Let's talk about NEXT BerserkerDay!! (brainstorming - it's too big!!!)

[Emily_Richer]

@Ted Erfer

Todd — as a pre-Berserker Day offer – maybe get one of the shipping/storage places to offer a BD special. That way, people in non-ship states can prearrange to have their wine handled and shipped. I didn’t order a few of the offers because I knew they wouldn’t ship to monopoly PA.

Wow, that’s a great idea. I just delivered Friday to Vinfolio in AmCyn. Maybe to introduce themselves to Berserkers, they would do a n/c incoming fee or something for BDay purchases, allowing the customer to collect these–and probably other–wines to ship to themselves wherever they want. The standing theory with opening storage accounts - wine or otherwise - is you think it’s only gonna be a few months, then you start to like it… Speaking for Virage, I always offer n/c personal delivery to these businesses. Great idea Ted.

[AndrewH]

@Emily Richer

@AndrewH

One of the biggest challenges I’ve found each year is missing offers, because they are ordered based on the last post. If no one posts, it can start to slip down and appear like I’ve already seen it.

I really think numbering each offer–or the tick-list as Nola suggested–solves this problem.
Groups I strongly encourage simple groupings: wineries, retailers, Food and other goodies, full stop. Themes within each, I’m already dizzy. Creating themes means we wineries would have to figure out what we’re going to do well in advance, and you guys would have to sort into the groups - sounds like way too much work to me.

Numbering could work (or having the thread title note the time posted). I think Todd and others get the point - it’s just a question of making it easy and working well.

Perhaps groups could be limited to certain things - maybe have a food group that goes live all at once, with wine offers paused for a little bit.

[AndrewH]

@Peter Simpson

Another thought on the auctions is that whilst bidding would halt at 10:00 pm, if a bid is entered at exactly 10:00 then the bidding on that item is extended by one minute till 10:01 etc etc. That way you can’t steal an item by putting in your bid at exactly 10:00 pm and everyone gets their chance to put in the last and winning bid.

I like this idea too - although perhaps would extend by 5 or 10 minutes for each bid, lest it mean everyone has to sit there checking and posting.

[stewart_lancaster]

@Mark Y

Assign a number to each offer. Publish a overall list with number - offer name. So people can check for it specifically.

Otherwise it works great. The market will respond to killer offers and lesser ones will slide to the bottom as it should.

Auction in separate forum and end on the day of.

As for offer groups- why bother? I’m not sure why not all offers are posted within the first 2-3 hours.

that’s what I was thinking. Assigning a number to each offer makes it very easy to follow.
Could also divide into wine types or regions.

[Jay_Winton]

Create a separate website with log in required. Subscribers get the log in info a day early. That way, you can set it up however you wish. You could set up a demo site and let the smart people here critique it. All the attorneys could quibble over legalities.

[Corey_N]

@Ryan Caughey

Not sure if it has been suggested – I will admit that I only skimmed the posts above – but I would be all over a Berserker day sampler case that included one bottle each from 12 small wineries. Or you could have several – one ‘rookies’ case, one white, one red, one ‘aged,’ etc. I’m sure it would cause serious logistical hassles but I suspect they could be overcome with the right retailer partner, and it seems like it would (1) be wildly popular and (2) allow some newbies to get broad exposure. On the other hand you would not want it to cannibalize other sales.

I’ve thought of the same thing. Shipping 12 bottles at once would also minimize the per bottle cost of shipping (particularly expensive on shipments of less than half a case). Even if 3-4 producers got together, it would still be a lot of fun.

[Ted_Erfer]

@Corey N.

@Ryan Caughey

Not sure if it has been suggested – I will admit that I only skimmed the posts above – but I would be all over a Berserker day sampler case that included one bottle each from 12 small wineries. Or you could have several – one ‘rookies’ case, one white, one red, one ‘aged,’ etc. I’m sure it would cause serious logistical hassles but I suspect they could be overcome with the right retailer partner, and it seems like it would (1) be wildly popular and (2) allow some newbies to get broad exposure. On the other hand you would not want it to cannibalize other sales.

I’ve thought of the same thing. Shipping 12 bottles at once would also minimize the per bottle cost of shipping (particularly expensive on shipments of less than half a case). Even if 3-4 producers got together, it would still be a lot of fun.

This would be extremely hard for the wineries to pull off. That is why I suggested a promotion with one of the storage/shipping services. Berserkers can open an account and have their BD wines shipped and consolidated at the shippers. Plus it would introduce the shippers/storage to an audience of new prospects.

[Tom_D]

What about managing the auctions with an outside service such as https://www.32auctions.com? It appears to be not too expensive, might make the logistics significantly smoother and you can still link each item from the boards. I have no experience with these guys, and I’m sure there are others out there, but it might be a way to go.

