Wine Societies: Wine Auction, Wine Marketplace, Buy Wine, Sell Wine

New Member Registration

All fields marked with a * require an entry.

Name*

This is the name that will be provided to buyers and sellers upon the completion of a transaction.

Username*

This is the name that you will use to log in to our system, and your online screen-name.

Email*

Your contact email address.

Phone*

Your contact phone number.

Referred By

If you were referred to Wine Societies, please select the appropriate name from the drop-down menu.

License State

This is the U.S. State of your liquor license. This is required only if you will be buying wine in the Marketplace.

License Number

This is the number of your liquor license. This is required only if you will be buying wine in the Marketplace.

Membership Type

Winery: For Wineries wanting to sell all types of wine in our Marketplace.

Collector: For Collectors wanting to sell vintage wine (vintage wine is here defined as red wine at ten years or older and white wine at five years or older) in our Marketplace.

Licensed Buyer: For Licensed Buyers wanting to buy wine from our Marketplace.

Wine Societies Corporate: For employees of Wine Societies, Inc.

Other: Membership types not listed above.

If you will be using our platform for more than one purpose, we recommend that you create separate accounts, one for each function. For example, if you are a Collector wanting to sell vintage wine, and also hold the appropriate license to buy wine (and will be doing so in our Marketplace), we recommend setting up two separate accounts - a Collector account and a Licensed Buyer account.

Please note that you can still perform all functions using one account, if you so choose.

Password*

This provides you unique access to your account on our system.

Verify Password*

Please enter here the exact same Password as above.

Once you click on Next, your information will be registered in our system. You will now be sent an email message to the contact email address you provided above. In this email message, you will find a confirmation link. Please click on it to complete your registration. This is done in order to verify your email address. Once you have clicked on the confirmation link, you are ready to use our platform.

Marketplace Menu

Sales / Auctions

This page displays Sales and Auctions currently in progress.

The difference between a Sale and an Auction is in a Sale, the seller is offering the wine at a fixed price, called the BuyItNow price. In an Auction, the seller is offering the wine through a bidding process, by specifying a starting price and a time-frame within which he/she will accept bids at or greater than the starting price.

The Descending/Ascending filter sorts postings by date. Descending displays the earliest posting first, while Ascending displays the latest posting first.

The Categories filter sorts postings by Collectors, Wineries or both (All Categories).

The Sort by filter sorts postings by Newest post (most recently posted items displayed first), Initial Price (highest to lowest), BuyItNow Price (highest to lowest), or Closing Date (latest Closing Date displayed first).

The Display filter can be used to control the number of postings displayed per page.

Categories

This page displays the categories of Sales and Auctions available on the platform. Currently, there are two categories, one for Collectors and the other for Wineries.

Search

Enter keywords such as “cabernet”, Napa” or “elegant” in the Search bar to find postings of particular interest to you.

New Sale / Auction

Title: This is the title of your Sale / Auction posting.

Category: Choose Collectors or Wineries to display the posting in the appropriate category.

Tags: Enter keywords that describe your wine. These keywords “tag” your wine, and will make your wine appear in Search results when buyers search using keywords matching these “tags”.

Short Description: This is a one line summary (a heading) for your posting.

Description: Describe your wine to buyers.

Attach a photo: Click on the Browse button to add the location of a photo file of your wine. Photo files should be in jpeg format.

Start Date: Select the Date and Time when you want your Sale / Auction to start.

End Date: Select the Date and Time when you want your Sale / Auction to end. Please note that the maximum allowed time for a Sale / Auction is 30 days.

Starting Bid: Enter the price at which you want bidding to start on your wine.

Reserve Price: A Reserve Price is the lowest price that the seller is willing to sell the wine for. If the posting ends without a buyer meeting the Reserve Price, the seller is not obligated to sell the wine. Entering a Reserve Price is optional.

