FAQ: Marketplace

• General
  • Why is the Marketplace the best way to sell my wine?
    • See selling wine through the Vinfolio Marketplace for an overview. If you'd like to compare selling via the Marketplace to using Vinfolio's fixed-price auctions, see sell wine overview.
  • Is the Marketplace legal?
    • Yes. Vinfolio submitted the regulatory basis of the Vinfolio Marketplace system to the California ABC and the ABC had no questions. Here are the supporting details:
      • Vinfolio's Marketplace is an authorized CA ABC Act Section 23355.1(d) auction house. Vinfolio (CA retail license no. 20-441362) possesses the requisite auction bond (No. 57BSBCG5262) and operates in accordance with Section 2328 of the California Commercial Code (Sale by Auction), and subject to the provisions of Sections 1812.600 to 1812.609 of the California Civil Code (Auctioneer and Auction Companies).
      • According to CA ABC Act Section 23335.1(d), any person, whether an individual or member of the trade, may offer any wine for sale (which is registered for sale in the U.S.) without restrictions or labeling requirements.
      • No wine changes hands in the Marketplace in a direct consumer to consumer transaction. All wines sold at auction must be delivered to Vinfolio by the sellers, and delivered from Vinfolio to the buyers.
      • When a winning bid is obtained, wine is physically removed from Vinfolio storage (which are CA type 14 licensed public warehouses) or transferred from the seller's remote U.S. location to Vinfolio for inspection, and either completion or rejection of the bid. Vinfolio's CA type 9 importing license provides us with a blanket right to bring wine into California from any jurisdiction within the U.S. No contact is permitted between sellers and bidders (who are interacting anonymously) nor is any wine shipped directly from sellers to bidders.
      • If inspection is successful, title then passes directly from the seller to the winning bidder with Vinfolio acting as the auction house consignee.
      • Buyers of wine in the Marketplace are limited to consumers and retail licensees only per CA ABC Act Section 23355.1(d). (For greater clarification on permitted trade buying, contact trade@vinfolio.com).
      • Outbound shipping by Vinfolio is restricted to legal states where a retailer may ship but buyers may always make their own shipping arrangements with third parties.
  • What wine is eligible to be sold in the Marketplace?
    • Any wine may be sold via the Marketplace provided it meets the following criteria:
      • 1970 or later vintage.
      • Less than or equal to 6 liter bottle size.
      • Physically located within the United States (to ensure timely completion of the transaction) with the exception of MA. Please see "I live in Massachusetts; can I sell wine through the Marketplace?" and "I live outside of U.S." sections below.
      • Registered for commercial sale within the U.S.
      • Individual bottles – at this time, we do not support the sale of Original Wood Cases (OWC) and other special packaging, nor assortments and other mixed collections.
• Buying in the Marketplace
  • What is the difference between buying in the Wine store and buying in the Marketplace?
    • BuyNow wines are fully integrated into our regular wine store listings, giving you a wider range of choices when purchasing fine wine.Prices, fulfillment times, and locations are surfaced when you click the Add button.
  • How does Vinfolio ensure the quality of the wine I buy in the Marketplace?
    • Please see Vinfolio's Inspection Guidelines. Every bottle sold via the Marketplace is inspected against all guidelines. Failure to satisfy any guideline causes the bottle to be rejected. The guidelines were established to detect signs of bottles with an increased risk of being in unacceptable condition or possessing other attributes which negatively impact value or marketability to a buyer.
  • If a wine bought via the Marketplace is flawed or undrinkable, can I return it?
