Looking for retailer than can hold and consolidate orders

WINE TALK
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Hi everyone-

Short version: Do you have recommendations for online retailers that allow you to buy wine a bottle or two at a time, gradually put together a mixed case over six months or so, and combine into one larger shipment when weather is ideal in the Spring of Fall?

Longer version/context: My favorite retailer to shop this way was Benchmark Wine. But I just made a purchase and was informed that they now only hold orders for 30 days. After that it’s $14 per case per month. So that means an additional $84 to put together a case over six months. They’ll hold for hot weather, but only if it is sustained 85F or over, which basically never happens here in the Northeast. Doesn’t mean it’s safe to ship though…I shopped on SommSelect this way too, but they shortened their hold to 90 days.

So, I think I’m mostly done with Benchmark, unless I see a really great deal in March or October. They can make whatever policy they want, and I’m sure this makes more sense for the high dollar/high volume purchasers that make them the most money. But I’m kind of bummed because I liked shopping with them, and a little annoyed that they didn’t make this policy clear until after I paid. I’m sure it was buried in the fine print, but it certainly wasn’t featured info.

Anyway, I’d love to know if there are other retailers you would recommend that allow shopping this way- especially for back vintages and rarer stuff. Rare Wine Co does, as does Woodland Hills. I’m sure there are a bunch of others. Any that you would recommend to a fellow Berserker?

Thanks,
Noah

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Most places hold for free, but more and more these days are creating ways to monetize that offering as you’ve seen. It’s still the exception not the rule. $14/month for a case is usurious. It’s $1/mo for a case in the UK.

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Benchmark has always said that; in fact they make you check a box to acknowledge the storage fee. That said they’ve never charged me anything. I do spend quite a bit of money there, though. Some places to consider:

Grand Vin Wine Merchants
WHWC
Winex
Hi time wine
Wine house (la)
Thatcher’s

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I think Envoyer will hold for a small fee per order (I pick up locally).

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WineBid is free for 3 months
WineX is 6 months
B-21 is at least 6 months
LopaWine is 12 months (if you’re okay with that business model)
Vinfolio will hold, I’m not sure how long
Flickinger will hold, not sure on how long or if it’s just for weather
Wine.com will hold for a long time, not sure how long, but you’ll want to pay for free shipping as they don’t consolidate

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This retailer does it for me at no cost and in a friendly no stress way.

I buy a couple bottles here and there, then once or twice a year we talk about combining them to ship. And the guy (Tom Kobylarz) really strategizes about the cheapest methods to combine and ship it all.

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Garagiste

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Both Chambers Street Wines and Flatiron Wines in NYC do this for me with ease.

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You might want to check with them, but I am pretty sure Crush does this.

$14/month sends a clear message that Benchmark doesn’t want to hold for you.

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Isn’t that their business model. Ship full cases in spring and fall.

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At $85/case and 50% over WS Low they dont want to ship for me or sell me wine either.

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I use Zachys quite a bit. They will store 90 days for free. After 90 days they charge a small fee that I think is reasonable. They will combine bottles for shipping when you are ready to receive.

You cannot combine retail and auctions which would be my only gripe. My guess is because the bottles are in different locations. If so, I can understand the reasoning.

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Noah, I’m not entirely sure you read Benchmark’s policy correctly. You may want to take another look at what it actually is.

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Thatcher will do this for you, they often have better pricing than benchmark, also located in CA, and they provide free shipping for orders over $250.

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I’ll add jjbuckley to the list.

If a retailer wont hold bottles until weather is suitable, I won’t shop with them. It’s not due to the cost, but rather due to them sending a clear message that they don’t care about the quality of the wine they’re selling.

I’ve never had a problem with benchmark in this regard, but maybe they changed their policy.

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They’ve always had the same policy. I posted it above. It isn’t what Noah said it was.

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This is the entire business model for Fass Selections: https://www.fassselections.com/.

Two shipments per year.

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I shopped with Benchmark for the past 3 years having them consolidate my orders over 6 mos. So I thought this was their policy. However, Michael, you are right- I revisited my email from the client relations representative. She wrote: “We have begun enforcing our holding policy and will charge $14 per case should you want to hold past your 30 day grace period.”

So it’s not a new policy, it’s just being newly enforced.

Still a bummer, and still means I’m pretty much done shopping with them other than the occasional steal that may occur during prime shipping window.

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Read the policy a little more carefully. It says up to 30 days or until it is safe to ship your wine. So you can definitely build a case over the summer or over the winter. If you’re in the middle of the shipping window, not so much, but most ppl would just like their wine shipped if it’s safe to ship it.

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