Wine-Searcher vs Wine-Searcher Pro

whats the difference and worth it?

more listings for each wine and totally worth it.

Agreed. 100% worth it.

Agreed. I also recall that the number of searches you can save is larger.

Wine Searcher Pro is the best value in the hobby. Paid for itself day one!

Who are the big merchants that show up only on Pro? Most of the big guys seem to be on the regular but they almost reeled me in when I was looking for a wine last week.

Keep in mind that just because WSP shows a wine in stock at a retailer doesn’t guarantee availability. That said, Pro version totally worth it.

I’ve heard this narrative quite a bit but don’t know that I buy it.

I had WSP for 2 years and let my subscription expire about 2 months ago.

Perhaps I just do not know what I am missing but most of the wine retailers that I frequent (in the tri-state area) list on standard WS.

I don’t know that I’ve heard a compelling enough argument to justify the $.

Please understand that this is based on my understanding of how WS works, I have no inside information.

Depending upon what you are looking for, and where you prefer to shop, the difference may be large or small.

The business plan, which I admire, fwiw, is that somebody pays for every listing. If you are a non-pro viewer you will be shown only those merchants who pay to have their inventory queried. If you are a Pro subscriber, you will shown in addition a variety of vendors who Do Not pay to have their inventory presented. Personally it is well worth the Pro fee, but I purchase almost exclusively online, so to me this makes sense.

Depends a lot on how much you bu and how much snagging the best price means to you.

For someone buying 3-5 or more sealed cases a month, then I expect it would pay for itself easily. A no-brainer.

For someone (e.g. me) buying a mixed dozen most but not all months, plus topping up with a few purchases locally, it may be as much to know whose got the wines that are prompting the purchase, and from there it’s whether the shop(s) that stock it have enough of interest to justify the purchase. The local purchases don’t need it as I’m either rebuying stuff I’ve tried and liked, buying off the back of tasting it, or trying something different from a wine shop where such punts have often been rewarding.

It might have made sense to have it when I was building the cellar up. I do wonder though whether it would merely have encouraged a bad tendency I had, to buy ‘bargains’ rather than what I really wanted. Focusing on the latter in the last 2-3 years has been liberating and rewarding.

With shipping laws changing all the time and seeming to get more restrictive and expensive, is it really worth it to you to save 15 dollars when your costs to ship can be around 8 bucks a bottle?

After 15+ years on WS Pro I finally let my subscription expire. No pain, as I started chasing inexpensive wines at my local retailer. Then yesterday I searched for a wine that is a favorite of mine and usually retails for about $60. Did a search on non subscriber, and prices were the expected ones. Decided to pay the $60 for the Pro, and I got a retailer who sells the wine by the case for $25 per bottle. And this is a wine I adore.

Needless to say I got a case, and saved quite a bit of dough.

Once I get my case and taste a bottle, I will make sure to post the bargain, after I get my second case.

Not affiliated with this business or anyone else.

I pay for W-S Pro, and feel it gives me good value.

I don’t use W-S necessarily to get the very best price, as often other factors are more important. But I do use it for confirmation that I am not paying way over the odds.

It is is also a great tool for revealing restaurant markups over retail, and the price of wines you might taste without being given that information.

I must do at least a thousand searches a year for wines which often aren’t widely available. At less than 10 cents a search it’s totally worth it to see a complete search to help me decide if the effort of making a purchase is worthwhile.
Now if I could only get an Amazon Prime type account to buy wine online.

If a WSPro user could please answer, do all search results suggest that the vendor will ship?

Not sure I follow. If you are asking whether the WS results show the states to which the retailer ships the answer is no. It links to the retailer’s website as non-Pro does, and presumably you can find out there.

I’m fortunate in that I work in one of the jurisdictions to which pretty much everyone still ships. But almost all my WS-related purchases come from NY or CA. I have a limited list of retailers with whom I will do business unless the wine is available at only one spot unfamiliar to me and I have to have it, or if the price is dramatically lower, in which case I do due diligence on the source.

I can’t imagine not having Pro.

How did you get the Pro for $60? I have had the Pro for years (use it all the time), and when I renewed my subscription recently the price went up to $72 (not that $12 is a big deal). The only option offered to me was to pay thru iTunes @$5.99/month. Perhaps I missed something…

72-bucks now? So you can spend more money on wine that will outlive you?
What’s the point. I remember this used to be $25/yr at ‘the very start’ as the old man himself would say.

Yes, I renewed for $60. And the deal I was gonna disclose did not pan out. It was for 2012 Paloma Merlot for $25 per bottle by the case. A few days after I placed the order, they nixed it. It was from winevault.com.

Still up on their site.