I asked this in another thread and am really curious.
I know shippers usually come in 3pk/4pk & then the 6pk/12pk. Are these the quantities that are the most optimal in terms of space utilization, transport “cost” etc.
Like for example if I wanted to buy 5 bottles should I suck it up and get the 6th, since the shipping “cost” will be the same. (I know it’ll usually cost more due to weight, but at least I won’t have an empty spot in the shipper and unequal weight balance in the box?)
Edit: I’m talking about optimal in terms of shipping as it relates to all cost not just how much it cost the buyer. (fuel, package materials, opportunity cost, etc)
I order the wine that I want and worry about this later. Bedrock probably hates me because several times I’ve ordered 13 bottles plus one mag. So for their $35 shipping they send me a case, plus a single, plus a mag single. Only time I would let sizing come into play is if there’s a discount for min bottles (I’d buy a $40 wine to save $30 on shipping).
I always aim to buy in case quantities if there’s no shipping deal - seems to be the best value across retailers. One exception is Lopa, they ship boxes of 15 - love it.
A lot of places are doing flat rate shipping. So they have tiers, usually 3, 6, 12. Mags might have 2 or 3 packs. So ordering 5 is always a bad deal. But of course if you order enough regularly from some place and they combine and ship later, it doesn’t matter. You just have them hold the extra bottles until it fills up a 12 case and then you always get the best deals.
3 6 9 12. Sometimes 2 if you want to reduce shipping. Shipping is only a consideration when price per bottle or overall purchase is low. (Whatever that means to you). Generally if the bottle costs more than 40, one should be thinking of the transaction cost and storage costs. I would be more worried about overpurchasing than trying to save or make shipping cost decisions.
If the shipping is a driving factor of the number of bottles to purchase, I’d rethink the purchase itself.
Depends. If it’s a 4 figure wine, I don’t think twice and sometimes even pay extra for expedited shipping.
But if it’s 4 cases of a $25 daily drinker and they are going to charge me $6/bottle for shipping, I absolutely may rethink that and decide to buy from another retailer that has it for sale for $28 with free shipping.
I agree with that, but sometimes if I am really aiming for 5 bottles but then if the economic costs of 6 bottles is better why not throw something in there.
Alternatively, if there was 7 I wanted, should I reduce it to 6?
And when I say “cost” I’m not exclusively talking about the dollars that the winery/shop is charging me. I’m also trying to take into account “wasted” packaging and/or fuel from UPS/Fedex.
I’m more concerned with opportunity cost of over-purchasing, continued storage cost/running out of storage, excess inventory, and then later having to sell or continue to hold the wine. I’m trying to buy less which is better for the earth overall. If I want 12, I’d probably behave plenty with 6. If 6, 3 will do. You can always buy more later. JIT…. Waste not want not philosophy. Think of it as a marie Kondo method before purchasing. The less you spend the more you have to spend later. The more space you have for future purchases.
But of course dependent on one’s individual circumstances and what works for you. I feel like the wine and collectors market is driven by our desire to own and have, so that you don’t have FOMO. By buying into this marketing logic, we may miss out on other items that we would like more. Of course, I have to remind myself of this all the time.
(It appears this thread is more about quantity ordered for wines that need to be shipped, as opposed to quantity ordered, generally. As such, my answer is regarding ordering wines that need to be shipped to me.)
It depends on the shipping terms.*
*But:
– I usually purchase in qty of 3, 4, 6, or 12 (total, across bottlings), as I assume the seller has shippers that fit these quantities of bottles.
– I don’t mind having only 5 bottles in a 6 bottle shipper.
– I don’t mind having 9 - 11 bottles in a 12 bottle shipper; I’ll usually find a way to cut 7 or 8 bottles down to 6, or increase it up to at least 9.
– I hate having boxes with only 1 or 2 bottles, even if shipping is free or flat-rate for an entire order — it just strikes me as a little inconsiderate, in those “free” or “flat rate” circumstances to have only 1 or 2 bottles in a box, so I try hard to avoid it.
I don’t know from the wineries perspective but it’s interesting from a buyers perspective…
With bedrock I think I’m more likely to add more given the flat rate but these are often a bunch of thr basic bottlings so not sure how big a benefit it is for them.
With the recent rivers Marie release I forgot about the pet bottle rate for shipping and was playing around with my order if the shipping was based on just 6 or 12 like some wineries I was 50/50 as to which way to go (ended up with 8 or9)
Agree with this as sometimes I want to buy direct but with direct + shipping is sometimes substantially more than buying from a local store and picking it up.
Suck it up and order 15 at least, even if it’s the least expensive daily drinker wine. That’s awfully kind of Bedrock to basically give you that 13th bottle free. I would probably offer to hold it until the next offer.
Whenever possible, I buy in multiples of 6 (6,12,18,24,etc). In my Bordeaux futures days, I’d buy in multiples of 12 and twice as many as I thought I’d like to keep.
After 40 years, that approach has served me well. YMMV.
It depends what you are ordering. $100 wines then order 5 if that’s all you want. $20 wines then I’d think you should add a sixth because it is going to be “cheap” since shipping will be the same either way
I don’tThink I’ve ever had a retailer/winery ship 5,7,8, 9 or 13 bottles though.