Seems like every time I look at Wine Searcher prices, right at the bottom, usually double the average often more, sits an offering from Cask Cartel. Does anybody know anything about them?
This one for example
[Cask Cartel
USA: (GA) Atlanta
Products may be sourced from International Markets
More shipping info
1989 Cheval Blanc
$17,599 double magnum
Equivalent to $4,399.75 / bottle
Normal price per bottle $600-800
Iām sure Iāll be corrected by someone with better knowledge, but my guess was always that they listed rarer product with the hope of being the lone listing at some point - and the price was inflated to accommodate any sourcing costs.
These guys are thieves. I once thought I was buying a case of Turley OVZ and pulled the trigger. Only to find that at an exorbitant price I bought 1 bottle. It took me a week after pleading my case to get the order cancelled as they usually do not accept cancellation. The end result was I lost $150 for the cancellation and got no wine. Stay away!
I have blocked these guys from my winesearcher result (plus a few others).
Iāve been curious about this retailer as well. Some crazy prices.
I do wonder to what extent retailers like this (thereās a few) drive up the wine searcher average price on wines
You couldnāt do a chargeback?
If you mean by chargeback, get with my cc company and dispute the charge?
If that is what you mean, that night late and the next day I went to my cc company and they said if there policy is no cancellation āwe can dispute it, however you will probably lose the dispute.ā They were sympathetic but not hopeful. Therefore i had to negotiate with Cask Cartel. Whose people were in like Montana not Atlanta as there website seems to indicate.
Too many honest wine merchants out there to work with other than Cask Cartel.
I had a similar conversation with my Amex. Despite the No cancellation policy, as I didnāt get what I ordered, they did do a dispute which I won.
Thereās a sucker born every day and these guys and some others are looking to take advantage of them.
Every time I see those guys in WS results I think, āman these guys are giving the word ācartelā a bad name!ā
Not really; they are just selling overpriced wine
Iāve always wondered why winesearcher gives them the bandwidth? Itās just a bad look to accept their money when price gouging is the model.
Advertising. They pay for results in Bing and Google, as well, to get crazy expensive pricing posted at the top of the screen, often right next to offerings at 50% - 75% lower prices. Assuming they do the same with WS.
When I started my early search for 2020 Niellon Chevalier, they had the first listing in the US at what turned out to be a point before the wine had even been released (though other prearrival offers were out there too). The price was high but not as above-market as many of their wine offerings.
I called in to talk with them before placing an order and very quickly determined the person I spoke with had zero wine expertise, plus that individual admitted that they did not generally stock the wines they offered- but instead purchased them after a customer paid, and often from European sources with extended delivery times. This is not inconsistent with their statement in offerings that presents much the same info, but with a bit of a positive spin on it.
I did not find evidence of them being deceptive or doing anything inappropriate- but given the prices and lack of knowledge, I do not plan to go back. They seem to have a much greater expertise in spirits FWIW- but I do not know that world well and so I could not attest to whether the prices there are competitive.
I think there are a lot of brokers out there working on this business model. They work from broker lists and add a margin. Generally though, you are confirmed on your purchase before paying. It is for the vendor a low risk money maker, as they donāt have any sunk cost in purchases. There is one UK company I work with all the time, who work on a 15-20% margin. I get photographs and the wine is held for me for a day or so, while I make up my mind. Never had a problem.
In this case, the model with such excessive margins seems strange. If you are putting a silly price on Wine Searcher, you are dealing with reasonably savvy people, and if they limited themselves to only one or two entries, it might work. But as in most cases you are dealing with ten plus entries, and they are so obviously horribly overpriced, they are not only wasting their money on WS, but also look as though they are gouging in the process.
Annoyingly, in some of my searches I find that most of the offerings out there are brokers who are reselling someone elseās good before having them in their possession.
The same thing is happening in other hobby areas too. There is a particularly rare china pattern I am trying to source and recently on eBay four different sellers in Japan offered a single dinner plate. On close inspection of the photos, it was the same plate with the same handwritten price/ID sticker on the back.
As you note- what is odd here is the price variance and I think that may be a function of them placing very small orders and having them air-freighted. And quite possibly they could care less if the wine sells- but like the prestige of having the listings. If you read through the site, they seem to specialize in fancy gift giving. So not really a playground for us.
Hey Everyone,
Hope you are all having a great day. Has anyone heard of Atlanta, GA based retailer āCask Cartelā? Their inventory is impressive but their prices are obscene. Here are a few examples:
'20 Les HorĆ©es Gevrey-Chambertin āEn Reniardā - $2,598.99 (lol)
'11 Mugneret-Gibourg Vosne - $1,798.99 (bruh)
'20 CĆ©cile Tremblay Morey-Saint-Denis āTres Girardā - $1,498.99 (madness)
From what it seems theyāre buying allocated items at retail or auction then marking them up further, though I canāt confirm this.
What on Earth is going on here and who in their right mind would buy from them at these prices?
Thank you all and enjoy your day!
-Alessandro
Thereās another thread on this with some speculation
When wondering if anyone has heard of something, the first step is to input that term into the search bar and see if anything comes up. If you find other threads, you can be sure the answer is yes.
Personally I think it is all a plot. I have a broker who loves quoting WS average, and Cask and Cartel by itself pretty much doubles any sensible average.