eBay and Beer Sales

a lot of people once they become involved in the industry delete their old accounts.

 

I'm sure that is often the case, but we've all seen posts from the likes of Jim Koch, Tony Magee, and Eric Giddens from time to time (and others I'm sure). It usually has pertinence to their brewery though. I highly doubt they follow BA forums as much as just be BAs.

edit: just to be clear, I don't expect any brewers to reply to this thread. I'm sure they have better things to be doing.

 

why don't you email him and ask him about it?

 

hey troll - your post is written just like your ebay postings. amusing

 

brewers brew beer for the love of beer man. not for profit. learn yourself some craft beer knowledgez before you post some nonsense.

 

It's ONLY about the money. Not 'I want my beer consumed as intended' What a crock.

 

no way. it's about beer. not wine. not stocks. not economics. not profit. its about beer and trying to keep it a blue collar beverage. if you want to sell beer, then brew beer and sell your own. or if you want to sell beer, go get a liquor license and pay taxes, etc, etc. if you want to drink beer - welcome to beer advocate.

 

I think trading is good. Its two people who appreciate the fluid they exchange. Rather than, one person buying stuff other people would love to try but already in some cases hesitate at the shelf price, and selling it to someone with a well enough paying job and no girlfriend that sees this beer as a status or a trophy. I get the impression that these people assign such a high values to these beers because they like to show them to friends or be unique, or rub one out or what. of course in many cases the beer is great, but if 3f doesn't think dark lord variants are worth 250 bucks a bottle, when the fucking made it... I just don't get... adding cash, and an obscenely inflated amount at that just makes it seem sleazy and dirty. You didn't make the fantastic liquid in that bottle...and yet you think you are entitled to 10 times more than the people who conceived the recipe and were nice enough to put it in bottles and ship it out to your state and go through all the ABC red tape and bullshit just to get this delicious beer to you. How can you prostitute such purity???? Savor it enjoy it buy 6 and trade how ever many (<6 obviously BECAUSE YOU SHOULD AT LEAST TRY IT) to people who can't who's state liquor laws and geography deprive them of the beautiful fluid you were so fortunate to be able to purchase at a reasonable price.

End rant. CHEERS!

 

Yes, your statement is a crock.

 

Yes, it is about money. It is about someone selling his beer for $200 and preventing someone who could have enjoyed it at its intended price from buying it at its intended price.

I love how so many BAs twist around the brewers actions to fit their own selfish arguments. Disrespect is not flattery. Shaun knows he can only produce so much beer and he sells it in the manner he does for a reason. Someone buys his beer, says "I don't give a damn about your desires or intentions" and sells a beer on eBay against Shauns wishes and he is suppose to be flattered?

I hope you understood the $200 remark was based on his frustration with auction prices and not his desire for more money. If Shaun wanted more money he would charge more for his beers, this is not about "my piece of the pie", anyone who makes that argument is tremendously shortsighted.

 

Still amazes me that Ebay is banning select craft beer, but liquor sales like PVW are present in numbers and thriving. Sounds like a slippery slope to me from a business standpoint, but i couldn't give two sh*ts personally.

 

Joining this discussion a bit late so forgive me if this has been said about 100 times. If Shaun and other want to keep their beer off of eBay, increase production and distribution. He sells out of everything he brews in no time. I'm sure he'd have no problem securing funding from any lender given his breweries track record. The fact of the matter is these small breweries love the mystique that their beers have. Anything that makes their beers easier to get takes away from the elusiveness, there by making them "less cool".

 

I guess I can understand both sides. I know a guy who came out with an outstanding collection of music gear for a great price. There was a run on the stuff and wait lists, etc. People started flipping the product as the second hand market basically made something worth 2x what you paid direct as soon as you took delivery. People who couldn't get the items got pissed and started blaming the maker. Results - prices went up to discourage those kind of dealings. I understand not being able to control who sells your product once it leaves your hands but can you imagine if someone thinks the reseller (someone you have little or not control over their behavior) is associated with something you worked so hard to build? I think the brewer wants control over their brand but it's not only wanting to save the beer for the customer - it's not that idealistic - they are also trying to protect a revenue stream. I guess I can't fault them for using whatever means are at their disposal to protect their work.

 

I love your avatar!

 

It's been said more than 100 times by just a few people and the dead horse has been beaten 6 feet into the ground. A) not gonna happen B) Do you have ANY idea the SIZE of an expansion that would be needed to fulfill national demand for HF products? C) Not everyone wants to do business with millions upon millions of dollars of debt hanging over their heads. Takes all the fun out of it D) The fact of the matter is that THIS small brewery loves their beer, loves their space, loves their system, location and community. Some people do not think the way you do, and that's fine. E) Entitlement (DRINK!!!!)

 

That really sucks. Bloodsuckers who had absolutely nothing to with making the product and who don't use the product swoop in, grab the supply from the people who actually would use the product and force them to pay inflated dollars then they would if these bloodsuckers didn't exist.

The blodsuckers ruin it for everyone else. Just like ticket scalping also, greed has set in and the people involved with the product feel the negative impacts.

 

Really? Trading is both illegal and acts to diminish the supply of his beer available for local consumers - the two stated reasons for his vocal campaign against Ebay. That seems rather hypocritical. Or perhaps the real reason for Shaun's reaction is some twisted sense of jealousy over the amount of money he was losing on the beer being sold on Ebay. Have HF prices been increasing since they were "discovered" on BA?

 

do you watch a lot of reality TV and/or daytime talk shows?

 

My thought here is that truth lies somewhere in the middle. It is shortsighted to think the reason behind Hill Farmsteads opposition to eBay sales and trading of its product is all about the buck, but it is just as naïve to think they are some sort of paragon of virtue in the craft beer industry. Do we really think the citizens of Greensboro Vermont and the surrounding areas are getting screwed because of eBay, causing them to not be able to obtain HF products at its intended price? Whether or not you think eBay beer sales is illegal, unethical, etc. the beer is still getting to someone who, we would assume, would not normally have had access to it.

Shaun Hill runs a business, I assume very successfully based on the fact that the product he produces is highly regarded, so much so that the demand far exceeds the supply. Since it is a private company I can only assume that it makes a profit based on these variables. My point is revenue drives a business, regardless of ideology. If HF was selling out of everything it made and was losing money I am almost certain it would cease to be a brewery. If HF is so driven to control its product and dictate exactly whose mouth it enters, then it would sell its beer only on tap at establishments it controlled. That way it would be purchased by people HF approves of, at its intended price.