Online buying/selling?
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Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
Living in CA, there were oodles of stores around, but living here in upstate NY is a very different situation. I've bought online, but only in 3-4 times in the last two years. I'll be back in CA come November so there's won't be a need in the future unless I need some French or Italian chocolate that I HAVE to have. There will come a time when I must have certain chocolatiers, but just polished off the last of my Paris chocolate from October 2008 and we just got back from Italy with $400 worth of chocs, so that'll last me.Online, I've bought from chocosphere (mixed box of bars I was interested in), LillieBelle Farms (zombie choc bunny for a friend's birthday), Chocolate by Cacao (box of pralines, to try out), and Richard Donnelly (box of bars). Shipping is generally prohibitive, but I'll do it in serious cases of need -- the Donnelly and chocosphere times were such cases. After trying the Chocolate by Cacao and not enjoying it, I decided no more experimental purchases unless I have excellent reviews from trusted sources (everything looks good online).What I've done for the last year is mix in chocolate shopping with all of my business and personal trips -- every visit yields additions to the chocolate fridge, that way I don't have to rely on the limited local selection. I'll definitely buy online again despite my CA move, there are some fantastic French & Italian chocolatiers that will be worth the cost (but only 1-2 times a year). I'll probably restrict my buying to international and try to scheme East Coast additions into my scheduled travel. For me, the more flush we get financially, the more likely I'll be to buy online, until then, however, I'll rely on the frequent traveling I do to fill in the blanks. Already have a wedding I'm scheduled to attend in Paris in the Spring, so no international buying necessary next year!
