Inbound Shipping - Marketplace
Wine sold through the Marketplace that is not stored in Vinfolio storage must arrive at Vinfolio within two weeks after the bid was accepted. You must use the Marketplace Shipping Wizard, accessible from VinCellar/MyAccount, to prepare and box your wine and set up delivery method. All wine from outside the SF Bay area must be shipped using Vinfolio’s FedEx account. Inbound shipments are accepted from all states except Massachusetts. Local sellers may request Vinfolio pick-up or they may drop off their sold wine at our American Canyon or San Francisco warehouse.
Packaging of wine
After you accept a bid, you must use the Marketplace Shipping Wizard to prepare your wine to send to Vinfolio and to print box labels and packing lists. All boxes must be labeled. It is critical that your wine is boxed correctly to facilitate receiving and inspection in our warehouse. Placing wines in the incorrect box or without appropriate labeling will delay and/or possibly void your transaction.
Important reminders:
- If your shipment contains multiple boxes, prepare all boxes at the same time.
- Each separate box must have a unique packing slip that matches the wines in that box.
- Wine must be packaged in Styrofoam wine shippers in good condition.
- You may purchase shippers from Vinfolio and have them sent to you. To order, sign in to VinCellar and click on “Order packaging” in the Common tasks section of the VinCellar Home page.
Acceptable packaging:
- Container must have corrugated cardboard exterior shell and molded Styrofoam interior insert.
- Container can be new or used. If container is used, cardboard must be structurally intact with all flaps (no tears or gouges). Styrofoam insert must also be intact (no punch-throughs at bottom of insert). If you using a used container, please remove or cross out any previous address or shipping labels on outside of the box.
Scheduling a shipment
Vinfolio will provide you with dates on which the wine must be sent and designate the speed by which it will be sent (which may vary with weather conditions). Please note that all wine must be shipped on a Monday or Tuesday to safeguard the wine.
After you have chosen to ship your wines via FedEx in the Marketplace Shipping Wizard, you must either call FedEx to schedule a pick-up or drop your package off at a FedEx drop-off location. Click here to find your nearest FedEx drop-off location.
Shipping from your state
Wine sold in the Vinfolio Marketplace can be shipped to Vinfolio from ALL states, except Massachusetts.
Inbound shipping speed
Vinfolio’s inbound shipping speed rules are designed to ensure your wine arrives at Vinfolio in the same condition that it left your cellar. Vinfolio, not the seller, determines the speed of shipment but your shipping fee does not vary based on the shipping speed.
No shipment is planned to exceed three days at any time of the year. The shipping speed will be increased to reduce the maximum transit time to 2 days or overnight in extreme weather conditions. When you go through the shipping wizard to print shipping labels and packing lists, we perform an automated check of the 10-day weather forecast using Accuweather.com at both the originating Zip code and Vinfolio’s receiving warehouse (the longer period is used to encompass unexpected delays).
Based on the automated weather check, the shipping speed is varied as follows:
- If the temperature at either end (originating or receiving) is 80 (F) or above, or 20 (F) and below, on a single day within the 10-day forecast, the transit time shortens to a maximum of two days.
- If the temperature at either end (originating or receiving) is 90 (F) and above, or 10 (F) and below, on a single day within the 10-day forecast, the transit time shortens to overnight.
If there has been a dramatic weather change in the forecast or you have been delayed in shipping, you can repeat the sell wizard process (triggering an updated weather check and possible change in shipping speed) and reprint the shipping labels. You are not billed for a shipment label which is never scanned by Fedex.
Shipping Fees and Subsidies
Vinfolio has negotiated heavily discounted shipping rates and passes these savings along to you (we do not make a profit on shipping.) Additionally, when you are selling bottles valued at $100 or more, Vinfolio provides a shipping cost subsidy:
- 1.5% of the gross value for bottles sold at $100 to $199 per bottle
- 2.0% when bottles are sold at $200 or more.
For example, if you sold 12 bottles for $200 each, your shipping subsidy would be $4 per bottle or $48 which could reduce your actual shipping costs to, but not below, zero depending on your wine shipment’s point of origin.
When you accept a bid, we will provide a cost estimate for the wine in your accepted bid as if it were shipped alone. You can take advantage of volume efficiencies, which could lower your per-bottle shipping cost, by combining multiple bid acceptances into a single shipment. All wine shipping together must meet the latest due date of the earliest transaction in the shipment.
Local pick ups
You may request a Vinfolio pick-up if wine storage zip code is in our local delivery area. Pick-up is free if you are requesting pick-up for transactions totaling 6 or more bottles. Pick-ups of less than 6 bottles cost $10. You must call Vinfolio customer service at 800-969-1961 to schedule a pick-up and should do so within one week of accepting a bid to ensure availability on our pick-up schedule. Please ensure boxes are properly labeled and packing slips are included in all boxes.
Warehouse drop offs
Local sellers can drop off their wine at our San Francisco or American Canyon facilities. The San Francisco warehouse is open Mon-Fri from 9 am – 8 pm PST. The American Canyon warehouse is open Mon- Fri from 9 am – 5 pm PST. Click here for addresses and directions. Similar to pick-ups, please ensure boxes are properly labeled and packing slips are included in all boxes.