    • No. Every bottle sold via the Marketplace must pass Vinfolio's Inspection Guidelines which will eliminate bottles with detectable flaws but is otherwise sold "AS IS." While Vinfolio inspects each bottle, it does not warrant any bottle's suitability for consumption as it is the buyer's decision to bid on a wine that may have passed its useful life (the bid price would presumably reflect that risk) and it is not possible to determine certain flaws through inspection alone. However, Vinfolio encourages bidders with complaints about wine condition or if they believe the item to have been misrepresented relative to Vinfolio's Inspection Guidelines to contact service@vinfolio.com. Vinfolio actively manages Marketplace activity and is able to trace and manage faulty sources based on your feedback via the unique bar code label applied to each bottle during our inspection process. Recurring sources of damaged wine will lose their selling privileges in the Marketplace. Vinfolio has every incentive to preserve the integrity of the Marketplace, not to mention its own reputation, by making all reasonable efforts to ensure the quality of the wine sold via the Marketplace.
  • When will I receive wine that I buy in the Marketplace?
    • It depends where the wine is coming from. If the seller's wine is currently located in Vinfolio storage, the answer is within one week. Otherwise, it is within four weeks as the seller must first send it to Vinfolio. If rapid access to your purchase is critical, you can limit your bid to sellers whose wine is stored at Vinfolio. Once your wine has been picked/received by Vinfolio and passed inspection, you will receive an email notification with instructions on how to arrange a shipment, local delivery or warehouse pick-up.
  • Will I be able to see bottle photos of the exact wine I am purchasing in advance?
    • No. All Marketplace transactions are conducted anonymously. Vinfolio inspects each bottle per its Inspection Guidelines. See the section of the guidelines called "What buyers should expect."
  • Why can't I know who is selling me the wine?
    • To create more Marketplace liquidity and greater competition between sellers for your bid on a given wine (helping lower what you might need to pay and speed up a response), each seller is treated as substitutable with another. We can do so by applying Vinfolio's Inspection Guidelines to every bottle sold and actively managing the Marketplace to suspend selling privileges of unreliable sources. This simplifies your buying process because you do not need to evaluate every seller - e.g. "seller ratings" used on some auction sites - because Vinfolio is actively doing that for you.
• Placing Bids
  • How can I determine what price to bid?
    • Vinfolio offers current asking prices from sellers (where available), a suggested bid price on the listing page and up-to-date retail and auction pricing on the bid pop-up as well as on the wine detail page for each wine. You may use this information to determine a reasonable price that a seller may accept. Sellers have access to the same information.
  • If I bid on wine with a price, am I obligated to buy it if someone accepts my bid?
    • Yes. See our Terms under "Vinfolio Marketplace", "Bidder-related" section, "1. Placing a bid".
  • Why should I set a bid price when I bid?
    • By specifying a price on your bid, you have a greater likelihood a seller will accept your bid and shorten the process to a single further step - i.e., acceptance of your bid by a seller.
  • What does it mean if a wine has a Reserve icon?
    • A Seller(s) has set a private Reserve price on this wine. If your bid exceeds the Reserve price, it will be auto-accepted at your bid price.
  • If I bid the BuyNow price, is my bid automatically accepted?
    • Yes, as long as your bid meets the minimum quantity for the BuyNow price.
  • What if a wine has a BuyNow and a Reserve price?
    • The BuyNow price shows you a price a Seller is willing to sell the wine for immediate sale. If a wine also has a Reserve price, you may opt to bid less than the BuyNow price. If your bid is greater than the Reserve price and meets the minimum quantity, it will be auto-accepted at your bid price.
  • I received feedback on one of my bids, what happens if I adjust my bid in response?
    • When you adjust your bid, a Bid Alert will be sent to all qualified Sellers for that wine. Sellers do not have an obligation to accept your bid if you change your bid based on their feedback unless it meets a seller's BuyNow or Reserve price.
  • When is my credit card charged if my bid is accepted?
    • Your credit card will be charged when a seller accepts your bid.
  • Why do you need my credit card details if my bid has no price?
    • Vinfolio requires credit card details on all bids, including those without a bid price. This ensures sellers that the bid is legitimate and encourages them to set an asking price to signal an acceptable bid price.
  • Why does it matter where a wine is stored when I bid for wine?
    • When you place a bid, you have the option to select wine in Vinfolio storage or "Any location." Wine stored in Vinfolio storage is available within one week (subject to passing inspection). Wine listed as "Any location" is still in the possession of the seller and will not be available for fulfillment until after it has been received and inspected by Vinfolio which may up to four weeks.
