The Bid for Wine Blog

News and Updates: Our Christmas sale plus new features on Bid for Wine

Lionel — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 13:34:01 +0000

We’re pleased to be able to offer our final (and biggest) feature auction of the year – over 275 lots of wonderful wines from 1870-2008 Clarets through to gems from the Northern Rhone, Australia and Burgundy. If you are looking for some high class Christmas drinking then do not miss out on the 67 ‘No Reserve’ listings of mixed cases and interesting bottles.

Bids can be placed online via the site and if you’d like to download a printable auction catalogue there’s one available here.

Auctions close from 10AM on Tuesday 6th December.

New Features on Bid for Wine

Earlier this week we released a couple of new features which we hope will make Bid for Wine even better for all our users and I wanted to explain them.

Navigational Changes

A minor annoyance for the BfW team (and – it seems – everyone else) was the number of clicks it took to get to certain parts of the site. For example if you were wanting to view your invoices, you have to visit the ‘My Bid for Wine Summary Page’ [1 click] and then to select the ‘Invoices’ link from the menu [1 click]. Ideally no page should be more than a click away – and you should be able to access all other main site pages from the page you’re already on.

It’s with this in mind that we’ve changed our menus over to dropdowns – so you can instantly see (and click through to) all the choices on any given menu without having to go to an intermediate page. Changes to the way that a site works can be controversial so if you’ve any feedback or suggestions, please do pass them on to us!

‘Offer to highest bidder’ tool

Quite often sellers set reserves on their lots which aren’t quite met
but, ultimately, they would still be happy to sell at the price the bidding reached. In response we’ve now introduced an ‘offer to highest bidder’ option.

This works as follows:

If your auction ends and the reserve hasn’t been met you’ll be notified by email. This email will also include a link to your listing – click thorugh and you’ll get the option to offer the lot to the highest bidder at the value of their last bid (please note – there’s no option to offer the wine at any other value).

The highest bidder will then receive an email from us notifying them of the offer – they get 2 days to accept or reject the offer.
If your offer is accepted then the normal sale completion process occurs.

There’s a small charge of £0.75 to use the function but we’re sure you’ll agree that this is much better than having to go through the process of relisting the wine a second time around.

Buyer’s Premiums and Hidden Charges: The auctioneers’ dirty little secrets.

Lionel — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 17:15:31 +0000

I was recently called by a potential customer who asked why he should sell his wine at auction with Bid for Wine rather than one of the multi-national players with expensive London premises or some of the smaller ‘cheaper’ regional auctioneers (for clarity I should say that the descriptions are mine, not his).

I made several points:

-We’re wine specialists. People buy from us because we get quality stock, we ensure it’s in good condition and where necessary we offer photos as standard.
-We arrange delivery to buyers (or they can collect from our warehousing account in East London)! In many cases when you buy elsewhere you find you’ve won a few bottles and then are asked to pay £25-30 to get them repacked and sent down to you. In some cases this service isn’t even offered.
-We always have wines for sale – so if you need to sell next week we can probably sort it. No waiting several months for the next sale…
-Finally I pointed out that we don’t charge a buyer’s premium.

‘But that doesn’t affect me’ he said.

I told him I’d send him an email to explain why it did. In doing my research I came across a plethora of extra charges you might incur and I wanted to share the ‘auctioneers’ dirty little secrets’ with you via this post.

Many auctioneers entice buyers by offering really attractive discounts on their commission charges. If you’re told their commission is 15%, you can probably knock them down to 5% or sometimes even 0%. So how do they make any money?

Let’s make one basic assumption – for any given case of wine, people will have a fixed view of what it’s worth and won’t go above this. Unless it’s something really rare/unusual, this will usually be the price you can buy it from a wine merchant less a bit – reflecting the fact that wines are sold as seen whilst most merchants accept returns. We’ll call this the Buyer’s target price.

Let’s start with selling via Bid for Wine.

