Any ideas on how to stop lame boxes from showing up? Lame BIF box list?

Just up the requirements to 2 years on BA and/or 25+ trades.

If someone with an expansive trade history is sending turd boxes that's just messed up.

 

I hate to say it with as much work as they already put in but the organizers really need to do their research. I've seen the same guy send a couple bad BIF boxes and it's totally against the spirit of a BIF. I have yet to join a BIF because I know I don't have the beers or money capable of knocking someones socks off the way I would like to. In the future I plan on doing many BIFs so I can give back to this community that has given me so much

 

I basically look at it the same way I do with trades. You "win some, you lose some". What I mean is sometimes you get the minimum agreed upon box, and others you get totally blown away by someones generosity.

 

What if the box doesn't even meet the criteria? I'm pretty sure the box that prompted this thread didn't even come close.

 

This, 1000 times over. I've done a lot of BIFs. Some boxes have absolutely floored me with the contents, and others have left me thinking that the person really didn't put much effort in. Usually they are pretty good though, and often awesome. I know I personally always try to send a nice box, and at the end of the day I think the vast majority of active BIF-ers do the same. So, when I do get a bit of a dud, I just move on and realize that my next one will be better.

The only BIF boxes I really get upset about are the ones where you are getting 6 month old stale IPA's, really shitty beers, or a box full of beers I could just run out and buy on my local shelves. (The occasional one happens by accident and is not a problem, but sometimes people pay no attention to distribution)

I've also run a few BIFs, and one of the responsibilities of a good BIF master is to dig into the noob-ish looking participants. A quick scan of their past BIF history and/or a couple of BM's to trading partners usually clears up ambiguity about the kind of trader they are. Any concerns, and they just don't make the cut. That said, borderline cases are always going to slip through.

Lastly, I will say that people around here are typically awesome about when a bad box lands. I know I've sent out a few boxes to people who have gotten screwed, and I've seen it happen lots of other times from other people.

So no - really no need for a bad BIF-er list. Word gets around fast in this small community.

 

That's a separate issue, and is effectively the same thing as not following through properly on a trade. That is worthy of the bad trader list if the person won't rectify the situation. (Sometimes people do honestly forget a rule or something)

 

That is a different story. Everyone who joins a BIF agrees to meet certain criteria. Those people should be either banned or something from future BIFs.

What I mean is the whole "lame" box thing. What is to say that person didn't try hard, meet all criteria, and put together what he thought was a killer box - but that persons whales turns out to be garbage to the recipient. Some people think KBS, BCBS, etc.. are whales. They are shelf beers to others.

 

Did they meet the requirements\rules of the BIF? If so then they certainly don't deserve to be blacklisted just because you didn't like your box.

For reference, can you post the rules of the BIF you got the turd in and what was in the box? I am assuming since you were about to put the person on a public list that you won't mind sharing this info.

 

Not sure if this was the one readbaron was talking about, but this one was brought to my attention today:
http://beeradvocate.com/community/t...nd-3-hints-and-hauls.45767/page-5#post-720095

There's also a post under it indicating that a good amount of the beer could be purchased locally as well.

 

Yeah, the sender in that case clearly broke the rules, and deserves to be blacklisted until he makes it right.

 

I know a lot of good BIFers who have given up from being on the short end of the stick too many times. If that's not a problem to anyone, then the boxes will continue fading into mediocrity.

 

A subpar box publicly attaches itself to a person's reputation. If they start regularly sending out crappy boxes, nobody is going to include them in their BIFs anymore. If the BIF master isn't paying attention, that's a separate issue. Running a BIF is harder than it looks, and not everybody does a great job at it.

Edit: After seeing the issue, this was clearly a case of rule violation, which is very different from simply sending a subpar box.

 

Yeah, I say he gets a chance to rectify it, but falling that far flat of the requirements is a straight up bad trade.

 

Repeat Offender:

http://beeradvocate.com/community/t...-journey-hints-hauls.9845/page-14#post-215654

 

The example posted is just a straight up bad trader in my opinion. He did not follow the requirements of the BIF he entered, which would be no different than not sending agreed upon bottles in a regular trade.

I think we are comparing two different scenarios here. A lame box is not the same as a box that does not meet requirements.