TELECOM Digest OnLine - Sorted: Re: It is _Not_ Easy for Teens to Buy Alcohol on the Internet

Re: It is _Not_ Easy for Teens to Buy Alcohol on the Internet

John Levine (johnl@iecc.com)
5 Oct 2006 00:06:20 -0000

> The Internet is providing a new avenue for underage drinking. Results
> of a new survey confirm that millions of teenagers either buy alcohol
> online or know an underage friend who does.

This is completely unbelievable. I know a certain number of people in
the wine business, and without exception they ship UPS and require an
adult signature upon delivery. In case you hadn't looked, the cost of
shipping is high enough that it's only worth online orders for high
priced stuff, ten bucks a bottle and up. the typical online order is
a hundred bucks or more, hardly attractive to kids.

> "This is a dangerous situation," said Stan Hastings chairman of the
> Wine and Spirits Wholesales of America, Inc. (WSWA), the trade group
> that commissioned the survey.

And that's your answer. The wholesalers currently have a stranglehold
on alcoholic beverage sales in the US, with a three-tier system from
maker to wholesaler to store. The wholesalers realize that the value
they provide is vastly less than the high markup they command, and
they are desperately trying to kill online sales and anything else
that will allow consumers to avoid going through them. Hence this
totally bogus survey.

R's,

John

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