One consumer’s two-cents’ worth.
I am very OK being charged for shipping. It is a legitimate cost and the winery is entitled to recover it.
My understanding of shipping costs from my previous life are that they are a function of weight and distance to be shipped. However, there are different levels of service–e.g., Overnight Delivery, 3-Day Delivery, Temperature Control.
So:
–Shipping a case of wine 2,300 miles costs more than shipping 100 miles.
–Shipping 2 cases of wine costs more than shipping 1 case.
–Shipping “Overnight” costs more than “3-Day Ground.”
It seems to me that there are an awful lot of “moving parts” that would make it difficult to build the shipping cost into the price of a botltle of wine.
Now, let’s say, Larrry, that I order a case of wine from you and for X dollars you ship it down to me in Eastern Los Angeles County at “no cost.” Then let’s say that my friend Hartwell in Davidson, NC orders a case of the same wine for X dollars and gets “free” shipping. Am I not subsidizing Hartwell’s purchase? Let’s further say that my buddy, Bill, drives down from Los Osos and buys a case of the same wine for X dollars, loads the case into his car and drives home. Is Bill not subsidizing both Hartwell and me?
Anyway, I am OK with the shipping being added onto my order–as long as it’s calculated and disclosed before I click on the “Order” button.
Of course, I’m even OK with paying Sales Tax. Go figure.
To address the other issue that caused such a kerfluffle over in the “Myriad” thread. I am OK with minimum orders. If the minimum is to high, then I can walk away. In the Myriad scenario, though, you could mix and match. WIth 6 different wines to select from, there was no problem for me reaching the minimum.