As I witnessed in another industry, rogues know how to use enticements to soothe the uneasy consciences of their unwitting victims, who end up actually paying for such enticements.
Wine fraud is a big deal and problem. And I don’t condone of the Greenberg fraud at Zachys.
Having said that, there is zero fraud risk of buying current release wines from Zachys. Moreover, there is low fraud risk of buying auction wines from Zachys with the right buy-side due diligence.
While the ethics of supporting Zachys makes for an interesting debate, I have no moral problem sourcing wine from Zachys retail or auctions.
I bought two I don’t need but will someday enjoy: 2007 Philipponnat Clos des Goisses and 2006 Vilmart Coeur de Cuvée. Thanks for the tip; I rarely look at those Amex deals.
Another thing to watch with Zachy’s is that they add 1.5% to all shipments for “insurance/breakage.”
And the games they play with pricing are really annoying, and misleading. Here’s what I posted a year ago on a couple of these pricing games:
The saga of the 2006 Mastrobernadino Taurasi just gets scuzzier:
Jan. 11: Offered at $29.99, vs. “regular price” of $75 (“New Price … It won’t last long at this price”).
I place an order and am told it’s sold out.
Jan. 27: Offered again, this time at $60 in a “post-holiday” clearance (implying that this was not newly ordered stock), vs. “regular price” of $75, with the same pitch: “New Price … It won’t last long at this price.”
I guess it did last because I just now received an e-mail for an “end-of-bin” sale on it. You guessed it: $29.99.
I feel jerked around. This is not an honest way to do business.
On top of that, I ordered a Barolo pre-arrival “on sale” six weeks ago for $55. I was told 10 days ago that it would arrive in June. Two days ago I received an e-mail saying it has arrived. Today it’s being offered in the end-of-bin sale for $45. So they’re closing out wines that only arrived this week? Again, just complete BS.
This is why people hate New Yorkers: they get tired of the spiel. But sometimes that insurance fee comes in handy. I once had a box that looked like it was opened and retaped arrive. Inside were the bottles all splashed with wine, with one missing. They sent a replacement of the broken bottle.
So yeah, they play games with their pricing (and I can think of about half a dozen others that do the same), but you have to be on your toes and be wise to their shenanagins.
I see my $50 credit from their flat sale. Sure, lots of things weren’t actually great deals in flat sale, but some things were. I was very happy with 4 bottles of '14 Chevillon Bousselots at $52, plus a flyer on a $25 '12 Brunello. With tax $251, so with credit additional 20% off.