The only merchant I can find in the US who sells the Quest M3 roaster is Coffee Shrub. I found a number of posts on this forum that mention another merchant referred to as SM, which I take to be Sweet Marias. But I can find no indication on their web site that they carry this brand roaster.

I'm just looking for competitive sources for the Quest M3 roaster. Does anyone know of any?

Coffee Shrub is Sweet Marias

http://www.coffeeshrub.com/shrub/content/about-shrub

CoffeeShrub is an outgrowth of Sweet Maria's Coffee. In our travels for SM, we have found dedicated coffee farmers with great quality coffee needing a reliable buyer for their lots, one who will pay sustainable prices over the long term. And we have found our access to great coffees is perhaps larger than our home roasting audience can absorb. We can actually bring down our costs in importing and transit for SM and Shrub by buying slightly more. In a nutshell, that's the impetus for forming the Shrub.

Ah, I missed that. Thanks Roberto.

So then, does anyone know of any sources for the Quest M3? I just want to compare prices. $1200 seems a bit high.

I believe SM / Coffee Shrub is the only distributor in the US at the moment.

godshot wrote:Ah, I missed that. Thanks Roberto.

So then, does anyone know of any sources for the Quest M3? I just want to compare prices. $1200 seems a bit high.

As compared with.........??

You could try getting the MFR to ship to you directly, but apparently they are refusing to do that now and have given an exclusive to CS. Before this arrangement, the delivered cost in the US was $200 less, e.g. $1000, plus whatever your bank extracted out of you to wire money to Taiwan.

If I was sufficiently motivated, I'd contact the MFR several times and tell them I wanted to buy it directly. You never know what they will say.

ken

We buy our espresso machines and grinders from US distributors, why not our roasters? We don't try to buy a Hottop or Gene direct to save a little. Tom can develop a working relationship with the manufacturer as Chris, Jim and others have with espresso machine companies. This can lead to a more organized way to create improvements as he did with the underrated element and develop a quicker source to parts.

hperry wrote:As compared with.........??

Yes, that is exactly my point. There appears to be a lack of competition, which usually means that the price is higher than it would be otherwise.

Ken Fox wrote:You could try getting the MFR to ship to you directly, but apparently they are refusing to do that now and have given an exclusive to CS. Before this arrangement, the delivered cost in the US was $200 less, e.g. $1000, plus whatever your bank extracted out of you to wire money to Taiwan.

If I was sufficiently motivated, I'd contact the MFR several times and tell them I wanted to buy it directly. You never know what they will say.

ken

I may give that a try after all. Yes, a $200 difference less wire fees is worth a call.

farmroast wrote:We buy our espresso machines and grinders from US distributors, why not our roasters? We don't try to buy a Hottop or Gene direct to save a little. Tom can develop a working relationship with the manufacturer as Chris, Jim and others have with espresso machine companies. This can lead to a more organized way to create improvements as he did with the underrated element and develop a quicker source to parts.

I don't want to reopen a former acrimonious debate on this subject, however:

The espresso machine companies do not generally market their products through ONE seller; there is at least the potential for competition.

The one obvious exception to this is where a dealer, most notably Chris, has approached a manufacturer and ordered a large quantity of a customized machine made to his specs, that previously did not exist in the American market. In exchange for buying a large number of these customized machines, Chris has gotten an exclusive. The Cimbali Max Hybrid grinder, the new Cimbali Jr. Domus, and a few Quickmill and other home espresso machines are examples of this. Original, non "Chris-customized" versions of these machines have remained on the market from other dealers.

ken

farmroast wrote:We buy our espresso machines and grinders from US distributors, why not our roasters? We don't try to buy a Hottop or Gene direct to save a little. Tom can develop a working relationship with the manufacturer as Chris, Jim and others have with espresso machine companies. This can lead to a more organized way to create improvements as he did with the underrated element and develop a quicker source to parts.

You are paying a $200 higher price for this roaster simply because the manufacturer and a distributor worked out an exclusive agreement. Where is the supposed value add to me from this arrangement for such a simple device? I'm not likely to need service or parts because I can source them myself if need be. Improvements in future versions of the roaster probably won't help me if I buy the current model. What is my incentive to fund future R&D?

I'd rather have a competitive market.