  • Does a bid have to specify a bid price?
    • No. A bid with no price shows sellers of that wine that a buyer is interested in purchasing a given quantity of it in a certain bottle size. A seller always has the option to set an asking price to signal an acceptable bid price as bids without prices cannot be accepted by a seller.
  • Can I determine how many sellers were notified of my bid?
    • Yes. When viewing your Active bids, you will see the number of sellers eligible to receive a bid alert and those that have actually received it (there could be a difference in timing based on the frequency they've selected for notification). To view, sign in to Vinfolio, go to My Account and click on the "Active" bids link on the right side of the page.
  • How long is my bid valid?
    • All bids automatically expire after 30 days. However, when you place a bid, you have the option of setting an expiration date that is shorter. At any time, you may log into ‘"My Account" to cancel your bid or change the expiration date.
  • May I bid on wine even when it is not currently being offered for sale?
    • Yes. The presence of a bid may be exactly what encourages an owner of the wine to offer it for sale.
  • What happens after I submit a bid?
    • 1. Your credit card is pre-authorized (not charged) for $40 if in the past 30 days there has not been a previous successful pre-authorization. If the pre-authorization fails, no bid is created. The $40 amount is the lowest figure recommended by our credit card verification firm to avoid the pre-authorization triggering a fraud alert on your card.
      2. If your bid is successfully created, any seller who can satisfy your bid's non-price requirements is eligible to be notified. Bid parameters include wine name, year, bottle size, quantity in a single location, and optionally, if wine is required to be in Vinfolio storage.
      3. Bid notifications to sellers are provided in two forms:
         Online: Sellers using VinCellar may click a link from the VinCellar home page to see all active bids on wine marked for sale.
         Via email: The frequency of email notifications is determined by the seller's preferences (immediate, daily digest, or weekly digest). The default frequency is "daily digest" but sellers may modify this in their VinCellar My Account page on the Alerts tab.
      4. Keep in mind that not all sellers who are eligible to be notified may learn of your bid because they may filter out bids on a wine-by-wine basis according to various parameters including the bid price, whether the bid specifies any bid price, minimum bid quantities if they have more than is being sought, etc.).
  • Why can't I bid for wine using Paypal instead of a credit card?
    • A common reason people wish to use Paypal is a perception that it is "more secure" for online auction environments. Unlike most other auction sites, the Marketplace is managed by Vinfolio with all payments and disbursements going to and from Vinfolio (never between individual counterparties to the transaction). As such, only Vinfolio utilizes your credit card details (not every seller) so transactions are inherently more secure. As payment for your bid is triggered when a seller accepts your bid price (which is unpredictable as this could be any time), you will normally not be present to initiate a Paypal transaction when needed as Paypal requires.
  • What if I don't receive any responses to my bid?
    • Double check your bid price to see if it's reasonable given Buy Now prices, recent Marketplace transactions (if any) and market pricing. Expand your bid fulfillment parameters to ensure there is enough supply of the wine that matches your criteria. For example, if you are looking for 6 bottles of 1992 Silver Oak that are located in Vinfolio storage and you selected Single Purchase for Bid Fulfillment, there may not be enough bottles marked for sale that match your request. Change your bid to accept bottles from "Any location" and/or from "Multiple purchases."
  • How can I increase the odds of my bid being accepted?
    • • Offer a reasonable price based on Buy Now prices, recent Marketplace transactions (if any) and market pricing.
      • Expand your bid fulfillment parameters to accept wine marked for sale from "Any location" and/or from "Multiple purchases". This ensures that your bid will be sent to the maximum number of potential sellers.
      • Bid on wine from any location (always within U.S.).
  • May I have multiple bids outstanding on the same wine (year, name, and bottle size) at the same time?
    • No, as this potentially spams sellers with duplicate bids. We may offer this capability in the future.
