Hi all. I’m selling off some of my wine. Would love some feedback regarding the best way to do it. I know there’s Commerce Corner here, and I might try that. I have sent a first few cases over to K&L for auction (I’ve used them before and was very happy). But what about other auction houses? Are they better than K&L from a seller’s perspective? Or consignment with a retailer such as Benchmark? Others? I’m in the Bay Area, and would prefer local-ish. Thanks for any thoughts!
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Winebid?
For ease, go WineBid or Benchmark, any auction option, and you have some local so that would be quite convenient. Commerce Corner would net you more, but it’s more work
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Depends on what you have to sell.
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Some examples: Gonon VV, Raveneau Blanchot, Clos des Goisses, etc., but also some lesser stuff.
Interested in experiences people have had with Winebid versus K&L, etc.
By the way, Todd, is it kosher to post here when I have lots going on the block? I know some of the wines are crowd favorites here, and I’d like to maximize exposure. But I want to stay within the approved parameters.
Spectrum will buy or auction your wine.
For the community, I like to post in CC first.
Several do, not really defined as kosher or not, technically
Recently sold over 2,000 bottles through Paul Swanson at Winebid. We were leaving a hundred year old house after retirement, for condo, and Paul showed up with refrigerated truck and said “take whatever wine you want” and he would take all the rest. Actually from 2500 bottles + he only didn’t take a couple of cases. Total turnkey! Auction would return 89-90% to me. The special wine I did not sell is kept in wine storage unit near condo, and everyone was happy!
Downsizing is a bitch, and you realize it’s just things! Before he came I invited a few wine lovers and makers over to let some bottles go to special homes.
Have only good things to say about HDH, but my cellar had a small fraction of the super high end wine they like.
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Logistically, WineBid is hard to beat. Only caveat, at least based on my impression, is that there is somewhat less interest in N. Rhone and Burgundy amongst buyers on WineBid for some reason. For example, I see Allemand getting multipe bids on say K&L, but rarely on WineBid even though the reserve price is not that high.
Im assuming you live near winebid or at least in the same state?
I’m in Oregon and Paul is based in Seattle. Winebid is based in Napa. YMMV. I was looking for a more complete package to facilitate the sale of our house by clearing out a 40 year hobby cellar. Wines bought on release and reflect value driven Oregon, burgundy, champagne, and Nebbiolo.
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Winebid and Benchmark are both outstanding and I have sold personally plus referred many cellars there over the years.
I am happy to advise if you can let me know what you are selling. I won’t charge you directly for that kind of advice (note- I may receive a referral fee from the buyer) since it is not a full appraisal, but there is great value in knowing where to take what you have to get the best return.
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I have sold a bunch through Winebid, good transactions would recommend.
No. I sold several consignments through Winebid when I was living in TX. They took care of all the logistics, from providing boxes and pick up at my home to refrigerated transport to their Napa facilities. I assume there’s a minimum consignment value required, but I never encountered it.
Did you have to pay for the transport and/or boxes? Or it was totally free?
Best way is to reach out to Winebid. Their commission and the transport fees vary depending on the dollar amount of the total sale. I believe you will need to box before the p/u.
I’ve dealt with Paul and he’s been great at every point in the process.
Sold some stuff a long time ago through HDH when I was on the east coast and they are good too. I think HDH is probably more selective about what they take.
I have never seen a kosher wine on commerce corner… Just saying!
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Maybe an unpopular opinion, but why not reach out to your local wine shop? Operating on consignment, a trustworthy local shop does a great job of connecting your collection to their network of customers. Plus there’s the added bonus of keeping the profit and wines local, which imo is pretty meaningful. YMMV, of course.