Display the Reserve Price: As a seller, you have the option to either display the Reserve Price in your Sale / Auction posting or not. Select Yes or No as desired. This is relevant only if a Reserve Price has been entered for the posting. If a Reserve Price has been entered for the posting, and Display the Reserve Price is set to No, the following will appear in the posting display – “The item has a Reserve Price”. However, the actual Reserve Price will not displayed in the posting. If a Reserve Price has been entered for the posting, and Display the Reserve Price is set to Yes, the Reserve Price will be displayed in the posting.

Buy It Now Price: A Buy It Now Price is a price at which the seller is willing to immediately sell the wine, without going through a bidding process. This is the same as a Fixed Price Sale.

Auction Type: A Private Auction is not displayed in the Sales / Auctions page. A Public Auction is displayed in the Sales / Auctions page. A BuyItNow Only Auction is a Fixed Price Sale, where the seller wants to sell the wine for a set price, instead of through a bidding process.

Payment Information: Enter any payment information that you would like buyers to be aware of.

Shipping Price: Enter any shipping price that you would like buyers to be aware of.

Shipping Information: Enter any shipping information that you would like buyers to be aware of.

Submit and Begin Sale / Auction: Once all the information is entered, click this button to post your wine for Sale / Auction. Your posting will now appear in the Sales / Auctions page.

My Pending Sales / Auctions

This page displays your Sale / Auction postings as a seller.

If an item you have posted expires with no bids being placed on it, if you so wish, you can simply re-post the item from this section, without having to re-enter all the information pertaining to the item.

My Orders / Bids

This page displays the bids you have placed on Sales / Auctions as a buyer.

My Watchlist

This page displays items you have added to your Watchlist, using the “Add to Watchlist” icon in the Sale / Auction posting display. To see the Sale / Auction posting display, click on the posting’s title.

My Completed Order / Bids

This page displays the Sales / Auctions that you have won as a buyer.

My Account

This page displays the information you entered while creating your Member account.

You can update your account information and password here.

You can also choose the amount of contact information you would like the system to send to the other party, upon the completion of a Sale / Auction.

Click on Save to make permanent any changes.

For Collectors

In order to use our platform to sell wine, you need to register and create a member account.

Registration takes less than 1 minute.

MEMBERSHIP ON OUR PLATFORM IS COMPLETELY FREE.

SELLING ON OUR PLATFORM IS COMPLETELY FREE.

Wine Societies provides complete end-to-end services for Collectors, wanting to sell vintage wine (vintage wine is here defined as red wine at ten years and older and white wine at five years and older) in our marketplace.

Collectors who want to sell wine through our marketplace can be located anywhere in the world.

Depending on the geographic location of the buyer, Wine Societies can provide assistance in the delivery of the wine to the buyer and collection of payment for the seller.

We also offer Inventory & Appraisal services, Authentication & Certification services, and Post-sale consignment/warehousing and Payment Collection services, through our partner companies, SF Wine Consulting and Simple Math Cellars. Please see the appropriate sections below for more details.

In addition, our team is always available for any assistance. Please do not hesitate to contact us at any time. Click on Contact Us in the menu on the left to find our contact information.

Inventory & Appraisal

In order to make the best possible selection from your collection for sale, Wine Societies offers the following services through its partner companies, SF Wine Consulting and Simple Math Cellars. We will organize, inventory, and perform a qualified appraisal of a Collectors’ wine collection in order to determine valuations which can be used in establishing ask prices for items sold through our marketplace.

Outline the scope of work to be performed on-site: We will determine the size of the collection to be inventoried and what specific tasks will be performed. Under typical conditions, our two-person team will inventory 800 bottles per day.

Schedule the project and necessary travel: Project dates are determined based on the availability and in consideration of the location where work will be performed. We will then schedule to travel to the location and be prepared with all of the necessary equipment to complete the project in a timely manner.

