OWS Direct FAQ

OWS Direct Shipping Procedures

Oregon Wine Services can now ship your wine to all permitted, open, and on-site states - currently 42 states in all. Simply drop off your wine at OWS or authorize OWS to pull from your current inventory and, where necessary, we'll take care of all permitting, compliance, reporting and fulfillment for 20% above our published fulfillment rates.

This service is open to both OWS storage clients and non-storage winery clients and is conducted on a per-package basis. If you'd like to take advantage of this service, please follow the steps outlined below and we will get your package to its destination, hassle-free.

OWS Storage Clients:

1. At time of sale, collect appropriate sales tax.
2. Ensure that the product to be shipped is in our inventory.
3. Submit shipping instructions using our new OWS Fulfillment order form. Indicate on the form that the order is to be shipped utilizing the service.

Orders that do not indicate OWS Direct is to be used will be subject to permit verification prior to shipment.

4. Within ten days of your order shipping, we will invoice you for shipping charges. In addition, each month when we pay state taxes, we will invoice you for any applicable sales taxes.

Non-Storage Clients:

1. Fill out New-Customer Information Packet (available at our front counter or contact us and we can send it to you). Once information has been processed, proceed to step 2.
2. At time of sale collect appropriate sales tax.
3. Submit shipping instructions using our new OWS Fulfillment order form (included in the New Customer Information Packet). Indicate on the form that the order is to be shipped utilizing the service.
4. At least 24hrs prior to desired shipping date, bring product to be shipped to OWS.
5. Within ten days of your order shipping, we will invoice you for shipping charges. In addition, each month when we pay state taxes, we will invoice you for any applicable sales taxes.

Non-storage clients will be charged an additional $2.00 per package administrative fee.

We encourage both Storage and Non-Storage Clients to maintain accurate records of the orders that they ship through this service.

1. What are my reporting responsibilities?

If you ship exclusively through OWS Direct you will have no reporting requirements on packages going to permit states. Any reporting required for open states and on-site states would still be your responsibility.

In addition, if you continue to ship to any state using your own permit, you will still have your own reporting requirements for those shipments. OWS can assist you with those requirements and any requirements for open and on-site states, if you would like. Please contact our compliance department for more information on these services.

2. How do I get an order to you?

We have developed a new fulfillment order form for use with this service, as well as our standard service. We can provide you with copies of this form via email or fax. Just fill out the form completely, fax or email it back to us and we will process your order.

Since we will be paying sales taxes on your behalf, we also encourage you to provide us with copies of sales orders or invoices for the orders you ship with us.

3. How much lead time do you need to ship under this service?

Storage clients can work under the same rules as they have in the past. Orders received prior to 5PM will ship the next business day.

For drop off orders from non-storage clients, we require 36 hours to process shipments.

4. How much can I ship under the service?

Under this service we still have to follow aggregate limit shipping guidelines. These vary from state to state. For more information on aggregate shipping limits, please visit the Wine Institute's website at wineinstitute.org.

5. How do you manage aggregate limits?

We track aggregate limits both with the help of ShipCompliant and with our internal databases.

6. What taxes do I have to pay?

OWS will pay all sales and excise taxes on any orders shipped on our permits. We have worked the excise taxes into our costs, but we will bill you separately for the sales taxes we pay on your behalf. Any taxes that may be due for orders shipping to open states or on site states will still be your responsibility.

7. What are the applicable sales tax rates?

Sales tax rates vary greatly. Here is our most recent Direct State Sales Tax Guide.

8. If I don't have the right state permits, do I have to use the OWS Direct service for on-site orders?

If a package is being shipped to an on-site only state, there are no permits required and the shipment will be billed without any extra charges. Permit states do not allow on site shipments without a permit, so the only "on site" states are those which otherwise would not allow any shipments, but do not expressly forbid "on site" purchases (which are covered under Federal law). The exception is Indiana which does require a permit even though it has reverted to an on-site only state.

9. What do I do with my current permits?

How you handle your permits is up to you. There may be circumstances where it is more economical for you to maintain permits and handle the reporting yourself. If you ship a large volume of packages to states with low permitting costs and little reporting, we suggest doing a cost/benefit analysis to see if it would be beneficial for you to maintain that permit.

10. Do I have to ship all my packages under your permits?

No. We have tried to make this service simple, easy to use and convenient. There are no contracts, no minimums, and no obligations. It is handled on a package by package basis. This allows you to maintain permits in some states but not have to worry about permitting in overly expensive states or those that have overly burdensome reporting requirements.

11. Can I maintain some permits and use OWS Direct to ship my orders to those states that I don't have permits for?

Yes, see previous two answers.

12. I currently work with a compliance service (i.e. ShipCompliant). How does using this service affect my need for to continue with that service?

Depending on many considerations, including whether you intend to maintain some of your own permits, you may wish to continue using your current compliance service. This is entirely your decision.

13. Should I let all my permits expire?

This is up to you. If you wish to do all of your direct to consumer shipping under this service we are more than happy to help. However, in many instances it will make sense to continue using your own permits. A good example of this would be Oregon, where you would incur negligible additional requirements or expenses using your own permit rather than ours. See questions 9 and 10 for more information.

14. There are still states that are not on the list. Why can't we ship to them?

While there are Federal on-site rules that allow shipping into states that restrict direct to consumer shipping for off-site purchases, there are states to which both FedEx and UPS do not deliver. As more states open up we will add them to the list.

The Federal on-site provision was designed to accommodate travelers who were faced with restrictions on how much liquid they were allowed to carry onto planes. While this has opened up a few states to shipping there are still several states to which no shipments are allowed. Shipping to these states is restricted for a number of reasons, including, but not limited to, the following:

• Neither FedEx nor UPS will/can carry packages into the state.
• The state does not allow importation of alcohol for personal use.
• The state has an overly cumbersome or restrictive system which effectively blocks wine shipments.

We continually monitor the status of direct shipping to all states and will be the first to offer shipping to any states that change their rules.

15. Why do I have to use the new fulfillment order form?

We created the new order form to ensure we have all of the information required to accurately report all of our direct to consumer shipments. We don't always have pricing information and alcohol content on the wines we ship. By requesting this information we can ensure that our reporting is accurate and your packages are shipped in a compliant manner. You do not have to use the form, so long as we receive this information, as well as something indicating you would like to use the service for the shipment. For example, sending us a copy of your sales order or invoice, with a notation that you would like us to use the OWS Direct service, would suffice.

16. If I request the OWS Direct service in error for an open state, will you let me know?

Definitely. We will review every order to make sure that it can be shipped using not only the service requested, but also the correct service.