The wine you don't want

[NoahR]

You’ll get a variety of answers. If quantity, auction is by far the easiest. Think over 100 bottles. They will often pick up and ship free if the value is enough. If just scattered bottles of SQN one could probably work to find private buyer but that takes time.

You’re quite fortunate the wine you don’t want anymore is SQN. Those should be quite easy and lucrative to resell. Most collectors end up with over the hill bottles of 15% Aussie Shiraz and stuff like that which nobody wants to buy.

Hahahaha. That’s EXACTLY what SQN is - 15% Syrah that Parker ratings shot to the moon…

[Vince_T]

You may want to check out K&L - they’re more casual as far as auctions go, but they have a few advantages…

• $5 listing fee + 0% seller commission (if you take K&L store credit)
• low threshold on what qualifies (several bottles of SQN should definitely qualify)
• you can see what prices bottles have historically sold for.
  K&L Wine Merchants - Past Auction Lots

[DougS]

I’d probably sell to a retailer who has customers for that kind of thing. Anyone who isn’t enthusiastic as soon as you mention it is the wrong place. Even retailers who don’t specialize in this style of wine may be able to easily sell it for top dollar. I don’t know how your return doing that would compare to an auction house, but it’s easy enough to get an auction estimate and find out how much a retailer would pay.

[Paul_Miller]

Yes, but only because my cat does not drink.

My cat does.

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[Robert.A.Jr]

The thought of Counselor drinking SQN makes me chuckle.

I wish I could find my email response when he first made the list. It was such an emotional day.

[dave_kammerer]

Flickinger has sold most of my SQN. Good prices and excellent service.

[Tom_G_l_a_s_g_o_w]

Flickinger has sold most of my SQN. Good prices and excellent service.

Wow, your cat looks thirstier than David’s cat.

[Joe_G_a_l_e_w_s_k_i]

You could send your list of wines to Benchmark, Cellaraiders and many other retailers who buy properly stored wine, and they will give you a quote to buy it outright. I’ve looked at auction results and have felt better selling it directly for a fixed price. But it probably depends on the wine.

[Todd_Tucker]

I second Vince’s rec for K+L. I did just what you are describing earlier this year with the last of mine and sent them to them. The wines did quite well on their auction. If your value total is over 10k, they only take 10% of your hammer price.

[Jake-D]

Also echo Vince’s K & L suggestion. I’ve done that about six times in past years, for store credit — it was easy and went well.

[YLee]

Dont you have to pay taxes on wines you sell at auctions? Plus fees for the auction?

[Chris_Seiber]

You’ll get a variety of answers. If quantity, auction is by far the easiest. Think over 100 bottles. They will often pick up and ship free if the value is enough. If just scattered bottles of SQN one could probably work to find private buyer but that takes time.

You’re quite fortunate the wine you don’t want anymore is SQN. Those should be quite easy and lucrative to resell. Most collectors end up with over the hill bottles of 15% Aussie Shiraz and stuff like that which nobody wants to buy.

Hahahaha. That’s EXACTLY what SQN is - 15% Syrah that Parker ratings shot to the moon…

Except the “which nobody wants to buy” part. Which is the key in this particular instance.

[NoahR]

You’re quite fortunate the wine you don’t want anymore is SQN. Those should be quite easy and lucrative to resell. Most collectors end up with over the hill bottles of 15% Aussie Shiraz and stuff like that which nobody wants to buy.

Hahahaha. That’s EXACTLY what SQN is - 15% Syrah that Parker ratings shot to the moon…

Except the “which nobody wants to buy” part. Which is the key in this particular instance.

No doubt! Sell!

[Jeremy_C]

Dont you have to pay taxes on wines you sell at auctions? Plus fees for the auction?

I imagine that depends on your cost basis.

[Chris_Seiber]

Thanks everyone. Learning as you post.

Honestly, I haven’t gone to Commerce Corner because I am trying to maximize the return, and I’d feel like a heel doing that with (some of) you guys.

Everyone sells at or just below market prices on CC. There isn’t any expectation you ought to sell at your cost or anything, including to people you know.

[Scott_G_r_u_n_e_r]

I sold my unwanted SQN at HDH. They will arrange/assemble bull shipments from various regions to simplify the shipping process.

[Thomas_Keim]

When I was young and foolish I got on the SQN list. I like the wine fine, on occasion, but I have accumulated a lot more of it than I am likely ever going to drink. In particular, I am going to try to move on from a few EBA box sets.

I have never sold a bottle of wine before. Given a bunch away, traded a few bottles here and there . . . . I have no idea where to start. How do those who move in and out of positions on wine maximize return and minimize hassle? Private sale, sell to retailer, consignment, auction . . . lots of choices I suppose. I am in no particular hurry. What do you recommend?

These wines go for a pretty penny on the auction block Neal (most of the time selling for 3-4 times what they are worth). Think of the Bordeaux and Champagne you can replace them with?

[Neal.Mollen]

When I was young and foolish I got on the SQN list. I like the wine fine, on occasion, but I have accumulated a lot more of it than I am likely ever going to drink. In particular, I am going to try to move on from a few EBA box sets.

I have never sold a bottle of wine before. Given a bunch away, traded a few bottles here and there . . . . I have no idea where to start. How do those who move in and out of positions on wine maximize return and minimize hassle? Private sale, sell to retailer, consignment, auction . . . lots of choices I suppose. I am in no particular hurry. What do you recommend?

These wines go for a pretty penny on the auction block Neal (most of the time selling for 3-4 times what they are worth). Think of the Bordeaux and Champagne you can replace them with?

That’s why they are going Thomas!

Thanks again to all of you for the advice. I have a list of folks to call on Monday.

[etomasi]

I’ve sold wine to Schneiders, but they are in the business of making money obviously. I wouldn’t expect more than 30-50% retail. For really collectible Sin Qua Non, They might give you more, but dont expect what you would get on commerce corner.

[RMann]

Not an expert on SQN, but if we’re talking several cases, in quantity for each bottle, I agree with the auction route listed above. If you have more of a scattershot of various cuvees, you could try WineBid. They have a $2,500 minimum and it wouldn’t take that much SQN to reach that. You can request an appraisal here: Sell Wine Online | Auction Your Wine | Request Wine Estimate | WineBid. Commerce Corner also an option, but staging all the boxing and shipping is going to become a pain really fast if you have more than a case or two.

Hi everyone and thanks David K for your comments. I’m the new CEO at WineBid and starting to get a little involved in WineBerserkers. We greatly appreciate the community! Happy to take any questions through the link DavidK noted or through our customer service contacts. Not here to pitch or sell anything, just to contribute where possible.