The new breed of wine auction has been ushered in by the internet, and allows new Wine Investors to engage with a lower capital outlay. Online auctions take place every 1 to 3 weeks and end at a fixed time. Bids are accepted online until the cut-off time.
The sites typically focus on hard-to-get wines and investment grade wines. There are a lot of wines from cult American wineries and most wines are in the $40 to $250 range per bottle, although top investment expensive wines are also sold. Wines are often sold in 1 bottle to 3 bottle lots, making them available to a wider audience. Buyers’ commissions are around 12% to 14% (with another 1% for insurance).
The top online auction sites are Winebid.com (www.winebid.com) and Brentwood Wine Co. (www.brentwoodwine.com). These are reputable wine sites who are gaining momentum so that the breadth of wines on their sites is increasing.
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