Make Your Own Six...Outside The Lines

I don't know if anyone posted this yet, but the mix-and-match 6 pack stores around here in Central PA have signs that specifically state you cannot take more than 2 of the same beer to make your 6 pack.

 

You are totally allowed to do this in the Total Wine's around here, it's not an issue.

edit:

wait a sec? I think I am misreading this. What I mean is that what you are allowed to do is if you just want ONE item of a beer that comes in a pack format, you can pick a fresher one from a pack... instead of an older one single that is on the shelf...

Not sure where the stealing bit comes in, what am I missing here? each bottle has a 6-4 pack price, and then it's run up individually as it's own price. There's no theft involved if anything it costs a little more that way.

 

A lot of grocery stores actually planogram their mixed 6 section, they actually put some thought into what goes in there so they can avoid this as much as possible.

Seeing that you can get a beer cheaper by putting in a mixed six pack is kind of pointless though, I mean you can even save yourself the $9.99/6 pack if you just throw the six pack under your shirt and walk out the front door. Hey, if you're stealing, you might as well go all out. I probably wouldn't be as bitchy about somebody taking a fresh IPA out of a 6 pack that was also in the mix-6 section and refilling the 6 pack with an older one from the mix-6 section since it all kind of comes out in the wash though. I'll have to ponder this next time I'm looked for a good mixed pack...

 

For those of you calling this stealing, what if you ask an employee if it's okay and they give approval? This happened to me at an Albertson's (grocery store). I was very clear and said "Do the mixed six packs have to come from the singles section, or can I grab some from other packages?", and he responded "go for it...that's why we do the mixed option."

My point is, it may vary store to store. If you get approval from an employee, go for it.

 

TW doesn't really have a mix-a-six section, all the singles are individually priced so your mixed 6 price is based on the price of each individual beer. The OP is referring to stores that have a mix-a-six section where there is a set price ($9.99 in the example) where your mixed 6 will cost $9.99 no matter what beers are in the pack.

 

The stealing comes in when you are in a store that controls which beers you can get as singles... and they usually charge a fixed price for a mixed-six. So if you take a more expensive bottle that the store says is not allowed in the mix-a-six then you are (i) skirting the store rules and (ii) getting a more expensive beer for a lower price.

 

Ah I see... k got it.

 

Same at the TW's here, too. You can build a 6 of any you want, but pay a singles price for each.

 

It's stealing. I would never do it. I have seen a lot of liquor stores hesitant to do mix a six, and it's easy to see why. My local bottle shop moved the mix-six cooler up front so you are in full view of the employees while you are filling up your 6er. One of my other stores puts old hard to sell beers and macros in the mixer cooler.

They have mentioned if you want something in the mix 6 that they don't have, just ask and see. They may let you break down a 6 and put the rest in the cooler.
Plus they know me so I get good treatment from them.

 

Clearly if the store says OK then it is OK. But my experience is that stores with the mix-a-six are pretty clear that only those in the designated area are allowed (as pointed out... some stores actually use special marking to help them check if you've taken something from elsewhere). Places for which this is not as much an issue are those that have specific per-bottle prices that vary by beer rather than the mix-a-six scenario where there is one fixed price for a mixed-six.

 

I work at a local bottle shop where we changed the way we allow people to buy a mixed 6pk. Instead of having a selection where you can pick 6 for a set price, we sticker single bottles & cans with their own barcode. The idea is, we can offer a higher quality beer & it cuts down on those who try to break apart a 4/6pk that aren't eligible for the build your own. I don't believe we had an issue with people trying to do so to begin with but it definitely helps us keep track of inventory. Also, it took some time for our customers to get used to the new idea of building a 6pk but since the change we've gotten very positive feedback from our customers.

 

It obviously matters because of pricing. If you are sticking to "standard fare" craft 6-packs they are all priced around $9.99 each. But Myrcenary DIPA is $10.99 /4, Upslope Pumpkin is $14.99/4, and some Crooked Stave 12 oz singles sell for $12. So even if you swipe one of these beers and stick it in a mix 6, you are stealing from the store because they are losing money and you are circumventing the "rules" they have in place. I was trying to hunt down a sour cherry beer yesterday and inventory said they had 5 but there were none on the shelf. Hmm wonder if people were gaming the system there.

 

At my grocery store, I find all kinds of gems in the 9.99 mix section....Bigfoot, Black Chocolate Stout, Breakfast Stout, Two Hearted Pint cans. Even Palo Santo once. Presumably that was store error; since the exact same bottles sell for a higher price in the store. Now I'm wondering if they were orphans from a broken pack, and like someone noted earlier, now I kind of want to thank that person!

 

The issue has gotten so bad at a couple of grocery stores near me that they have several signs saying "INDIVIDUAL BEERS MAY NOT BE REMOVED FROM SIX-PACKS!" in the refrigerated section. Then again, some of the singles bottles have a nice layer of dust on them.

 

That's straight stealing

 

I think a lot of the onus around rules and eligibility should fall on the retailer. If you want people to take advantage of the mix a six program, make it a worthwhile one. Throwing all your old/out of code bottles on a shelf and pretending that you are giving me a deal is laughable.

The smarter/better stores make it pretty clear in their POS systems which beers are eligible and which aren't and set up programs their customers will benefit from.

 

It would take a real jag off to pull a move like that.
On another note I always scan the mix a six section before I check out. I have found some real gems in there that the store couldn't move in a six or four pack format. I got a sixer of Corsondonk that way once for ten bucks! And no, I feel no shame for buying six of the 8 bottles they had on the shelf.

 

yeah i'm with a lot of people here, it's theft, if it's not meant for a make your own sixer then it should be used for one, that'd be like mix and matching individual potato chips, it's rude and who knows what will happen if people continue to do it it may ruin the fun for everybody

 

As a bottle shop employee, I HATE when people do this. Just two weeks ago someone grabbed a single miller lite from the six pack.. Like, really dude? The fuck are we gonna do with a five pack?

 

Here in Ohio, it's M1 theft. I prosecuted people for it when I used to work Loss Prevention for Kroger and yes, a few were convicted. All were trespassed from Kroger property for life. The theft amount would be the total of the package of whatever pack they removed it from- NOT the lone bottle price differential. So putting a bottle from a $12 4-pack in a mix-six would result in a theft charge for the amount of $12.