This group is EXCLUSIVELY for comparing prices and quality of goods and service of ON-LINE sources for anything to do with homebrewing. I encourage folks to support local homebrew shops as much as possible, ... but there are times when they don't ALWAYS have what we need, or are not always conveniently located nearby, or are sometimes just TOO much higher in price than we care to pay, ... therefore most of us probably do at least some on-line shopping for brewing supplies and equipment. But sorting through search results and then comparing them can be very tedious -- and searches don't tell us much about reliability or about any problems that customers have had. So this group can also serve as sort of an unofficial 'Better Business Bureau' which we can 'take or leave' with a grain of salt. Collectively, we can all benefit from the time others have spent finding good sources of supplies.

I think that managing this process will be much simpler if we can maintain just one long, on-going thread for each major item. Naturally, members will be expected to search previous posts in the appropriate thread before asking questions about where is the best/cheapest place to buy something.

On-line vendors are welcome and encouraged to post a "link" to their websites on our _"LINKS"_ page ... ONLY, ... but should _NOT_ actively market their wares in our "MESSAGES" section. It's fine for vendors to answer questions if they're directed to the vendor, or if about a rare item or a question that seems to go unanswered for days, but otherwise vendor's need to abstain from self-promotion. Let's be reasonable; this group won't work if it's loaded with hundreds of different replies from LHBS, all saying "I sell it" each time someone asks a question.

Please visit my other SPECIALIZED brewing groups:
EXCLUSIVELY about Brewing Equipment w/1,200+ members: www.tinyurl.com/axuol
EXCLUSIVELY about Growing Hops/Brewing-Herbs/Barley w/ 2,700+ members: www.tinyurl.com/3au2uv

Thanks.

Bill Velek