Description
As recommended above, you
should take time to prepare your description. The information you provide often
helps the bidder in finalizing judgment on whether or not to bid on your wine.
Be as descriptive as possible to market your wine: The name of the wine,
year/vintage; details about the flavor and body of the wine; nose and aroma;
age, condition of bottle and label, etc., and how the bottle(s) has been
stored, are all very helpful in describing the condition and appeal of the
product you are selling. If you have any history on the wine or ratings it has
received, these are also useful in communicating the value of your wine to the
buyer.
Example Descriptions (taken from actual WineCommune lots):
“An elegant, intensely concentrated wine with vibrant
blackberry and black cherry fruit flavors. This wine exhibits rich, deep color
and hints of mint, spice and cassis.”
“Delicious,
sporting an elegant array of plum, black cherry, currant, herb and olive notes.
Ripe, smooth and polished, flowing across the palate to a rich finish that
lingers on and on. Drink now through 2008. Stored in a temperature-controlled
environment upon release. Enjoy!”
“Get two magnum bottles of this hard to find,
Spanish cult wine, made of 20% Cabernet and 80% Garnacha. The winemaker is one of the
stars of the new Spanish viticulture in the region of Priorat. With his first vintage
1993 [became] the most expensive Spanish red and is now the reference for the
new Spanish wines.”
Bottle
Size
Choose from the
pull-down menu to find the bottle size of your wine. If you are not sure of the
size of your bottle, check on its label. If you have a range of sizes to list,
choose the ‘See Description’ option to describe the different bottle sizes you
are offering in one lot.
Bottles in Lot
Choose from the pull-down menu to indicate the number of
bottles you are putting up for auction or sale. The number of bottles is the
number of bottles per lot. So, if you have 12 bottles in your lot then you
would indicate ‘12’ in this field. The pull-down offers up to 100 bottles for
listing. Note: If you have more bottles to sell across more than one
lot, you would use the ‘Quantity’ field in the form below under ‘Additional
Information’. For example, if you have 12 bottles for sale but you would like
to divide them into two different lots, then you would indicate ‘6’ in the
‘Bottles in Lot’ field and mark your ‘Quantity’ field as ‘2’ because you have
two lots at 6 bottles per lot. In the latter example, there can be up to 2
winners, or 1 bidder may bid for both sets of 6 bottles. In the first example,
only one person can win the 12 bottles.
Wine
Content Amount
This field lets you choose the status of the wine level in
the bottle(s) due to age, storage and evaporation or condensation as is common
with older wines. For example, the wine is still ‘Into Neck’ of bottle, or it
is at the ‘Mid Shoulder’ of the bottle. Choose the best condition that fits
your bottle(s).
Label
Condition
Choose from the pull-down menu to indicate the condition of
the bottle and its label. Remember that a picture tells a thousand words in
providing proof to the bidder of the bottle’s condition. The pull-down menu
offers a range of descriptors for identifying the physical condition of the
bottle.
Opening
Bid
The ‘Opening Bid’ field is a text entry field that allows
you to set the opening bid for your auction. Your Opening Bid should be the lowest
amount you are willing to accept for your wine. Note: that you can also set a
‘Reserve’ price on the wine which is a non-disclosed amount that all buyers
would have to meet (at a minimum) to wine your auction. The difference between
the ‘Opening Bid’ and a ‘Reserve Price’ is that an opening bid is disclosed to
the user and the reserve price is not. The ‘Reserve’ price is set by you, the
seller, and is indicated to the buyer only by the lack of a ‘NR’ (No Reserve)
symbol next to the wine lot. If there is both an opening bid AND a reserve
price set, then the system will default to the reserve price and only bidders
that meet your reserve will be accountable for your auction. As a helpful hint
to the bidder, whenever a reserve price is set for an auction, a message
reading, ‘Reserve Not Met!’ will appear next to the current bid at all times
until the reserve has been exceeded by a bid. Note: exceeding a reserve price
on a bid does not automatically award that bidder the auction. The highest
bidder at the close of the auction will win the lot.
Bid Increment
The ‘Bid Increment’ is set
by the seller and determines the value of each new increase in bidding. For
example, if your Opening Bid begins at $100 and you set a bid increment of $20,
each subsequent bid must be in $20 increments (i.e. $120, $140, $160, and so on
). The ‘Minimum Bid’ will appear next to the ‘Bid’ field in the bidding section
of a lot using the set bid increment of the lot, and denoting what the minimum
bid must be to participate in the auction. To bid higher, make sure your bid is
within the set increment.