  • Is there a buyer's premium added to my bid's price?
    • No.
  • What happens if a seller cancels the transaction, does not send the wine to Vinfolio, or one or more bottles fail Vinfolio's inspection?
    • In all such cases, the bidder will be immediately notified by email and the bidder's credit card will be refunded the full purchase amount. Every rescinded transaction will also be recorded in Vinfolio's Marketplace management system under the name of the seller and may ultimately lead to suspension of the seller's Marketplace selling privileges.
  • How are Marketplace listings compiled?
    • Marketplace listings are the aggregate of all wine owned by VinCellar and CellarTracker users.
• Selling in the Marketplace
  • How fast will my wine sell in the Marketplace?
    • You wine is listed for sale within 5-10 minutes. How fast it sells depends on market demand, the price you are seeking, and your responsiveness to bids. To get an idea of the current demand when there are no Marketplace bids already outstanding and/or for pricing guidance, review auction data on WinePrices.com as well as Marketplace transaction history. Also, keep in mind that bids are available to other sellers of the same wine so responding quickly to new bids will raise your odds of success.
  • What are the fees when I sell in the Marketplace?
    • Vinfolio's seller's commission is15% of the gross purchase price or 10% for sellers who opt for Vinfolio credit, in each case subject to a minimum fee of $6 per bottle (any size).
  • When will I get paid for wine that has sold?
    • Payments are made 10 business days after the Friday of the week in which your wine passes inspection and the sale is marked Complete in your Vinfolio account.
  • What is the difference between selling my wine through the Marketplace vs. through Vinfolio's fixed-price auctions?
    • See Sell wine overview.
  • What are the benefits of storing the wine I want to sell in Vinfolio's full-service storage facility? How much does it cost?
    • • Bidders are more likely to bid on wine they can obtain faster, and perhaps also pay more for that benefit (there is also a lower risk that the transaction fails since the wine is already in Vinfolio's custody).
      • It may be both more convenient and economical for you to ship wine to Vinfolio in larger quantities all at once. For example, above 25-30 cases, it is often cheaper to use a temperature-controlled freight forwarder which Vinfolio can help arrange. Contact service@vinfolio.com for more information.
      • If you have wine located outside the U.S., the only way you can sell it through the Marketplace is by transferring it to Vinfolio storage first. Contact service@vinfolio.com to explore whether this is feasible for your circumstances.
      • Vinfolio offers very competitive prices for full-service storage. Please see Vinfolio storage - for information on pricing and getting started.
  • What is Auto-Accept?
    • Auto-accept is a rule that when sellers enable a Buy Now price and/or set a private Reserve price, bids meeting or exceeding those prices will be automatically accepted immediately after the Bid is made. In the event a Bid satisfies the Auto-Accept Rule of more than one Seller, the determination of the Seller permitted to accept the Bid shall be made by applying the following rules in order:
      1. Seller with the lowest Buy Now or Reserve price for the Auction Item depending on which is met.
      2. Seller with the largest quantity of the wine marked for sale in the requested bottle size.
      3. Seller who has sold the largest cumulative gross value through the Marketplace since inception.
  • I live in Massachusetts; can I sell wine through the Marketplace?
    • Yes, but only if the wine you own is physically located outside of MA but inside the U.S. The problem for wine located in MA is arranging for its transfer to us in CA which must be via our shipping accounts. Unfortunately, for the time being, UPS does not pick up wine in MA and FedEx only provides pick-ups for its ground services. Our inbound shipping rules from the East Coast require 3-day service or faster to preserve the wine's condition. Therefore, we have no method for collecting any wine sold from a MA location.
  • I live outside the U.S.; can I sell wine through the Marketplace?
    • At this time, only wine physically located in the United States can be sold through the Marketplace so you must first move your wine to Vinfolio storage in San Francisco if you wish to use the Marketplace. This business decision is driven by the desire to complete transactions for buyers in an acceptable timeframe. Wine entering the U.S. from abroad must go through an importing agent, federal label approvals and clear customs which make receiving timeframes unpredictable. Moreover, if wine is rejected, it may be cost prohibitive for you to have it returned to your home country based on shipping and import duties at your location.