[Stewart_Johnson]

@larry schaffer

That said, I do wonder if we might not use this special day in a slightly ‘different’ way that could have a ‘broader appeal’ to many, and actually may make it a bit more ‘meaningful’ . . .

What if a percentage of all sales was ‘required’ to be donated to a specific cause or two, and those causes could be chosen by the WB community as a whole via a poll?

With the volume of sales steadily increasing each year, whatever percentage is chosen could begin to add up nicely for worthy causes.

Just a thought . . .

I can’t imagine that there isn’t a winery in existence that isn’t already up to its neck in charitable entreaties and already contributing way out of proportion to their profitability. I’d also like to point out that the day has gotten this big largely because the wineries have offered such steep discounts. In most cases where the winery kicks in for some part of the shipping cost, the net from these Berserker sales amount to less than wholesale. The point is that there aren’t any fat margins here from which to slice a charitable component.

[cepotts]

First and foremost you need to avoid changes that will somehow add formality or structure to the event. It is fun and successful because it is quirky and quaint. Keep it that way.

The offers should all be posted as stickies with new offers at the top. That’s the best way for Berserkers to refresh and know which ones they’ve already seen and which ones are new. Sold out items should be forced to the bottom - unless like the Jean Edwards offer it is posted specifically to announce its pre-sold condition and direct to a new offer. I really don’t see any utility in having the threads bouncing around the board all day long.

[pjmartin]

My vote is to release the offers all at once, or in blocks every hour or so. Agree that stickies or numbered offers will make it easier to find, but it would be great to not have to stalk the board to catch the offers as they come out.

[Merrill_Lindquist]

@Corey N.

@Ryan Caughey

Not sure if it has been suggested – I will admit that I only skimmed the posts above – but I would be all over a Berserker day sampler case that included one bottle each from 12 small wineries. Or you could have several – one ‘rookies’ case, one white, one red, one ‘aged,’ etc. I’m sure it would cause serious logistical hassles but I suspect they could be overcome with the right retailer partner, and it seems like it would (1) be wildly popular and (2) allow some newbies to get broad exposure. On the other hand you would not want it to cannibalize other sales.

I’ve thought of the same thing. Shipping 12 bottles at once would also minimize the per bottle cost of shipping (particularly expensive on shipments of less than half a case). Even if 3-4 producers got together, it would still be a lot of fun.

A “producer” is not a producer. We are all so different, all with different business models, production numbers, limitations, modes of shipping. I would never, ever be able to pull off including my wine with any other. Just a logistical nightmare.

I will say it again, and probably not for the last time: I sincerely appreciate all the support my label has received from BerserkerDays. I value each order, each decision to spend their dollars on EMH. Please be sure to read my explanation of my limited time offer, as I detailed above. I will be talking with Todd over the next months about all this stuff. This is the first year I have not started to plan for next year’s offer the very next day! Ok, well maybe I thought a little bit about it .

Again, thank you to everyone who ordered. Now to concentrate on what is going on with the 2014s. Only 4 months (and a lot of rainy days) til bottling! And, of course, getting the wine you ordered to you.

[brigcampbell]

@cepotts

First and foremost you need to avoid changes that will somehow add formality or structure to the event. It is fun and successful because it is quirky and quaint. Keep it that way.

I really like this comment. We probably get overly paranoid because we’re concerned that everyone is happy. I think all are it’s just in the middle of the nuttiness it’s difficult to gauge how things are going. Hence this thread and the request for feedback.

Maybe that’s the way it should always be, plan the best you can and then let her rip. Mid flight course corrections as needed.

It’s certainly exciting… I think Todd and I emailed and PM each other 100 times throughout the day.

[DavidFrankil]

I go back to one of the original questions - what is the problem you’re trying to solve. One that seems likely is the administrative burden of posting offers continuously throughout the day. Understand that creates a sense of pace, urgency and surprise - a la the LastBottle marathon sales - but not sure how many of us can actually sit by a computer all day and track offers as they are posted. And that is really only relevant for the handful that sell out.

So two suggestions -

1. Keep the preview day and opportunity for us subscribers to purchase in advance - that leaves us the actual day to make any additional purchases after we’ve had a night to think about it and/or read the comments of others on the offers. Also allows subscribers to take advantage of any that might be potential sell-outs, a real benefit.

2. Post the offers in groups at specified times - say 9, noon and 3. Plenty of ways you could divide it up - 9 AM could be Berserker businesses, noon could be long-time participants, 3 could be newbies and others. You still maintain some sense of anticipation, but avoid having to keep up on a treadmill of constant posting - minimizes the issue of late-posting deals not getting as much attention - and provides an incentive for participants to become Berserker Businesses.
   
