January 2009 Newsletter

Anyone involved with shipping stuff for a living knows that,
despite all possible precautions, sometimes the goods will arrive
damaged. (Sometimes they never arrive at all, but that's another
matter!)  When this happens we accept them back, send out new
stuff hoping for a better result, and stick the damaged items in
storage.

The 2-week holiday break has given me the time to inspect the
returns, and also to dig out some items left over from stuff we
no longer sell. If all the big stores can have January stocktake
sales, we can too! With REAL bargains instead of junk brought in
just for the sale. SO, we have:

2 only Lelit Combi Espresso Machines with minor cosmetic body
damage, at $550.00 each.

1 only Rancilio Rocky doser grinder, small stress crack in base
of bean hopper, $330.00.

2 only Bregant Junior doser grinders, adjustable dosers, new in
box, $250.00 each. (Didn't sell well because even though they
grind as well as Rocky, they're a bit ugly.)

1 only Mokita Combi Espresso machine with a Euro Plug (can be
altered to Aust. Plug if required), $660.00.
All the "sale" items have been tested to ensure perfect operation
and come with a full 12 month warranty, but are sold on a
"non-returnable" basis. Freight is extra.

Then we have:
7 only new Lelit Combi Espresso machines at the current price of
$759.00. Why are these a bargain? Because the latest shipment
will cost 16% more when they arrive, due entirely to currency
variation. This, as the saying goes, sucks rocks, but is simply
unavoidable, and once this stock is sold the price WILL rise.

After much begging and pleading from a lot of people who DIDN'T
buy their machines from me, and with the cooperation of Lelit,
I've started selling 57mm group gaskets in packs of 2 for $18.20
including GST & postage. This gasket would have to be the single
item  most requested by non-customers, as it suits Quaha, Imat,
Nemox and Lelit machines. The 57mm blind filter for backflushing
solenoid machines is also available to the general public.

The coffee special from December, Sulawesi Toraja Sapan-Minanga,
is still on sale, but there's only a little bit left. The praise
for this coffee has been spectacular, equalled only by the
response to the Costa Rica Tarrazu Miel earlier in the year. I've
put a bid in for more of the Costa Rica later this year, but
won't know if I'm getting any for a few months.

Finally, a comment on the online coffee forums.
Coffeegeek, HomeBarista and alt.coffee are fabulous resources for
coffee information, but in the last couple of years I've noticed
the rise of the "infomercials." These are basically posts by
people who want to sell you stuff, but have to be subtle about it
due to the forum rules against commercial posting. They push
viewpoints favourable to the  particular machines they sell, at
the same time as they disparage competitive equipment.

Most of the time I ignore them, since I'm not selling anything in
their USA-centric markets anyway, but occasionally they'll come
up with something that is just so wrong that I feel forced to
respond. One of these guys, who exists online under a
multiplicity of names, sends me insulting emails whenever I call
him on his mistakes. All I can say is that DaveB, aka xdavez, is
still a blivet! (Look it up!)

Until next month

Alan.