I guess it should have came as no surprise that Amazon announced yesterday that it would start selling wine through its vast online universe. And don’t get me wrong, this may be a good thing. I say may because there is something unnerving to me about going online with this shopping list (and finding it all on one place):
Philip Roth book
Vacuum cleaner
1950′s gift basket
2007 Volvo Station Wagon
Trombone
Is it cool to be able to place such an eclectic order online? I suppose it is. But something tells me here are some more things you’ll be able to buy on Amazon within five years:
Human kidney – Type O blood
The Moon – Serious inquiries only
Little Billy Johnson (age 6) – housebroken and cute as can be
Happiness
I’ve bought many things on Amazon and have found the shopping experience nothing but pleasant. But on the business side I’ve also seen how they, like the Wal-Marts of the world, drive down prices in the name of their bottom line. For them, making a dollar profit on a product (or no profit at all) makes sense to gain market share and add revenue. This model however makes much less sense for the small company whose dilemma falls somewhere between getting their product to the marketplace and extinction. On the surface, selling one’s product through Amazon (and becoming obsessed with your sales ranking – go ahead I dare you not to) is a double edged sword. Not only does it take your most valuable asset (you) out of the sales equation but just makes your product one more item in a sea of what is surely ka-billions of others.
And I’m not so sure wine was made to be purchased that way. For me and many others, wine is a product you buy in person, either at a wine shop, hanging with the local vino-heads or better yet at the winery itself, where you’re tasting what you buy. Even buying mass market wines at say Trader Joe’s is fun because you know some wine buyer, a person who presumably cares about wine, has selected the wines they think their customer base will enjoy.
And if you’re not going to do any of the above, I humbly suggest you purchase from the winery directly via their own website. You may pay a few dollars more but what you lose in money you absolutely gain in your connection with those whose hard work and dedication are evident in every sip of wine you take.
Buying wine at a place like Amazon gives one about as much connection to the real world as watching “Project Runway” on your computer while IM’ing your friend who’s in the next room.
No thanks.
