Why do I have to buy six bottles of wine? I don’t want six bottle of wine, I want two bottles of wine. Two bottles of good wine with a budget of £15 each. I really don’t see why I have to buy another four bottles in order to buy the two I actually want.

Because they’re a wine merchant? Perhaps they can only offer the prices they do if stuff is bought in bulk?

What did the grape say when he got trodden on? Nothing, he just let out a little wine….

Because you’re buying from a place that sells bottles by the 6. You can buy 2 bottles from a number of other sources, be they specialist merchants or supermarkets. But Majestic, they sell in 6’s.

I’ll have the other four.

What if I just want a glass, why do I have to buy the full bottle?

Because they’re a wine merchant? Perhaps they can only offer the prices they do if stuff is bought in bulk?

They do buy in bulk.

Because you’re buying from a place that sells bottles by the 6. You can buy 2 bottles from a number of other sources, be they specialist merchants or supermarkets.

Was wanting to avoid a supermarket, Majestic is the only convenient option for me.

What if I just want a glass, why do I have to buy the full bottle?

That means opening a bottle, that would be silly. They let you break open a case and buy mixed cases.

I ended up buying some from a Co-op store in a petrol station.

Its like supermarkets making you buy 4 cans at a time. The bastards!!!

Presumably they’ve got their reasons for selling by the case, and their business plan can do without customers like you or I, who will never buy wine that way.

What if I just want a glass, why do I have to buy the full bottle?

That means opening a bottle, that would be silly.

the do places that let you buy by the glass – they are called pubs 😉

They do buy in bulk.

yep they do so they get a good price – and to give you a good price you have to buy in bulk also.

johndoh – Member

They do buy in bulk.

Yeah, I know they buy in bulk. But they are probably only interested in selling in ‘bulk’ because the low prices means the profit per bottle is low.
So selling two bottles to someone is probably not worth their while, as the profit per bottle is too low.

Cambridge Wine merchants
Bacch…n…l – uh

Move to Cambridge and have options, the property prices are reasonable too 😉

perhaps they could sell single bottles with a big markup – say, 500%

^^^ I went to a wine tasting evening at Cambridge Wine Merchants (the one near the Cam) and it was very good.

Cambridge also have a branch in Salisbury and they’re excellent. Really very good indeed

As are Caviste, if you happen to be in their area.

First world problems…

So selling two bottles to someone is probably not worth their while, as the profit per bottle is too low.

But surely the profit margin is a percentage of sale price, not unit-based?

I could buy 6 bottles of £5 wine from them which would give them (I assume, unless they have the silliest pricing structure ever) broadly the same profit margin as my buying two bottles of £15 wine.

First world problems…

Buying wine as a thank-you to someone who likes fine wine problems. I am happy with cheap stuff.

They must be doing something right, just about every other national company owned off licence chain has gone bust in the last 6 years. Threshers/Wine Rack, oddbins, booze buster.

Move to Cambridge

If you’re in Cambridge then Noel Young is by far the best wine merchant:
http://www.nywines.co.uk

Buying wine as a thank-you to someone who likes fine wine problems.

Don’t buy anything in Majestic Wine then, it’s all pretty mediocre.

Don’t buy anything in Majestic Wine then, it’s all pretty mediocre.

I didn’t, I went to the Co-op 🙂

But surely the profit margin is a percentage of sale price, not unit-based?

But if they sell bottles in 2s instead of in 6s then they have three times as many customers – so need three times as many tills etc.

But surely the profit margin is a percentage of sale price, not unit-based?

Fixed costs per sale though – checkout dolly, parking, heating the shop…. need I go on? 🙄

Buying wine as a thank-you to someone who likes fine wine problems.

I ended up buying some from a Co-op store in a petrol station.

🙄

But they make the same profit from selling two bottles of £15 wine as they do from selling six bottles of £5 wine so the fixed costs don’t factor.

But they make the same profit from selling two bottles of £15 wine as they do from selling six bottles of £5 wine so the fixed costs don’t factor.

But that profit needs to pay for three till operators instead of one.

Fairly self explanatory

A colleague of mine knows the family that runs Majestic – ie goes on holiday with them, from his descriptions their current business model is seeing them exceptionally well. I do mean exceptionally.
See the bit at the bottom of this page.

It is not self-explanatory. If the rule is there to cover costs for running wine clubs and having trained staff they should have a minimum spend, not a minimum unit.

And as I said before about the two bottles of £15 wine versus six bottles of £5 wine…

Not sure they do bottles for £5 but if they did you wouldn’t call it wine.

Edit – blimey, they do.

No, their entire business model is based on selling mixed cases. Not 2 bottles, which you then bought from a shop in a garage, but 6 bottles.
You’ll be complaining that a BMW dealer won’t sell you a spare key for your Seat next….

their entire business model is based on selling mixed cases

You can buy eight bottles.

You work in IT don’t you?

Not sure they do bottles for £5 but if they did you wouldn’t call it wine.

Edit – blimey, they do.

£2 duty, £2 VAT, which leaves £1 for buying the urine wine and then bottling, transportation, marketing and profit!

£2 duty, £2 VAT, which leaves £1 for buying the urine wine and then bottling, transportation, marketing and profit!

But I was wanting to buy £15 wine so £6 duty, £6 VAT and £3 for buying the urine wine and then bottling, transportation, marketing and profit!

And two x £15 wine versus six x £5 wine =

OP indignity that he went in there, chose his wine, got blown out at the till and having got all uppity did the walk of shame to the door. Quick swing by the Coop for a bottle of Banrock Station, some crisps and 5 gallons of 4-star and then back on here for a first-world vent.

Or something like that. Maybe.

It’s a licensing requirement – they’re able to open in relatively affluent areas without being considered “an off licence” because they agree to it being a condition of their licence that they will only sell a minimum of 6 bottles.

Supposedly it discourages the ‘casual’ drinker believed to cause problems.

Of course, it encourages the middle class drinker (like me) that bit closer to liver failure.

I ended up sacking Majestic off for the Wine Society – I found M’s selection below about £15 p/b to be a bit ropey, but the WS stuff is on the whole superb.

Or something like that. Maybe.

No, saw the sign on the door, had a look around (mainly to see if they had any interesting bottled beers – Brewdog Punk IPA, six 330ml tins for £12.99!!!!!) decided they were just trying to rip customers off, walked out.

(Sainsbury’s do 660ml bottles of Punk IPA for £2.50 each).

“(Sainsbury’s do 660ml bottles of Punk IPA for £2.50 each).”

Only when I’ve not bought all their stock 😉

*heads to Sainsbury

… and since when is 6 bottles of wine a case? It isn’t. 12 bottles is a case, or it certainly was back in the early 90’s when I was the warehouse manager at a pretty decent wine importers – the only things that [sometimes] came in cases of 6 were some champagnes and a couple of spirits.

Have you ever been to subway OP?