"Brick" > wrote in message
...
>
> You can forget that Greg. I support my local Mom and Pop shop. They
> take care of me. On top of that the big stores can't touch their
> prices. I
> also get specialty service and I don't have to pay shipping.
>
> Brick (support your local gunfighter.)
>
>
Fair enough, if you can get it locally then you're fortunate. Most small
production sauces tend to be very regional.

Supporting mom and pop shops is a good thing. But we're a mom and pop shop
too, and since we don't have the overhead of retail space our prices tend to
be far lower than what you get in the local stores. The mark up for sauces
in retail stores tends to be around 100% (and even more) -- you _are_ paying
for shipping whether you realize it or not. Most people buying sauce on the
web just order several bottles and it defrays the shipping cost. The retail
stores buy their sauce from the same distributors I do, but without the
volume and selection. We also take care of our customers, and we provide
loads of specialty service. If a retail shop won't let you sample something
without buying it, then there's really no difference between buying it in
person and on the web. And on larger orders we often throw in a bottle of
something we think they might find interesting.

All that being said, you're far more likely to find quality products at the
smaller stores than the giants. Their idea of a good barbeque sauce is
Bullseye. You'll have to look pretty hard to find something like an NC
soppin sauce. Or something with habaneros.

--
Greg Leman
Carolina Sauce Company, Inc.
http://www.carolinasauce.com
A wide variety of sauces and specialty foods over the web.