Buying wine online is steadily gaining popularity as everything else on the internet. The internet offers a convenient means to order wine from the comforts of home. However, due to the nature of wine, there are issues you must consider when purchasing wine online. This is especially true if you are new to purchasing anything online.
1. Legal issues. Some states will require you to provide identification as to whether you are of legal age. Some states prohibit the delivery of wine products across different states. Also make sure you read the purchase agreements between you and the online store. Don't hesitate to ask questions or make your expectations known. Most online stores have support e-addresses to contact in this case. Make sure the seller has a return guarantee on bad wine.
2. Reliability of the online store. Most people, when new to purchasing online, are tentative regarding online payments and orders. For added security, you should make follow up confirmations through phone and fax. If the company you are purchasing wine from doesn't have numbers regarding such, skip that company and look for others that do.
The reason for this is not just to calm your nerves regarding online purchases, but also to promote good business habits. You never know if there has been any technical or clerical errors regarding your order.
You may alternately contact business bureaus and similar organizations within your state to make sure that the company you are dealing with is legitimate and in good standing.
3. Shipping. Shipping may add a significant amount to your purchase so make sure you consider the shipping costs of each delivery. If your online store doesn't mention the price of the shipping, it would be wise for you to find out.
4. Look at auctions. When you get comfortable with the ins and outs of online purchasing - and feel sufficiently secure in you dealing and buying skills, you may want to look at online wine auctions and sales. Although they pose a significant risk to buyers (as do all auctions), they present the greatest chance for you to purchase vintage wines at affordable costs.
When doing so, you will have to increase your care ten-fold. However, the payoff for such activities is so big; you might just about find yourself stalking the internet for such deals.
The internet is fast becoming the next supermarket. Although it pays to ease into it gently, it remains the trend of the future, so why not jump in now?
Figures show that 11% of our grocery bills are now spent on alcohol, with more and more of us adding an extra bottle or two to our trolleys. But as we trawl the aisles looking to buy wine to accompany our ?come dine with me? get-togethers, or for our precious Friday night treat, how can we make sure our purchases are really hitting the right spots ? for both our wallets and taste buds?
Faced with endless choice in styles, prices and quality, going out to buy wine can often be like searching for a diamond in the rough. To bag a decent bottle you need to be savvy with your wine choices, knowing what to look for and where you are most likely to find the best deals.
The first thing to be aware of is how the marketing game works. Be rest assured, as you scan the supermarket shelves you are potentially setting yourself up to be the victim of marketing con-tricks. Seventy five per cent of supermarket wines are sold on 'special offer'. Great you think, such a huge pool of great offers available. But then you learn that these ?special offers? are in fact funded by a few select, money-making wine companies, that are are more concerned about improving their profit margins rather than the quality of the juice in the bottle.
To back this up, is the fact that the average bottle of wine sold in the UK has just 30p worth of wine in it. The rest goes on marketing, packaging and other stuff you can't taste. Certainly an eye opener when browsing over-priced, overwhelming supermarket wine shelves.
So if you buy a bottle of wine costing ?3, only a few pence will go towards the wine. ?5 and you'll get about 50p-?1 worth of wine, ?7 and you are getting closer to a fuller bottle of great grape. But this doesn't mean that the moreyou pay when you buy wine, the better the bottle will be. Get to about a tenner and you are probably unlikely to find a proportionate increase in quality and cost.
So what can you do? Well, you could look to buy wine from smaller, lesser known winemakers who don't have the financial muscle to get on to the UK supermarket shelves. The benefits are that winemakers at these estates are not so concerned by profits and purchasing power but instead are simply looking to make great tasting bottles of wine.
The problem is how to find them. One way is to check out the internet where you will find a number of retailers who are committed to helping you buy wine made by smaller, passionate winemakers that not only tastes great, but also costs you less.
In addition, online retailers often offer you much more guidance and advice about the type of wine you might like, as well as access to customer feedback and in some cases, even interactive contact with the producers themselves. The results - you drink better but spend less.
Naked Wines is an online farmer's market for the kind of winemakers who want to spend their lives making great wine, rather than selling it, helping you buy wine that will make any night worth staying in for. For more information visit
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