Reserve
Price (Optional)
A ‘Reserve Price’ is an optional feature that allows you to set a minimum price
at which you will sell your wine for auction. The ‘Reserve Price’ differs from
the ‘Opening Bid’ in that it is a non-disclosed amount (not viewable to the
bidder) whereas an opening bid price is noted. The ‘Reserve’ price is set by
you, the seller, and is indicated to the buyer only by the lack of a ‘NR’ (No
Reserve) symbol next to the wine lot. If there is both an opening bid AND a
reserve price set, then the system will default to the reserve price and only
bidders that meet your reserve will be accountable for your auction. As a
helpful hint to the bidder, whenever a reserve price is set for an auction, a
message reading, ‘Reserve Not Met!’ will appear next to the current bid at all
times until the reserve has been exceeded by a bid. Note: exceeding a reserve
price on a bid does not automatically award that bidder the auction. The highest
bidder at the close of the auction will win the lot.
Length of Auction
The length of your auction can be anywhere from 0-21 days. A ‘0’ day auction means that you will auction
off the item on the day you post it. Use the pull-down menu to choose the number of days you would like your auction to run. Then, on the same line in the form,
use the next two pull-downs to choose the time and ‘AM’ or ‘PM’. This will set your closing day and time of auction. The date and time will automatically be
calculate for you once you post the lot.
Sales Policies
Here is where you can indicate the ’Payments Accepted’ and ‘Shipping Policies’ for your auction. Use
the check boxes and radio buttons to indicate all those methods that apply.
Photo Upload (Optional)
You are given the option to post a photo(s) of your wine or wine lot
for auction. A picture tells a thousand words in providing proof to the bidder of the bottle’s
condition. It is a generally accepted theory that people like to see what they are going to buy before hand. For a photo tutorial on how to attach a photo(s) to
your lot page, click here.
Promote Your Auction! (Optional)
For a small fee, you can pay to bring more eyetballs to your auction listing on WineCommune.
There are four options to help make your lot stand out within WineCommune’s lot listings:
Bold Your Auction
lets you put the title of your auction in bold.This feature ensures that it stands
out more in the listing. The cost for this service is $1 for the duration of your auction.
Feature your auction on the Category Page
.This will place your auction at the top of the category page for the varietal. For example, if you
are auctioning a Cabernet, your listing will appear at or near the top of the category listing for Cabernet. The price of this option is $5.00 for the
duration of your auction.
Feature your auction on the Homepage
.This option puts your auction listing in bold letters on the front page of WineCommune under our ‘Featured Auctions’ listings and
along the ‘Featured Auctions’ column on the main auctions page. The cost of this service is $10.00 and ensures the highest exposure for the entire duration
of your auction.
Feature your auction in the Search Listings
. This puts your auction at the top of the page for all searches that include your auction
in the results. This feature is $5.00 for the duration of your auction, or if you choose any of the other three options above, add Featured Search for only
$2.50.
Additional Options (Optional)
Location
The location lets you display where you are located to the buyer, or, from where the wine will be shipped.
Quantity
‘Quantity’ lets you indicate the number of lots you are offering, not the number of
bottles. So, if you have 12 bottles you want to sell to 1 bidder, you would indicate in the ‘Bottles in Lot’ field that you are offering ‘12’ bottles
in a lot. Therefore, the ‘Quantity’ for this lot is 1, for one lot of twelve. However, if you have 12 bottles, but want to sell 6 bottles to up to 2 people,
you would indicate in the ‘Bottles in Lot’ field a ‘6’ and mark your ‘Quantity’ at ‘2’, for six bottles in two separate lots. In the latter example, there can
be up to 2 winners, or 1 bidder may bid for both sets of 6 bottles. In the former example, only one person can win the 12 bottles.
Currency
Use the pull-down menu to choose the currency in which you
will be transacting your auction. This feature accounts for an international
community of sellers and covers the most popular currencies. If you do not
choose a currency, the feature will default to US dollars. If you do not see
your currency listed in the pull-down menu please email contact@winecommune.com.
Auto Extension
Put a check next to this box if you would like your auction to be automatically extended by
5 minutes when there is a bid placed near the end of auction.
Create Lot (Required)
Once you have filled out all of the required information for your lot and you are ready to post it on WineCommune, click the ‘Create
Lot’ button at the bottom of the ‘Post a Lot’ form. This will post your lot where you specified within the WineCommune auction listings.
Once you have created a lot, a confirmation page will appear. We recommend that you
either print this page or write down the information such as your lot number. This will be helpful if you want to update your listing, and to keep track of
your auction’s progress.
