Free Shipping
1Can people confirm that their “member” payment gets them free shipping? I am really irked my kickstarter, but VMP prior, is basically for naught if I can choose to pay $5 a month selectively.
I have seen far too many “members” (the heart badge) talk about free shipping when I have been hoodwinked into paying monthly–although, I do order at least once a month–when I could just pick and choose? WTF.
- 16 comments, 30 replies
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Geez, and I thought I got out of line about summer shipping once in awhile
@kaolis I’d like to see his reaction if a restaurant accidentally gets his order wrong 0.0
@CruelMelody It would actutally be more akin to dining at a country club where you have monthly dues and then some guy just hops in and orders something.
And the owners are like like “what are you going to do about it? stop paying your fees. ha.”
@KNmeh7 I did too honestly I 100% agree with you - I would have cancelled my account if I knew I could since I’m not ordering much anymore. I’ve just been screamed at by customers for small mistakes that I had no idea even occurred until they loudly informed me. I was just surprised how hot you came in!
@CruelMelody You mean like calling Ron an a-h?
@CruelMelody @InFrom
That was uncalled for IMO and my hat’s off to Ron for not letting it get under his skin but the gripe itself seems legit.
@CruelMelody @kaolis Exactly! @KNmeh7 Doesn’t need to “explain it like a toddler”. He is a toddler!
Hello, not trying to be silent here, just honestly trying to understand the beef and level of ire being portrayed on this thread during what is normally a pretty festive time of the year. Plus this was also a couple of years ago and needed to reacquaint myself with the initiative.
Looking back, starting Casemates was a pretty big deal for us (and admittedly a little scary). We wanted to get some exposure particularly with the wine.woot faithful without using woot (out of respect) as a means of communicating this new entity.
Mediocre created VMP years ago, and then ended sign-ups. We worked together to get some people back in to VMP during Kickstarter, adding significant up front added benefits (in the form of large $ coupons, (ongoing)lab rat benefits and in some cases over valued gift packs) thinking this was a good way of getting Casemates off the ground.
Sometime later (at least a year, maybe more) Mediocre started, and continues to have a Membership program with similar, but not identical benefits. This wasn’t a secret but also not heavily marketed. It sounds like some people believed we promised there would never be another way to get free shipping, though in reviewing what the Kickstarter says, I’m not sure where that impression came from.
I’m very thankful for the support in the early Kickstarter days and of course now. it worked! We have something good here.
If you wish to discuss further, feel free to whisper me or email me at david@winecountryconnect.com or give me a call at 707-939-7387. This is a crazy time of year, but I’ll be sure to respond.
Thanks,
@Winedavid49 thanks for the reply. This is the impression I got. However, it would have been nice to know there was an option for membership shipping for us casemate people, as we never knew.
@Twich22 @Winedavid49 I think when the initial version of that membership program started, it was not applicable to Casemates. In any case, we all seem to have a choice now - wait to see if VMP makes anything more beneficial, or just drop in and out of the membership thing as you wish per month.
Either way, the only “permanent” benefit for kickstarters was the ability to join the otherwise-closed VMP program and to get the “really cool” kickstarter badge next to our names.
I have been trying to follow this thread & am sorry I was not a kickstarter or VMP of Meh (because I look at the kickstarters as being the start of the success of this great site then the rest of us as we get involved) & don’t know what those details included for kickstarters but I would have been a kickstarter if possible had I have known about it. It takes a village! I was new to woot before it’s end. Also, am sure that any incentives may not have meant for lifetime. But that being said if I had been a kickstarter would have realized other incentives would have followed for others (said me) to get a following of the site off the ground as success of the site was the goal. I am thankful for my membership opportunity for last 2 & half years as I know my $5 a month to get free shipping has been put to good use on all the sites but especially Casemates! Ty Winedavid & all others involved!
The original kvetch seems accurate now, although it wasn’t previously. VMP is closed to new members, but the newer “membership” you can see here (https://meh.com/membership) clearly looks like a sign up any time/cancel any time program that includes CM in the free shipping. I recall that the original version of that specifically excluded CM shipping.
VMP, fwiw, which seems like not much, also gives you the “last shot” access to meh deals that sell quickly and also 10% off on one of the other sites. Obviously ymmv as to whether it’s worth it. IMO they should up the benefits of VMP.
@klezman There may be a bit more to it.
As a VMP, this is what I see at that url.
@rjquillin Yup, so I named the top 3 of the 6. Do you really find any value in the remaining three? I sure don’t.
@klezman Yeah, if that’s the case now it seems like there should be something extra with VMP. I seem to buy frequently enough that i’d be mostly paying every month, but still…
I wish someone from the Meh-thership would chime in here instead of us having to speculate.
@klezman Got theirs, fuck you. No wonder Bezos ordered breakfast octopus. He knew he had suckers. I am livid that I have kept this up and now people get free shipping for $5.
@klezman @rjquillin
I actually find no value in the bottom 5 but that’s just me. I may need to rethink this VMP membership…
Yyeeeaaaaa if that membership is going to continue… i might dump my vmp. I have kept paying the 5 bucks a month even though really slowed down buying any wine in 2019. have picked back up a little this year. but not enough to break even on the shipping for the year.
If the membership is contuining… i have no reason to hand over 5 bucks each month… when i’m not likely to order anything.