Organize and inventory the collection: We will inventory the collection and record all applicable pieces of identification data and specific bottle conditions. We will examine bottles and conduct a detailed inspection in order to note signs of concern which should be known. If there is an increased risk of a bottle being inferior, or if there are condition issues which will negatively impact resale value, we are able to make a qualified assessment of fill levels, label condition, cork integrity, and the wine’s color.

Create database: The information we record during the inventory process will then be input into a database.

Valuation of a selection-for-sale: We will value a parcel with current data from the auction and resale markets. Our valuation allows the client to evaluate purchase bids or establish ask prices according to good quality price data.

If you would like to make use of this service, please contact any of the Wine Societies team members. Our contact information is available in the Contact Us section of this Help page.

Authentication & Certification

Wine Societies is able to offer Authentication & Certification services to Collectors, who want to certify the provenance of their collections, prior to posting for sale in our marketplace.

We will examine bottles and conduct a detailed inspection in order to note signs of concern which should be known. If there is an increased risk of a bottle being inferior, or if there are condition issues which will negatively impact resale value, we are able to make a qualified assessment of fill levels or ullage, label condition, cork integrity, and the wine’s color.

We offer this service through our partner companies, SF Wine Consulting and Simple Math Cellars. Both are certified experts in fine and rare wine authentication and certification.

Please contact us for further details. We will be happy to provide you with a time-frame and fees for this service.

Posting your wine

You will be taken to the Marketplace.

Choose New Sale / Auction from the Marketplace Menu.

The difference between a Sale and an Auction is that in a Sale, the seller is offering the wine at a fixed price, called the BuyItNow price. In an Auction, the seller is offering the wine through a bidding process, by specifying a starting price and a time-frame within which he/she will accept bids at or greater than the starting price.

Fill in the information about your wine. Details on all the options are provided in the Marketplace Menu help section above.

Please note that the maximum allowed time-frame for a posting is 30 days.

Once you have posted your wine for sale, it will appear in the Sales / Auctions page, and will be visible to all members.

Receiving offers

Whenever a buyer makes an offer on your wine, you will receive an email message from our system, notifying you of the offer. Log in to your account, and go to your posting to view the offer.

For an Auction format sale, offers (or bids) can be made by buyers till the Auction closes. For a BuyItNow format sale, once a buyer’s offer has met the BuyItNow price, the sale is considered immediately closed. The seller is obligated to sell the wine to the buyer at the BuyItNow price.

Messaging

Although buyers and sellers are known to each other only through their usernames till the successful completion of a sale, they can still communicate with each other anonymously using the Messages box, available in each posting, during the process. Buyers may have specific questions for sellers before making an offer. Sellers can respond to buyers through the Messages box.

In order to post a message, simply enter it in the Messages box and click on Send Message. The message will appear in the posting.

Completing a sale

Once the Auction or Fixed Price Sale is completed, the seller will be sent an email from our system, with information about the winning buyer’s name and contact information. Your (seller’s) name and contact information will be sent to the buyer as well.

The seller and buyer can now contact each other directly, to arrange for the exchange of monies and the wine.

Rating the buyer

Upon the successful completion of a sale, you will have the opportunity to rate the buyer. You will find the option to do so in the posting, which you can find in My Pending Orders / Bids.

Shipping & Payment

It is the responsibility of the Collector to ship the wine directly to the buyer. Wine Societies offers full intermediate logistics services, through our partner companies, SF Wine Consulting and Simple Math Cellars. Please see the section on Post-sale consignment/warehousing and Payment Collection below for further details.

It is the responsibility of the buyer to pay the Collector directly. However, if the Collector has decided to use our partner companies, SF Wine Consulting or Simple Math Cellars for their logistics services, our partner company will collect payments from the buyer on behalf of the Collector, and send the monies on to the Collector.

Please contact any of the Wine Societies team members for further assistance.

Post-sale consignment/warehousing and Payment Collection

Upon the completion of selecting a qualified buyer for your collection, if you would prefer at that point to not handle the intermediate shipping and payment collection logistics, Wine Societies can help. We can take your collection from its present location, warehouse it, ship it to the buyer, collect payment from the buyer, and send the monies to you as appropriate. We offer these intermediate logistics services through our partner companies, SF Wine Consulting and Simple Math Cellars.

