The future is now.

In September 2012, Wines & Vines reported that Direct to Consumer wine sales reached $133 million dollars, an increase of 36% from September 2011. The same issue reports that total domestic wines sales at “major U.S. food and drug stores” rose 7%.  

When I looked a little deeper at the numbers I was surprised to realize that direct to consumer market had grown $36 million dollars in one month while the “major U.S. food and drug stores” increase was about $25 million dollars.  

Direct to consumer is growing faster not only by percentage points but also by real dollars.

Here is another new wrinkle: http://www.amazon.com/wine   

Whatever your relationship to Amazon.com, as a consumer, a wine merchant or a winery tasting room, they intend to become the elephant in your room.  

You can listen to Tom Ashbrook’s  On Point radio show to hear what some experts have to say: http://onpoint.wbur.org/2012/11/09/amazon 

Also on this link is the comments that have come in from both consumers and other retailers:  

Very Interesting stuff.

Jim Moran

President,, Moran USA 

285 State Street

North Haven, CT 06473

Rush my order!

We hear it all the time during the busy holiday season;  your customer waited until the last minute to place his gift order, and you need gift boxes or gift basket supplies ASAP.
Please tell us if you have a special need so that we can bring your order to the attention of our warehouse  manager.  Mark will make sure it ships as quickly as humanly possible.  

We hire extra staff and work longer hours for the holidays, but in those final busy weeks we are not able to get 100% of the orders shipped within 24 hours 100% of the time. So please plan for delays due to order volume and carrier weather delays.  And please let us know if you have a time concern.

Our goal is to be a reliable partner in your business success!

Your shipping questions answered

How does Moran USA set its shipping fees?

Actually, we don’t. UPS does. Shipping rates are determined by the weight and dimensions of the package and the distance it travels. Because Moran USA ships in volume, we get a discounted rate, which means we pay a lot less than the person bringing a parcel to the UPS store would pay. When you order from us, we give you the benefit of our discounted shipping rate.

Why can’t your customer service people tell me my shipping charge when I place my order?

Two reasons:  first, when an order consists of several items, those of us sitting at a computer have no way of knowing how many and what size boxes it will take to safely package the order. We also cannot tell if the customer’s address is in a remote area where UPS charges extra to deliver.

Can I get a freight quote before my order is shipped?

Sure! We can have the warehouse pick, pack and weigh your order and let you know the freight cost before we even take your credit card. You approve the shipping cost before the order goes out the door.
You might have to wait until the next morning for our staff to be able to get you a freight quote, but we are always happy to do so.

How does Moran USA keep my shipping cost down?

Our packers have years of experience.  They know which boxes can be taped together to save costs and still be within the size guidelines so as not to incur extra fees. When possible, they pack small items in the box with larger items to eliminate an extra package. For large orders, we automatically compare the ground shipping rate with the rates we get from several carriers for palletized freight. We also self-insure to keep our customers from having to pay extra for insurance on every package.

Some companies ship for free. Why doesn’t Moran USA?

By comparing our prices with those of our competitors, you can see that we do not build the cost of shipping into our products. Why? Because we ship all over the country. If we added shipping costs to our prices, our nearby customers would be paying for the shipping to our far away customers. So the fair thing is to have everybody pay what it costs for their particular order. Customers as far away as the opposite coast often tell us that, even with shipping, it costs them less to buy from Moran USA than from suppliers in their area.

Printing plates for custom bags & boxes

What are plates & why can they be so expensive?

As the holiday season approaches, it’s time to think about having your packaging custom printed so that your customers carry out your advertisement with every purchase.


The plate charge is a one-time charge to make a printing plate especially for you. What you are purchasing is an “actual” metal or rubber stamp that has been designed with your logo so that your bags, boxes, Drop Stops or wine openers can be inked or hot stamped. 

These stamps are similar to that of an ink pad & stamper that you would find at your local art store, only on a much larger scale.


Here's a photo of an actual printing plate:

Depending on the company, plates are held for a certain period of time, commonly 2-3 years from the last use. 
Because our custom printing service is so popular this time of year, please get your order to us as soon as possible. It takes 4 to 5 weeks from your approval of the proof to delivery.

Good news!

Now retailers have a way to protect all their expensive bottles from pilferage with a reusable bottle lock that fits all bottles!Though original BottleLox fits 95% of all liquor and wine bottles, the company has come out with a new device that fits even the largest and most irregularly shaped bottles. The cost of the new unit is just 15 cents more.If this great invention is new to you, please visit www.moranusa.com and search #63012 for original BottleLox, #63023 for the new, larger device, and 63456 for the detaching device.


BottleLox snap on to the top of the bottle with one hand. They are made of clear polycarbonate, so they are nearly invisible until you get up close. They work as a deterrent whether or not you have a doorway alarm, but are equipped with AM and RF frequency tags for those stores which have alarms.Removing BottleLox at the register is also a quick, easy, one-hand operation.BottleLox are priced at just $3.25 for the regular unit and $3.40 for the unit which fits the largest bottles. The detacher, kept at the register, is $75.00. Minimum order is 50 pieces. BottleLox are shipped from the manufacturer for free!Need more information? Please call us at (800) 486-6726 or email websales@moranusa.com

Thanks for checking out our blog.

We'll be posting once a week. Sometimes we'll have a special sale for our blog followers only. Sometimes we'll highlight a new product before it goes into the catalog. Maybe we'll have ideas for unique gift baskets, or highlight a great wine or website we've come across. We can also provide answers to your questions or share our experience with a product we sell.