Most wine clubs are designed to reward their fans with substantial discounts, and ours is no exception. Even so, I understand and appreciate anyone looking to shave a few bucks off their regular bills, and I'm here to help you hack your way to spending less to drink excellent wines.
Hack #1 - Avoid Shipping Costs
I get it. Elkton is not in everyone's backyard. While I'd love to have all our members come to the pick-up parties, that just isn't realistic out here (#whereiselkton). So when members ask me to hold their wines until their next trip, I'm happy to do it! (And several of them only make it to Elkton once a year.)
Hack #2 - Minimize Shipping Costs
Some of our members don't even make it to Elkton annually, so shipping is the way to go. We have negotiated rates with UPS, so there is no such thing as 'full price,' really. Additionally, a few members ask me to suspend shipment until they have a full case so the per bottle shipping cost is reduced. That's easy stuff on our end and it saves them money, so win-win. (Or wine-wine?)
Hack #3 - Recruit a Friend
I offer an additional 10% off when referrals join. (Recently changed to benefit both the referER and the referEE - limit 1 per shipment). A couple of clever members have even 'hacked the hack' by getting their neighbors to join. Now they either carpool and save on gas, or just pick up on each others' behalf. We even combine some shipments with two members' selections in one box and they split the cost 50/50.
Hack #4 - Split a Membership
So let's get this straight, I sign up for 3-bottles/shipment, and I get 20% off, but if I sign up for 6-bottles/shipment, I get 25% off.
So, if I sign up for 6-bottles, and split the shipment with my friend behind the scenes, I get 3-bottles for 25% off.
(If any members have figured out this hack, they haven't told me.)
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It may not be super easy to get to Elkton regularly, but I'm doing my darndest to make it easy for you to enjoy our wines. If you come up with any clever wine club hacks, email them to info@bradleyvineyards.com.
Oh, you want to join?
Hack on, ya hackin' hackers.
Tyler