I’d assume each of those tap handles cost the brewery an average of $20 if not more. We sell our hanldes to the distributor so the distro usually wants them back.
Maybe I’m jumping to conclusions but I’ve also had people tell me they “have one of my tap handles” a couple times before when I’m positive we didn’t sell them one. Which means they probably got it from a bar tender who probably also didn’t know any better.
I’ve never seen anyone steal a tap handle, but I’ve been to plenty of bars which have them just lying around after the keg blew and they changed out the handle. What happens when a place goes out of business? Does anyone go pick up the handles?
Most of those in that ebay are dupes which leads me to believe they came out of a bar with dual tap stations which went out of business.
I have a few handles I got on ebay, but I never use them. That reminds me I should sell my Nitro tap head, I’m never going to set that up at home.
That’s my guess. Except for the nationals it seems to be mostly Northeast breweries.
I have a friend who’s 3D-printing ours out of solid billets of aluminum for not much more than that. If his printer can manage it they’re going to have a captive ball, which I’m irrationally excited about.
After 25+ years in the restaurant business, I have quite a few tap handles sitting in a box in The basement. Not one of my distributors in 8 different Ohio counties ever asked for one back. Several of those distros worked on rotating tap basis with me for years on end: new draft equaled new handle every 2 weeks, or 2 months, how ever long it took. I actually would ask the reps when I switched locations, and still none wanted them back. After use, they occasionally would have a worn look, but were obviously still functional. Not sure if that was how this collection came about, but I sold probably $200 worth on ebay years ago when between jobs. Never an intention on my part to “get one over” on a brewer or distro rep, they just take up space in the liquor closet and eventually would get tossed or taken home by someone.
Distributors provide a lot of promotional stuff to bars and probably view tap handles the same. I have a few things that I got while at a bar - the distributor came in and gave the bartenders a bunch of new stuff. The old stuff, perfectly functional, was going to get thrown away so I asked if I could have it.
And think about it … A customer cares enough about their brands enough to put up advertising in their home … They’re not going to try very hard to end that.
Keep in mind, we sell our tap handles to our distributor for $40 a piece. Maybe they aren’t as eager to look at tap handles as promo material. I have a really hard time believing a stash of tap handles as big as the one I posted was collected honestly.
Keith, I have never been on your side of the equation, but I will say again. That in 25+ years I never had one sales rep (distributor or brewery) ask for tap handles back or accept them when I offered. “Hey, xyz brew is re-brandung, here’s the new handle they want you to use” was usually followed by throw the old one away or whatever you would like to do with it. I consider myself an honest person and have no guilt about the 50+ handles that have been sitting in my basement here for 3.5 years after my move away from restaurants
Since we sell them I don’t really care what happens to them. Glad the distributors don’t care about them either. I’m happy to sell them more. We actually make a small profit.
And I was wrong, after selling some and giving away several, here is what is left: 31 handles, most repeats and very few that are special, coors light, killians, amber bock, etc
I have a couple of tap handles that my local bartender gave me. He took me to the bar’s office, where there were about a dozen. He said they were left by the distributors. Most distributors are good about taking them back, but every now and them, they just leave them and say, “keep them.” Maybe they have lost the brewery as a client? Who knows? But I wouldn’t assume theft by a customer or bartender, I would look first at the distributor…including the distributor’s employees, who may not be the swiftest sails in the water.