Chicago Wine Geek 
Chicago Western Suburbs
Wine Steward
Posts: 7124
 | | 02-08-2007 06:42 PM |
| There has been a lot of discussion about shipping charges and more recently, the Loring policy. Here's my quick rant: I just got my bill for 6 bottles of the Robert Foley Pinot Blanc. 6 bottles at $25 each for a total of $150. But shipping is $45! I think what got me was the ratio of the shipping charge to the value of the wine. If it was $45 for 6 SE bottles that would be somehow more reasonable in my head. Thoughts? | | |
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TBird
Park Slope, Brooklyn
Master of Wine
Posts: 10205
| | 02-08-2007 06:51 PM |
| after moving to NY from CA, shipping charges are a big determining factor for me in my mailing list purchases. more than $6 per, and it's automatically trashed. obviously brians policy works to my advantage, so there is no way for me to complain about his model.
ratio to value never enters my decision.
i think. | | | |
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JonesWineNo1
Sommelier
Posts: 8568
| | 02-08-2007 06:53 PM |
| Shipping and shipping charges are a nightmare for consumers and wineries alike. I don't know of a perfect system. If someone does then I'm all ears. That said shipping charges should be the same per bottle (assuming same sized bottle and packaging) imo regardless of the price of the wine although I can certainly see that one "feels" the impact "more" when the charges are for relatively less expensive bottles. | | | |
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Chicago Wine Geek
Chicago Western Suburbs
Wine Steward
Posts: 7124
| | 02-08-2007 06:57 PM |
| Quote:
after moving to NY from CA, shipping charges are a big determining factor for me in my mailing list purchases. more than $6 per, and it's automatically trashed. obviously brians policy works to my advantage, so there is no way for me to complain about his model.
ratio to value never enters my decision.
i think.
So for the Foley, it was $7.50 a bottle. That's high to me. | | | |
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TBird
Park Slope, Brooklyn
Master of Wine
Posts: 10205
| | 02-08-2007 07:15 PM |
| Quote:
Quote:
after moving to NY from CA, shipping charges are a big determining factor for me in my mailing list purchases. more than $6 per, and it's automatically trashed. obviously brians policy works to my advantage, so there is no way for me to complain about his model.
ratio to value never enters my decision.
i think.
So for the Foley, it was $7.50 a bottle. That's high to me.
yes, to me too. and maybe i was wrong. if it were colgin or HSS, i probably wouldn't complain about $7.50 per. but for foley pinot blanc, i probably would have passed. crazy stuff.  | | | |
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David Spriggs
Grape Fermenter
Posts: 647
| | 02-08-2007 08:51 PM |
| Shipping for me (in CA) is $22 for 6 Foley.
-Dave- | | | |
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Randy Wigginton
Master of Wine
Posts: 10937
| | 02-08-2007 08:56 PM |
| I'm surprised there isn't a northern california wine shipping company. Seems like there are enough consumers in this area, and the wineries are close by, that working a couple days a week with a rented truck should be profitable. Organize some wineries, rent some storage space in napa in order to "pool" shipments, and you're good to go. I realize this wouldn't help anyone on the east coast, or even the god forsaken midwest  but hey, nothing is perfect... | | | |
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Chicago Wine Geek
Chicago Western Suburbs
Wine Steward
Posts: 7124
| | 02-08-2007 09:29 PM |
| Ok, lets dig deeper. The $45 for Foley was 2nd day.
I'm looking at my Merus mailer trying to decide if I should buy and 2nd day for 6 bottles is $75!!!! | | | |
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dinwiddie
Barrel Sampler
Posts: 2215
| | 02-08-2007 10:00 PM |
| One of the things I like so much about Loring and a couple of others is the lack of (or more exactly, the inclusion in the price) of shipping charges. Living on the East Coast, I know that it is going to cost a bundle to ship wine in any quantity to me from California. If you have ever shipped a package by UPS or FedEx, you know how much it would cost to ship something that weighs as much as a case of wine. But what can I do. If I want to buy K-B at the wine shop instead, I have a couple of problems. First, they don't carry it and second, if they do, it costs a whole lot more than it would cost to buy from the winery and pay even twice the shipping charge that is being charged. I take into account the shipping charge when I decide if I am going to purchase wine from the allocation list, but I also have to decide if I really want the wine, bucause that is the only way I am going to be able to find it. Let's face it, you can't just walk into a wine shop in DC and buy Lorings, Littori, K-B, R-C, or even most Martinellis or Siduris. If you want them, you have to pay what the winery wants and pay the shipping. So what will it be, buy the K-B Sonoma Coast at the price offered plus shipping, or hope that I can find it in a shop here for $100? | | | |
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David Niederauer
Los Gatos, CA
VinoCellar.com Extraordinaire
Posts: 30967
| | 02-08-2007 10:07 PM |
| Living on the west coast my nightmare is the Loring policy of "free" shipping to all customers. All wineries pay pretty close to the same amount for shipping. It definitely costs more to ship to the eastern United States than to the western United States. By giving free shipping to everyone the people on the west coast (like me) are underwriting the cost of the shipping to the east coast.
