I think the horse likes it.
Nathan V.–Every single post on this thread should make crystal clear that Flatiron is a retailer of the highest integrity.
Matt Hartley–Who stated that they may be engaging in unseemly activity? I don’t know who you’re arguing with here, but it certainly isn’t me. Again, as every single post on this thread indicates, the store did everything right, nothing wrong, and nothing that could remotely be construed as bait and switching–even under my prior, broader understanding of the term that did not require intentionality. The entire purpose of the thread was to applaud them.
Peter Hirsch–I am indeed “some kind of a writer” between the ages of, say, 27 and 43. However, I suspect the share of Berserkers who are in that age bracket and in some way write for a living is high enough that those criteria don’t really narrow down the field too much.
Now dropping the sarcasm, what is so weird about your attempted caricature of me as a stubborn, cocksure blowhard is that it is so wildly unrepresentative of my behavior on this site. Until yesterday, I had literally never gotten into a outright argument, not to mention an insult war, on Wine Berserkers–you can look it up. There are certainly subjects about which I have strong opinions and will push my views forcefully, but wine is not one of them. As an infinitely complex and inherently subjective product and world, I don’t understand how anyone can have enough confidence/conviction in their views about wine to engage in the kind of vitriolic “Why Won’t You Admit You’re Wrong” debates that sadly so often pop up here. Heck, I’m lucky to distinguish red from white in a blind tasting. If anyone wants to call me an idiot or accuse me of having a bad palate, they’re probably right (and my tasting group, which includes numerous Berserkers, frequently engages in such mockery). The reason I come here is to learn from this large, knowledgeable, and passionate community. I owe virtually every scrap of information about wine I have managed to pick up over the years–not that they add up to much–to Wine Berserkers, and I am extraordinarily grateful for the guidance I have received over the course of this humbling and never-ending intellectual journey.
It is true that I don’t take well to strangers calling me a douche, or to people twisting my words so completely that they’re accusing me of impugning the reputation of a store I was singling out for praise. But that certainly doesn’t mean I think I have any, not to mention all, of the answers about wine. On the contrary, I am eager to defer to the hordes of posters on this site who are at least a bit closer than I am to having a few of them.
62 posts and 24 hours ago you ignored my post. So, was it worth 2 days of your life?
Haha, very good question, Michael. I would say there have been a few valuable snippets.
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I was corrected on the definition of the phrase “bait and switch.” I highly doubt I’ll have much occasion to use it properly or otherwise going forward, but knowledge is power, I suppose.
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There were definitely some good responses to my question about retailers’ responsibility in the case of error. I hadn’t thought things through fully when I said that they should always honor their listed price, as the reductio-ad-absurdum example someone suggested of a $199 bottle for $1.99 (perhaps in case quantities!) helpfully indicated.
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I hope I managed to get a few people to move Flatiron Wines up their list of preferred retailers, which was my original purpose.
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I learned the identities of a handful of trolls, whom I can now comfortably deposit on my ignore list. That should marginally increase the average quality of posts I see on Berserkers in the future, thanks to the magic of addition by subtraction.
Now, could I have conceivably allocated all this time to some more productive purpose? Surely. But no, I don’t expect to be telling with a sigh somewhere ages and ages hence that I dedicated a few hours on November 10th-11th 2014 to a bizarre and confrontational discussion thread on Wine Berserkers. 
Yeah, at the end of the day, I think it’s worth noting that Dan had good intentions, and assuming he would have flamed Flatiron if they hadn’t sold the bottle at the mistaken price assumes a lot not in evidence.
If nothing else, Flatiron had a lot of good publicity, so I suppose everything works out reasonably well.
I also learned earlier today that people who offer negative, critical opinions are perceived as more intelligent and insightful than people who offer positive opinions, so I would like to point out that everyone is a stupid jerk. 
This thread is mind-numbing. None of you would behave this way if meeting in person, or so I hope. The personal accusations and name-calling are especially childish. I’m commenting here only to say that I know Dan Rosenheck to be a stand-up guy who contributes a lot of substance to WB. I also know Flatiron to be a great shop run by professionals. I won’t speak to anything more in this thread, as it’s not worth the energy.
