Beer kits now for sale on eBay !

[ezcaps_phpbb3_import2]

Hello,

I posted a two-gallon and a four-gallon EZ Cap beer kits on eBay. Both are 7-day auctions. The purpose of the auctions is to try and get some idea of what the market thinks the value of these kits are. I'm not trying to see how high I can jack the price up on them, but I need to know what people think the value is. For all I know people think the value is less than my actual cost and I'm wasting my time. Our local brew store sells 3 pounds of DME for $17.99, an ounce of hops for over $6.00, and yeast is $3.00. Our starting price on the auction is far below that for comperable ingredients.

The best price break is going to be on four and six gallon kits because I can fit over 9 pounds of ingredients in the same flat rate box. Beer kits are heavy and there's not much I can do to control shipping costs except cram as much as I can into flat rate boxes.

http://shop.ebay.com/merchant/secure-transactions

[dopplebock]

man, your lbs is hosing you badly on price! i'm guessing it's because it's alaska! you're paying more than double for what i pay for yeast. as for dme, even MUNTON'S DARK DME-3Lbs shouldn't be over $13.99, at least in the lower states! if this beer kit thing takes off, you'd do better to purchase large amounts on the web and have it shipped to you.

but i've been thinking: (again)

selling 2 liter or one gallon kits is not going to be cost effective, imho. you'll lose at least 8 oz when transferring a gallon, that leaves 120 oz or ten 12 oz. beers. flat rate shipping alone cost about what a quality microbrew beer cost per 6 pack. i think your best bet would be 5 gallon kits.

anyway, i hope it works out.

[ezcaps_phpbb3_import2]

man, your lbs is hosing you badly on price! i'm guessing it's because it's alaska! you're paying more than double for what i pay for yeast. as for dme, even MUNTON'S DARK DME-3Lbs shouldn't be over $13.99, at least in the lower states! if this beer kit thing takes off, you'd do better to purchase large amounts on the web and have it shipped to you.

but i've been thinking: (again)

selling 2 liter or one gallon kits is not going to be cost effective, imho. you'll lose at least 8 oz when transferring a gallon, that leaves 120 oz or ten 12 oz. beers. flat rate shipping alone cost about what a quality microbrew beer cost per 6 pack. i think your best bet would be 5 gallon kits.

anyway, i hope it works out.

You are correct that our homebrew store charges too much- they are the only store within 900 miles so it's not like there is any competition. Fortunately we get our supplies wholesale direct.

Selling any kind of beer kit on the internet is never going to be cost effective compared to going into a store and buying the supplies (or for that matter, just buying the beer already made) because the ingredients weigh so much and shipping is the concern. Our 6-gallon kit weighs over 12 pounds.

p.s. our smallest kit makes two gallons. The one-gallon test kits were a one-timer. 2-6 gallons have the same shipping price of $10.70.

[dopplebock]

i'm guessing you'll use the medium flat rate box then?

going to try to get my 2 batches started tonight, if i have the time. i'm trying to guess if the hops are different, they smell pretty similar to me, i'm guessing saaz and tettnanger - although i'm probably wrong on both! if cascade is one of them then wow it's been a long time since i did a pale ale! i know, blind taste test....can't help wondering though!

[MrMatt]

I got my first kit on Wednesday and made a gallon right away. Very easy, I can't wait until it's done. Does anyone have or use one of those tap a draft systems? I'm thinking one would work well to make a few gallons with the ez caps & 2 liter bottles then transfer to the larger bottles for longer term storage (1-2 months) and dispensing so the ezcaps & 2 liters could alway be in constant use.

[dopplebock]

i have tap-a-draft, it works well but i wouldn't store beer /wine for over 2 months in it.

[ezcaps_phpbb3_import2]

I got my first kit on Wednesday and made a gallon right away. Very easy, I can't wait until it's done. Does anyone have or use one of those tap a draft systems? I'm thinking one would work well to make a few gallons with the ez caps & 2 liter bottles then transfer to the larger bottles for longer term storage (1-2 months) and dispensing so the ezcaps & 2 liters could alway be in constant use.

I have a tap-a-draft system and when I started developing the EZ Caps beer kit I thought it would be perfect just like you described. It had been in storage for over a year and when I tried to use it, nothing came out. I contacted the manufacturer and they allowed me to send it back to be repaired for free. When it gets here I'll let you know how it works.

[dopplebock]

tap-a-draft tip: when i got mine I would always make the mistake of not pulling the handle forward all the way. the liquid comes out really fast, you have to stop dispensing when the glass gets about half full. if you don't pull it back all the way it will foam horriby so just use a larger glass! when done right it's a great thing!

[detroitmagic]

When are the Beer kits going to be available ? You have a customer for one here. Please give me more information on getting a Beer kit.


Thanks,
detroitmagic

[gings]

I'm new to this forum. Are beer kits an idea that been abandoned or are you sold out for now?