Hope you have all had a great summer and are staying safe and healthy, while enjoying great wines. We are excited to provide all our friends on Berserkers a heads-up about some important changes coming to WineBid.
Starting in early September, WineBid will be partnering with a new business called Global Storage Network (GSN). GSN will operate in an expanded temperature and humidity controlled warehouse directly adjacent to the current WineBid location in Napa. GSN will offer the most innovative, premium, full-service wine storage and inventory services in the wine industry for WineBid customers, and eventually for other wine enthusiasts and commercial clients.
The highlights:
Global Storage Network (GSN) will become the preferred storage & shipping partner of WineBid.
All wines purchased on WineBid will automatically be placed into storage at GSN. Customers can expect the same incredible storage & shipping service they have experienced with their previous WineBid purchases.
Given the partnership arrangements between WineBid and GSN, customers will be able to easily navigate to GSNās website from their WineBid account.
GSN will offer convenient online scheduling. Customers will be able to schedule an in-person pick up appointment, ship their wines to themselves, or arrange for a 3rd party shipper to pick up their wines from the GSN facility.
The benefits of WineBid Pro and non-Pro will be changing. WineBid and GSN will have a reciprocal Pro tier ($99/year), a new tier called āCollectorā ($49/year), and newly named Cru (free) tier, with different amounts of free storage, shipping discounts, per-bottle-per-month charges and early bidding access, depending on the tier of benefits you are subscribed to.
Why are we doing this? Throughout our 25-year history, our customers have appreciated the superior long-term storage and excellent customer service that WineBid has deliveredāso much so that our auction racks are filling up with long-term storage wine. Moving forward, our focus at WineBid will be to continue to bring the best online wine auction experience to our customers.
For more details, please watch for an email from WineBid coming soon.
Thank you for your loyalty and enthusiasm for WineBid over the years, as we continue to evolve, innovate, and grow. We are committed to sharing great experiences through wine and look forward to continuing to provide you an amazing service at WineBid and through our partnership with Global Storage Network.
Does this mean a separate account and login/interface for the purposes of shipping? I know youāre very receptive to feedback and appreciate your posting here ā¦ but being able to handle the entire process within a single account is definitely a benefit. Having to use a separate account/login/business simply for the shipping side of things would make it less convenient.
Well at least this change doesnāt apply to bottles recently won, which bidders might have assumed were covered under the T&C in force at the time.
Thereās a lot of inflation happening in the world, and one way that can be experienced is not just in the headline prices, but in what the value package contains. Assuming one was not a WineBid Pro, losing 5 mos of formerly free storage equals a $2.50 surcharge per bottle purchase if one used the full 6 mos prior to shipping out. Itās not clear if halves/magnums etc. have the same rates.
It sounds like airline āunbundlingā experts were engaged to boost the revenues. I canāt begrudge it ā 6 months of storage was generous, and most merchants want to be in the moving business not the storage one. It sounds like they have the client activity to support this move, at least based on the āYouve been Outbidā thread.
I agree. 6 months of storage was generous, but I would have liked to see it stay at 3. Totally understand wanting to get out of the wine storage business.
I donāt like shipping partial cases and generally donāt fill a case in a month at Winebid. While itās a small $ amount, it will likely change my purchasing habits there. Iāll be more reluctant to bid and start a new case if I donāt see a few wines I like in the same auction. At the same time Iāll be more inclined to bid on something Iām indifferent about just to fill a case. So who knows whether this will be a plus or a minus for me at Winebid.
If the goal was to drive more value into the premium levels, I would much rather have a point taken off the premium if I purchased a subscription.
ORā¦ If I had a subscription that it included X amount of free storage for non-winebid wine, AKA from the wineriesā¦ That would drive more value for me in the subscriptionsā¦
Unfortunately will have to move away from buying on Winebid after the change except for unique situations. The email doesnāt include what happens on summer months where a number of merchants for fine wines have a standard to not ship in hot weather which the 6 months of storage essentially let us avoid. Unless GSN offers discounted cold chain shipment, this is a terrible policy change.
I buy quite a bit of wine from WineBid and hold for shipping through the hot months. If I have several cases in storage, then I could be spending another $30/month or more which really adds up. Deals are not as easy to come by at WineBid as in the past, Iāve lost quite a few wines to the overtime bidding thing, and this is one more thing that increases the cost of doing business. The primary remaining virtue of the site is the ability to find mature wines, but Iām going to have dial back on buying and delay bidding until closer to good shipping weather. Iāve bought recently from Chambers Street and a couple of wineries directly, who have gladly held my wine at no extra charge. With all due respect to Russ and the enjoyment Iāve received over the years from buying at WineBid, I must say the value proposition is eroding.
Does it mention anything about summer holds (havenāt got the email yet)? Here in AZ, not much we can do about weather holds when itās 110 degrees outside for 5 months straight.
Or just buy less. If thereās a really special bottle ā¦ ok, but I donāt think the site will be my go-to. I need to buy less anyway and this might be the reason to help me feel better about it.
I donāt buy much these days from WineBid. However, This is a total deal breaker, especially given climate change issues where shipping is a major issue for about 6 months of the year even on the west coast.
My buying from WB has just ended permanently with this change.
This is an unfortunate change. I recognize not wanting to be in the storage business, but Iāve usually been willing to buy a bottle here and there until I hit a case. Winebid was often great for older mid priced wines Iāve wanted to buy which are difficult to source - Iād typically just bid and build up a case. Now without storage the value prop on an older $30-50 bottle isnāt there. Thatās to say nothing of summer months, which for me is late April through mid October.
Between this and the number of bad bottles Iāve gotten recently think Iāll be scaling back my buying a lot.
Stupid change. New CEO seems intent on making this more lucrative for WineBid without any care for the customer. The only retailer (?) who says they wonāt hold wine till colder weatherā¦
