Buy Online in Europe; Ship to USA? Any experience?

[Jhcolman]

Hi

There are wines that I might wish to acquire that are only available in Europe. And other wines that I may wish to purchase direct from the winery or negotiant. Additionally, as I peruse Winesearcher, I find that many European wines are very considerably less expensive in Europe. This is ofcourse no surprise.

So I am exploring buying wines online from European retailers of repute (based upon Winesearcher ratings), and also direct from wineries, and shipping to NY, USA.

I have found a service called Wineflite ( http://wineflite.com ) that will pick-up the wines as I buy them, consolidate them and ship cases to a US address for $290 US per case, including packaging. This equates to $23 a bottle. The savings that I expect to see generally well exceed that amount, often substantially. Wineflite handles the entire customs process.

Still, I am a tad nervous about this process. I am a Canadian that has been buying from US retailers and auction houses without problem. I ship to a proximate US location. Shipping has been easy, relatively inexpensive and trackable. Buying direct from European retailers and wineries will be a significant next step.

Has anyone had experience in this? Has it worked out well? Any advise, based upon your experiences?

Has anyone shipped via Wineflite? What was your experience?

Jhcolman

[RDD]

Hi

...... This is ofcourse no surprise.

Jhcolman

This will be the big surprise:
All Duty/VAT and additional taxes or fees will be collected at time of delivery.

[DavidG]

I haven't tried this. I have heard that it can be a hassle to get wines cleared through customs entering the US, but that there are companies that can do this for you. I would be check out whether this company will do that, and if there will be additional costs for getting the wine through US customs.

Won't Canadian duty more than make up for any savings when you bring them across the border from the US?

[DavidG]

Looking at the website, they do list amounts for excise and state tax, duty and VAT, so you can make the calculation yourself. I suspect that will eat up most or all of your savings. Then depending on what province you live in, the cost or hassle of getting the wine from the US to Canada will more than negate the purchase price savings.

It looks like they offer delivery to Canada, so why ship to the US? Unless your plan is to smuggle them into Canada...

[Jay Winton]

Back when the euro was less than a dollar, I had some shipments as even with taxes, etc it was a good deal. A bottle was swiped here and another was broken there but insurance covered it all with some back and forth. At that time, I was told 15 cases or less was ok but more than that and you would be considered a reseller. Today, I can't see it being worth the time involved given the euro valuation.

[DavidG]

Wow, that was the longest spam-embedded post (now deleted) that I've ever seen.

[Tom In DC]

It was a good one, wasn't it? Why do I feel like I need to buy shoes?