• Managing Asking Prices & Bids
  • If I set an asking price, is it automatically accepted if someone bids that amount?
    • No. A price is only auto-accepted if you have enabled a Buy Now asking price or a Reserve price. To enable your asking price as a Buy Now price, check the box underneath the Asking price to Enable Buy Now. Or to set a Reserve price, enter the minimum price you are willing to sell the wine for in the Reserve price field.
  • How can I increase my chances of selling my wine in the Marketplace?
    • Set a reasonable Asking price and enable it as Buy Now. If you do not set a Buy Now price, respond quickly to bids to ensure other sellers do not preempt you. Consider moving your wine to Vinfolio storage as this shortens the fulfillment time for the buyer and makes your wine eligible for sale to bidders who specify (as part of their bid criteria) that they only want wine located in Vinfolio storage.
  • Why do I need to provide my credit card details when I am selling wine, not buying it?
    • We use your credit card information for identity verification to prevent fraudulent sellers. You are responsible for any shipping costs to Vinfolio and subject to penalty fees after accepting a bid should you fail to meet your obligations to complete the transaction.
  • How do I know when someone bids on my wine that I have marked for sale?
    • • You will receive a Bid Alert email when someone bids on your wine. You may customize the alerts, and the frequency with which you receive them, by logging in to VinCellar, going to "My Account" and clicking on the "Alerts" tab.
      • When you are logged in to VinCellar or to Vinfolio, you will have a link to Active Bids from the respective homepages. If you use a partner application, similar functionality is expected to be implemented.
  • How do I set a Buy Now or Reserve price?
    • View Power to the Seller blog post
  • What is the difference between a BuyNow and a Reserve price?
    • A Buy now asking price is viewable by the public, a Reserve is not. The Buy Now price is the price you are willing to sell your wine for Reserve price is your bottom and may sell for more than that.
  • If I set a Reserve price, am I obligated to sell it if someone bids that price?
    • Yes. As long as the bid meets the optional minimum quantity you have set for the wine, you are obligated to sell the wine. Before setting a Reserve price, we recommend double-checking your inventory before selecting this option. You will be charged a cancellation fee if a bid is accepted and you are not able to fulfill the wine.
  • If I set an asking price, is it automatically accepted if someone bids that amount?
    • No. A price is only auto-accepted if you have enabled a Buy Now asking price or a Reserve price. To enable your asking price as a Buy Now price, check the box underneath the Asking price to Enable Buy Now. Or to set a Reserve price, enter the minimum price you are willing to sell the wine for in the Reserve price field.
  • Why would I set both a Buy Now price and a Reserve price?
    • A bidder is able to see your Buy Now price and that a Reserve has been set. Your Buy Now price should give the bidder an indication of a fair price for this wine. If a bidder is not willing to pay the Buy Now price, they have the option to bid less in the chance of meeting your Reserve. By setting the Reserve, you are still able to automatically sell your wine. Entering both prices is optional.
  • Is my Reserve price visible to the bidder?
    • No, but a bidder can see there is a reserve price.
  • What happens if a Bidder bids above my Reserve price but below my Buy Now price for a given wine?
    • If a bidder places a bid above your Reserve price but below your Buy Now price, the bid will be auto-accepted at the bid price. If there are multiple qualifying sellers for a given bid, the determination of the Seller permitted to accept the Bid shall be made by applying the following rules in order:
      1. Seller with the lowest Buy Now or Reserve price for the Auction Item depending on which is met.
      2. Seller with the largest quantity of the wine marked for sale in the requested bottle size.
      3. Seller who has sold the largest cumulative gross value through the Marketplace since inception.
  • If I give feedback on a bid, am I obligated to accept a bid if the bidder revises it?
    • No. Providing feedback does not obligate you to accept an updated bid nor does it ensure you will have first dibs to accept it. If a bidder changes their bid, a Bid Alert will be sent to all qualified Sellers. First to accept the bid, wins.
