Wanted to see what anyone else’s experiences with Zachy’s Wine Auctions has been like. I was recently the successful bidder on several bottles in Zachy’s January 2021 online wine auction. When the bottles arrived, at least two of the five bottles had extensive seepage and other damage. Though the website noted bottle condition with signs of old seepage, the extent of the damage made these bottles worthless and Zachy’s should never have allowed these bottles into any auction. I contacted customer service and was told it’s essentially not their problem. I once thought Zachy’s was a reputable auction house, but they have convinced me otherwise. In addition to charging one of the industry’s highest buyer’s premiums (23.5%), they have terrible customer service.
I purchase frequently from Zachys auction as well as every other major auction house. My only issues with the auction houses have been taxes / administrative charges. I generally find the bottles are consistent with expectations but I read the bottle details very carefully and never bid on anything that has signs of seepage or cork issues. When engaging with Zachys auction I do not hold them to the standard of Zachys Retail where I expect them to stand behind what they sell - here they are facilitating a market between two private individuals and I expect them to do due diligence but not guarantee the product.
The customer service across the houses is roughly the same so I wouldn’t hold one as markedly better than the other. I believe the customer service does scale with spending / relationship - not a judgement just stating as my experience.
Edit: Based on your description, they sound worse that you would expect someone reasonable to offer at auction. In the future, I would ask details before bidding. Depending on the auction they will provide you with photos / better descriptions on the bottles so you can make an informed bid.
That is very sad. Sometimes certain markets and transactions are best left to experts.
Have bought from Zachy’s and Acker auctions many times. Never had the problem you describe, but at the same time, have never bid on bottles with any noted issues. Based on your description, I would agree that they should never have put them up for sale. I am told they inspect every lot before offering them, so I do think they should take some responsibility.
Document the represented bottle conditions and their actual ones. Then, submit a dispute to your credit-card company.
Bottles with past sign of seepage can get worse during transport. So I stay clear of those items in auctions.
Yes, this. There’s every reason to think a cork that leaked once is going to leak again, causing damage to the label/capsule in the process, particularly during transport, when it might be shaken, inverted, and subjected to temperature changes. It’s likely, though of course I can’t be sure, their condition assessment was accurate at the time they made it. If the staff was rude to you or not responsive, that’s one thing. If they wouldn’t take back a leaker that leaked some more…well, I can see that.
If there was new seepage while the bottles were in transit, it should be obvious as the bottles and packaging would be wet, stained and/or sticky. Was that the case in this instance ?
I’ve never had a problem buying or selling at Zachys live auctions and customer service has also been very good. Having said that I’ve never bid on bottles with past seepage (other than Leroy). So many wines out there so why take a chance.
This is rather disappointing as I think an auction house should have a minimum condition standard below which they won’t sell a wine. Signs of seepage could mean a lot of things, there should be a minimum expectation for a wine you’re selling.
Personally, I’ll buy wines with label conditions or, for 20+ year old wines, fill in the neck, but avoid anything with any mention of seepage.
Zachys do have some minimum condition standards, as I have bought some rejects that didn’t make their cutoff. (The wines were lovely in the glass, but ugly looking bottles)
If the conditions were disclosed, it’s hard to see what else could have been done. I’m not sure if OP requested/saw pictures, but those could have been observed prior to bidding if one reached out (in some likelihood)
Purchasing at auction should come with some ‘caveat emptor’ factor/discount, and maybe bidders are not baking that into end prices anymore.
Agree completely. I bought a bottle from a board member a few years ago who sent pictures showing some mild SOS. The wine was priced accordingly and one I was interested to try. When it arrived the seepage was markedly greater, obviously it leaked further during shipping. No problems with the seller as the wine was packed well and everything was disclosed. I did decide to open the bottle within a day or two, earlier than I was planning, and the wine ended up being completely sound. I will run from SOS at auctions though as the prices are often no better than those for undamaged bottles.
As others have noted, best not to bid on bottles with seepage issues. My experience with Zachys has been excellent.
Can you post a picture of the bottle in question?
I don’t bid on bottles that had past seepage. Never had problem with Zachy’s.
That is not atypical for auction houses to sell wines with past seepage, with appropriate disclosures in that regard. You see them on WineBid all the time. Now why on earth anybody would take a flyer on buying a wine that had past seepage is well beyond my comprehension. I would also submit respectfully, if you took a flyer like that, caveat emptor.
Exactly.
I had the exact opposite experience with Zachys auctions. Purchased a case of vintage port from 1970 no bottle conditions in owc. First bottle opened pours orange and is clearly oxidized. Break out the powerful flashlight and rest of bottles look the same. Wines sat in my cellar for 9 months before I realized. Contacted a few port friends ( Roy H, g–man) who confirm my concerns. Email zachys with photos/my assessment and concerns. Without hesitation they sent me FedEx account number to ship back to them for inspection/credit.
FedEx kicked the pooch and destroyed the shipment ( haha). Zachys confirmed i dropped the wines with FedEx and returned 11/12ths of cost to me.
I do not buy wine at auction with signs of seepage. In my mind, seepage is a huge, neon warning flag.
Hi all, thought I’d chime in on this issue. You might be surprised that I agree with most of the comments here, although might like to clarify a few things for you.
To Marcus and Robert’s comments on minimum listing conditions, and building on what Arv stated: WineBid and most of the larger houses all have quality standards and minimum listing standards. We regularly turn away bottles that are truly unmarketable- not because of authenticity concerns but just because of quality concerns. We absolutely do have internal standards on seepage, ullage, color, etc that we will not put something up. But we also feel that if a wine is within a specific range of acceptability on those conditions, as long as we provide detailed inspection notes and photographs (which I think WineBid does better than any other house), then yes, it’s caveat emptor, but why deprive the market of an item where someone may want to complete a vertical or a special vintage or a collection or simply just “take a flyer” on?
I do agree with Brian that seepage is generally a bit of a warning (not necessarily a huge neon flag, but still a warning, and important to disclose). But like John, I have “taken a flyer” on several bottles with seepage and they’ve always been fine to downright delicious. And in fact, the bottles that are listed with seepage will sometimes sit longer on site and maybe have a lower price or price decrement than those without, so by taking a flyer, one can often get a great deal.
Sorry to hear that TRG had a bad experience with Zachy’s and glad to hear that Mark and David had good ones; I actually believe their experience is probably the norm with Z. Even though they are a competitor, we think of them as a highly reputable and great outfit.
Hope that helps everyone get the auction house side of things on seepage and bottle conditions. And definitely appreciate everyone’s perspective on what conditions make a wine more or less appealing or what’s overlookable.
Cheers, Russ