Sincere thanks to all of you who responded to our recent survey, we received plenty of insightful feedback and well-reasoned requests. I’d like to share the results with you and preview a few of the coming upgrades they’ve inspired.
Global Feedback
First - a quick summary of the global data. We’re happy to report ratings above 8 on Convenience, Functionality, and User Friendliness and ratings above 7 on Value and Experience w/ WePay. the 4 of us will be working nights and weekends to deliver more value via constant improvements.
Written Feedback
You wrote it, we read it. Here are some common themes that emerged from your written responses along with developmental updates and tips to help you optimize your experience on The Exchange.
MORE INFORMATION PLEASE – A number of you requested access to more information about hops before you buy them. “Where can I find additional details?” “Is there a Phytosanitary Certificate?” For questions like these, your best bet is inquire directly using the Ask the Seller a Question button on the listing detail page.
You also asked for more market insights. “What’s the average selling price by variety?” “Which varieties are most in demand?” We’ve received your requests, so stay tuned from more data-driven posts like this new one from John.
Last, there were quite a few requests and questions that are already addressed in The Lupulin Exchange Knowledge Base. If you’ve got a question, be sure to type it into the search bar on our help desk. 9 times out of 10, the info you need can be found right there in seconds.
NEW FEATURES – These are among the more popular upgrade requests. See Shane’s new post here for much more on what’s happening at The Exchange.
“I’d like be able to set price limits on Hop Alerts.”
Coming soon – we’re working on adding filters to Hop Alerts so you can set maximum price, crop year, pellet vs. leaf, brand, etc.
“How about a shopping cart so I can combine payments?”
We’re specing this out – stay tuned. This is a pretty complex project and we’ve got some other more exciting features prioritized ahead of this one.
“I like to be able to pause listings when I’m on vacation.”
You can! Go to your active listings at My Account > Listings and click the “Remove” button(s) on the right side of the screen. You can reactivate these listings at any time simply by clicking the “Reactivate” button(s) at the same spot.
“Your search engine could be more sensitive”
Thanks, this is now on our radar - we’ll explore potential search upgrades.
“A printable record of each transaction”
Printable purchase orders are currently generated for all orders shipped by brokers. Based on popular demand, we’ll begin generating PO pdfs for all orders in the near future.
THAT PRICE IS TOO DAMN HIGH! – Quite a few of you voiced concerns about the prices some sellers are charging for high demand varieties. Do we think $30 a pound is reasonable? No. Are we planning to start regulating prices? Absolutely not. (See John’s recent post here for more on that.) Our advice is simple: If it’s too high, don’t buy.
Most of you appear to be heeding this mantra. A few months back, Citra and Simcoe were snapped up immediately at seemingly any price. As of today, there are four active listings for Citra and six for Simcoe. Are they pricey? Yup - and they aren’t selling. Compare these listings with 264 lbs of Citra that were listed and sold by a broker two days ago for less than $20 a pound. If it’s too high, don’t buy, and lower prices will follow – you’re in control, and that’s one of the best things about a transparent, free market.
“KEEP ON KEEPIN’ ON” – Shane, Darren, John and I would like to say thanks for the nice things many of you wrote. We love hearing stuff like “I’m a huge fan of the Lupulin Exchange, and I feel like its something the industry has needed for a long time…I look forward to using The Exchange for years to come.” We’ll keep working hard to provide brewers a better way to navigate the secondary hop market.
Cheers! -Jesse