Over the last couple of months I’ve enjoyed a couple of bottles of 2006 Wild Horse Pinot Noir. Full bodied, plummy with a dash of peppery flavor, this mid priced California pinot has become a favorite. Last Sunday evening (November 2nd,) having enjoyed a glass the night before at a local restaurant, I went to wine.com to see what their price was on the wine….
The wine was priced at $19.99 (I will refer here only to the “special” price observed at the wine.com site - they frequently reference a “regular” price but it is meaningless.) I thought about buying 6 bottles or perhaps a case, but a week earlier had paid $30 for a bottle in a restaurant, shipping would be $24.95 for a case, so the price seemed a bit high. Remember: November 2nd: $19.99
The next morning - November 3rd - what do I find in my In Box but an email from wine.com promoting “1¢ shipping” through November 7th! “Great,” I thought, “I’ll buy a case of that pinot!” So I went to the site right away, but oddly enough, the price per bottle had been magically transformed overnight to $28.99 November 3rd: $28.99
The night before, a case with shipping would have cost $264.38 But on Monday, were I to take advantage of their fantastic 1¢ shipping deal, a case would only cost me $347.89, for a savings of, uh, er…. a mere $83.06 MORE! That is one hell of a deal!!!! Gee, thanks wine.com!!!
As I write this on Saturday - November 8th - the price on this bottle has been revised to $21.99 A case today would cost $288.83 with shipping. November 8th: $21.99
Am I completely surprised that they adjusted their prices? No. But I’m disappointed that they’d implicitly position something as a deal and then adjust pricing to rip off their customers.
On the 3rd, having recognized what was going on, I checked a few other bottle prices so I could see what happened on the 8th when prices would undoubtedly go back down. In these instances the 1¢ shipping would actually have saved you a little money:
Fess Parker 2006 Ashley’s Vineyard Pinot: 11/3 - $49.99; 11/8: $47.99 (sold out) (The sale would have saved you 84¢ on a case - woo hoo!)
Duckhorn Napa Merlot 2005: 11/3: $49.99; 11/8: No change (In this case the sale would have saved you $24.94)
Kim Crawford 2007 Sauvignon Blanc: 11/3: $16.99; 11/8: $15.79 (The sale would have saved you $10.54 on a case)
A few other notes: Wine Library has the Duckhorn 2003 Merlot for $39.99 at present. Napa Cabs has the Kim Crawford, same vintage, for $13.99 If you’re going to buy wine online, check around.
I wish I’d checked more “During” (the promotion) and “After” prices at wine.com. Why they increased the price on the Wild Horse pinot as dramatically as they did, I have no idea. (I emailed them but have yet to receive a satisfactory response. In fairness, they did offer to extend the $19.99 price for me, at regular shipping.) But I do know this: I’m done with wine.com You’ll see no more mentions of the site or their “sales” on Practical Hacks
P.S. Check out user reviews of wine.com @ epinions by clicking here; scroll down for the full effect!
If you’ve had online wine buying experiences, please share by commenting.
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