Retailers not honoring pricing

On Monday I had contacted a local Wine Purveyor regarding a bottle of the 2013 Cask 23 that I had found to be the cheapest on wine searcher. Being that this store is a 50 minute drive from my house I decided to call them to make sure they had the wine in stock and that the listed price was correct. I had spoken to a young lady who did confirm that the wine was in stock and that the listed price was in fact correct. When I was ready to pay for the wine at the counter the gentleman scanned the bottle and then signaled to another gentleman, presumably the owner, in a foreign language to come over. For a brief moment the gentleman paused looking at the screen as if something were not right and a few other words between the two men were exchanged. He then tells me the price of the wine which was about $66 more than what I was expecting to pay. I then explained what price it showed on their website and how I had called to double check the price, he scoffed out loud saying that he would be paying me to take the wine home at that price. This incident left a little bit of a sour taste in my mouth and I ended up leaving empty handed when I was planning on leaving with some bourbon as well. Has this type of situation happened to anyone else?

The key is to name the shop here so others dont purchase anything there, not sure if they can legally do this but even so its an incredibly douche move

Complete donkey move. I am curious, was the wine listed below what you would normally find at retail? Either way, for one bottle he should have honored the price. I agree, you should name the retailer.

I just went through a similar situation on line. Searched for the best price on a wine & called Flatiron Wines in New York , bought the wine (2) at $174.99 per, received a verified email from them. A week later email stating they were all out of it.
I then checked & same wines (2) advertised in stock on their site for $350 per.

My guess - they brought the wine in and marked the pricing as if they brought in a full case, but instead brought in 6 bottles? Just a thought - I remember this happened with Sea Smoke and Whole Foods back in the day - and folks made off like bandits

Cheers!

Email wine-searcher and specify how you were bait-and-switched.

I don’t know how I feel about messing with another persons livelihood. But to those that want to find out, their price still shows up as the cheapest on wine searcher. The price they listed the wine at was $179.95 with the next cheapest being $195.95, although the wine no longer shows up once you actually go to their website and search for it. I’m not sure what the margins are in this business but I highly doubt he was telling the truth that he would have been selling it to me at a loss as I had purchased last year’s vintage for $10 less than that.

+1

I just checked wine searcher again and it appears that the link has been taken down.

The practice isn’t illegal so long as they somewhere on their site that the prices online are different from those in store. If their website doesn’t say this, you can file a BB claim, and they will most likely be prosecuted.

Sadly, this happens way too often. Even though the retailer can protect themselves with the language above, it’s clearly misleading. If a price brings you to the store, isn’t that the goal of listing the price that way? Not to piss off a potentially new customer??

I agree that you did everything correctly. You called ahead. The price at the store was the same as online. I would file a claim at the BB and tell us the name of the shop. The shop should have honored the price for you and then change the price before anyone else tried to buy the 2013 Cask 23.

It could be. $180 is below wholesale in Massachusetts on that bottle. Still, given the fact that you called, I would email Winesearcher.

Winesearcher does not take these things lightly. I can only understand an honest mistake but the fact you called to confirm the price should have resolved any error. To have you drive 50 minutes away for it they should have taken the last loss.

This does not seem to be one of those too-good-to-be-true deals, where one has to suspect that the price is in error; under those circumstances the retailer has every right to decline the deal IMHO. I don’t know how much the retailer paid for the bottle(s), but it would have been Retailing 101 to explain the situation and make the deal nonetheless. How many bottles were you buying?

The only thing you might have done differently would have been to conclude the transaction over the phone. “If I am going to drive all the way there I want to make certain that the bottles don’t get sold.” But this wasn’t your responsibility, of course.

Raw deal Albert. Sorry to hear about it.

Over time, I’ve had so many hiccups with the “lowest wine searcher price” that I’ve given up buying that way. I don’t resell/flip so profit margin is not a big factor.

For day-to-day purchases, it’s a wise move to use retailers you’ve developed a rapport with and perhaps pay a few bucks extra. It saves LOTs of headaches.

There are always times when an unfamiliar retailer is the only place that has what you want. WB is a pretty good resource for a retailer check. Good move to verify that they actually have the physical bottle(s), even better if they’re looking at them! Then as Neal suggests, try to close the deal on the spot via phone or on-line. There’re still tons of things that can go wrong: shipping, handling, bottle condition, bottle details (i.e.: wrong wine!), retailer still backing out, etc. In my experience, it’s about the best you can do.

RT

closing the deal on the phone and then going to pick up the wine precludes both price change and lack of availability–unless of course they have cases of the stuff.

Was the price of the bottle marked on either the bottle (with a price sticker) or on the shelf? If so, did the listed price correspond to the price shown on the website and confirmed over the phone? If the price on the bottle/on the shelf was the quoted price, then they might be in violation of state law that typically requires a retailer to honor the listed price.

Bruce

Regardless of the law, the retailer should have honored the price. I’ve told the story of going into a wine shop(Pinos’ in New Jersey) and seeing a 70’s DRC Montrachet for $79(this was in the 80’s, but still). It was in a locked case and the owner had to open it for me. He looked at the price on the bottle and said, “I guess I should have changed the price.” and laughed. He checked me out with a smile and gained a high volume, repeat customer instantly.

Retailing 101.

Generally full retail price represents a 50% margin. a $180 retail wine would cost $120 wholesale.

About 1-2 years ago I had a similar problem with an online retailer advertising a tete de cuvée Champagne (with a photo of the tete de cuvée) at what would seem a slightly discounted price (30% below ssrp). Yet the wording on the order changed to just rosè during the checkout and I got suspicious. When I called they got very defensive and blamed me. I forgot the name of the place…but I listed my concerns here to warn folks and hopefully save someone the potential heartache. I was promptly taunted, jeered, and shamed by some for doing so…it sucks, and I can certainly empathize with your frustrations. Yet I think it makes sense to want to warn others when you feel like someone’s trying to take advantage of you.