igourmet.com sells over 850 specialty cheeses, as well as chocolates, oils, vinegars, and lots more gourmet food items. They've been around since 1997, and have been named as Forbes Magazines best gourmet food website every year since 2003.
Our order
Order date: June 2, 2010Promised date: June 4, 2010
Arrival date: June 4, 2010
What I bought: 1/2 pound Parmigiano Reggiano and 1/2 pound Parmigiano Reggiano Stravecchio
Abbreviated Review
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Full Review
What I like about igourmet.com
There are several things I like about igourmet.com. One is the selection. I've come across few websites that even come close to the number of cheeses. You can browse by country, by milk type, by cheese type, or by texture.
Shipping is fast. They ship overnight. My order came in two days, but before I even added my items to the cart, there was a very clear "this item available to ship June 3rd" note, so I knew what to expect.
I like that there is a flat rate for overnight shipping. $12.99 is all you pay for the lower 48 states no matter how big your order is. I bought cheese from a company in England that charged shipping on each item. The shipping cost more than the cheese, and I bought much less cheese than I was planning on buying because the price of the shipping was adding up. $12.99 might sound like a lot for shipping cheese, but the shipping is fast, and if you order multiple items, it really is a good deal. And there is free shipping on a few select items.
Another great feature about the site is that customers can leave ratings and reviews of cheeses they've purchased. Some cheeses have lots of ratings, others don't. These reviews can help you decide what new cheeses you want to try and which ones you might want to avoid. Though, keep in mind, tastes differ, and some people love cheeses that others detest.
What I don't like
igourmet has a "wishlist" feature, which is a good idea, but they could impliment it better. For example, the only way to share your wishlist is to click on the "email list" button, enter in an email address, and press send. I tried to send my wishlist to two different email addresses, but I never found it in either email inbox. What would be better is if you could have a url for wishlist, and then you could give that web address to others to see.
The other downside is that they only ship to U.S. addresses. (This does include U.S. territories and military bases.) They have a "ship worldwide" button on the front page, but when you click on it, it takes you to another site in "the igourmet.com network" that won't sell you cheese. (It will sell you chocolates, wine, and some other stuff.) To me that borderline dishonest, or at least borderline misleading.
Pricing
I bought a half pound of Parmigiano Reggiano for $8.99 (or $17.98 per pound) and a half pound of Parmigiano Reggiano Stravecchio for $9.99 (or $19.98 per pound). I visited two local high-end grocery stores to see how much I would spent there for the same cheese. Neither store had the Stravecchio variety, but for Parmigiano Reggiano one store (Nugget Market) charged $14.99 per pound and the other (Raley's) $19.99 per pound. igourmet.com's pricing was inbetween the pricing of the two high-end grocery stores. If I had bought larger pieces of cheese from igourmet my savings would have been greater.
Bottom line
Would I recommend igourmet.com? Yes, I would. And I do. The selection is great. The prices are reasonable. The shipping is fast. And I was very happy with my order.
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