Whether you’re selling in bond or loose bottles, you’ll be responsible for getting the wine safely to your buyer. You can add the costs of delivery to your listing. Whether you set your delivery fee as a guestimate or the exact sum is up to you, but here are some helpful tips.
As a seller, it's your responsibility to ensure the wine reaches the buyer safely and in the advertised condition.
Individual bottles and/or cases of wine can be sent via many of the main UK courier services. The Post Office might well be most convenient for the occasional single bottle – Royal Mail accepts alcohol parcels containing up to two bottles per shipment, with each bottle no larger than 1 litre — making it a handy option for occasional, small deliveries.
For heavier packages containing multiple bottles you might prefer to use a service that will collect from your door. In that case, we recommend Royal Mail Parcel Collect, Parcelforce, EVRI, or Yodel. Note: DPD and UPS only accept alcohol shipments from registered business accounts. DHL does not currently accept alcohol shipments at all.
Here’s a guide to the cost (please note that this is for general guidance only. Prices are approximate and subject to change)
Make sure you check the level of insurance included with your chosen courier — many offer cover up to £50 or £100 as standard, with the option to increase this for a small fee. You can factor this into your delivery charge, and it’s helpful to mention insurance in your listing to reassure buyers.
The key to safe delivery is cushioning — properly packed bottles are surprisingly tough to damage in transit. For single bottles or small parcels, we recommend using dedicated bottle packaging, such as protective cardboard wine boxes or Airsac inflatable sleeves.
Airsacs are widely used in the wine trade and provide excellent protection. They're lightweight, secure, and relatively inexpensive — but do note that they require a small hand pump to inflate (these are easily found online or included in some starter kits). Here’s an example of the type of Airsac packaging we mean.
If you prefer a simpler route, double-wall cardboard boxes with bubble wrap or molded bottle dividers also work well for small shipments — just make sure there’s no room for the bottles to rattle around.
Whatever you choose, the aim is simple: snug, shock-absorbing packaging that keeps the bottle upright and stable during transit.
In bond deliveries are very straightforward as you simply instruct your warehouse to make the arrangements on your behalf. You can decide at the time of listing whether you want to offer just bond-to-bond transfers, or home delivery too. The latter will increase your chances of finding a buyer. Your warehouse will require you to settle the VAT and duty before they’ll release the wine, but these costs will have been added to your buyer’s purchase price so you won’t be out of pocket.
Delivery charges vary between the various bonded warehouses, and sometimes are postcode and weight dependant. So it might be a good idea to get in touch with your warehouse before listing for clarification.
But as a quick approximation, you should expect £5-20 for an in-bond delivery of a 12x75cl case, and £15-25 for home delivery.