Buyer’s target price	£300.00	£1,200.00
Hammer Price	£300.00	£1200.00
Commission (14% + VAT)	£50.40	£201.60
Listing Fee	£1.75	£1.75
Proceeds of Sale	£247.85	£996.65

Here the bidder offers what they want to pay. We charge the seller our basic rate of commission of 14% + VAT (less if you sell your wine via a ‘direct listing’) and a listing fee of £1.75. That’s it.

Next let’s look at a generous competitor who doesn’t charge sellers any commission!

Buyer’s target price	£300	£1200
Bid Price (target price less Buyer’s premium of 20%+VAT)	£228	£984
Proceeds of Sale	£228	£984

In this case, anyone bidding has to discount target price by the value of the Buyer’s premium they’ll have to pay on top of the hammer price (the price at which the wine sells). Once this is taken into account, you’re still worse off than when selling via Bid for Wine!

Finally let’s look at a more typical scenario:

Buyer’s target price	£300	£1200
Bid Price (target price less Buyer’s premium of 15%+VAT)	£246	£984
Commission – 15%+VAT (Min. £60 + VAT)	£174	£806.88
Storage/Insurance (1.5% + VAT)	£4.43	£17.71
Proceeds of Sale	£169.58	£789.17

Here sellers are not only charged commission but this is set at a minimum cash sum. In addition, there’s a charge for storing and insuring your wine whilst it’s with them! I’ve not even touched on the amount you’ll be charged if a photo of your wine is included in the catalogue.

So in summary if you’re offered a discounted rate of commission always question why. Most likely you’ll still pay in one way or another – it’s just a question of how much…

	Buyer’s target price of £300	Difference vs BfW	Buyer’s target price of £1200	Difference vs BfW
Proceeds from Bid for Wine	£247.85	-	£996.65	-
Proceeds where there’s only a buyer’s premium	£228	-£19.85	£984	-£12.65
Proceeds for a typical auction house	£169.57	-£58.42	£789.16	-£194.83

Our September Sale (including 1870 Clarets)

Lionel — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 22:55:03 +0000

Yesterday afternoon we started our September feature auction – over 100 lots of high quality wines all consigned to us for sale.

At the heart of this sale are some remarkable wines, many of which we’re sure you won’t see at any other auction this year (or possibly ever). This is a collection of Red Bordeaux from 1870 through to 1900. Unusually for wines of this age, they all have impeccable provenance, having been owned by a single family and stored in the cellar their Scottish country house since delivery back in the 19th century!

When I was first contacted about the collection it sounded too good to be true and therefore I endured an uncomfortable 10 hours and several changes of trains to reach Perthshire so I could see for myself.

I arrived at my destination filled with excitement at what I was going to find. Lying in the midst of fine parkland and perched above the river Spey, the property was an imposing sight (see below) and just the sort of place one expects – normally wrongly – to find a collection of venerable claret.

Sure enough, the cellar was as described – perhaps 90 bottles, encrusted in dust and clearly untouched by human hands for many, many decades. Carefully working through the bins (many marked up with ancient handwritten labels), I was thrilled to discover gems such as 1900 Chateau Palmer, 1890 Chateau Lagrange and (believed 1870) Haut Brion La Mission [now La Mission Haut Brion].

In addition to the identifiable wines I also unearthed a large number of old style moulded port type bottles in two bins marked ’1870 claret’. I commented to my host that it would be interesting to know whether they really contained red Bordeaux and whether it would be drinkable. After all, if really an 1870, this wine was made in the year that Rome became part of Italy and in a world where diesel engines wouldn’t arrive for another 20 years. Generously he offered me a couple of bottles to take with me. Knowing I was going to see Mark Savage MW – a man with a great knowledge of Bordeaux – later in the week, I accepted with the caveat that the bottles would be tasted with him for an unbiased second opinion. At this point I must quote Mark directly:

‘It may safely be assumed that the wine in question was an important one since there can hardly have been much of a market for an inferior chateau at the time. Regardless of speculation with regard to the actual vineyard, the wine in the glass vastly exceeded expectations, with vitality and definition, and a bright intensity of colour that great wines somehow always seem to possess. On the nose there was volatile acidity, by no means unattractive, on the palate freshness and balance, with a final impression of both natural sweetness and acidity. The alcohol was presumably 2 to 3 per cent lower than the blockbusters of the modern era. It did not fade rapidly in the glass, but blossomed further.’

