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.