Hey guys and gals, I'm pretty new to the BA game. Wondering if you all think its worth it to ship fairly inexpensive beers cross country to get some stuff you want to try. What are typical shipping costs? Who do you ship with? Would love any and all insight you have. Thanks much
15-20 bucks for a smallish box (2 or 3 bombers and a 6 pack of cans) is a typical cost. Then there is packing materials too, so you are likely spending at least $20-25 on your first few boxes (until you have a stash of packing materials built up). You can re-use boxes you receive, but regardless, it gets expensive fast. I use fedex. I reserve mail trades for things I really want to try; but still, if you get into it, expect to spend a decent chunk of money shipping beers that are really tasty, half way around the country for other beers that probably aren't any better - just different.
Yes, it's worth it. It's even more worth it when you can ship out easy and inexpensive beers for beers you want to try. Best to sign up for FedEx online (free) and do the estimate yourself, but depending on the size and weight, could be as low as $12 or as high as $35 on a typical trade. I always look at shipping cost as "what if I bought those beers that I wanted, how much would shipping be?" It's usually acceptable.
"Is it worth it" seems like one of those questions that can only be answered by each individual BA'er. I trade every now and then so I can try beers that are out of distro for my area and to share the love with people who can't access what I can. There's a cost involved, sure. It's worth it to me... I think it makes the hobby more fun. Some people don't want to pay the money or deal with the hassle of packing boxes and the threat of getting on FedEx's bad side. to them it's not worth it. I get that... I just don't have the same opinion.
Trading is not the time to count pennies. It's an expensive pursuit. Craft beer is becoming increasingly expensive in itself. Add the shipping bit and, well it's still expensive. IMO when you make the monetary commitment to trade you do it to trade for things you want to try, regardless of the price of the beer. Otherwise one shouldn't be trading to begin with. I recommend signing up for a Fedex account as well.
It's worth it. But as @Jaycase mentioned, it's not a time to be pinching pennies. But also, you're typically not sending common beers because shipping costs money. I usually pay $15-30 to ship but I've spent as much as $50. In WI you have access to some pretty good stuff like Central Waters, New Glarus, Topping Goliath, Surly, Founders, Bells, etc. But some people trade beer to drink it, others are hunting Whalez seeking out that one special brew. I advise you to stay away from that, IMO not worth it. Where you live in WI will dictate how good of access you have to Central Waters, New Glarus, and the MN distro side.
It is worth it for me. I do try to stay in the $20 range for shipping cost. I think this is a reasonable cost to try some great beers that you may never have access too. When possible I set up IP trades as well (I live right off the highway on the way to Hill Farmstead, so works well for me). In the IP trades I am often able to "share the wealth" from my shipment trades and spread some great non-local beers around. Pick something you really want to try, make an ISO offer, try it (trading with shipping costs) out and see if you like it. Spending on shipping once can't hurt!
If you are trying to justify the money spent sending beers across the country, you're going to have a bad time.
Worth it is a personal definition. My shipping rates seem to average out around $1-1.5/lb for shipping everywhere in the US besides the West Coast which is $1.5-2/lb. Personal worth for locals? Minimum. Let me explain it like this, if I spend $100 in beer with a guy from CA and it costs $40 to ship to him, I am only getting $100 of beer back, but paid $140 for the beer. I am not sure if a local CA IPA is worth 1.45x what a NC IPA is worth. To compound this, prices of beer in CA are higher than many locations as well. So instead of the $14 for 72oz of HDR from NC, I would get 32oz of Pliny. And yes, I know it doesn't cost $40 to ship a 4 pack to CA, this was just part of an example. Drink local, drink fresh, and don't worry about trading; it's overhyped and you will just come to realize that there is great beer everywhere.
I think so, since I don't have much access to Special Releases and highly sought after beers (Mexican Cake may be the exception), I prefer trading local beers for local beers