Why thank you, Kevin. Are you coming up to NY anytime soon? David Gwo at Italian Wine Merchants who you introduced me to and I are trying to set up a Sagrantino vertical, if you happen to like Paolo Bea.
Hopefully soon – love those wines, and I’m overdue for a visit. My schedule has been complicated. We’ll definitely pop some good stuff next time I’m in the city. Dave and I plan to persuade you to go thirds on a Quintarelli Amarone Riserva and maybe some Soldera!
I have an 83 Soldera Riserva in my fridge awaiting a special occasion. I think I’d need to find a $50-$100 Amarone I love before splurging for a $400 Quintarelli–I think I may just not like the jammy high-alcohol profile. (I’m not much of a Port guy either.) Any recommendations?
Quintarelli isn’t jammy. I have in mind the '90 Riserva, which is a legend that will shame any other Amarone (and just about anything else). Most people also drink Amarone too early. Try a pre-1990 Bertani library release to see if you have any interest. It’s not remotely at the level of Quintarelli, but it’s an entry point. We’ll get you there!
It’s funny you say that. Mike’s post reminded me of the best marriage advice given to me by the late Ed Monahan:
“Would you rather be right? or be happy?”
It puts a good perspective on things sometimes. It really works.
Sorry for the thread drift… I’m doing my best to stay out of this one.
I don’t have the patience to read all this thread. Doesn’t have the intrigue of Maison Ilan. Assuming this thread is about the definition of “bait and switch” I’d like to ask readers if it is “bait and switch” to advertise a wine at an attractive price but when you arrive at the store they say you must buy a minimum of three to get the lower price. No mention in the advert of the 3 bottle minimum on the price.
I do not wish to post any comments regarding who is right or who is wrong.
Here is Quebec, Canada the Comsumer Protection Act requires any Stores to sell to the customer at least one article of item with the wrong and lower price.
So SAQ must sell you at least one bottle of the wine with a wrong and lower price… ![[cheers.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/0/0ff9bfcdb0964982cd3240b6159868fbdf215b1a.gif "cheers"){kind=small}
During the course of packing wine from my recent Cellar Liquidation thread on CC I had three instances where bottles requested and paid for were not in my cellar. Unfortunate mistake on my part. In each instance I PMd the purchaser, explained the problem and gave them the option of picking a different wine or receiving a refund for that bottle. In each case the buyer told me to use my own judgement and pick another wine for them. All of them ended up with a more expensive bottle.
Now, after the fact, if any of them stated that they were glad I didn’t try to bait and switch them I would be kinda po’d because nothing I did, nor how I responded, should have given them the first indication of such. As a seller in this instance, and as someone who is in sales for a living, the mere mention online of wrongdoing by me or my company could have a negative impact on future business.
If someone Googles “Wine, online, bait and switch” i wonder what comes up?
This thread is #8. Understanding the attention span of people online who only read a couple sentences of a topic to get names, issues and then rush to judgement this thread, while unintended, could deter some people from buying from particular retailers.
Food for thought.
Brian, it could be #8 on Google because the thread seemingly had run its course late last night but you decided for some reason to bump it twice and perpetuate it this morning?
By the way, nice sale. Those wines would make for a far more productive discussion.
Kevin, actually I just clicked on this thread for the first time this morning after it was mentioned in another thread. Guilty of being late to the party. 
Seriously? I deserve better than this. I’d bet that less than 40% of the board falls in the 27-43 range, and I’d bet that less than 10% of the board writes for a living. Compound probability there assuming no correlation would be a 4% shot at getting these 2 things right. So if I’m a good profiler here, how did I do on the secret thong? If I also hit on that, which I’d guess is less than 2% of the board, I’m talking big FBI profiler points.
Some kind of writer is very different from writes for a living. With the exception of journalists of various kinds, the percentage of people who regularly publish writing and also make a living from the proceeds of what they publish is vanishingly small. If we include as some kind of writer, people who write for even some widely recognized internet outlet–say Huffington Post–the percentage goes down even more. So if Dan writes for a living, I would say then yes, that was a good guess, of sorts. If he is, let’s say, a mid list novelist, I think it was just a lucky guess.