Rare beers retail: How to price?

I think it depends on the stores goal with these bottles. Does the store want to reward and surprise its customers and make them happy/loyal or does it want to price each Surly bottle as high as possible to make the most money?

 

For a bottle I usually expect up to a 10-20% mark up per year cellared as a storage fee. I always love when a place has no mark up

 

Might not be a bad idea to contact surly. Not sure what they'd say

As far as alternate websites, those are usually egregiously over-priced, and would most likely piss a lot of people off

 

Were these bottles cellared properly in the dark between 55-60 degrees or kept near a receiving dock where the temps ranged from 20 to 90 degrees?

If not cellared, you may really piss off some customers (& get bad PR) if you charge extra $ and the bottles are bad.

 

I would go with the 10-20% markup per year, seems like a fair value for the time and space spent to cellar

 

Agreed. Costs money to have storage space and proper temperature control to age that stuff.

 

In recent years Brooklyn Center Liquor has sold verticals and cellared bottles and usually price like this:

2014 $20
2013 $30
2012 $40
2011 $50

 

One million dollars.

 

From a business side this you’re best feedback is going to be from the local/regulars that come in. My suggestion is that you ask a general question around thought around prices of cellared beer and their interest in picking up some out of production bottles.

Also you know the %markup from your other products, turn over, and amount of customers that fit in your ones that you want to get in the door.

Are you going to tie it with other promotions? Where you might not mark up these beers as much but hope that foot traffic purchases $. What do your distributers have to say? They should know who else may be in the same position and what

I think asking this on BA is a little of a loaded question unless you are looking to get top dollar out of these bottles. In that case you should ask MGM and Surdyk's .

 

Zipps and Blue Max have regular cellar sales, they would be ones that I would check with.

 

I would price the Surly Darkness 09 - 13 for a KBBS.

 

Won't sell you good beer unless he knows you....hmmm.
Now I see why he has so many in the cellar.

Question is; will he sell a five year old, $50 bottle to a stranger?
I suspect he will.

 

Every beer you listed, with the exception of Darkness and Five, should be discounted. Discount 20% per year for Smoke.

 

Five is drinking so good right now. I'd probably drop fifty for another

 

I completely disagree on Smoke. I find it gets way better with age, as the overpowering smoke flavors relax and it becomes much more balanced. At 2-3 years, it's delicious. But then, I don't love beers with overpowering smoke.

And BTW, Five is drinking fantastic right now. I just drank my last bottle last week, and I wish I had many more.

 

How about a charity raffle for the bottles? $5 a ticket and donate all proceeds to a local cause or something? Could raise a lot of money and maybe a tax write off for the store? Just an idea

 

This is exactly the question to ask. I think if a store wants to surprise and delight a few people with these bottles at no or minimal mark up, that can be a good strategy. Frankly unless you're sitting on a lot of these bottles then I'm not sure what you'll really getting out of marking up the significantly, other than some frustrated BAs and a new negative thread here.

Personally my opinion is that there is a bigger opportunity to make a bigger splash with the bottles by doing this in a way that excites people, creates loyalty and perhaps draws in a few new customers.