TOPIC:

free shipping over a certain amount spent is always attractive (and fixed fee for wall ireland not just ROI!)

special discount for beoir members is always appreciated!

Bonus bottles are always a nice touch


More important is to be fairly priced with a wide selection including as many ltd edtions as possible, if you can get stuff I can't get elsewhere (and a wide range of other stuff) I'm likely to use the service. I'm not loyalk to a single site and have used drinkstore, mchughs & bradleys in Ireland and ales by mail/brewdog, beer ritz, eebria & beer merchants in UK and even Belgiumbeerinabox all delivered to NI

I buy once a year from <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="www.bier-deluxe.com/">www.bier-deluxe.com/

They have Alesmith, Cigar City and Dieu du Ciel! that you will never get over here.

Shipping is expensive being the main reason for not buying more often. Also Irish brewery's namely eight degrees seem to be up there for any IPA needs these days.

I have bought online and think it's an area not yet fully tapped out (if you excuse the pun).

Considerations for me are that often it's easier to browse online and take my time ordering than stopping off somewhere on the way home from work if I'm very busy.

I also like when I can order something unusual or a package deal that's harder to find in bricks and mortar. I've used a UK address to avail of particularly good deals from UK brewer online stores, for example.

The key thing for me is that the online site MUST be up to date and easy to browse. If it's several weeks out of date or cannot be browsed easily then it becomes an exercise in frustration.

The other side of it is that I will always continue to support bricks and mortar off licences too. It's not either / or for me.

Within Ireland (N&S) the online HB shops typically charge €6 for 24 hour courier delivery for up to 30 Kgs!

Some of the shops do free shipping over a certain amount or as special discount periods like Easter, Half term w.h.y.!
Its all about volume of sales!

Need I say more?

&amp;quot;Stephanos&amp;quot;:29rfi2tb wrote: special discount for beoir members is always appreciated![/quote:29rfi2tb]
Naturally, i've already got this written into the outline of the business plan! <!-- s:wink: --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_wink.gif" alt="" title="Wink" /><!-- s:wink: -->

Thanks for your other points as well, all noted.

&amp;quot;winstonia&amp;quot;:29rfi2tb wrote: I buy once a year...[/quote:29rfi2tb]
If you don't mind me asking, when you say you buy once a year, is it a "treat yourself at xmas" thing or do you buy a large quantity (if so, how much?) and savour them throughout the year?

As far as eight degrees are concerned, they're basically giving the stuff away! I've worked in an offy for several years and taking the Howling Gale as an example, they're not selling it for much more than cost price. And free postage to boot. Great deal!

&amp;quot;Rory&amp;quot;:29rfi2tb wrote: The key thing for me is that the online site MUST be up to date and easy to browse. If it's several weeks out of date or cannot be browsed easily then it becomes an exercise in frustration.

The other side of it is that I will always continue to support bricks and mortar off licences too. It's not either / or for me.[/quote:29rfi2tb]
You raise a great point about usability. This is a bug bear of mine as well. I'd HAVE to have a nice site that's up to date and easy to use.

Like I mentioned above, i've worked in an offy for several years now so I wouldn't necessarily expect or want people to choose one or the other. However, if I (or anyone else for that matter) can offer good deals/unusual beers/package deals then I would hope that would attract attention.

Thanks for all the answers so far, it has really helped frame some of the ideas i've had. If anyone else has something to add, not even tied in to a question i've asked, that would be welcomed as well.

Thanks!

&amp;quot;Will_D&amp;quot;:1tw63dwi wrote: Within Ireland (N&S) the online HB shops typically charge €6 for 24 hour courier delivery for up to 30 Kgs!

Some of the shops do free shipping over a certain amount or as special discount periods like Easter, Half term w.h.y.!
Its all about volume of sales!

Need I say more?[/quote:1tw63dwi]

Forgive my ignorance, what does HB stand for?

Somewhere between €5 and €10 seems to be the norm. Like you say, it's down to being able to arrange better deals with couriers based on volume of sales.