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I’ve bought two bottles on WineBid in the last 90 days. For me I am not seeing the compelling prices I saw in years past. I’d add that “softening” is relative. For instance there are 100 Cayuse lots currently. The least expensive lots start at $60. Factoring in the premium, etc you are at or above mailing list price. This might represent softening but the prices are far from compelling. There is a reason most of these items have no bids.
Tom
At least in the case of Saxum you can get an older vintage (or any) that you could not otherwise without being on their list and holding it for years.
Slight thread drift here, but did anyone see the email from Winebid yesterday with the somewhat impressive vertical offerings that all appear to be from a single seller/cellar?
Yes there is and i think your point is important but another is that the 12’s, 13’s and 14’s at least for california are all being regarded as the best of the best so paying premium prices for sub par vintages that many owners now want to get rid of is cra-cra. Three great years in a row with a high volume of wine means lower pricing for those pre 2012 years.
Wait for them to come down then. If the lots don’t sell for a few weeks in a row, the price starts coming down in increments.
and to think, I started drinking bourbon because my taste in wine was getting too expensive. that played out well…
Yeah, when I first started consigning to winebid, CT was still using their data for valuations. It was a useful combination. Now that CT is using WMJ data, I’m finding CTs valuation far less accurate, but that is probably because I continue to sell through Winebid. I can’t comment on WMJ/CT prices relative to other auction houses, but I see your point, my comment regarding CT is irrelevant given they no longer use winebid data as a source. Regardless, my lots are sitting on Winebid longer than years past, prices are falling for consigners, or staying flat for buyers in consideration of winebids increased cut.
I’ve sent a consignment to Winebid at the end of the summer for the past several years. Mostly CA, with a mix of older Cabs (Dunn, Mayacamas, Ridge, …) and newer “mailing list” wines (Aubert, KB, …). I haven’t seen any weakness in prices for the items I’ve sold … and a few have been a very pleasant surprise, with multiple bids and a sales price well above estimates. Items do seem to be moving slower though. Usually, I have just one or two items unsold by this time of year, and this year I’m at nine, or about 3% of my original consignment, remaining. The starting bid has dropped on a few (but not all of them), and that seems to spark some interest, including multiple bids and a sale at the original price in one case.
What are some general observations of what’s going on with WineBid, 2+ years later?
Complete turnaround. Between my own cellar thinning and client referrals, I have had about 10 consignments go in the last year- most of them in the last 6 months.
Opening bid prices are solid relative to WS, and the sell-through rates in week 1 are about the highest I have ever seen. One consignment 3 months ago sold all but one lot in the first week (there were 23 lots total), and I have never seen that happen in my nearly 20 years on winebid.
Wide mix of wines too- but no mega-blue chips like DRC or first growths.
Broker offers have been softening- especially at the higher end- but winebid is doing quite well right now, and I am recommending it more often than I ever have.
I would agree with Tom, to the point where as a buyer, I go there a lot less often than I used to as I don’t find many bargains.
I used to for one specific category where I got a lot of wine, but in general buy only occasionally to backfill.
Never had a problem bottle.
Yes, especially for mature wines.
Yep. WineBid, Heritage, HDH. All killing lately. Especially Burgundy. Sucks.
I sent 13 lots of mostly higher end Napa cab to them late last year. Nine lots sold the first week and almost all sold within a month. On the seller’s side, pricing was at a good level but that’s from the perspective of someone who buys wine to drink and not flip; I was adjusting my cellar composition.
I expected to get 50% - 60% of total acquisition cost but ended up at 80%+ (net of expenses). Lots ranged from 60% to 250% of purchase price.
I’ve bought there as well and found purchase prices to be close to winery direct pricing for the aged items I’ve bought. Not a lot of hidden deals.
All in all, I’ve had a good experience with them and would go back as a buyer and seller.
This has been my exact experience thus far, although it does provide a great benefit to someone like me who has found great producers recently and would like to go back 5 years to try what the wine is like with age on it without paying a steep tariff. I suppose you could argue I could have purchased at a lower cost 5 years ago, however, compared with buying the new vintage (which is my only option) it’s still a decent proposition.
I’ve seen Williams Selyem, Hartford, Rhys and Sojourn with decent pricing the last couple of weeks FYI! Kistler looks like it’s being dumped well below retail pricing.
I’ve been backfilling (nothing too old) select somewhat under-the-radar Burgundy from WB at good pricing. And I don’t chase.
Example. I waited patiently for my purchase this week to come down in price over the last couple months. 2013 Louis Boillot NSG Pruliers at $46 hammer price. More bottles available. That’s well under the US retail market, if you can find the wine, even with BP and shipping.
I agree however that the bargains in old Bordeaux that we used to see are largely gone.
This cannot be true. Jay Hack assured us that nobody likes Burgundy and everyone is auctioning it off to dump it. Revenge of the Pro Flavor Brigade - WINE TALK - WineBerserkers
There is a bunch out there, and Jayson is right about the under-the-radar young stuff. But The hammer prices on top/aged Burgundy at the Heritage Auction that closed last Thursday night were pretty strong. imo