Do you think consumers should be given a choice about whether they require next or 2nd day or are happy to have things shipped ground at certain times of the year?
Cheers
Yes. At certain times of the year Iām happy to ship ground and my packages are certainly higher value than those from any winery.
As a person who buys little these days, I appreciate places that let you hold and combine shipping.
Envoyer and Lopa, in addition to sharp pricing, allow me to have them hold small orders to combine into a larger one for shipping.
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It depends on the circumstances. If Iām a winery shipping a case of $300+ wine produced in limited quantities I think itās reasonable to require it be shipped to protect the wine and reduce my risk of loss. If Iām selling wine for $30 or less a bottle, Iāll ship it anyway you want.
Today there are a bunch of wineries that add a $15-$20 fee for pickup because you are still going through their fulfillment houses.
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I think the difference here is you are purchasing them from an intermediary that is willing to let you accept the risk. If Iām the producer of a high value limited production wine I might feel differently
I also avoid buying from most places that charge out-of-state sales tax. It is really inconsistent how some places in NY or CA do and some donāt. Being in a neighboring state to OR (with no sales tax), I also buy from there a lot. Officially, all state residents are suppose to declare and pay tax on out-of-state purchases, but that is widely disregarded by anyone who has the shopping opportunity. So far, there are no customs stations between states.
I buy all of my Oregon wine DTC and I buy most of my European wine from Portland wine shops. Since I enjoy going to the area to visit, we make two trips a year there that includes picking up wines. It is also a great chance to catch up with winemakers and find out what is new. Usually, we come back with around eight cases, but the record was fourteen. Even when a winery offers free shipping (such as on BD), I choose to pick up the wine so we all save.
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Exactly, itās because they donāt want to deal with the hassles that are inevitably created by ground shipments getting lost or damaged at a higher rate. They can collect the insurance money and offer a refund, but who wants that? You expect the winery to give you the wine you ordered and thatās a hassle. At a retailer, they can say, sorry, those were the only bottles and you accept that and take your refund and go.
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I got out of the biz a few years ago, but shipped a bunch of wine. A cross country ship could be $40-$80 per 12 bottle case. Less by a third for a 6 bottle box.
Shipping from Portland to NYC is cheaper than say Mcminnville to Melbourne,FL
Are ground shipments damaged or lost at a higher rate? Iām not sure thatās true.
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Some states require out of state wineries to collect and remit their sales tax as a condition of license to ship into the state. In any case, Iām part of the 1% who declares and pays āuse taxā on shipments that didnāt collect it at time of sale, so doesnāt change anything for me.
-Al
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Even if thatās the case, some states have higher sales tax than the tax you should be paying for buying it out of state.
AI says
Heavier items, especially those shipped via Ground, face higher risks of damage due to increased, more frequent, and rougher handling during transit.
which was essentially my assumption. More touchpoints = higher likelihood of damage/loss.
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I donāt really understand taxes when buying wine online. Some shops charge taxes and some donāt even though theyāre all in the same state. What I do know is that itās still cheaper than buying locally where taxes on wine run anywhere from 10-15%. One time I had a 15% off coupon at a local shop, and after checkout, I looked at my receipt and thought they didnāt apply the coupon. Then I realized the taxes completely offset the 15% discountā¦
And the longer timeframe introduces more uncertainty. I shipped something overnight. I know what the weather is today and I have a good idea of what itās gonna be tomorrow. I ship something ground cross country. The weather could be completely different than what I expected at multiple points across that journey.
From retailers, Iāve paid $0-$48 per case for shipping from NY to Seattle and $40-55 from Portland, OR to Seattle.
Iāve had two packages damaged in the last 2 years out of hundreds of shipments and both were next day air, so w/e
lol how many posts do you see here almost on a daily basis about somebody with a damaged shipment? Or somebody complaining why did they ship because itās hot. Is my wine gonna be OK in the cold? If Iām a retailer, my business is selling wine and getting it from point A to point B into the end usersās hands. If Iām a wine maker, I make wine.. The last thing I wanna do is answer those questions on a daily basis.
I donāt remember having a single wine shipment damaged out of hundreds. But they ship millions of packages a year and thousands are damaged, so any one individual is not statistically significant.
(Actually check that. The one that was damaged was a BD order that was involved in a train wreck, so definitely wouldnāt have happened via air, lol)
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I almost always ship ground and Iāve had maybe had 5-7 damaged shipments in 20 years, most of which were not broken bottles but wines shipped in heat in which it shouldnāt have been shipped in the first place.
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