In an era where very old wines are increasingly rare and often suspect, this sale represents an exceptional chance to pick up some legendary wines. Don’t miss out – see the list now or take a look at the whole auction catalogue.

Caveat Emptor – Fake Wines!

Lionel — Mon, 04 Jul 2011 13:31:00 +0000

As demand and prices for rare and old wines increase there are an ever increasing number of fake bottles being offered by people keen to capitalise on the market. We take every care to guard against being an outlet for such bottles but have to remain vigilant. It’s not only auctioneers and merchants who get offered fakes though – so the reason for this post is to draw our customer’s attention to a message received earlier today from a Belgian auctioneer:

I would like to ask your attention for some important issues:

Unfortunately there are many false wines in the market at the moment.
This Saturday I was asked together with my colleague Luc van Zon by Chris Thiran from Belgium Wine Watchers to look at a very special collection offered to him.

Among the collection 1961 en 1947 Petrus in magnum, 1961 Latour à Pomerol, large quantities 1947 en 1961 Lafleur (more than 100 bottles in total, complete list at end of this message)

A beautiful collection but unfortunately all bottles are unmistakable frauds!

The persons trying to sell are from the region North France, Brussels and Mons.
We think that they will try to sell the bottles individually or thru Ebay.
If these bottles are presented to you please be aware.

Winelist :

18 cht latour à pomerol 1961(négoce étiquette même que cht)
6 cht petrus 1959 (négoce étiquette même que cht)
12 cht petrus 1961(négoce étiquette même que cht )
13 cht petrus 1952(négoce étiquette même que cht)
13 cht lafleur 1961(négoce étiquette même que cht )
3 cht cheval blanc 1949(mise calvet)
1 cht petrus 1945(négoce étiquette même que cht )
6 cht lafleur 1947(négoce étiquette même que cht)
6 cht yquem 1921(vandermeulen decanniére ostende)
12 cht cheval blanc 1947(mise calvet)
12 cht la mission haut brion 1955(négoce étiquette même que cht)
12 cht lafleur 1950(négoce étiquette même que cht)
12 cht petrus 1950(négoce étiquette même que cht)
2MG de cht petrus 1947(négoce étiquette même que cht)

5MG de cht petrus 1961(négoce étiquette même que cht )

Again all false bottles !!!

-Corks are too small
-Copied labels
-Capsules do not match
-Most of the bottles will have blue negociant capsules, they come off easy and show the not matching corks.

A couple of current offers

Lionel — Tue, 10 May 2011 16:00:42 +0000

If you’re not currently on our mailing list you may have missed out on a couple of great offers we currently have out:

Rhone Bin Ends

Earlier this year we picked up the remnants of a deliciousy Rhone-centric cellar which had belonged to a real connoisseur of this area. We have auctioned the majority of it off over the past few months but still have a few bits and pieces left.

We’ve decided to offer these bin ends out at a special discount. All prices are at least 5% or more below the next best UK price and if you buy all the remaining stock of any given wine we’ll take a bit more off..!

‘Non-primeur’ Bordeaux

‘Non-Primeur’
▶adjective & adverb. colloq.
‘Non-Primeur’ refers to the process of purchasing wines available for immediate delivery and in place of futures for unfinished wines which are still lying in barrel.

Advantages of purchasing ‘non-primeur’ include:

Price: Vintages purchased ‘non-primeur’ tend to be cheaper than more recent vintages. E.g.
Moulin St Georges 1995 (RP 90): £395 DP
Moulin St Georges 2009 (RP 88-90): £410 DP

Haut Brion 2001 (NM 95+): £3600 DP
Haut Brion 2009 (NM 96-98): £7600 IB
Delivery: Wines are available for immediate delivery rather than having to wait for 2-3 years.
Cashflow: Stock can be consumed the day of delivery rather than incurring holding costs whilst waiting for a wine to reach maturity.
Certainty: These wines have been tasted in bottle and are an accurate reflection of an estate’s wine rather than being an unfinished ‘assemblage’.

