Epiqure: Is it worth the $99 Join Fee (p.a.)?

[There'sOnlyOneJimmy]

Has anyone done a back of the envelope calculation of the worth (or folly) of a PAID membership to Epicure?
What's the consensus opinion?
All advice / comments welcome.

 

[jackthomas]

I've been wondering the same thing... Only thing is that I tend to only buy wine by the bottle ( not cases)

Maybe I have to increase my intake...

 

[blackcat20]

Wait for a free-join offer to come up. Then if you make a purchase they tend to comp your membership the following year.

 

[There'sOnlyOneJimmy]

Any clue how often the freebie memberships come up?

 

[VPS]

Depends on whether you buy your wine on quality or quantity - I got a free membership over a year ago and they haven't asked for any more money and I wouldn't use it if I had to pay for it - wines may be cheaper but they mostly seem to target $20 per bottle deals - I'm more a Dan Murphy's person

 

[There'sOnlyOneJimmy]

It looks to me like there's not too many bargains to be had. I was more attracted to the various bonus points offers (where they're associated with items that I'd be interested in buying anyway).

 

[samh004]

Firstly, you've got to remember it's epiQure

I mainly buy when I see large bonus points, but don't just buy any, I make sure it's something that will fit in the cellar too. Then again, I'm no connoisseur.

 

[Kefci2000]

Epicure: Is it worth the $99 Join Fee (p.a.)?

I make at least one purchase a year to keep the subscription

The good offers though only come through once or twice a year IMHO

 

[vantage03]

I just don't get the proposition at all. Everything on there is significantly more expensive than at Vintage Cellars or similar. I've never seen anything on there and thought "wow that's good value".

Unless you're comp'd, don't to it.

 

[Groundhog]

Generally the cost of membership also includes a bottle of wine to the roughly the same value so its not too bad. I use it for the wine events etc that they have which are good fun and only available to epicure members. I have never bought wine as i agree with other posters that its just too expensive and you will get better value elsewhere

 

[Buzzard]

I got a "free" membership last year and was compt this year because I made a purchase. And I only made one purchase, a buy one get one free offer. I know some members like the points on offer for purchases but overall I find Epicure expensive. Much prefer Vinomofo.

 

[Kefci2000]

I just don't get the proposition at all. Everything on there is significantly more expensive than at Vintage Cellars or similar. I've never seen anything on there and thought "wow that's good value".

Unless you're comp'd, don't to it.

The two offers that I have taken up in my two years was definitely worth it

Pay retail for 6 bottles of Yerring Station and get a bottle of Wolf Blass Black label ($99 value) free

 

[There'sOnlyOneJimmy]

Firstly, you've got to remember it's epiQure

Thanks for picking up the typo.
Seeing how you're a Moderator Sam, are you able to correct the Thread Title (so that it can show up in searches)?
Thx,
J

 

[AirKat]

There is a half price offer of membership for $49.50 (usually $99) and you’ll receive a complimentary gift of a bottle of Taittinger… which really makes your first year’s membership free. Just utilise the promo code ‘WINECOMPANION’ when joining. I think this expires soon

 

[trippin_the_rift]

I just don't get the proposition at all. Everything on there is significantly more expensive than at Vintage Cellars or similar. I've never seen anything on there and thought "wow that's good value".

Unless you're comp'd, don't to it.

My logic is the same. Why would you pay to join a website to buy something online that you can buy at another website just as easily - for less...
I think the only [-]fools[/-] members paying for it are the hardcore QFF [-]suckers[/-] loyalists.

 

[medhead]

Epicure: Is it worth the $99 Join Fee (p.a.)?

My logic is the same. Why would you pay to join a website to buy something online that you can buy at another website just as easily - for less...
I think the only [-]fools[/-] members paying for it are the hardcore QFF [-]suckers[/-] loyalists.

Perhaps. Some of us got initial membership free and keep getting complimentary renewal. I generally purchase wines from epiqure after comparing to other sellers and get comparable to good value. I've had good value buying Taittinger, and the recent Easter pack.

Also the epiqure events are pretty darn good. Taittinger event a couple of years ago was excellent value, both in served product and the take home gift. Producer to plane was also very good. Just disappointed to be missing the sliders event in a couple of weeks.

Value is where you find it, or make it.

 

[Speedbird001]

It looks to me like there's not too many bargains to be had. I was more attracted to the various bonus points offers (where they're associated with items that I'd be interested in buying anyway).

Absolutely. No financial advantage. Bonus points perhaps but on their specials that offer them they're often on cough wine so they're making you pay more than retail for those points. Try Kemmenys. Bondi based but shipping easy. Sensational high end cleanskins.

 

[Supersonic Swinger]

Why would you pay to join a website to buy something online that you can buy at another website just as easily - for less...

Not only that, the more you purchase, the more valuable data you hand to QF Loyalty about yourself for them to monetise, all for those 'valuable' QFF points. Yet you have to pay a joining fee for the privilege.

 

[medhead]

Epicure: Is it worth the $99 Join Fee (p.a.)?

Not only that, the more you purchase, the more valuable data you hand to QF Loyalty about yourself for them to monetise, all for those 'valuable' QFF points. Yet you have to pay a joining fee for the privilege.

What valuable data? (That they don't already have) Some of us haven't paid a joining fee.

 

[trippin_the_rift]

What valuable data? (That they don't already have) So of us haven't paid a joining fee.

The answer is: tesco.

Qantas - just like any other big company with a brain invests heavily in business intelligence.
For example (this is a surface scratching example it goes WAY deeper than this): You buy a 2005 shiraz something something for $100. While this purchase doesn't mean much to you - to Qantas it provides the following data:

- You're happy to spend $100 on 1 bottle (shows you're a subjective purchaser)
- The time between looking at a product and purchasing: (shows how comfortable you are purchasing products online)
- If you buy wines that are tagged internally as 'gift wines', they know you use the site for gifts... Guess what type of marketing you'll receive (hint: NOT for gifts!)
- QFF already has data on who is in your "family" (based on points/upgrades/phone calls etc..), they can use your wine purchase in data combined with your family data to get a very basic profie of your family tree's alcohol purchasing habits.
- The type of wine you buy means a lot... if you're buying the same bottle each month, QFF may link peiple that buy a certain bottle are much more likely to pay for a wine club subscription. Or people that buy xx_ wine are always over 50 years old - which opens up MANY opportunites to use/sell that data.

Back to tesco (who is the poster child for BI going back into the early 1990s') - here's an example of how 1 purchase can make the company a lot of money: How Target Figured Out A Teen Girl Was Pregnant Before Her Father Did - Forbes

Also related to data is how much product Qantas can push to different demographics.
For example this store helps increase their sales volumes - which helps QF leverage more favourable pricing for their already X/million bottles of wine each year. Driving more cost efficiencies for the group. We could look at alcohol similar to onboard duty free sales which are heavily subsidized (to near $0) by the brand. Limitless possibilities to use the data to extract more revenue.

Data is the future and nobody is safe