My guess is variety. You can build a case with Winebid that you can’t anywhere else, so it’s worth paying the extra amount. Even KL bunches their lots (at least for German wine) together so you can’t extract a single bottle.
Those are possibilities. But at a hammer price of 94$ for the Keller I used in my example above, after fees that is double the current retail price for 2024.
That is a pretty hefty premium.
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You’re lucky. I looked at arranging shipment for a case I need to pick up, because I wasn’t planning to go up there any time soon, and was quoted $67 to the south Bay Area.
That’s plausible in some cases but it happens far too frequently for that to be the overall explanation. You can do the same at most retailers and know what you are getting.
Max’s idea is one I’ve thought about. Are there enough people in places where its just difficult to get some of these wines at decent prices that WineBid ships to?
Winebid has a well designed site that makes it easy to shop. Lots of other web sites make shopping a chore. That goes a long way. The auction angle also makes it a bit of a game and people like playing games. Wines sell at auction for more than their retail price all the time.
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Kind of like how so many people pay way above best retail for wines they get through a winery’s wine club (despite it offering a nominal discount to club members), I figure some people just don’t care that much about finding the lowest price and/or prefer the convenience of just getting things one place.
They see 2016 Produttori and want it, and don’t know or bother to go on WSPro and see if they could get it for less. Or they would rather aggregate it for shipping there than make a new order for the wine somewhere else.
But I’m like @Cris_Whetstone , I’m not going to buy it on Winebid if it’s more than I can get elsewhere. I might not even go to the cheaper place and make the separate order, but I don’t want it from Winebid if is see it’s substantially overpriced.
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Everything I buy from Winebid is far under retail. It’s great!
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There seems to be a lot less of that these days though, at least for the wines I look for typically.
what’s the vig ?
17%, I think
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I’m somewhere in the middle. Wines that don’t have much buzz, or had it but have lost it, can be there for a pretty big discount compared to WSPro.
I tend to type in those names and skulk around for great deals. But if you want labels that are currently in fashion, it feels like a waste of time.
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I’m a winebid bottom feeder, of sorts. I don’t mean I seek out cheap wines, but I do seek out relative bargains, and I don’t get drawn into bidding wars. I’ve been picking up select SQN and Andremily (like I need more of either, lol) and random other stuff for significantly less than release prices. I have noticed prices creeping up in the past few weeks, and some lots I follow aren’t coming down very quickly…
It’s a weird phenomenon I don’t really understand. As the wine market is softening, the auction market seems to be strong.
And I get that the trophy / elite wines at auction are strong. But the solid $40-100 drinkers auction prices seem high as well.
Except when I send wines to auction, then the prices are low and dropping. That might be because I use Spectrum? I do it for convenience since I store wines there and can literally just hand them over, and it’s just a few cases a year so it doesn’t much matter.
Their prices on burgs are generally pretty bad now; I’d backfilled a bunch of gibourg and a little bit of Rousseau there a couple years ago for good prices, but now they’re mostly retail or higher.
Generally agree but I’ve had some luck there. Wouldn’t write it off entirely. Found some decent prices on some newer vintage stuff the past few months.
I use Winebid almost exclusively to find off vintage (classical) Bordeaux with some age (classified growths), California wines of great quality that often get slashed in the secondary and harder to find our source German Riesling.
The Riesling efforts were always hit or miss as there is more rarity/variability there, so not always shopping for a discount. With Bordeaux and Napa especially, I would often see a lot of discounts and gems.
I have not won an auction on WineBid in months as there just hasn’t been anything in those categories that was worth it from a value perspective. My purchases shifted entirely to secondary sellers and retail during that time.
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Another possibility is Winebids partnership with GSN storage. Purchases from Winebid can be transferred to GSN for free. If you store with GSN, your net cost may be less buying at Winebid and utilizing the free transfer vs retail+shipping to storage. Either way, doesn’t explain the 2010 Tondonia gran reserva rosado I saw hammer at $500 a week or two ago…
No effing way.
Really?
Shit. I might put mine up at that price.
I tracked when I saw it bid up to mid $300s not thinking it could push higher; it’s already crazy at $300+. Was reading thru this thread about Keller RR being bid up and thought to check back. Sure enough $500! 2010 Lopez de Heredia Rioja Vina Tondonia Gran Reserva Rosado | WineBid | Wine for Sale