Our ‘non-primeur’ offer is comprised of vintages between 1982-2005 and includes a good number of 1995s & 1996s – both of which were heralded as excellent vintages when they first came on to the market, a claim which time has subsequently shown to be valid. We also have a small quantity of First Growths from 1982 and 2001 which look like excellent value in comparison to more recent vintages.

All the wines are offered DP, including VAT and are available for immediate delivery. All offered subject to being unsold. Usual terms of business apply. Orders can be placed by email to sales@bidforwine.co.uk.

See all Rhone Bin Ends.
See all ‘Non-primeur’ Bordeaux.

A new take on wine investment…

Lionel — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 14:30:00 +0000

As readers of our blog may have seen in the press recently, Bid for Wine is currently seeking investment to expand operations. As such I felt it appropriate to give a full, official, explanation here.

Just over three years ago we set up Bid for Wine to challenge the brokers and the auction houses. We aimed to offer the best of both worlds along with a slimmer fee structure and the opportunity for users to trade directly with one another via our platform – the perfect way to dispose of professionally stored stock or odd/surplus bottles without the hassle of using an intermediary.

Now, in April 2011, our business is in a strong position – £1m of sales are projected for this year, we have recognition and referrals from many sectors of the trade – both UK and internationally – and a fledgling operation in Singapore which offering customers access to this valuable but relatively unheralded section of the Far Eastern market (and of course, in reverse, access for Singaporean customers to mature European stock).

Our trading record over the past three years has shown that we have an excellent business model offering services which are much in demand. Furthermore our current position has been achieved with relatively few resources (only one full time member of staff – myself – and limited private funding). We’re fielding ever increasing numbers of enquiries about selling through us but with our current resources, business structure and management team we’re limited in the volume of stock we can handle. It’s because of this that we’ve been undertaking preliminary talks with potential partners and investors who share our vision and belief in the business.

We have a number of ambitious plans but initially intend to focus our efforts in two core areas in the near future: improving the experience for customers selling in or buying from our monthly sales, and leveraging historical sales and transaction data to suggest guide prices for people using our ‘direct sales’ option.

Bid for Wine will continue to host regular online auctions as well as monthly sales of consigned stock – often the perfect place to pick up sensibly priced wines close to their drinking window.

Paying for Fees/Purchases

Lionel — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 12:53:52 +0000

We’ve recently had a few people enquiring about how to pay for lots and the details of the card used to pay monthly fees on the site so it seems sensible to explain here.

Monthly Fees:
Monthly fees (listing fees and commission for lots sold) are billed on an invoice sent to you at the end of each month. 14 days later these are charged to the card you last used to pay for purchases/fees on Bid for Wine (see s. 24 & 25 of our user agreement). Occassionally collection of this payment will fail (there are several reasons why this might happen). In these cases you will be emailed and asked to make payment manually. In other cases, you might want to change the card we take payment from – in which case this can be done by paying your invoices before the 14th of the month.

The Process:

On the home page click ‘My Bid for Wine’. You will be asked to log in to your account.

Once logged in, visit ‘Invoices’
Click ‘Pay Selected Invoices by Card’ (note that you also have to do this if you wish to change card details!)

You will be taken to our Payment Processor’s secure site and asked to choose the card type you wish to use. Click on the logo.

You will then be asked to fill in details. Follow the steps to complete the payment.

If you continue to experience problems, you may find it helpful to clear any cookies on your computer before trying again. In Firefox this can be done via ‘Tools’—>’Options’—>’Privacy’—->’Remove individual cookies’ and in Internet Explorer via ‘Tools’—>’Internet Options’—>’General’ and then clicking ‘Delete’ next to Browsing History.

Changes to our user agreement

Bid for Wine — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 22:27:36 +0000

From time to time we review our user agreement to make sure it still provides everyone using Bid for Wine with the protection and assurances they need. In light of this we’re going to be making the following changes which will take effect on 7th January 2011. No action is required (unless you’re not happy with the changes – in which case, please contact us to close your account.

