BerserkerDay IV - Jan 27, 2013 - BRAINSTORMING TIME!

Message

November 15th, 2012, 10:55 am

It's time.

Stop buying from those lists, and save money for BerserkerDay, which is just over two months away. The BerserkerDay IV Committee is starting to assemble a master list, and will be contacting wineries starting immediately. ITB'ers, don't wait to be contacted - let us know if you want to sell some wine, beer, or accessories on this absolutely insane day. (Those who have participated in past years will testify...)

I have created a Private Message 'group' for the Committee, so if you are ITB and want to submit an offer, feel free to do so by selecting the BerserkerDay IV Committee group in your private message, click 'add' and we'll all get it.

You'll note that BerserkerDay III's forum is now a subforum of the BerserkerDay IV forum - http://www.wineberserkers.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=40 - that way you can reference back and forth between the two if needed, to see how things went down last year, and how much insanity we had. Each year it gets bigger, and better, and more expensive due to deals you can't refuse. I'll move this thread to that forum once we get closer to the date.

As before, we'll give the Donors a sneak preview (if you haven't yet become a Donor of Wine Berserkers, click the 'Donate' button the upper right of the screen, next to the tilted A that lets you change the font size on your screen) of what offers to expect, but the rest of you will have to wait as they are posted. Each offer will have its own thread, and details about the offer and how to nab it will be contained therein.

Fortunately it is on a Sunday this year, the week before the Super Bowl, so there will be no issues with work getting in the way (unless you are a pastor, I guess). It will start early, and end late, so be prepared to be on the forum ALL DAY and pay off your credit cards before the day arrives. Seriously.

November 16th, 2012, 7:59 am

So...as the Committee is assembling some great offers for the Wine Berserkers community, now's a good time to ask if there are other ideas for what we should do either on BerserkerDay, or before/around BerserkerDay. Social networking, videos, interviews, collaborative effort with a retailer, email jokes, whatever.

Let's brainstorm!

brigcampbell · #3 Post by **brigcampbell** » November 16th, 2012, 8:44 am

We could have people organize offlines in their cities for that day. Make a party out of it. The OCW4P crew could fill up WCC. It'd be like a war room.

November 16th, 2012, 9:03 am

brigcampbell wrote:We could have people organize offlines in their cities for that day. Make a party out of it. The OCW4P crew could fill up WCC. It'd be like a war room.

That's a fantastic idea!!! I can post deals from wherever, so that's not a big issue.

Legend Cellars is another good spot, as that's where I keep my wines

but they don't have a table/chairs setup other than the patio, and the smelly cigar room...

Thoughts on massive regional offlines? Within that, we could have photo contests, etc.

#5 Post by **Adam Lee** » November 18th, 2012, 8:03 am

I didn't get any private message but remain interested in participating.

Adam Lee
Siduri Wines

November 18th, 2012, 9:35 am

Adam Lee wrote:I didn't get any private message but remain interested in participating.

Adam Lee
Siduri Wines

Dammit! We tried to keep you from knowing!

Kidding...we haven't started sending out requests yet. There's a conference call scheduled for tomorrow so we can firm things up, then reach out to all the new and repeat wineries. I'll likely be in charge of the repeat offenders...and we were counting on you, Adam!

November 18th, 2012, 10:42 am

ITBers, please note that no PMs have been sent out requesting offers for this year as of yet. I'm starting to receive messages from wineries stating they have not received a PM solicitation - that's because we haven't started reaching out yet, but we plan to starting this week

andy velebil · #8 Post by **andy velebil** » November 18th, 2012, 3:38 pm

brigcampbell wrote:We could have people organize offlines in their cities for that day. Make a party out of it. The OCW4P crew could fill up WCC. It'd be like a war room.

Let me know if you do this. If work doesn't get in the way I'm game for a "BerserkerDay War Room Offline" at WCC.

