Welcome!


This is a membership forum. Guests can view 5 pages for free. To participate, please join.

[ Pitmaster Club Information | Join Now | Login | Contact Us ]

Only 4 free page views remaining.

Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Crowd Cow?

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

    Crowd Cow?

    I have no axe to grind here, nor do I have a well informed opinion about the below linked article (although my one experience with Crowd Cow was decidedly mixed, but ultimately was resolved satisfactorily to me), but I thought this was worth posting to AR members. Better informed is a good thing.

    https://newfoodeconomy.org/crowd-cow...rs-craft-meat/
    Last edited by Willy; January 15, 2020, 09:20 AM.

    #2
    Thanks Will.

    Comment


      #3
      Good read, thank you.

      Comment


        #4
        Thanks for passing this on. They have changed a bit since I started purchasing from them a few years back. I make 2-3 purchases a year from and the sam from Porter Road.

        the availability of cuts from CC has become limited as of late, I wonder if this is why.

        Comment


          #5
          We have so much good beef in this part of the country that craft meats just aren't very attractive to me any longer. I still buy heritage pork form purveyors like Porter Road (even they have been hit or miss) but tend to shy away from the others. It comes down to price and poor service. Crowd Cow screwed up too many orders for me, so I just swore off them altogether.

          I can understand if you're in the middle of nowhere that getting a great steak or a Berkshire pork butt is nearly impossible any other way, but again I will continue to source locally and stay away from the trend to cherry pick craft meats. You just never know what exactly you're going to get in the box !!!

          Comment


            #6
            Interesting read. Thanks!

            Kathryn

            Comment


              #7
              Having been in the beef business and in IT, unfortunately none of that article surprises me. Wish I could say it did...

              Comment


              • fzxdoc
                fzxdoc commented
                Editing a comment
                Sad, really, for the cattle farmer.

                Kathryn

              #8
              Growing up on a Dairy Farm and working in Agriculture my entire life makes this a very interesting article to read. Thanks for posting Willy .

              Comment


                #9
                Interesting read. Thanks for posting. I just took delivery of my first ever meat delivery from Porter Road. It all looked pretty good, I got ox tails, tri tip, some lamb sausages, lamb neck and a slab of ribs. Other that the ribs, which looked better that what is available around here right now, I think I can get comparable stuff at my local butchers. They threw the curry lamb sausage in, but we didn't really care for it. If I order again, it will be for something that I want to try (like lamb neck) that I can't get around here.
                Click image for larger version

Name:	20200109_193804.jpg
Views:	433
Size:	227.1 KB
ID:	791636

                Comment


                  #10
                  Interesting article. My experience of Crowd Cow has been good. But I have only made about 5 purchases.

                  Sounds like their lack of experience in the industry caught up with the need/desire to make a profit and their responsibility to come through for investors. In business choices must be made along with adjustments to the realities of the business environment and with those choices/adjustments come results/consequences.

                  I remember many years ago asking the owner of the company (HVAC Contractor) I worked for why he did not pursue larger contracts and jobs. His response was "I have been a part of a large construction firm. The price is too high and I will not do that again." I really admired his decision to stay small and make less money to keep his values and well being intact.

                  I guess what I’m saying is it’s a balancing act and unfortunately in business our values and goals can conflict with profit. Like most everything in life there are often no simple answers, especially when dealing at such a large scale like Crowd Cow is. I think the statement in the last paragraph of the article speaks loudly. "One thing that we have learned is the importance of keeping laser focus on our own goals and core strengths, even if it means saying no to business." Have they lost focus? I don’t know really what their goals are or where. At the end of the day it matters not what I said but what I did.

                  Okay, I’ll step down now and leave the premises.

                  Comment


                  • Troutman
                    Troutman commented
                    Editing a comment
                    ....ahhh you forgot your soapbox !!

                  • ofelles
                    ofelles commented
                    Editing a comment
                    Troutman Damn it! I hate it when I do that!

                  #11
                  Funny, after reading this article a few days ago what pops up in my inbox? An offer from Moink to reactivate my account and get free ground beef for a year, lol.

                  Comment


                    #12
                    I’ve always been suspect of their philosophy since when looking at what was available most of the animal yield is nowhere to be seen. If they were "tipping" whole cows, where was the rest of it going? Now I see them as no different than anyone else, except that the few orders I placed ended up "C-" at best.
                    Last edited by Polarbear777; January 18, 2020, 07:33 AM.

                    Comment


                      #13
                      Great article.... I ordered from Crowd Cow a few times but it's now been a few years since my last order. I didn't feel like the value was there.

                      Comment


                        #14
                        Crowd Cow and the like seem like the exact opposite of what I look for. I want local meat from local butchers and stores.

                        Comment


                          #15
                          Cattle business is FULL of shysters and charlatans, and n'er do wells. 50 years ago a hand shake was a bond better than a contract drawn up by a lawyer. NOW it doesn't really matter if it is a handshake or a contract as honest men are taken every day. Witnessed it myself with a family member who believed he was dealing with a friend and trusted the hand shake. My fondest dream is to have breakfast one day with that friend and have a nice long talk with the rest of the small community listening in.

                          Comment

                          Announcement

                          Collapse
                          No announcement yet.
                          Working...
                          X
                          false
                          0
                          Guest
                          Guest
                          500
                          ["pitmaster-my-membership","login","join-pitmaster","lostpw","reset-password","special-offers","help","nojs","meat-ups","gifts","authaau-alpha","ebooklogin-start","alpha","start"]
                          false
                          false
                          {"count":0,"link":"/forum/announcements/","debug":""}
                          Yes
                          ["\/forum\/free-deep-dive-guide-ebook-downloads","\/forum\/free-deep-dive-guide-ebook-downloads\/1157845-paid-members-download-your-6-deep-dive-guide-ebooks-for-free-here","\/forum\/the-pitcast","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine\/national-barbecue-news-magazine-aa","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine\/national-barbecue-news-magazine-aa\/bbq-news-magazine-2019-issues","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine\/national-barbecue-news-magazine-aa\/bbq-news-magazine-2020-issues","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine\/national-barbecue-news-magazine-aa\/bbq-news-magazine-2021-issues","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine\/national-barbecue-news-magazine-aa\/bbq-news-magazine-2022-issues","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine\/national-barbecue-news-magazine-aa\/current-2023-issues","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine\/national-barbecue-news-magazine-aa\/current-2024-issues","\/forum\/free-deep-dive-guide-ebook-downloads\/1165909-trial-members-download-your-free-deep-dive-guide-ebook-here"]
                          /forum/free-deep-dive-guide-ebook-downloads/1165909-trial-members-download-your-free-deep-dive-guide-ebook-here