BA Beer Reviews With ASP

Uhm... no. The brick-and-mortar stores were always more expensive than mail order pricing on everyday stuff. They might have had good prices on some items that were not nationally available. I can't speak to their policy change on those. But I do know that they still have lower sale prices than Amazon, but for an entirely different reason--lost leader. You're not likely to see any lost-leader sales in crafts market. What the brick-and-mortar stores have done in some instances is match the Amazon prices--Amazon.com prices, not the Marketplace. But, for the most part, they do not match mail/internet orders. They only match each other and even that with geographic restrictions.

Still, it misses my point entirely. Those who have higher prices are not the only ones who will see the scores. Those with lower prices will too. Knowing that they can sell the same beer at a higher price, they'd be idiots not to do so, unless they happen to believe that their low prices are the only thing that drives sales. I've already seen stores that become popular (beer-selling stores, that is) raise prices to match their local competitors. With an online source telling them national averages, the days of local bargains will be gone forever.

You're absolutely right. You are not going to spend 20% more. Can't speak for the next guy though. And prices are often jacked up on limited commodities. As it is, I just got 12 packs of Torpedo and Grey Lady for the same price that the store was charging for Heineken, Becks and Dos Equis--on sale! (Sam Adams varieties were $2 more and Lagunitas was $3). That's not quite market saturation as much as knowing the competition. And the fact that they have to be sold fairly quickly to be any good.