#9 Post by **Craig G** » November 18th, 2012, 3:55 pm

brigcampbell wrote:We could have people organize offlines in their cities for that day. Make a party out of it. The OCW4P crew could fill up WCC. It'd be like a war room.

"Gentlemen, you can't fight in here... this is the War Room!"

Todd, I'm in for the Domaine Dujac mixed case.

November 18th, 2012, 6:13 pm

Craig Gleason wrote:
brigcampbell wrote:We could have people organize offlines in their cities for that day. Make a party out of it. The OCW4P crew could fill up WCC. It'd be like a war room.
"Gentlemen, you can't fight in here... this is the War Room!"

Todd, I'm in for the Domaine Dujac mixed case.

#11 Post by **Craig G** » November 18th, 2012, 6:46 pm

Just brainstorming...

brigcampbell · November 18th, 2012, 7:30 pm

I'll start working the OC offline. And I'll post a formal thread in the offline forum.

M Hudson · #13 Post by **M Hudson** » November 20th, 2012, 9:56 am

I suggest a group of us all rent a nice big house at Tahoe, ski Friday and Saturday, and have a big offline / berserker buying fest before heading home on Monday.

Great way to spend 4 days, and all my first quarter wine allotment.

November 20th, 2012, 10:09 am

M Hudson wrote:I suggest a group of us all rent a nice big house at Tahoe, ski Friday and Saturday, and have a big offline / berserker buying fest before heading home on Monday.

Great way to spend 4 days, and all my first quarter wine allotment.

Good call! Jealous...

#15 Post by **bob poirier** » November 23rd, 2012, 6:45 am

Would it be possible for the participating wineries to post their ship to states in the offer? Some websites you couldn't tell until have way through the order process that they don't ship to my 2 states.

#16 Post by **Bud Carey** » November 23rd, 2012, 8:17 am

November 24th, 2012, 8:25 am

bob poirier wrote:Would it be possible for the participating wineries to post their ship to states in the offer? Some websites you couldn't tell until have way through the order process that they don't ship to my 2 states.

Great idea

November 24th, 2012, 11:38 am

Might be a shorter list to post where they don't ship to.

#19 Post by **e chin** » November 29th, 2012, 12:33 pm

Todd,
Any idea when you might be sending out the sneak preview. I only ask because I may be out of town the day of and need to set up a proxy.

November 29th, 2012, 6:51 pm

e chin wrote:Todd,
Any idea when you might be sending out the sneak preview. I only ask because I may be out of town the day of and need to set up a proxy.

Probably not until a day or two before the actual day

#21 Post by **e chin** » November 29th, 2012, 9:56 pm

K thx

gemschaefer · #22 Post by **gemschaefer** » December 4th, 2012, 4:39 pm

Absolutely count me in!!! I had so much fun last year. I will be better prepared this year...send me the timeline. gloria@akomazoume.com

THANK YOU!!
G

John Cabot · #23 Post by **John Cabot** » December 11th, 2012, 9:58 pm

we are good for some verticals... and some things we've never offered before..

December 12th, 2012, 11:57 am

We will have an offer but not sure yet what it will be.

Karen

Evan Pontoriero · December 14th, 2012, 10:08 am

We will participare. Send me date/time info evan@foglinevineyards.com

December 14th, 2012, 10:09 am

Evan Pontoriero wrote:We will participare. Send me date/time info evan@foglinevineyards.com

Evan, feel free to email me at todd @ wineberserkers.com or PM the BerserkerDay IV Committee (it's a group on the right side of a PM, so you can get us all in the PM)

Dusty Timmons · December 20th, 2012, 8:52 pm

I have not been around here long enough to experience one of these. However, something tells me my CPA wife is going to kill me on the 28th...

gemschaefer · December 29th, 2012, 11:33 am

So trying to figure out what to offer...if I recall from last year, majority liked an all in shipping included price. Any thoughts on what you would like to see?

