Bargain Online Wine Shopping At Its Best
by Adam Haggerty
February 5th, 2013
The new way of shopping is sitting on our butts, hitting a few keys, finding the best deals and watching TV at the same time. And like the occasional run-on sentence, it’s fantastic! When it comes to the wine world, you can find some really great deals and get wines that you wouldn’t normally find in your favorite shop. Depending on what kind of wine drinker you are, there’re so many types of options to get you interested in online wine buying. You ready for the list? Alright let’s rock…
LOT18.COM
They’re a fairly new online wine company that offers a very large selection of high and low end styles of wine. This is a non-fee member based company with a pretty decent customer service. They will also send out random $5 to $15 account credit which is always a nice little surprise. You’ll get emails from them regarding deals of the day. One thing they’re especially known for is having quick sales (1 day to 72hr) and 2 for 1 type deals. Looking for a nice boutique winery? They got it.
GILT TASTE.COM
Gilt Taste is part of the Gilt Group and although their selection isn’t huge, in fact it’s quite small, but you can find some really decent deals. A website like LOT18, you don’t have to check every day, but GILT is a site you should keep an eye on. They also offer more pricey types of wine, so watch your wallet.
WINE.COM
Probably the original website for online wine buying and wine basket gift giving. You’re not going to find insane deals like you would on the websites above (check below), but what you will find is selection. A really big selection. Wine.com typically has the more famous wineries and offers free shipping on orders of $50 or more. If you’re buying wine as a gift, I do suggest this website because they have a great gift wrapping option with chocolates and cheeses.
WINESHOPPER.COM
This is Wine.com’s non-fee member based bargain site. It is very similar to LOT18 and sends out email warnings on daily deals. They don’t have as many boutique wineries as LOT18 does, but because they’re Wine.com, you can get pretty nice deals on the bigger known companies like Frog’s Leap, Mondavi and Hess.
EBAY.COM
Alright, let me start off by saying that I’ve never bought wine from Ebay, I know plenty of people who have and have never had a problem. There’s just this weird part of me that doesn’t trust people on Ebay. Is it just me? Could be. Most sellers on Ebay are actually wine shops just trying to clear overstocked inventory. But honestly, from what I can see, there are bids on some of the most gorgeous wines in the world.
The five websites above are in my opinion the best of the best for deals. There are plenty of more bargain wine websites out there that will offer great deals, but you have to put the work in and really know your wine prices. Amazon.com for a years now has been trying to get into the online wine biz and from what I’ve seen, when they do, it’ll be a game changer.
The only worry you should have with buying wine online is buying in the summer. When buying wine from wineries, they typically wait to ship till when the weather gets cooler. With online bargain sites, they will ship whenever your order is placed. So, best not to place an order in the middle of August when the heat is at its worst. Although, LOT18 from experience, is very good about taking wine back and holding shipment till when you want it. I hope by reading this I have saved you a couple bucks and get you to experience some wine you’ve never had before. Oh, and a quick tip for possible free shipping codes, try RetailMeNot.com. Enjoy!
Adam Haggerty
 Follow me @AdamHaggerty
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