Are stores allowed to set any price they want and allowed to change from one day to the next? Went into store yesterday and breakfast stout was $10.49 and today suddenly there's only a 'few pack left (which I know is complete BS cause the guy said they got less cases then I know they actually got in) and says that the price is $20 a pack! They never put the beer out for public sale but just wondered what the laws were regarding accounts, price points and the such. trying to figure out who exactly to contact but needless to say that if they are going to be shady, lying pos then I won't be shipping there anymore. It could just be one shady employee in which case I'll just contact beer manager but if they are not allowed to gouge like that then may have to place complaint elsewhere.
It's their beer. They can price it however they want. Someone will buy it. BTW you can't price gouge beer, a non-necessity. You don't need beer to survive.
Good to know. I'll just talk to beer manager then and if that's their practice then just won't deal with them anymore.
A liquor store in California tries to sell their Parabola for $40 a bottle while the going rate is ~$15. It just sits there, and people make fun of his store. Yeah, they can charge whatever they want, but that sudden jump in price is suspicious though. Sometimes we have a similar issue with Pliny in California. Russian River actually provides a MSRP, so to speak, please don't sell it for more than $X. Most stores abide by their request, some charge considerably more. While it's not against the law or anything, when Vinne/RR finds out they just stop selling Pliny to those stores. Since Pliny is a desirable beer for those stores to carry, it works well to keep pricing in check.
This is what the free market is all about. Start screwing over customers to make a couple of extra bucks, and you end up losing out in the long run.
Quick shout out to Beer Table Pantry. Maine MO for $40/64oz growler, and $11/16oz. And I thought Maine bottles were expensive.... http://www.beermenus.com/places/2855-beer-table-pantry Agreed about the term gouging not being applied to non-essential items such as beer, but still this is worth a mention.