G

Bob Wood · #29 Post by **Bob Wood** » December 30th, 2012, 5:19 am

gemschaefer wrote:So trying to figure out what to offer...if I recall from last year, majority liked an all in shipping included price. Any thoughts on what you would like to see?

G

This?

gemschaefer · #30 Post by **gemschaefer** » December 30th, 2012, 9:44 am

That is do-able...but you have to come visit me and drink with me to get it.. : ))

January 16th, 2013, 4:37 am

Gloria,

I personally find all in shipping deals attractive. Means I don't have to sit and wonder what the final number is going to be when trying to pull the trigger.

January 16th, 2013, 8:05 am

Michael Powers wrote:Gloria,

I personally find all in shipping deals attractive. Means I don't have to sit and wonder what the final number is going to be when trying to pull the trigger.

Exactly - that's what I tell prospective ITB'ers - for some reason, the same discount on the wine doesn't garner as much interest as that discount applied as 'free shipping'.

Dusty Gillson · January 16th, 2013, 11:13 am

I tend to appreciate the "all in" pricing because some wineries charge much much more for shipping than others. Some of the wineries I order direct from charge as much as $18/btl for small orders while others are in the $1-4/btl range.

andy velebil · #34 Post by **andy velebil** » January 16th, 2013, 2:07 pm

Todd F r e n c h wrote:
Michael Powers wrote:Gloria,

I personally find all in shipping deals attractive. Means I don't have to sit and wonder what the final number is going to be when trying to pull the trigger.
Exactly - that's what I tell prospective ITB'ers - for some reason, the same discount on the wine doesn't garner as much interest as that discount applied as 'free shipping'.

+1.
When I know the cost is "all in" then I can manage what I get better. Translated = I buy more wine as I truly know what I've spent instead of stopping early due to my guessing on the high side what shipping and handling charges may be.

#35 Post by **Dave H.** » January 17th, 2013, 10:35 am

I have never participated in a Berserkers Day but sounds awesome. Can someone give me a breakdown of how the deals will be presented? Like, will it be a front page takeover...?
Just curious. I will certainly be checking back!

January 17th, 2013, 10:37 am

Dave H. wrote:I have never participated in a Berserkers Day but sounds awesome. Can someone give me a breakdown of how the deals will be presented? Like, will it be a front page takeover...?
Just curious. I will certainly be checking back!

Do check out BerserkerDay III, which is on this forum, linked at the very top - you'll see all last year's offers and discussions.

Essentially, each offer is given its own thread, and discussions and purchasing ensue. Plan to take the day off.

#37 Post by **Dave H.** » January 19th, 2013, 9:26 am

Indeed, that thread answered all questions. Thank you. Sounds amazing. And on a weekend! I'm psyched.

January 21st, 2013, 8:12 am

6 DAYS AWAY!!

ITB'ers, here's your last chance to submit offers!

January 21st, 2013, 11:13 am

The offers are still coming in - could use more auction items if you've got something special to offer up!

I plan to send the Donors a list of offers one day prior.

January 21st, 2013, 4:59 pm

How does the auction item work, Todd? I have to admit I am so busy on BerserkerDay answering inquiries and processing orders that I really never look at the other offers/goings on.

January 22nd, 2013, 1:55 pm

Merrill, and auction item is simply an item up for auction, with a start time and a stop time, bidding in posts on the thread. The BerserkerDay III forum has all the auctions from last year listed, if you want to take a look.

Received another 'free shipping' offer for Donors - awesome! And this one from one of my favorite wineries on the BerserkerDay list! Any other ITB'ers who have already submitted offers, particularly those with discounted shipping, if you want to consider free shipping to Donors, let me know!

January 22nd, 2013, 7:03 pm

Todd F r e n c h wrote:Merrill, and auction item is simply an item up for auction, with a start time and a stop time, bidding in posts on the thread. The BerserkerDay III forum has all the auctions from last year listed, if you want to take a look.

