Comments on: Online Alcohol Merchants Fail to Check IDs

By: kevin

kevin — Wed, 09 May 2012 02:04:08 +0000

First off, I never heard of youngsters (under 21) drinking a whole lot of wine, unless its Boones Farm or something like that, which I doubt you can even buy online. Second, they’re going to have to go buy a gift card, get on the internet and place the order, wait a week for shipping, then hope and pray their parents aren’t home when it gets delivered. That’s quite a bit to go through for a few bottles of wine, most kids have easier ways to get alcohol.

By: Fred Nickel

Fred Nickel — Tue, 08 May 2012 22:23:31 +0000

Same old drum being pounded, direct shipping of wine will undermine America’s youth!!!
Taken from press release on UNC grant funded study that Ms. Williams is doing… applause from Orrin Hatch and WSWA.
“Unfortunately, indiscriminate direct sales of alcohol have opened a sophisticated generation of minors to the perils of alcohol abuse,” U.S. Sen. Orrin Hatch, a Utah Republican, said during a 1999 Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Internet alcohol sales.
“We advocate against online access and direct shipping, with access for minors being a primary reason for that,” said Nancy White, public affairs director for Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America, a trade group that paid for the study.

By: Carol Strassburg

Carol Strassburg — Tue, 08 May 2012 21:52:41 +0000

But this does not happen in real life because: 1) underage kids do not order wine and wait for the delivery and, 2) we too would like to know who funded the “study” – the liquor wholesalers who oppose direct shipping? We are a small winery in upstate NY and have had shipments through FedEx delayed (I get the email ‘exceptions’) because the adult was not available to sign for the box.

By: Annie

Annie — Tue, 08 May 2012 19:48:20 +0000

I work for a small winery, we have been shipping wine all over the country for more than 10 years now. Federal law requires that wine be signed for by an adult over 21; UPS and FedEx drivers are extremely strict about this law, to the point where many of our customers complain that they are clearly middle-aged or older and yet the driver still insists on seeing an ID. Plus, it says “alcohol” all over the box and all over the shipping label, saying that an adult signing is mandatory, so it’s not like the driver could be unaware.

Leaving the box of wine without being signed for is also prohibited; if no one is home to sign, the driver takes it back to the station to try again the next day, again, to many customers’ annoyance.

You can compare a UPS or FedEx driver who does not ask for an ID or who leaves a package of wine on the front porch, which means they have to FORGE a signature, since when they return, they must show proof of signature, to a liquor store clerk who doesn’t ID their underage customers who try to buy alcohol.

It’s wrong on the part of the driver or the clerk but it’s not the fault of the winery that expected the drivers to do their job, or the supplier who sells their alcohol to the store, expecting the store clerks to do their job.

And of the two, who do you think would be more inclined to follow the law and understand their responsibility and try to avoid losing their job from failing to check an ID? A UPS/FedEx driver with great benefits, job security and pay, or a liquor store clerk?

By: rpm

rpm — Tue, 08 May 2012 18:33:14 +0000

Ken:
“This is just another attempt by the distributors to keep their grip on wine sale so they can continue to make huge profits and lock small wineries out of the market. I’d like to see who paid for the “study.””

Exactly.

Include MADD in the list of suspects.

By: Ken

Ken — Tue, 08 May 2012 16:50:33 +0000

I agree that the study didn’t prove a thing. I can see it now, some teen who whats to get drunk going online and ordering a $30 bottle of wine. Give me a break. I’d like to see just one case of a teen actually buying wine online and then a week later using it to get themself and some friends drunk. It just doesn’t happen. Especially when they can get into their parents home stock. This is just another attempt by the distributors to keep their grip on wine sale so they can continue to make huge profits and lock small wineries out of the market. I’d like to see who paid for the “study.”

By: Nick

Nick — Tue, 08 May 2012 16:49:39 +0000

There are problems with this Suburban/PTA mom fear mongering news piece that I am not buying: Kids/Teens seek immediate gratification and this seems like an awful lot of effort to get some somewhat pricy alcohol. I am not saying that teens are lazy and wont get creative in order to get effed up…but if they are looking to get effed up, there are far easier options than buying gift cards, ordering crap online, then waiting for delivery, then coordinating the delivery when mom/dad are not home.

By: Doug McDowall

Doug McDowall — Tue, 08 May 2012 15:22:08 +0000

Perfect for Prom Night !

By: Dr. Kurt

Dr. Kurt — Tue, 08 May 2012 14:17:46 +0000

The study didn’t prove squat other than UPS isn’t checking IDs on buying wine. Kids are going to look for two things when buying alcohol. Cheap and fast. This method provides neither.