Blichmann vs Morebeer - HLT/MT/Kettle

[Stinkfist]

The "price support" is a fascinating concept. Can you explain how this applies to Blichmann? Is it because they promise their retailers that Blichmann will buy the inventory back from the retailer rather than the retailer putting it on sale; thus, keeping prices high?

Price support is historically tied to government intervention, but not in the modern use of the term.

Price support means the manufacturer sets the retail price for their product, sets the wholesale/dealer price for their product and thus establishes the margins of profit for distribution. The dealers by contract must sell said product at said price or they will be blacklisted from future business and be subject to civil action for violating a contract.

Let's say I make a product that I sell to a dealer for $100 and the contract says they must retail it for $150. If they don't, they are in breech of contract and subject to a civil suit.

What this does is force pricing upon consumers and dealers that is determined by the manufacturer. You will always pay the same price for a Blichmann product at retailer A as you do retailer B, C, D, etc. What this does is eliminate any sales, discounts, or incentives for the product that the retailer may use to promote and grow their business. It eliminates price competition in a free market. It fixes prices in a market with the threat of pulling the supply chain to that retailer. That is a shit way to do business.

Dealers are not allowed to put Blichmann products on sale. Ever. No specials, no discounts, no deals.

That's great that Blichmann is a sponsor of the BN, but I will never, ever buy anything of theirs because of their practices.

they had a 10% discount on all Blichmann stuff at Northern Brewer on Saturday

[keelanfish]

I have both a 20 gallon Blichmann and a 15 gallon Morebeer. I like them both. They are both very well made and do the job very well. The Morebeer kettle is thicker and has a clad bottom which is generally considered to be a good thing, but is probably not needed due to convection currents of liquids like wort. They are different though and below is a list of the differences I've observed.

1. Morebeer kettles are wider and therefore take up more horizontal real estate when storing. I also experience larger boil off rates with the Morebeer than the Blichmann which can be good or bad. Blichmann kettles are taller which can also have down sides.

2. Blichmann comes with all the bells and whistles, is well thought out and well constructed. Little things like being able to hang the lid on the handle, the ease of removing the dip tube, the ease of cleaning the sight glass, the provided brushes for cleaning, the functionality and ease of cleaning the false bottom, the easy to dissassemble and clean three-piece ball valve, etc are all positives in my experience.

3. I feel like I have to be more careful with the Blichmann. The polished finish is nice, but I do find myself worrying about scratching it (this may actually be a good thing since it forces me to take better care). Also the metal thickness and rigidity of the Morebeer kettle makes me believe it would survive being dropped better. I believe the Blichmann would be fairly easy to dent.

[Adam]

they had a 10% discount on all Blichmann stuff at Northern Brewer on Saturday

I'd be very shocked if Blichmann authorized it. They dropped my LHBS because they offered 2% discounts on everything if you're a member/owner of the co-op store, that also sells homebrewing stuff.

[Stinkfist]

they had a 10% discount on all Blichmann stuff at Northern Brewer on Saturday

I'd be very shocked if Blichmann authorized it. They dropped my LHBS because they offered 2% discounts on everything if you're a member/owner of the co-op store, that also sells homebrewing stuff.

well John Blichmann was actually at northern brewer that day so I am pretty sure he authorized it....lol

[Sip]

The "price support" is a fascinating concept. Can you explain how this applies to Blichmann? Is it because they promise their retailers that Blichmann will buy the inventory back from the retailer rather than the retailer putting it on sale; thus, keeping prices high?

Price support is historically tied to government intervention, but not in the modern use of the term.

Price support means the manufacturer sets the retail price for their product, sets the wholesale/dealer price for their product and thus establishes the margins of profit for distribution. The dealers by contract must sell said product at said price or they will be blacklisted from future business and be subject to civil action for violating a contract.

Let's say I make a product that I sell to a dealer for $100 and the contract says they must retail it for $150. If they don't, they are in breech of contract and subject to a civil suit.

What this does is force pricing upon consumers and dealers that is determined by the manufacturer. You will always pay the same price for a Blichmann product at retailer A as you do retailer B, C, D, etc. What this does is eliminate any sales, discounts, or incentives for the product that the retailer may use to promote and grow their business. It eliminates price competition in a free market. It fixes prices in a market with the threat of pulling the supply chain to that retailer. That is a shit way to do business.

Dealers are not allowed to put Blichmann products on sale. Ever. No specials, no discounts, no deals.

That's great that Blichmann is a sponsor of the BN, but I will never, ever buy anything of theirs because of their practices.

I would buy a couple of Blichmann things in a heartbeat but for the price fixing. Not an admirable trait in the homebrew world.

[Sip]

they had a 10% discount on all Blichmann stuff at Northern Brewer on Saturday

I'd be very shocked if Blichmann authorized it. They dropped my LHBS because they offered 2% discounts on everything if you're a member/owner of the co-op store, that also sells homebrewing stuff.

well John Blichmann was actually at northern brewer that day so I am pretty sure he authorized it....lol

So what John Blichmann did was to screw all his other retailers? Not doing business with a guy like that.

[PSUHomebrewer]

Though it is a good thing in some ways, especially for keeping a smaller company (like Blichmann) in business and competitive. The reason for this is what is stopping NB, more beer etc from say doubling the price of the blichmann items (kettles are a good example) and selling their own brand (morebeer kettles NB megapots) for a confortable mark up, thus pushing blichmann out of business. The price setting forces a larger company/ store brand to cut into their profits if they want to be competitive or find ways to cust cost(such as adding ball valves, thermometers and slight glasses as additional cost items).

Personally I'd rather pay a many factor fixed price for an item like the beer gun for its ease of use than have a store set price and the hassle of a cpf. Also look at it that the larger items blichmann sells usually are ship direct so the store is more a hands on advertisement than a retailer in a traditional sense(buy and walk out with).