Interesting. I was just talking to a guy who said that he got a surprise shipment of about two cases from them, which he had ordered a couple of years ago. They (and he) had basically forgotten about it. I assumed this was an isolated thing, but sounds like it might be a real issue.
Nate really big issue. I would avoid them at all costs. I will never forget pissing off a bunch of Minneapolis Off liners when I said Premier Cru is a joke and I would avoid them at all costs!
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Generally speaking since the pandemic I dont think their prices are that attractive anymore. Do they still charge for shipping boxes?
It was interesting, I had to tell them the wine was missing from the inventory list to be shipped last spring. They were good about it, and I’m sure they would have found the wines eventually. I certainly wouldn’t compare them with Premier cru. I’ve always gotten my wine, and the rare times that they couldnt get them (like once, I think), I was quickly refunded. I’ve been using them for over 10 years without complaint. Its mainly the shipping prices and policies that are concerning me. That and the fact that they shipped on Thursday without my authorization.
Has anyone else experienced the situation where prearrival Wine A comes in and is “in stock” for you, you don’t ship immediately, and then later you want to ship and Wine A is prearrival status again?
I had that happen a couple of times. Between that and higher shipping and bottle prices, I’m wrapping up with them.
That happened to me. They clearly don’t hold your wines for you if they’ve ordered another batch of the same wine. They also didn’t tell me at all after I’d paid for a full case to be shipped, and I found out when it arrived sans “pre-arrival.”
I also had a wine that they just forgot to pick in my shipment and didn’t offer any sort of compensation without me hinting I should at least get a portion of shipping comped since it required me to add another shipment to my backlog.
I’m not buying from them again until I clear out these pre-arrivals. The percentage of my purchases that are still pre-arrival from summer/early fall is not something I expected. The selection and pricing are nice, but shipping, response time, and playing the pre-arrival waiting game aren’t so great.
Oops. Envoyer.
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I’m in similar situation of cutting back Envoyer purchases as well. Over the last year or 18 months the quality of service has decreased and I’ve had some inventory and shipping communication issues as well. I’m still missing bottles from the old system that have failed to make the last 2 shipping cycles despite assurances that they were included. I have to remind them to check the old system as they seem to forget. They have definitely had some staff turnover as well, so I’m taking a breather to reduce my overall risk. We’ll see how things go with the spring shipping season.
They’ve always been slow getting wines and I live driving distance. I’m up there all the time and Have been buying over a decade.
Yes, posted about this in the Envoyer #2 thread. I had 3 orders/8 bottles where they had one, but not 2-4 of each wine I had ordered, so didn’t ship. Very frustrating, and creates a potentially endless cycle. It’s not economical to ship unless you have a full case but they don’t all come in stock at the same time. Worse - they didn’t realize this until after the shipment, so my three cases came in a little, um, empty. They did agree to ship those bottles for free when available.
Overall I think the prices are usually competitive, though less super than a couple of years ago. They do get a lot of wines I don’t see in stores near me. But the shipping/inventory situation has become more frustrating. Until the shipment above I had wines that had been on order for 18 months. Now my oldest is from this March (and is not longer at the bottom of my pending arrivals on CT!)
No - they have set shipping prices now that include the shipper.
I have been buying less from envoyer because a few times I haven’t been allocated stuff I’ve wanted. Considering how much I spend there I don’t find that acceptable and will find other places to spend my money.
I have nothing but good things to say about Envoyer and their customer service.
Back in March 2020 when everything shut down, I asked Envoyer to hold all my shipments until further notice. Not a problem. I believe I emailed Terry, but that email was likely forwarded to the person who replace Terry, because I got a reply from Sarah Hartman.
At the end of October of this year, when the border reopening was announced, I emailed Sarah to ask them to start shipping everything: all 220 bottles that I’ve ordered between Fall 2019 and Fall 2021.
Sarah’s customer service has been excellent. She has been prompt with her email replies. I can only bring 60 bottles at a time across the border to Canada, so Sarah organized my wines into four separate shipments, one week apart. She sent the tracking numbers along with a detailed breakdown of what was contained in each shipment so I could make sure I had the correct invoices for customs.
If you’re having trouble reaching someone at Envoyer, I’d suggest contacting Sarah. Her email is her first name @ the usual Envoyer domain.
Greg has always run a conservative shop and seems to resist automating things. I’m sure that’s a big reason he keeps his costs in check and can run on those margins. Pretty much everything he’s selling is in limited quantities so he doesn’t need a complex web store to manage lots of orders. I think people who say they changed may not have been doing business with them as long. It’s kinda always been this way
FWIW a friend and I have been waiting a while on some Lopez Heredia 375s that lots of places have now. He emailed him and heard this right back.
“They will be here on my first container of 2022. Likely Feb eta . They missed the last pick up from this supplier and then all my containers got delayed 2 months. They will be here for sure.”
My friend and I both responded to an email just seconds after it was sent and neither of us got a bottle, despite EFW having multiples. Stopped caring after that.
You do know those emails go out to thousands of people and many of them buy just as much. I love going by to pick up my wines. I usually take a walk in the warehouse and laugh at all the names I recognize on overflowing bins. I cant attest Mssr. Arntfield has buying issues
Sorry David, that is just not my experience with Greg. I can safely say, there is no one I deal with with greater integrity than Greg. Sorry, your experience is not positive, but I doubt it’s the norm.
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Ummm, Premier cru was a ponzi scheme. Envoyer is a legitimate business. Please be careful what you insinuate on-line.
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You want the Chairman’s Circle equivalent?
No kidding but it concerns me that they are taking orders and switching out that order for something else so don’t tell me that there are not some issues as many have noted!!! I have already emailed Greg with my concerns so hopefully he will get this figure out very quickly!!!