Online Wine Auctions

[Rebel Rose]

I am involved in planning a charity event for next March that will involve an online wine auction, but I have no experience with this sort of thing. The auction lots will be great . . . that I can do. But I have never bid online and I am total novice at this sort of thing. I'm toying with the idea of participating in some bidding to see how it works and check out the software features.

Has anyone here participated in online bidding? What sites are best? Did you get some good finds? Was it worthwhile? Could this become another online time sink for wine geeks?

[GordonCooks]

WineBid - I've scored some deals and a few clunkers.

[bugsy]

I am involved in planning a charity event for next March that will involve an online wine auction, but I have no experience with this sort of thing.  The auction lots will be great . . . that I can do.  But I have never bid online and I am total novice at this sort of thing.  I'm toying with the idea of participating in some bidding to see how it works and check out the software features.

Has anyone here participated in online bidding?  What sites are best?  Did you get some good finds?  Was it worthwhile?  Could this become another online time sink for wine geeks?

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[bugsy]

i've sold wine at winebid.com

very good experience!

[mike volker]

Winebid is right there in Napa. I think I would approach them about helping you out and running it for you from a technical standpoint. Think of the liability involved in running an internet auction with no expertise.

Best,

Mike

[Really Nice!]

I am involved in planning a charity event for next March that will involve an online wine auction, but I have no experience with this sort of thing.

This is going to be a major undertaking and after you scratch the initial surface you're going to see it's much more involved than you might be willing to handle.

You need to have an understanding to auction logic for your software. This includes:

1. The dollar amount of the bid

2. The quantity of the bid

3. Date of the bid

4. Time of the bid

...and how all four intermingle, especially the first two. If the software logic is flawed, you're going to have a big headache that'll last for years.

Who is going to evaluate the wine for provenance and ullage? If these wines are coming directly from the wineries it should be no problem.

Is there a consignment? (How will unsold wines be treated?)

Two people you can try to contact at Winbid are Nate Cluett (Director of Information Technology) and Brooke Hilton (Director of Marketing and Media Relations). Either of these people might point you in the right direction.

Good luck!

[Rebel Rose]

Thanks, everyone.

The technological aspects are taken care of. We're farming that out to a professional online development firm as a project. However, I can still have input into the design and functionality to a certain extent.

The wines will be provided directly by the wineries. There will also be large gift baskets and food lots from Lea & Perrins, A.G. Ferrari, and others, and lifestyle lots from local hotels, golf courses and spas, as well as lots from the LA and Phoenix Culinary Institutes. (Also I think dinner for 10 at the Playboy Mansion.)

So my responsibility is for overseeing the overall quality of the project. Mostly my questions are:

* Did you receive your auction lot in a timely manner?

* Were you charged for handling and shipping, and if so, were those charges clearly marked at the time of bidding?

* Did you find the website easy to navigate and understand?

* Was it easy to search the auction site and move from lot to lot?

* Was there anything about the auction site itself that you found annoying or confusing?

[docsconz]

Back when I was heavily buying wine I used Winedbid a fair amount. It was (and probably still is) a good site. My answers are in reference to my experience with them.

* Did you receive your auction lot in a timely manner?

Yes. The lots came when they were supposed to. The were shipped well protected and efficiently.

* Were you charged for handling and shipping, and if so, were those charges clearly marked at the time of bidding?

Yes. Everything was spelled out clearly. This was expensive enough, however, to necessitate taking into account during the bidding. The good part was that one could take it into account.

* Did you find the website easy to navigate and understand?

Absolutely. This was a major advantage of the site since one could focus on particular areas of interest with ease.

* Was it easy to search the auction site and move from lot to lot?

Yas. See above.

* Was there anything about the auction site itself that you found annoying or confusing?

Not really.