The changes we will be making are as follows and highlighted in italics:

General Terms of Use
Misuse of Bid for Wine

15.
….
t. You may not email bidders in a currently open auction being run by a different seller, offering similar or the same items at any price level. Shill bidding (when you or someone you know bids to artificially drive the price up) is strictly forbidden. You may not use an alias to place bids on your auction for any reason nor are you allowed to bid on auctions run by family members, housemates, employees or others with whom you have a pre-existing relationship. You may purchase from them via other formats. Breaches of this condition may lead to referral to law enforcement or other authorities.
….
x. Without prejudice to clauses 13 [Bid for Wine may refuse our services to anyone at any time, in our sole discretion.]. and 15 b) [b. circumvent or manipulate Bid for Wine's fee structure, the billing process, or fees owed to Bid for Wine;] & s) [s. attempt to circumvent the Bid for Wine system by conducting transactions off the Bid for Wine system;] above, Bid for Wine reserves the right to charge commission and fees at our usual rates on any transactions (whether or not conducted via the medium of Bid for Wine) between users who have traded with one another on the site in the previous six months.
….

T. is necessary due to incidents such as this whilst X. is intended to deal with the very small number of individuals who use Bid for Wine as a ‘shop window’ to sell their stock without paying fees (understandably our staff like to be sure there’s money coming in to pay them..!)

Finally we are making a minor clarification regarding consignments to us:

Terms and Conditions of Shipping, Storage & Collection
Insurance and Risk

10. Items consigned to Bid for Wine are insured by Bid for Wine from their arrival at EHD until their sale. Whilst we are able to arrange collections of wine on behalf of consignors, unless otherwise explicitly agreed in writing, shipments are not insured until arrival at our warehouse.

Shipping Lots for Christmas

Bid for Wine — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 14:43:44 +0000

We have several cut-off dates for shipments before Christmas depending on where the wine is lying (specified under ‘Shipping details’ at the bottom of each listing – see right).

16TH DECEMBER UPDATE: Our Couriers have advised us that due to snow they are unable to guarantee any that any stock collected by them from Monday 20th onwards will be delivered before Christmas. Our apologies for this.

For stock at EHD

-All requests for UK delivery must be received by Sunday 19th December at the latest.
-Requests to collect stock can be processed up until 1pm on 21st December.
-Requests for overseas shipments must be received by 12th December.

For Stock at BWA Logistics

-All requests for UK delivery must be received by Sunday 19th December at the latest.
-Requests to collect stock can be processed up until 1pm on 21st December.
-Requests for overseas shipments must be received by 12th December.
For Stock at Stevenage

-For UK delivery at our usual rates, requests for delivery from Stevenage must be with us by 12AM on Friday 10th. Orders placed between 10th and 19th December will be processed but may incur a delivery surcharge if required before 24th December.
-Requests for overseas shipments must be received by 10th December.
-Requests for delivery placed after 21st December will be processed from Tuesday 4th January 2011.

New Competition: The 12 Days of Christmas

Lionel — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 11:02:52 +0000

Between now and 12th December we’ll be running a special competition – win a bottle of fine wine for each of the 12 Days of Christmas!

How does it work?

Well each day we’ll hide a bottle on our auction list and it’ll be available to buy for the nominal price of £1. Search through the list (you’ll have to do this manually as we’ll only give a clue as to what the wine is) and once you’ve found it, it’s a race to be the lucky buyer. We’ll be announcing when the bottle goes up via Twitter so if you want to be the first, you might want to follow us!

What are the prizes?

We hold very little stock but occasionally have bin ends which we’ve bought from clients – we’re digging in to these for prizes as well as sourcing a few interesting bottles from other places… They’ll range from Sauternes to Barossa Shiraz and everything in between. We’ll be announcing the day’s prize once it’s been found and claimed.

How do I get hold of my prize?

If you’re based in London it’ll be available to collect from 12th Dec. Alternatively we’ll give free delivery within the M25 or can ship at cost within the UK.