I’ve recently started using them. I really like the pricing compared to UPS, and I love not having to repack into shippers. It seems like there has to be a downside – like breakage. Anyone else have experience with these guys, good or bad?
Can’t say that I’ve ever heard anything bad about them, Stewart.
Used em to SoCal. Was as advertised for $35 reefer truck in summer. Delivery at 830a next day. I would def use again. They were fab.
We use them and never had a problem.
Karen
GSO rocks.
Another huge + for GSO. Best way to ship wine (as a winery) within CA.
From the consumer aspect, I love GSO. Never had a problem with breakage or delivering in the heat or any of the other horror stories you see with other shippers.
Good to hear. My drop off location in San Rafael is much less of a well-oiled machine than UPS. The fact that they seem perplexed every time I walk through the door with a case of wine has given me pause, but so far everything has gotten to its destination cheaply and intact.
They are by far the fastest and most cost effective shippers. We use them Ca, AZ and NV. With that said I have had a few problems with them. Broken bottles (at higher rates than WCS or Bottle Direct). Cooked wine which was supposed to be on a refrigerated truck, this has happened a few time when two seniors arrive, a non-overnight shipping to some zip codes in Arizona is impossible and the wine gets cooked and when customers do not get the package on the first delivery attempt. The other problem is that I saw the driver throw a 3-pack into his truck over a stack of boxes. I called GSO Headquarters and they got back to me in two days apologizing and said that they gave their driver a warning.
With all that said I still use GSO because they are so affordable. I just make sure to ship to business addresses in AZ and watch the driver load my wine. They also make special Saturday deliveries which are invaluable to people who cannot receive alcohol at work.
Overall, I am pleased that I can ship with GSO. The rates are similar to Fedex with the Wine Institute discounts, but with no pickup fee. Also, I can ship in the case box, and not re-pack.
But, there have been issues. They were difficult to get resolved. I had one package which had several things go wrong including changing the address and phone # and attempting to deliver to the wrong person. Eventually, 4 days later, it reached the customer, but it had apparently sat in heat and the bottles had pushed out wine. It took at least 2 months to resolve. In the end they came through, but not gracefully. I do ship with them. Recently, I have had a number of smooth shipments. I hope they continue to strive towards better service. I give them a C+, but I am hopeful that they will improve.
I would think that would be a recipe for disaster, no matter who was shipping.
A couple of years ago there was a guy in OR who was going to be poring at HdR. He shipped a couple of cases to me in the original case boxes, and there were 2 or 3 bottles broken (don’t remember who the shipper was). I had never seen anything like that before- someone not shipping in shipping containers. It was a mess. I’m surprised anyone even accepts wine to ship like that.
We ship with GSO to CA, and overall feel they are great. As with any shipping company, it’s not all roses and perfume, there are issues, but GSO is at least as good as UPS on the whole and, at least in our experience, both are far better than Fedex.
On the issue of shipping in case boxes, GSO told us that they officially do not allow that, but that in practice they will accept wine from us however we choose to package it. We repack into pulp shippers for overnight shipping to CA and have had zero broken bottles and zero cooked bottles (that we know of) in at least 3000+ shipments since we started using them.
Honestly, I have only done this a few times. They assure me that it is OK. They claim that they do it all the time. I guess I should get that in writing, so when/if something goes wrong, I can be reimbursed.
I would just be afraid of the lack of padding- the less secure your packaging, the more chance you have of breakage, no matter who ships it.
What am I doing wrong? I’ve heard all these great things about GSO from everybody, but whenever I request a quote (usually for shipping from Napa Valley to San Francisco) the rate is at least twice what FedEx charges. Sigh.
We use them as well, no complaints here, and we like the CA & AZ & NV next/2nd day delivery, but they have some truly horrendous reviews on Yelp, which made us nervous.
I got a call from my GSO rep today because he had seen this thread. I hope he also took the opportunity to contact Matt about his issue with GSO pricing. I seem to recall having a similar experience when I first checked them out, and things didn’t start looking real affordable until I established an account.
In any case, I learned that there is a special orange sticker that you are supposed to put on plain case wine shipments to alert them that they require gentle handling. To me, the ability to ship w/o special packaging is a pretty big plus, and I’m willing to let them continue to prove that they can pull it off – until it turns out that they can’t. I also like not paying extra for an adult signature.
The “other” guys take the “fragile” sticker as an invitation to see just how well you packed it. If GSO gets big enough, gentle handling will go out the window. So far, they’ve been excellent for our CA shipments.
From a buyers standpoint GSO has been a hassle to work with. Their delivery timing is a bit erratic and I dont like the idea that a random truck shows up with no markings to drop off a shipment. I am also frustrated that their hub is a 30 minute drive which takes pick up out of the equation, but that is my problem.
Indeed I was contacted by email. I shared details of my experiences trying to use GSO, and I was quoted much better rates than I had seen previously. I look forward to using GSO for future in-state shipping.