Winebuys.com experience

[BHwine]

Has anyone else here checked out Winebuys.com? On the downside, they have a pretty small selection of stuff, and a few (but not all) of the vintages aren't *the* most desirable. But some of the deals are phreakin' amazing. And they're running a free shipping deal right now if you buy 99 bucks or more.

I ended up ordering a mixed case, with a 99 Pensees des Lafleur (list price $165, and I paid just $66!), a 97 Chapoutier Cote Rotie (list $60, pd $36), a 99 Newton Epic unfiltered merlot (list $52, paid $30), and a 99 Jadot Batard-Montrachet (list $160, pd $68). I checked around and no one else came close. Some sites even charged more than what Winebuys said was the list.

My order came two days after I placed it -- nice clean packaging, with some unexpected freebies (tasting notes on each wine, some Post-Its, even a couple of gift bags at no charge). And everything looks in good condition, except the Chapoutier had a small tear on the label (but as my grandfather used to say, you can't drink the label!). LOL. I tried the a bottle of the Newton, and it was just dandy.

Anyone else check out Winebuys.com? These guys seem totally legit, but I'm wondering if anyone else had a similar good or otherwise experience. They claim, BTW, to offer a 100% money-back guarantee including shipping. (Now that's a smooth-talkin' offer, considering my shipping was free ;-).

[Craig Camp]

Wow. You must write ads for a living because that post sounds amazingly like a TV ad.

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[BHwine]

LOL. God help me -- I used to (a decade ago; seems like a millenium ago) write ads for software and video technology. I was kind of excited so I guess the ol' hyperbole engine kicked in. Apologies. Allow me to put it back in idle. ;-)

Since perhaps I didn't make it clear, the site definitely isn't for everyone. The selection is pretty whimpy. It sucks, actually, if what you really want is a big selection -- for online shopping, I've also bought at Wine.com, who seem to have tons to choose from and they do a fine job too in the delivery end etc., though most prices are nothing special. And I live in San Francisco, so my in-person choices aren't shabby either (my new fave for vibe and friendliness is the Wine Merchant in the new Ferry Building marketplace). Also, when I called Winebuys.com's 800 number to try to place a phone order, I got a friendly but absolutely clueless answering drone who told me they don't do phone orders. So why the number?!?

Still, what stuff I did find was quite interesting, and I got what I ordered in good condition and faster than I expected. And like I said, the discounts and free shipping deal seem pretty amazing, so it's fun to be able to buy better wine than I can normally afford. If anyone else finds that fun, too, I'm uber-eager to hear about other recommendations for places that'll let me do the same. (Trying to think of a snappy closing line, but mercifully failing.) ;-)

PS: Thanks for the link. Looks like I might be the only guinea pig so far...