Please contact any of the Wine Societies team for further assistance.

For Wineries

In order to use our platform to sell wine, you need to register and create a member account.

Registration takes less than 1 minute.

MEMBERSHIP ON OUR PLATFORM IS COMPLETELY FREE.

SELLING ON OUR PLATFORM IS COMPLETELY FREE.

Wineries that want to sell wine in our marketplace can be located anywhere in the world.

Depending on the location of the buyer, Wine Societies offers transaction, logistics, payment and fulfillment services through its partner company, Simple Math Cellars, to the seller, if needed.

The section on Shipping & Payment below provides more details.

In addition, please contact any of our team members for assistance at any time. You can find our contact information by clicking on Contact Us in the menu on the left.

Posting your wine

You will be taken to the Marketplace.

Choose New Sale / Auction from the Marketplace Menu.

Fill in the information about your wine. Details on all the options are provided in the Marketplace Menu help section above.

Please note that the maximum allowed time-frame for a posting is 30 days.

Once you have posted your wine for sale, it will appear in the Sales / Auctions page, and will be visible to all members.

Receiving offers

Whenever a buyer makes an offer on your wine, you will receive an email message from our system, notifying you of the offer. Log in to your account, and go to your posting to view the offer.

Messaging

In order to post a message, simply enter it in the Messages box and click on Send Message. The message will appear in the posting.

Completing a Sale

The seller and buyer can now contact each other directly, to arrange for the exchange of monies and the wine.

Rating the Buyer

Upon the successful completion of a sale, you will have the opportunity to rate the buyer. You will find the option to do so in the posting, which you can find in My Pending Orders / Bids.

Shipping & Payment

It is the responsibility of the winery to ship the wine directly to the buyer.

It is the responsibility of the buyer to pay the winery directly.

If the winery requires assistance in shipping wine to the buyer, because of the buyer’s geographic location, or because of restrictive shipping laws where the winery is located, Wine Societies can help. Our partner company, Simple Math Cellars, can provide shipping and payment collection services in such cases.

Our partner companies have international import and export logistics capabilities, as well as domestic distribution capabilities. Please contact any of the Wine Societies team members for assistance.

For Licensed Buyers

In order to use our platform to buy wine, you need to register and create a member account.

Registration takes less than 1 minute.

MEMBERSHIP ON OUR PLATFORM IS COMPLETELY FREE.

WE CHARGE A COMMISSION RATE OF 10% TO BUYERS - THE LOWEST OF ANY WINE BROKERAGE, ONLINE OR OTHERWISE.

Wine Societies, Inc. is a CA licensed wine broker. Hence, all buyers in our marketplace need to hold a valid CA license to re-sell alcohol.

If you are a buyer who does not have a CA license to re-sell alcohol, and yet would like to buy wine through our marketplace, Wine Societies can help. Please see the section on For non-CA licensed buyers below for more details. This applies to international buyers as well.

Bidding on / buying wine

Once you are logged in to your Wine Societies account, you will be taken to the Sales / Auctions page of the marketplace, where you can see all active sales and auctions in progress.

Click on the title of the posting to be taken to the Sale / Auction page of the wine. This page contains all the details of the wine, the screen-name of the seller and his/her Average Rating.

The Average Rating is calculated by averaging all ratings provided by buyers of this seller. If you are the winning buyer, you will have the opportunity to rate the seller at the completion of the transaction.

Before placing an offer to buy (Fixed Price sale) or bid (Auction) on the wine, all buyers must have provided their License State and License Number information in their account. The system will not allow you to place an offer or bid without this information. Wine Societies, Inc. is legally required by the CA ABC (Alcoholic Beverage Control) to only allow CA licensed buyers and re-sellers of alcohol to buy from our marketplace. However, through our partner company, Simple Math Cellars, we are able to extend our marketplace service for non-CA licensed buyers. Please see the section on For non-CA licensed buyers below.

