The Horrors of Shipping Wine
My sad face when I have to pay to ship wine. Why DOES it cost so much to ship wine!?
First you have the weight & size
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- A standard bottle of wine weighs 3 lbs (1.4kg)
Add-ons for Alcohol
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$16 for the shipping (starting cost)
$6.70 for adult signature required
$5 for residential address (they factor in multiple delivery attempts)
NOTE: that doesn't include return fees charged to the shipper if the 2nd attempt fails
💰Now we're up to $28 just for the freight costs. But wait, there's more! You need to put that wine in a box, right?!
Shipping Materials
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$7-9 for foam shipper ($20 for a case)
$5-7 for pulp shipper ($13 for a case)
$1-2 for an ice pack
$0.5-2 for any printed material in the box, more for glossy and card stock
💰Now we're up to $35 for a box of 3 wines to be delivered within my state of CA. But what if I want to go further? Not only do I need to pay more to send the box further (up to $10 more across the country), but I need a permit to ship out of state.
Annual Permit Fees for Shipping
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Here are just a few examples of the annual charges to ship to different states.
IA $25
CO $100
NY $375
NJ $938 😱
💰So you see, it gets a little pricey! On average it costs me $35 to ship 3 wines in state and $45 to ship 3 wines across the country. Next time you order wine on line or from your friendly neighborhood wine club 🤗 you can sympathize a bit more why it's so expensive.

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- A standard bottle of wine weighs 3 lbs (1.4kg)
- A pulp shipper box (like the one making a sad face here) for shipping 3 wines weighs 2 lbs (.9kg)
- A standard box with 3 wines is 20x13x6 inches
Add-ons for Alcohol
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
$16 for the shipping (starting cost)
$6.70 for adult signature required
$5 for residential address (they factor in multiple delivery attempts)
NOTE: that doesn't include return fees charged to the shipper if the 2nd attempt fails
💰Now we're up to $28 just for the freight costs. But wait, there's more! You need to put that wine in a box, right?!
Shipping Materials
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
$7-9 for foam shipper ($20 for a case)
$5-7 for pulp shipper ($13 for a case)
$1-2 for an ice pack
$0.5-2 for any printed material in the box, more for glossy and card stock
💰Now we're up to $35 for a box of 3 wines to be delivered within my state of CA. But what if I want to go further? Not only do I need to pay more to send the box further (up to $10 more across the country), but I need a permit to ship out of state.
Annual Permit Fees for Shipping
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Here are just a few examples of the annual charges to ship to different states.
IA $25
CO $100
NY $375
NJ $938 😱
💰So you see, it gets a little pricey! On average it costs me $35 to ship 3 wines in state and $45 to ship 3 wines across the country. Next time you order wine on line or from your friendly neighborhood wine club 🤗 you can sympathize a bit more why it's so expensive.