Why should I have to pay more so that TBird doesn't have to pay more because of a crazy move to New Yawk? | | | |
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JonesWineNo1
Sommelier
Posts: 8568
| | 02-08-2007 10:21 PM |
| Good point David. In an area which can be quite controversial I think all of us here can agree that TBird should have to pay more for his decision to move to NY... | | | |
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David Niederauer
Los Gatos, CA
VinoCellar.com Extraordinaire
Posts: 30967
| | 02-08-2007 10:23 PM |
| Quote:
Good point David. In an area which can be quite controversial I think all of us here can agree that TBird should have to pay more for his decision to move to NY...
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Winegeek
San Francisco
Barrel Racker
Posts: 1534
| | 02-08-2007 10:55 PM |
| Quote:
I'm surprised there isn't a northern california wine shipping company.
There is and he's great: Art's One Day Delivery Service. It's how I get my Dehlinger and Littorai.
Richard | | | |
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David Niederauer
Los Gatos, CA
VinoCellar.com Extraordinaire
Posts: 30967
| | 02-08-2007 11:03 PM |
| Quote:
Quote:
I'm surprised there isn't a northern california wine shipping company.
There is and he's great: Art's One Day Delivery Service. It's how I get my Dehlinger and Littorai.
Richard
I use to have Art go pick up my stuff years ago but I lost his card. What's his number? I'd like to use him some more. He was IIRC at $20 a case usally the same day. He was very dependable. | | | |
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Budman
Philly Suburbs
VinoCellar.com Extraordinaire
Posts: 23752
| | 02-08-2007 11:30 PM |
| David... just another POV, but... please remember that a lot of us East of the Rockies cannot legally ship wine to ourselves. In many cases, even free shipping only gets the wine to my 'shipping enabler', who is gracious enough to forward my wine to me at his cost. So, in most cases, I not only pay the winery's shipping costs (whether free, exhorbitant, or in between), but I also have to pay a second shipping charge to get the wine the rest of the way. Maybe that's why I don't feel so bad for the Ccalifornians who begrudge me a rare promise of free shipping. Most of the wines I buy in this fashion are not available readily at retail, and I have no desire to deprive myself of something I have come to obsess (and occasionally drool) over!!! | | | |
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David Niederauer
Los Gatos, CA
VinoCellar.com Extraordinaire
Posts: 30967
| | 02-08-2007 11:48 PM |
| Bud, I understand completely and do sympathize (except for TBird who just didn't have the smarts to stay in CA  ). But the fact remains that with wineries like Brian's I underwrite the shipping costs to you. I don't like it very much but I'm certainly not angry about it. The people who we should be jumping all over are those wineries that use the shipping costs as a profit center. That's a bum deal for all of us. Taking a mark-up on shipping costs just adds insult to the injury. Maybe someone would like the project of putting together as many of the shipping charges charts as they can find and do a comparison. | | | |
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JonesWineNo1
Sommelier
Posts: 8568
| | 02-09-2007 12:07 AM |
| Winetex did that awhile back. | | | |
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Winetex
Austin, Texas
Master of Wine
Posts: 11429
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Winegeek
San Francisco
Barrel Racker
Posts: 1534
| | 02-09-2007 02:34 AM |
| Quote:
I use to have Art go pick up my stuff years ago but I lost his card. What's his number? I'd like to use him some more.
Extremely dependable and a great guy. His number is (707) 795-7716.
Richard | | | |
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dinwiddie
Barrel Sampler
Posts: 2215
| | 02-09-2007 02:42 AM |
| Quote:
Living on the west coast my nightmare is the Loring policy of "free" shipping to all customers. All wineries pay pretty close to the same amount for shipping. It definitely costs more to ship to the eastern United States than to the western United States. By giving free shipping to everyone the people on the west coast (like me) are underwriting the cost of the shipping to the east coast.
Why should I have to pay more so that TBird doesn't have to pay more because of a crazy move to New Yawk?
David, much as I respect your opinion, get over it. Nobody said nobody's ox wouldn't get gored, this time it is yours. Tough. | | | |
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