Received another 'free shipping' offer for Donors - awesome! And this one from one of my favorite wineries on the BerserkerDay list! Any other ITB'ers who have already submitted offers, particularly those with discounted shipping, if you want to consider free shipping to Donors, let me know!

Thanks, I'll try to make time to take a look and see if anything fits.

Loren Sonkin · #43 Post by **Loren Sonkin** » January 23rd, 2013, 2:34 pm

Merrill Lindquist wrote:How does the auction item work, Todd? I have to admit I am so busy on BerserkerDay answering inquiries and processing orders that I really never look at the other offers/goings on.

Funny, this will be our first time participating and I was wondering if I will end up selling more bottles of wine or buying.

January 23rd, 2013, 6:01 pm

Loren Sonkin wrote:
Merrill Lindquist wrote:How does the auction item work, Todd? I have to admit I am so busy on BerserkerDay answering inquiries and processing orders that I really never look at the other offers/goings on.
Funny, this will be our first time participating and I was wondering if I will end up selling more bottles of wine or buying.

This will be my third year as a participating winery. The first year was what we shall call a learning experience

- a positive one, but one in which I figured out how to do it better the second year. Last year was great. This year I am stepping up to donate to the auction. I make so many positive connections through this Board that it seems the right time to do something a little "more."

Brian Zamkotowicz · January 25th, 2013, 8:47 am

I think this is an awesome event and very well put together, but any reason its done smack in the middle of mailer season? I would think it might stimulate business for winemakers in "off" times of year, and I think Berserkers might have more dollars to allocate to it as well.

January 25th, 2013, 8:54 am

Brian Zamkotowicz wrote:I think this is an awesome event and very well put together, but any reason its done smack in the middle of mailer season? I would think it might stimulate business for winemakers in "off" times of year, and I think Berserkers might have more dollars to allocate to it as well.

This will go in the 'main' thread on BerserkerDay IV forum, but:

For those who do not know, BerserkerDay was named for the day it was founded at its current location on the web, Jan 27, with the URL wineberserkers.com.

History of BerserkerDay: Special thanks go out to Mark Squires for giving us our name (will attach the file on the actual thread) and Melissa McCall for capturing the moment, before the word that bore our community became a banned word...

Loren Sonkin · #47 Post by **Loren Sonkin** » January 25th, 2013, 2:03 pm

Merrill Lindquist wrote:
Loren Sonkin wrote:
Merrill Lindquist wrote:How does the auction item work, Todd? I have to admit I am so busy on BerserkerDay answering inquiries and processing orders that I really never look at the other offers/goings on.
Funny, this will be our first time participating and I was wondering if I will end up selling more bottles of wine or buying.
This will be my third year as a participating winery. The first year was what we shall call a learning experience - a positive one, but one in which I figured out how to do it better the second year. Last year was great. This year I am stepping up to donate to the auction. I make so many positive connections through this Board that it seems the right time to do something a little "more."

Agreed. The main reason we are participating is to thank Todd and everyone for this BB and to try and be a part of something.

#48 Post by **Dan Hammer** » January 25th, 2013, 4:10 pm

Todd,

This loyal donor will be setting up a trade show on 1/26. I hope that you'll go live at 12:01 am eastern time on 1/26. Failure to do so will:

- keep me whole
- make my wife very happy
- make me sad

#49 Post by **Rich Salsano** » January 7th, 2014, 6:02 am

andy velebil wrote:
Todd F r e n c h wrote:
Michael Powers wrote:Gloria,

I personally find all in shipping deals attractive. Means I don't have to sit and wonder what the final number is going to be when trying to pull the trigger.
Exactly - that's what I tell prospective ITB'ers - for some reason, the same discount on the wine doesn't garner as much interest as that discount applied as 'free shipping'.
+1.
When I know the cost is "all in" then I can manage what I get better. Translated = I buy more wine as I truly know what I've spent instead of stopping early due to my guessing on the high side what shipping and handling charges may be.

Same here. All in pricing is the way to go in most cases.