   
   And if it hasn’t been said enough - thank you Todd and all the others who helped make BD happen - know it is a ton of work to make something this big come off so well.

[Nola_Palomar]

@DavidFrankil

I go back to one of the original questions - what is the problem you’re trying to solve. One that seems likely is the administrative burden of posting offers continuously throughout the day. Understand that creates a sense of pace, urgency and surprise - a la the LastBottle marathon sales - but not sure how many of us can actually sit by a computer all day and track offers as they are posted. And that is really only relevant for the handful that sell out.

So two suggestions -

1. Keep the preview day and opportunity for us subscribers to purchase in advance - that leaves us the actual day to make any additional purchases after we’ve had a night to think about it and/or read the comments of others on the offers. Also allows subscribers to take advantage of any that might be potential sell-outs, a real benefit.

2. Post the offers in groups at specified times - say 9, noon and 3. Plenty of ways you could divide it up - 9 AM could be Berserker businesses, noon could be long-time participants, 3 could be newbies and others. You still maintain some sense of anticipation, but avoid having to keep up on a treadmill of constant posting - minimizes the issue of late-posting deals not getting as much attention - and provides an incentive for participants to become Berserker Businesses.
   
   
   And if it hasn’t been said enough - thank you Todd and all the others who helped make BD happen - know it is a ton of work to make something this big come off so well.

+1 on all of this!

[SeanHarding]

@Jay Winton

Create a separate website with log in required. Subscribers get the log in info a day early. That way, you can set it up however you wish. You could set up a demo site and let the smart people here critique it. All the attorneys could quibble over legalities.

I know this may be a bit against the spirit of the event, but I agree with having a separate microsite for the offers. It probably wouldn’t need a separate login even. Just a page with the live offers, and allow filtering or sorting them in some way. Provide a little more formatting than is possible (or at least easy) in phpBB. There can still be a link to a forum thread for people to discuss stuff, but the forum isn’t the primary shopping interface. Basically the idea is to have a cleaner, easier to browse list of offers. This avoids the problem of offers getting buried in the thread list because they’re not getting posts, etc.

If you really want the best experience, it would be a lot nicer to have one unified cart and checkout process, but there are a ton of logistical and legal challenges with that. It just wouldn’t be worth it for a one day a year event.

I’ve done a lot of ecommerce stuff (albeit at a much larger scale) and would be happy to bounce ideas around more some time.

[Andrew_Morris]

@Nola Palomar

@DavidFrankil

I go back to one of the original questions - what is the problem you’re trying to solve. One that seems likely is the administrative burden of posting offers continuously throughout the day. Understand that creates a sense of pace, urgency and surprise - a la the LastBottle marathon sales - but not sure how many of us can actually sit by a computer all day and track offers as they are posted. And that is really only relevant for the handful that sell out.

So two suggestions -

1. Keep the preview day and opportunity for us subscribers to purchase in advance - that leaves us the actual day to make any additional purchases after we’ve had a night to think about it and/or read the comments of others on the offers. Also allows subscribers to take advantage of any that might be potential sell-outs, a real benefit.

2. Post the offers in groups at specified times - say 9, noon and 3. Plenty of ways you could divide it up - 9 AM could be Berserker businesses, noon could be long-time participants, 3 could be newbies and others. You still maintain some sense of anticipation, but avoid having to keep up on a treadmill of constant posting - minimizes the issue of late-posting deals not getting as much attention - and provides an incentive for participants to become Berserker Businesses.
   
   
   And if it hasn’t been said enough - thank you Todd and all the others who helped make BD happen - know it is a ton of work to make something this big come off so well.

+1 on all of this!

+1 Particularly the thanks to Todd & Brig for a great day!

[jmdavidson]

@DavidFrankil

I go back to one of the original questions - what is the problem you’re trying to solve. So two suggestions -
as posted-see original.

And if it hasn’t been said enough - thank you Todd and all the others who helped make BD happen - know it is a ton of work to make something this big come off so well.

+1

[Bud_Carey]

+2. Todd and Brig did indeed pull off a great BerserkerDay!!

[Freelon_F_Hunter]

I went ahead and subscribed (again) just to be able to see the list in advance - think that is a great feature for subscribers, and hope we see them all next year. Since I had not had ANY of the wines in the offers, it let me look them up on CT to see what others thought, and look at the CT forum threads. As a buyer, I do think it would be nice to know who is new.

My vote is for the auctions to end the same day - felt anti-climactic for them to go on longer. By then the “fever” was gone.

My thanks to Todd and Brig for creating an interesting buying experience, and a way to be introduced to some new wineries and food choices.