BourBenjamin Posted March 1, 2023 Share Posted March 1, 2023 This is my first post so I'm sure this question has been asked numerous times. Apologize if so.... I've just started collecting and I'm having trouble finding what I want at the local stores. I've noticed there's plenty of what I want online. Can anyone vouch for any of the online stores? Are some more legit than others? Thanks for your help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokinjoe Posted March 1, 2023 Share Posted March 1, 2023 Welcome to SB, BourBen. Many here purchase online. What online sites are you currently familiar with? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BourBenjamin Posted March 1, 2023 Author Share Posted March 1, 2023 19 minutes ago, smokinjoe said: Welcome to SB, BourBen. Many here purchase online. What online sites are you currently familiar with? I'm actually not familiar with any of them. I was wanting to just find out which ones were reputable. I've read that some of them sell knockoffs, fakes, etc.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvd99 Posted March 1, 2023 Share Posted March 1, 2023 It would be helpful if you could tell us which online stores you have doubts about and which ones you were considering using. Some more information would help in narrowing down the discussion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anwalt Posted March 1, 2023 Share Posted March 1, 2023 I buy very little online. KL Wines in CA is great (especially for store picks, I really liked the Dickel 15y I bought there), but you really want a CA friend in Bay Area/LA to keep shipping reasonable. And then there's the logistics of getting bottles back to wherever you live, adds either complexity or cost. Don't expect to find unicorns there. I'm in Vegas once a year. I like to buy from liquorlineup. They'll hold bottles. That's where I tend to get my ECBP and Larceny BP's. I'd not count on finding anything allocated bottles there. A lot of "regular" bottles are pretty pricey. Must be "'cause Vegas". I like some of the European auction sites. I'd be very wary of buying anything "Blanton's" on those due to counterfeiting. Those sites require an address in Europe and then there are the logistics of getting bottles back to the US. Easier for me because I like to vacation there and have lots of colleagues who travel & are willing to mule. I've bought some older Bookers and WT on those sites, probably 4 bottles in total. The prices are going up, I think the bourbon fetish has definitely reached Europe. The key is to set a price and stick to it. They can be all over the board. Some sites have consistently higher prices (e.g., UK, German sites). Learning the pricing patterns amuses me and provides interesting info. It's fun and probably a bad way to generate dopamine. Bidding while drinking can have interesting results. Seelbach's has some interesting picks here & again. Some of them go quite quickly. They are reliable. But don't expect to find unicorns & the like there. A client just sent me a bottle of KoK from frootbat.com, he seemed very happy with some work I did for him. They are reliable, but the prices are extortionate, really what I'd call "super secondary". I have never bought there. I feel the same way about Caskers and haven't bought there either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MM818 Posted March 1, 2023 Share Posted March 1, 2023 9 hours ago, Anwalt said: KL Wines in CA is great (especially for store picks, I really liked the Dickel 15y I bought there), but you really want a CA friend in Bay Area/LA to keep shipping reasonable. And then there's the logistics of getting bottles back to wherever you live, adds either complexity or cost. Don't expect to find unicorns there. Yeah, that’s me. My rate is only 1:1. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fosmith Posted March 1, 2023 Share Posted March 1, 2023 20 hours ago, BourBenjamin said: This is my first post so I'm sure this question has been asked numerous times. Apologize if so.... I've just started collecting and I'm having trouble finding what I want at the local stores. I've noticed there's plenty of what I want online. Can anyone vouch for any of the online stores? Are some more legit than others? Thanks for your help. A lot will depend on your location. There are a number of reliable online stores in Calif. (where I live) but I don't think any of them ship spirits outside the state. I've purchased successfully from Astor Wine and Spirits and Saratoga Wine Exchange; both are NY, I think. Seelbach's is excellent but focuses on craft spirits, if that's what you're interested in. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bret Bret Posted March 9, 2023 Share Posted March 9, 2023 Not a fan of Potomac Wine & Spirits in DC. A costly experience. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvd99 Posted March 9, 2023 Share Posted March 9, 2023 I haven't bought anything online for years. Back in the day, like 5-8 years ago, I used Whisky Exchange in London to hunt for BTAC and FRsmBLE when they were only minimally marked up. It's a quality store and trustworthy from my experience, but who knows since then. Probably a better resource for scotch than bourbon. As for vintage bottles, I wouldn't buy them from anywhere as they're too easy to fake and difficult to authenticate, even in person. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
berto Posted March 9, 2023 Share Posted March 9, 2023 Buying online can be great but is heavily dependent on where you live. Some states aren’t shippable. Some stores ship to some places but not others. Some stores don’t ship except for when they do because you called and asked or they know you. In general if that highly sought after yearly release is available for less than your next offspring it’s a scam. You aren’t so lucky to be the one guy that happened to stumble upon XYZ Discount Liquor shipping Pappy at MSRP. There are thousands of people with alerts set and bots they created scouring the web for availability or price mistakes on every bottle that’s difficult to find. I’ve bought bottles from all over the country. Fewer recently because there are fewer deals. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bourserker Posted March 11, 2023 Share Posted March 11, 2023 On 3/9/2023 at 9:27 AM, jvd99 said: I haven't bought anything online for years. Back in the day, like 5-8 years ago, I used Whisky Exchange in London to hunt for BTAC and FRsmBLE when they were only minimally marked up. It's a quality store and trustworthy from my experience, but who knows since then. Probably a better resource for scotch than bourbon. I've used TWE a couple of times in the last year and it is still a quality place. However, with shipping it really only makes sense to buy stuff there that you can't find locally or for a good price in the states. Things like older scotch (18 years and over) and independent bottles of scotch are a couple of good examples. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IamMatt Posted April 8, 2023 Share Posted April 8, 2023 I just received a shipment from Luekens in Florida. I had never ordered from them before but it went smoothly. Ordered March 30, shipped April 3, and arrived April 8. Good communication from them along the way, and bulletproof packaging. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anwalt Posted April 9, 2023 Share Posted April 9, 2023 16 hours ago, IamMatt said: I just received a shipment from Luekens in Florida. I had never ordered from them before but it went smoothly. Ordered March 30, shipped April 3, and arrived April 8. Good communication from them along the way, and bulletproof packaging. I like Leukens as well. I rarely order from them due to their high prices. But once in awhile they have a reasonably-priced KC store pick or the like and it goes through quite smoothly. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dean_martin Posted April 25, 2023 Share Posted April 25, 2023 It's been a while since I had bottles shipped via online purchases. I had to open a UPS Store mail box in another state to have bottles shipped. I think my last online purchase was from Binny's in Chicago. Once they understood that my mailing address for bottles was different from my home/billing address related to my credit card, everything went smoothly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fragileduckling Posted April 29, 2023 Share Posted April 29, 2023 Is Wooden Cork legit and ship to Texas? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steven s Posted June 3, 2023 Share Posted June 3, 2023 anyone used Bourbonvintshop.com or buybourbonwhiskey.com? Prices seem too good to be true. 100$ W12, 100$ stage jr, 2700$ full BTAC, etc.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steven s Posted June 3, 2023 Share Posted June 3, 2023 very little research shows these are def a scam. hope no one here has been a victim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IamMatt Posted June 3, 2023 Share Posted June 3, 2023 I think most members who have been around a while know that typical price and availability are, and a website that seems to defy those laws of economics is almost always a scam. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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