KBS price gouging

Well the likelihood of people buying other stuff increases as people go in the store. Hard to buy anything if people aren't there.

 

He didn't. He also didn't like the business practice. This is a good place to discuss something like that.

 

I went to some stores I never went to before and bought KBS at them, I have since gone back and bought other stuff.

 

it sounds like you are in birmingham and shopping at either vulcan beverage or highland package store. those guys are sleazy. fortunately a few grocery stores in the area have a pretty comparable selection and very fair prices.

 

Name the spot already
A-

 

Nevermind

 

I don't know what kind of markup $5-6 is either, since the only bottle shop in the county to get it here charged $12 each. All the phone calls in the world couldn't make me hate being able to sell my goods at over a 100% markup.

 

I ran into this same situation in a bar just last week. This small pizza shop near me has a decent tap list and last week he tapped a keg of KBS. They were $6 for a 5oz pour and he limited them to 1 per person. He told me that it is a pain to get beers like KBS because people are always calling to see if it is still available and it brings in people who are going to drink their one KBS and then leave. His claim was that the food is where he makes his money and having a bunch of people crowding up his restaurant for one beer hurts his food sales because his regulars don't come in on those nights. I understand what he is saying but at $6 for 5oz he is getting over 100 pours out of the sixtel. He can't tell me that he didn't make plenty of money on the keg because there is no way that it cost him anywhere near $600.

 

The low-supply, high-demand special releases can indeed be a headache for store owners & employees. So much time spent trying to figure out how to handle the release, fielding countless phone calls, etc, plus my store is the only one in a 100-mile radius to get many of these releases and we serve a metro area of over a half-million people so the pressure on us is very high to deliver and it is impossible to make everybody happy. However, in the end it is always worth it when you see the joy in someone's face when they finally get to hold a bottle of KBS, Hopslam, etc in their hands.

 

I'm totally chiming in on this one. It's not the hundreds of phone calls about allocated items like this that bother me. It's the people that I've never seen before who come in all frustrated and get upset and yell at me that I can't stand. The utter rudeness of these people is the reason I hate special releases. And people do come in and just by the limited release items and leave and I haven't seen a few of them ever again. I had one customer who continuously sent e-mails for every release and we finally decided to give him some even though we had no idea who he was and he was incredibly rude to our employee who sold him the items. It's really tough to try to handle who gets what. But above all, we highly reward our loyal customers.

 

I thought i was getting hit at 10 bucks a bottle, I'd never ever pay 20.

 

They love KBS and wish they got dozens of cases. KBS all gone? They buy something else, they come in to buy beer and they generally do, it's not KBS or bust.

 

I bought a bottle of KBS at a bar in Brooklyn. Their prices were insane, but I still only paid ~$13 for the bottle. It was a special night with family, and I even had a stash of bottles at home already. $20 is insanity, but somebody is going to pay it.

 

Indeed- for it to actually be "gouging", we've gotta be talking about a necessary item. And while KBS is sure tasty, I think it might be a stretch to call it "necessary"!

That pricing is ridiculous though, and as I said, I wouldn't go back. In that case, at that margin- an email to Founders probably wouldn't be the worst idea. Maybe nothing they can do, but worth letting them know.

 

I'd think this is the problem. Thanks largely to beer trading, people go nuts over these releases, not because of wanting to drink the beer, but wanting to "aquire the value". Hence, only going after these specific beers. And like Ryan noted, while I don't work at a store, I've seen this first hand.

And I have seen people come in, ask about something limited, then turn around and leave right away if it isn't there.

I'm a regular at my local store, and they treat me really well- but I don't even bother with the limited stuff. It's become too much of a headache for everyone involved... other than, apparently, the traders who can then ransom their latest aquisition.

 

Actually, it usually is "KBS (Hoplsam, CBS, etc.) or Bust." On the release day, we get lots of new faces only buying their allotment and we do not see or hear from them again until the next release. The person buying something other than the beer being released is much rarer than you might think. Mostly because they are going store to store to get a full case worth (or as close as they can get). When we are out, folks turn around and walk out with nothing. On to the next store.
On these special releases, we get calls for weeks before and are still getting questions months later. Closer to the release time, we get the "Special Release or Bust" folks who leave as soon as they figure out we are out. Farther away, they are just "taking their chances" while shopping for something else.

 

Some beer store managers that I have spoken to - especially ones that have been doing the job for more than 10 minutes, can't stand all the rare beer hype - and the types that come in just for "that" beer - and it seems that its not so much about the added calls and requests, just that young craft drinkers are blinded by the hype, can't see the forest for the trees, and can't be bothered with great beer (which is more than likely to be even better than that rare beer they want) that is easily available.

 

Yup, had this conversation a few weeks ago with a store owner. He absolutely hates the special release beers as it gives them nothing but headaches. You end up satisfying a few customers and pissing off all the rest (maybe not pissing off, but not making them happy for sure).