I think you have to consider the total (wine + shipping) cost.
Maybe Will could weigh-in here, but I’m guessing that what Mending Wall charges is fairly close to cost?
I like the Petites a lot and was a buyer.
6 bottles of the Petite to Silicon Valley was $24. Would have still bought 6 at $60 with free shipping.
Free shipping sounds like a perk, but my credit card bill doesn’t care how the total was divided.
I’m going to smile and think I saved $6.
Carlisle has always been very open about their shipping by charging cost. People still complain about the high shipping.
The problem is that it’s expensive to ship glass bottles filled with liquid. And it’s only getting worse.
Funny how Envoyer is able to ship me a 15 bottle case across the country for $50.
Some of that may have to do with volume, or how they allocate their costs. Saxum ships for free, but shipping is far from free.
I recognize there is nuance here, as pricing strategy could simply build in the cost of shipping, and while we could argue on total price and equity of the inputs to it, Mending Wall elects to separate their cost and make it transparent when you check out online. I appreciate that, as at least I know what stake the cost has within the total sale.
For my own transparency, when this happened last year, I spoke live with the winery and expressed my concern. We had a good talk and landed with they would maintain their cost, as that was what they felt was needed, and I agreed to pass on the order. This year, I don’t see a reason to call, as the costs are similar and so why should I expect to see a different result?
$21 on a $110 dollar order is about 20%. Yet, shipping is part of my annual wine budget, and I believe that $21 is too much. Rivers-Marie, for example, finds a way to keep the cost down, as does Carlisle–I buy from both wineries. And shipping is an annual, necessary expense to move wine down the coast, from Nor Cal to So Cal. I simply am taking a position that the Mending Wall program is too much.