ONLINE ORDERING FOR
WINERIES
Hosted Through AllAmericanWineries.com™
BACKGROUND: Electronic commerce and online ordering are quickly becoming a way to extend your business hours to nights, weekends, vacations, and days your winery is closed. Over the years, several WineLite WebSite© wineries and potential clients approached me about providing them with a true E-commerce capability for their wineries. After months of research, I have determined that the high setup cost and difficulty integrating a true online E-commerce program into your WineLite WebSite© home page is not viable at this time.
An
Alternative AllAmericanWineries™ Print-and-Fax (or
Print-and-Mail) Form: For a small additional programming and
bandwidth fee of $20 per year above your basic WineLite WebSite©
hosting fee, your winery can have another two pages added: One
page that contain legal information to your customers and the second
page, a print-and-fax (or print-and-mail) order form for customers to
use when ordering your wines. This gives you a 24/7 presence for
sales opportunities. The most important information you need to
know is the myriad of complex laws regarding
shipment of wine to customers within your state and to customers
residing in another state. Some states permit both intra-
and inter-state shipping, others states permit only shipments within your state, and some states permit
neither. From our home page, click on the "Legal Issues"
tab for additional information provided by organizations not related to AllAmericanWineries™
. This is a complex and constantly changing issue as legal
challenges work their way through state and federal courts. We cannot be
responsible for any winery's mis-interpretation of shipping laws. This
service is offered only to those wineries with our WineLite WebSite©
hosting.
For additional information (without obligation) about
adding an order form to your WineLite WebSite© Home Page, click
here.
If you still choose to explore the possibility of
becoming a true E-commerce winery, there are several factors you need to consider:
1. The complex laws regarding
shipment of wine mentioned above;.
2. The financial stability of
your business. You must be able to obtain an Internet Merchant
Account;
3. Your willingness to pay the
fixed recurring costs associated with online marketing; and
4. The willingness and ability
of your web hosting firm and programmers to support E-commerce on your site.
Assuming you are comfortable with all the issues above,
and that E-commerce is an option you still desire to pursue, contact
your web page designer and web hosting firm to explore all your options.