@Winedavid49 Please say something, anything is better than nothing at this point.
@danandlisa he’s probably trying to figure things out with the mothership. Give the man some time!
@danandlisa @klezman
What would you consider to be a reasonable response time?
@chipgreen @danandlisa I mean, he’s the owner of a pretty busy company that serves several markets and websites. Important though this issue is to many here, I can only think it’s one of many important things for WD. VMP and the membership thing are also not entirely under his control, meaning he’d likely have to go back and forth with Mediocre/Matt/etc, making it take longer as well.
So given all that, I’d figure a week would be good while even up to 2 weeks wouldn’t be terrible. ymmv.
@danandlisa @klezman
I am glad that he finally addressed it publicly (something that he never really did do with the site tools issue other than to say “we’re listening”) and it was exactly a week from when he first acknowledged that he was reading the comments. Doesn’t appear that he conferred with anyone from Mediocre though, so no back and forth involved.
I realize that he does not have any control over what @snapster chooses to do with the Mediocre family of sites but as I mentioned in a whisper, he is the proprietor and “face” of Casemates and as such he needed to address it publicly. It doesn’t really change anything except perceptions but perceptions are important.
Personally, I will be ending my VMP membership. Not out of spite but simply because I rarely order anymore due to UPS not being a good option for me and knowing that I can pony up $5 again anytime I want to take advantage of free shipping for a month is way better than an ongoing auto-pay.
@chipgreen @danandlisa @snapster Yup, agreed all around, believe it or not!
I may also dump the VMP thing. Although I did get 20 pounds of pasta for free plus $50 of coupons for all the mediocre sites from it this year. So it hasn’t entirely been a waste. I would like to see @snapster up the ante for VMP to make it more attractive to keep paying for it. Even a once-in-a-while random coupon to use on any mediocre site, for example.
So, it is now Tuesday, and crickets chirping.
It is readily apparent that they have taken kickstarter’s money, and allowed others to gain free shipping. This is not OK.
@KNmeh7 I’ve asked in whisper to discuss with you directly. I think the forums would benefit from this move.
@KNmeh7 It seems ok though.
@Winedavid49 I think everyone is curious. Can you please elaborate?
@KNmeh7 @danandlisa @Winedavid49 @snapster @dave
Yes, this should be a public conversation not a damage control whisper-fest. I fell for that when trying to lobby for site tools and was told (whispered) to wait a month, things were supposedly in the works.
I agreed and tried to put a more positive spin on my efforts but that was well over a year ago. Still no site tools but the tactic worked in that it got me to quiet down at the time and eventually give up altogether.
Although I have long since abandoned that cause, this seems like a similar attempt to put out the flames and hope the embers don’t spark up again at a later date rather than actually address the issue at hand.
@KNmeh7
This is what I remember when I bought-in for a $60 KickStarter contribution:
I would be Grandfathered into the then closed VMP membership for free shipping across Meh’s various platform’s.
For CaseMates it was free shipping for a year, then $5.44 a month for unlimited shipping.
@PLSemenza @KNmeh7 @dave
Not sure what the issue is.
Pretty sure selective $5/month isn’t an option, unless policy has changed.
Posed the question to CS for you.
@dave @PLSemenza @rjquillin Hey, asshole, the issue is that it is supposed to be a benefit of kickstarting and if it it lapses, you’re done.
Maybe I need to explain it like a toddler: you gave me money, and the only reason you get these benefits, is because you keep giving me money. If you don’t, you lose the privilege.
Then their younger sibling comes rushing in with money and is given the same privilege.
Older sibling: WTF?
CaseMates KickStarter offer
As I recall, the VMP fee was $5/month. If, for some reason, the billing didn’t process (expired card?) or you withdrew, re-entering wasn’t an option.
@WCCWineGirl @Winedavid49. Can one of you please address this? Thanks.
Wow. What is this horseshit. Why did I kickstart. (All those site tools, chip) So, $5 a month, at my convenience, gives me all the privileges (I got 10 lbs of pasta. That is it. VMP for almost 5 fucking years. Nothing free or gifted)
So, if I cancel I get a shit logo on meh, but I actually save money if I do not order? WHAT THE HELL. THIS IS NOT OKAY. Kickstarter my ass.
@KNmeh7 For the record, Casemates started less than 3 years ago, so not sure how you had VMP via the Kickstarter for almost 5 years.
Yea. Reading up on these comments.
Found a more measured response to this over on meh. Generally seems it’s the other way around and they make all the rant.
Resurrected an earlier thread on the topic. Hoping for an explanation from the powers that be. @snapster @Dave @WineDavid49
Earlier thread from May 2, 2020
Well, I sure wish there was an option to follow this conversation. Paying the monthly $5 is something I’ve been pondering for a while.
Of course, this is likely to become moot (for me, at least) in a short period of time - we are slowly in process of moving to a state that has almost no shipping.
@sandbarhappy
You can click on “subscribe” underneath the first post
not damage control by any means. just an effort to diplomatically remove what i felt was out of context language and tone.
@Winedavid49
Agree that the language and tone was uncalled for. Now can you please address the actual issue?
@chipgreen @Winedavid49 Yes please.
@chipgreen @Winedavid49 and more crickets. I might just cancel my mvp and walk away from this place. So much for the benefits of being an early supporter.