Exactly. Bring the data or don’t make the accusations. Larry needs to put up or shut up.
As for the costs, they make complete sense given the current logistics environment. It’s not just wine. It’s everything. Don’t like it, then don’t ship. End of story.
I’ve had wineries ship me wine for free during one month promos to generate business. It can be done but it’s clear how it’s being done.
Personally, I’d rather pay a separate charge for shipping from most wineries, because I’m closer to them. When I have things shipped from East Coast retailers, I obviously pay more (they are less likely to have flat rate to all locations). But, I also often upgraded to overnight, depending on time of year. Obviously, I’m doing that for things I can’t buy locally. For those, happy to pay for shipping (or to not purchase if I decide the total is too much).
-Al
Perfect answer, Al.
If you consider that the time and mileage for a Common Carrier are fixed and the variable is the weight being handled, it makes sense that there is a minimum charge for a single bottle. They’ve done the math so you don’t need to.
With rising fuel and labor costs and the eventual transition to EV, enjoy your cost now.It will never be cheaper.
I never quite understand the outrage about high shipping costs. All I care about is the all in price, and even more so transparency. Charge me $80 more for shipping 1 bottle, but $90 less for the bottle and you have a deal for sure.
With my previous business we started with really high shipping costs because we had a tiny UPS account, but we offered that discounted rate to the customer. By the time I sold we had “free shipping” but either way there is an overall cost that a business has to calculate, and a margin they look for to sustain the business.
If the company is transparent about the cost I will incur, I have no beef with the company, but that doesn’t mean I am buying. If the overall price meets my aims, and they already satisfied the first criteria, I am buying.
$60 for ground + $25 mandatory insurance charge on 3 bottles purchased in during summer and held by a CA retailer to PA quoted over the weekend.
So for giggles, I went to UPS website, built out a 1 bottle order, shipping from one of the wineries I looked at, put in weight and dimensions for a 1 bottle shipper, and priced it out on UPS ground. UPS quoted me $21.87 for the shipment. The two wineries I looked at were both in the $37 range. Granted, there may be an additional expense tied to shipping alcohol (???), but if not, a $16 handling fee seems a bit high on a $60 bottle.
As for scale, I’d classify 1 winery as “large” which could certainly have negotiated freight rates. The other, more small and could likely be using list rates.
I’ve worked at several companies where freight IS a profit center. We also set policies to try to discourage the equivalent of 1 bottle orders. Not poking at these wineries or the practice (I’ll continue to buy from them, just not single bottles!) Just trying to bring some facts to the table.
Always possible they’re using a 3rd party to ship for them. If so, it would make sense that their pricing is similar.
Very true
If it helps, there’s generally a $6-7 fee for “adult signature required” deliveries. Plus the cost of the shipper itself. Plus the cost for someone to go grab the bottle, pack it, and print the label. Also there’s an additional fee (~$5, iirc) to deliver to residential address, which many wineries/retailers just include in their quoted cost as a default because customers will almost always tell you their address is commercial. And your wineries in question may be using a fulfillment service that does that for them, which adds a markup.
So, $37 seems a bit high, but there’s definitely a “we have to do X amount of work for any order, no matter the size” surcharge that’s probably baked in as well.
First, any retailer that agreed that they can ship 5 750s and 2 mags in a single box needs to either hire better, or be quick in firing people.
Second, I’ve been doing this 23 years, and worked for 2 of the biggest retailers in the country. Neither had any such packaging. I would say that it’s exceedingly rare to find a retailer stocking that kind of packing material. I would never bank on this.
Saul pretty much covered it - Adult Signature + Residential Delivery + packing material + icepack + paying the people who actually touch it before it ships. Forget to add fuel surcharge.
Yes, that helps. Knew there were elements I wasn’t thinking of. Appreciate it Saul
I glossed over this thread and totally forgot how much I was quoted to ship Standish from Oz last year. I think we bought a case and paid maybe $300 to ship that in May of 2021 and then it doubled for the fall release letter I got. Will be interesting to see if those numbers have dropped next time they send a release.
$600 for a case?
that was actually for a half case!!! wasn’t happening.
On a broader topic related to shipping. It costs a ton of money to ship wine these days
Cost of the people who pick, pack and ship the bottles (and in most stores, it’s usually 2-3 people that will touch your wine) has gone WAY up. If you buy premium wines, that store is likely paying someone at least $22/hour (plus benefits!) to ship your wine. Whole bunch of reasons behind this, but that’s double what it was in 2015.
Packaging just keeps going up and up. Corrugated packing is more expensive than styrofoam in most cases. There is also something called a “dimensional weight charge” due to the heavy and oddly shaped boxes (by common carrier standards) that gets added to a package. Let’s also not forget that a case of wine weight at least 36 lbs.
That’s before we factor in that common carriers are charging their highest rates ever, and gas surcharges at possibly their highest rates ever.
So many retailers are also using a third party shippers account too. So there is a markup from the person you are using to help ship your wine.
I get the added cost, but if you are buying wines at 1) a hefty savings or 2) something you simply can’t find elsewhere, then the shipping charges is what it is. But if you are buying something out of state to save a couple bucks, then it really doesn’t make sense any more.
The caveat is that it’s not always known what the shipping cost will be when it comes to shipping. For example: en primeur purchases. 2 years down the road, I may wish I bought higher-priced local offers instead of out-of-state.
Easy solution. Figure out what the shipping cost is today, add 20% (just to hedge) and you will have a rough idea of what you shipping will be in about 3 years. (shipping has been going up 6-9% per year for the last bunch of years).