eBay and Beer Sales

too bad.

 

Although I do admit to buying a couple beers on eBay (they ended up costing much less than trading would have), I am really happy to see this. Hopefully people start sharing more and hoarding less. We can always hope...

 

I generally don't like the idea of eBaying for beer. I have done it once - for a bottle of Kate the Great 2011. I paid $150. That's way cheaper than renting a car for two weekends to drive up from the city (ticket sales and Kate Day) as well as taking off work, plus all the incidental expenses. Sure, someone profiteered. Someone would also have profiteered in beer if I had traded the amount of beer necessary to land a Kate (let's not pretend $4$ happens at that level). I'm paying for the convenience - why is that so bad?

As for the red herring of "don't break the law", trading is breaking the law too in many states (such as Michigan).

 

Fukit!!!!!!

 

Except that now those sellers/traders can inflate the value even more since another sales venue has been removed. "Dude, this beer is worth even more now because ebay banned it!"

 

I don't really see that happening if ebay bans all beer sales. This is what it seems like ebay is doing since there have been a number of different beer listings from different breweries that have been removed. However if ebay doesn't remove all beer and is just going for some loophole thing again like the "value is in the container not the contents" then you could very well be right. Lets hope that they do ban all beer otherwise loopholers gonna loophole and there won't be much improvement on the situation at all.

Mostly I'm just hoping this makes it a little harder for people to profit from reselling beers they've bought up. I know they're going to find other outlets to sell these beers, but I think every little bit harder we make it for them to resell will help deter people from this act.

 

Impressive rant and response but you still missed my point.

 

Is it not the actual value because you can get more in return or because people will offer more? This thought process is what has caused trading to be the shit show it is today. The value of your beer is the same as the number printed on your receipt.

 

Not everyone will agree with what I say, it should not be viewed as an indictment on them, it is only the way I feel and how I think we should treat each other if we want to claim to be part of a community. I understand sharing and love the fact that it is done by so many people, but buying more than what was allotted or necessary for no other reason but to send it out of its intended area and to ultimately profit, is taking beer out of someone elses hands. The person who missed out locally may have planned on sharing too, does it really do more good than it does harm?

If I run across crazy stuff I will send bottles to you, Bill or Ryan knowing that it will be shared with a great group of people from an unfortunate state. Rest assured whatever I send will come from my own allotment, it is just how I believe it should be done.

 

I've said this before, and I'll say it again: craft beer is the new baseball card, circa late 90's early 2000's. And you know what? Many brewers aren't exactly helping it out. Come to think of it, we who are willing to go stand in line for 12 hours just to buy some beer aren't helping out, either.

Just like with super-deluxe-boner jam-autograph-game used insert cards, you don't think hyper-limited releases are doing the same thing? If something with 10,000 bottles can get crazy on the secondary market, what do you think bottle limits of 1000, 500, or 160 are going to do? With the explosion of the industry, of course there is going to be a secondary market for those beers. Killing ebay sales is not going to stop it. It will just be on to the next medium of secondary sales. Together, by the brewers deciding to release these one-offs in bottles, and buy us going insane for them, WE ALL created the market.

There is so much naivete in this craft beer scene when it comes to all of this. It's all simple economics, it's been seen before, and it will be seen again.

I don't know what the answer is to solving this issue, but I am pretty sure I know the result: people will ultimately tire of scrambling over 60 bottle limited releases and spending the money, and the bubble will burst. Craft will lose its fair-weathered fans, and breweries will close. And it will only be a matter of time.

 

It depends on the type of trade. If it is someone who is trying to maximize value then of course I don't approve. If someone wants to hook up a trading partner then good for them.

 

Bottle numbers create an unneeded frenzy. I guarantee if Three Floyd's didn't number lets say Battle Priest, then a lot of people from Indianapolis wouldn't have left work early to make the three hour drive. It increases perceived rarity.

 

Oh. So THAT's what the brewers limit distribution of some beers. To make it more fair. And here I thought that's why
They distributed widely...so we all an have some instead of just the peopel near the brewery. I love these threads. They show you exactly what craft beer is... what everyone thinks it should be...and just how far apart those two things are depending on whom you ask.

 

I have no doubt. I wasn't debating the merit or lack thereof of trading multiple bottles for one that's more rare.

 

I just woke up and can barely even tolerate the level if light being admitted by by cell phone, and this seriously made me laugh.

 

I think it's a joke if everyone really thinks the brewers are mad about auction sales.
I bet 90% of them wank around with a massive buzz on and the Ebay app on thier phone showing all the little sweetcake honeys saying "Hey baby - look what my beer is going for on ebay, lets get outta here"

 

to be honest I used it from time to time as have a hard time getting a trade as I live abroad. Was in a lot of cases easier than trying to trade for things and get told no I do not want to ship abroad due to shipping cost.

 

Never bought or sold any beer on eBay, but I have to say, in the case of something like CBS that I so desperately want to try but have no ammo to trade for, I have given serious thought into going to the bay.

I believe eBay has its place. Someone has something that I want, and I should have the option to buy it. Works for every other merchandise category...why not beer?

(besides the actual law part, which if you trade you are breaking those same laws)

 

You make some good points, but this one doesn't make sense. Like most others on this site, you're overvaluing rare beer. It's a mere fraction of the craft beer market. Do you actually think people are going to go back to BMC because limited releases will become too hard to attain? "You know what? I'll just go back to drinking beer that I don't like the taste of because it's too damn hard for me to get barrel aged barleywines from my favorite brewery." That don't make no sense. Most people who drink craft beer have no idea about limited releases. Troeg's is crowded every night with people who have never heard of Splinter Blue.

 

A solid point. I live in NC the only Whale I can catch is CBS, and KBS if you consider this one rare. This year KBS was a bitch to get and the prices reflect that, and the most you could get anywhere was 4 and even that was tough. It's your money you should spend it on what you want, Shipping issues set aside.