from sold out to waitlist me. Wasn’t interested but that smoofee from the brewing projekt is delicious though. I also have a weldworks jucybits that sold out in less than an hour that is now waitlisted too. Must have something to do with amount sold.
My first ever crate with 12 beers, all stouts and wild ales, just got pushed from approximate delivery of 4/24 to 4/28. Disappointing, but I understand if related to all the craziness going on. Hope it doesn’t get pushed again....
While it's concerning, I'll say that this is the first time that I've encountered these issues with them. I'm sure it's because of the increased demand because of so many people being in isolation. You also did things the right way in regards to what you ordered. At least there's nothing in your crate that has the short shelf life of hazy IPA's. Transient's Moon Money hit my app tonight. I was about the grab a few cans until I noticed the March 23rd canning date. By the time it got here I'd be looking at a solid 6 weeks since canning, so I passed.
I'm curious as to Tavour's business model. This is my best guess based purely on speculation. 1. Tavour buys beer from breweries 2. Beers arrive in Seattle warehouse 3. List beers on app, customers buy & fill crates 4. Once crate is complete, beers are packed and then shipped to that customer's local delivery service (final mile) and eventually delivered to the customer What I'm not clear on is what happens between steps 1 and 2. How are the breweries from outside of Washington getting the beers to the Seattle warehouse? What kind of distribution service are they using? Are they going to the breweries to pick the beers up themselves, or are the breweries shipping the beers to them? Questions are not germane to anything here really but more of a burning curiosity.
I wonder if they have their own distributors who go and pick up the beers. I will say the only beer that hasn’t sold out yet on my app in 2 days is a Berliner Weisse. All others typically gone in a day or less
I imagine because most people are staying home instead of going to their beer stores. Tavour must be ecstatic with their sales.
Last week I got an alert for an IPA. Ordered two. Nineteen minutes later...sold out. Canned 4/17. Luckily, my crate ships tomorrow. 40 cans and bottles. Total $275. #$%&*@! Gotta try to take the hot summer off from this.
I'm in Pottsville, PA. A Kings County/Other Half beer was posted at 11.02 today, and sold out by the time I checked at 11:30. Crate ships tomorrow, UPS delivers to my office. Looking forward to it arriving sometime next week.
