Buying Wine Online

Buying wine online can be a great asset to those collectors who don't have good wine retail locations near them and a great resource for bargain hunter wine drinkers. But, as with any online purchase, there are some things to consider before clicking that "checkout" button in your shopping cart. There are two main types of online wine purchases: 1) from a retailer or 2) from an auction house. These both have their good and bad points about them, so let's take a look.

Online Wine Retailers

First off, let's discuss the retailer. There are a plethora of online wine retailers for you to consider. From Beverages and More to your local place down the street--big and small--many retailers have an online presence. Since there are so many places to look, sometimes I like to use a website that searches the well-known ones for me. I use WineZap to search for a specific wine on many retailers websites at once, saving me a great deal of time. The drawback to this is the most effective way of searching is to search for a specific wine, or wine type. It's not easy to just go and "browse" the websites for wine without being more specific.

Pluses

The pluses to using an online wine retailer are choice, cost and reliability. You are in effect searching multiple inventories for the best cost. The more inventory searching you can do, the more you have to choose from. The more inventory you see, the more price comparison you can do. This is huge...there have been many times I have seen significant price differences on the same bottle of wine. The other cost-saving factor is taxes. If you purchase wine from a website outside your state, you don't have to pay taxes, thus saving you even more money. Lastly, online retailers tend to be more reliable than purchasing from an auction house, which we will talk about later. With retailers you have a better idea how the wine was stored throughout the life of the wine bottle.

...and Minuses

There are downsides to purchasing from an online retailer...the main one being shipping. Shipping costs money, and sometimes the cost is prohibitive and increases your cost. There is always a risk with shipping that bottles can be damaged or not stored properly during the shipment process. Be sure to check with the retailer about how they ship. Sometimes it's a good idea to get expedited shipping to ensure your purchase arrives in perfect condition. Another thing to check with your online retailer is the return policy. If you receive a wine that is corked, for example, make sure that they are willing to take it back and either replace it for you, or give you store credit or a refund. Some online retailers do not offer these guarantees.

Online Wine Auction Sites

Auction houses are another way of finding wine, but mainly for getting those hard-to-find wine bottles or old/rare bottlings. There are many wine auction houses...the two most popular ones are winecommune and winebid. These sites are like ebay for the winelover. People go on and list their wines for sale, and you get to bid on them... it's that simple. Sometimes you can find great deals, and sometimes you have to pay top dollar for your "must-have" wine. But for those wines that are hard to find or available on the mailing list only, auction houses are a great resource for the connoisseur.

What to Look For

Things to think about before purchasing a wine from an auction site: 1)How was the wine stored by the person selling it? If it's an older vintage this is even more important to check out. 2)Does the site have the ability to rate the seller? If it does, check out their profile and make sure they are rated highly by people who have purchased from them in the past. 3)Is there a picture of the bottle? If so, look for any signs of stains on the label and the fill level in the wine bottle (called ulage). Always make sure to ask the seller if you have any questions or apprehensions at all. 4)How do they ship? As with retailers, shipping can be an issue. Make sure you ship safely and use correct containers. If the weather is hot, you may want to hold off your shipment being sent until it cools down a bit (especially if the shipment is travelling a long distance.

Wise Shopping

The internet gives us all a great resource to research, browse, and purchase many treasures for our wine cellar or dinner table. Being a careful and wise online purchaser will not only avoid any problems with buying your wine, it will unlock a great tool for you in your winebuying expeditions. Happy Hunting!