For a fixed price sale, click on the Buy It Now link. Once you confirm your choice, you will be declared the winning buyer.

For an auction, please enter your bid price in the Bid Amount box, and click on Place Bid.

ONCE A BID IS PLACED, YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO RETRACT IT FOR THE DURATION OF THE AUCTION.

Authentication & Certification of private collections

Wine Societies is able to offer Authentication & Certification services to buyers, who want to ascertain the provenance of private collections, prior to bidding on or buying wine from Collector sellers in our marketplace.

We offer this service through our partner companies, SF Wine Consulting and Simple Math Cellars. Both are certified experts in fine and rare wine authentication and certification.

Please contact us for further details. We will be happy to provide you with a time-frame and fees for this service.

Messaging

In order to post a message, simply enter it in the Messages box, and click on Send Message. The message will appear in the posting.

Winning a bid / sale

For a fixed price sale, a buyer is immediately declared the winner if he/she meets the BuyItNow price.

For an auction, a buyer is declared the winner, if at the end of the auction period his/her bid is the highest.

Once the system has declared a buyer the winner based on the criteria above, an email is sent to the buyer, with a request to pay Wine Societies a commission for the transaction.

Commission payment

Wine Societies charges the buyer a commission fee of 10% for the transaction. For example, if the final sale price was $1,000, the buyer will pay Wine Societies a commission of $100.

The email sent from the system will contain a link to PayPal, our payment processing provider. You do not need a PayPal account to complete the payment process. You can use any PayPal approved credit card, such as Visa, MasterCard, Discover, etc. to pay the commission fee. If you do have a PayPal account, you can use it to pay Wine Societies the commission fee as well. In either case, simply click on the link in the email, and follow the instructions from PayPal.

Paying the seller

Once the buyer has paid Wine Societies the commission fee, the system will send emails to both the buyer and seller, informing each of the others' name and contact information. The buyer and seller can now contact each other directly, to arrange for the exchange of monies and the wine.

Receiving the wine

Wine is shipped directly from the seller to the buyer. However, Wine Societies is here to help in the process. If the seller has shipping restrictions based on geographic location or shipping laws in their resident state, Wine Societies, through its partner company, Simple Math Cellars, can arrange to have the wine shipped from the seller to the buyer. The seller should contact Wine Societies for this arrangement.

In the case where the wine is coming from a private collection, and the seller has chosen to consign the wine with one of our partner companies, SF Wine Consulting or Simple Math Cellars, the buyer can expect the wine to be shipped to them from either one of these partner companies, instead of from the seller. Both SF Wine Consulting and Simple Math Cellars also provide Payment Collection services for the seller. Hence, the buyer will be paying either SF Wine Consulting or Simple Math Cellars for the wine, instead of the seller, in this situation.

Rating the Seller

Upon the successful completion of a sale, you will have the opportunity to rate the seller. You will find the option to do so in the posting, which you can find in My Completed Orders / Bids.

For non-CA licensed buyers

If you are a buyer who does not hold a CA license to buy or re-sell alcohol, and yet would like to buy wine from our marketplace, Wine Societies can help. This applies to international buyers as well.

Our partner company, Simple Math Cellars, is a CA licensed buyers and re-sellers of alcohol, with U.S. domestic distribution and international import and export capabilities.

Simple Math Cellars will buy the wine through the Wine Societies marketplace for you, receive it from the seller, and ship to you. Simple Math Cellars will then charge the seller and buyer the negotiated fees.

If the above situation applies to you, please contact a Wine Societies team member. We will work on your behalf with Simple Math Cellars. They will bid on and buy the wine on your behalf, with guidance from you on the price you are willing to offer. If you win, they will arrange the payment and shipping directly with you. You will pay the Wine Societies buyer commission to them, since they would have paid that same commission to us through their Wine Societies account.