  • Am I able to put auto-accept on hold if I am going out of town?
    • Yes. Simply go to VinCellar and click on My Account. In the right hand column under Marketplace, select "Suspend Auto-Accept". You will have the option to set a future date to reactivate your settings.
  • Am I able to counter offer with a price I am willing to accept?
    • Yes, you may give feedback to any bidder who bids on wine you have marked for sale, even if your wine did not meet their bid qualifications. To give feedback to a buyer, click on the Feedback link on the Marketplace wine detail page. You will be able to communicate to the bidder the terms in which you would accept the bid including price, location, number of bottles and bid fulfillment. Providing feedback does not obligate you to accept an updated bid nor does it ensure you will have first dibs to accept it. If a bidder changes their bid, a Bid Alert will be sent to all qualified Sellers. First to accept the bid, wins.
  • How do I reject bids?
    • As your wine is not sold until you accept a bid, you reject a bid by simply not accepting it. I.e., do nothing. If the bid price is too low, set an optional asking price for what would be acceptable to you.
  • How do I track pending and completed sale transactions?
    • You can view all of your Marketplace transactions by logging into your VinCellar or partner applications' "My Account Pending sales" and "Sales History" sections under Marketplace.
• Shipping Marketplace Wine
  • How do I send my wine to Vinfolio after it is sold?
    • After you've accepted a bid, you must go through the Marketplace Shipping Wizard. The Marketplace Shipping Wizard will take you through the steps to package and ship your wine. All wine from outside the SF Bay area must be shipped using Vinfolio's FedEx or UPS account. Local sellers may use the Marketplace Shipping Wizard to request Vinfolio pickup or they may drop off of their sold wine at one of our warehouses.
  • How quickly do I need to send my wine to Vinfolio after it is sold?
    • Wine must be sent to Vinfolio within two weeks. When you go through the Marketplace Shipping Wizard, we will provide you with dates on which the wine must be sent. Please note, all wine must be shipped on a Monday or Tuesday to safeguard the wine.
  • May I consolidate multiple bid acceptances into fewer shipments if I'm within two weeks of my initial bid acceptance?
    • Yes. The Marketplace Shipping Wizard will enable you to consolidate all transactions that are pending shipment which helps reduce your shipping costs.
  • Can I purchase wine shipping materials from Vinfolio?
    • Yes. At any time, you can purchase shipping materials from Vinfolio at a reasonable cost. You'll also be given the option to purchase packing materials from within the Marketplace Shipping Wizard. Please keep in mind the requirement to receive such materials and then ship your wine to us within two weeks of bid acceptance.
  • How is the speed of shipment to Vinfolio determined to ensure my wine is protected during adverse weather conditions?
    • 1. Vinfolio, not the seller, determines the speed of shipment based on an automated check of weather conditions at both the originating Zip code and Vinfolio's receiving warehouse.
      2. No shipment is planned to exceed 3 days in transit at any time of the year.
      3. The shipping speed will be increased to reduce the maximum transit time to 2 days or overnight in extreme weather conditions.
      4. Any SF Bay Area local pick-up is made in one of our temperature-controlled vans.
      5. For more details, see the Inbound shipping speed section of the Marketplace's Inbound Shipping page.
  • How much does it cost to ship my wine to Vinfolio after I've sold it?
    • The shipping fee charged to your credit card does not vary based on the shipping speed. Vinfolio has determined an average rate for each combination of FedEx/UPS zone and quantity of bottles shipped that will remain constant year around (other than for modifications relating to fluctuating carrier surcharges or changes in base shipping rates). When you accept a bid, we will provide a cost estimate for the wine in your accepted bid as if it were shipped alone. Your per bottle shipping cost may be lowered by combining multiple bid acceptances into a single shipment to take advantage of volume efficiencies. In general, our shipping costs are more than competitive, are based on discounted rates Vinfolio has negotiated, and shipping is treated as a cost breakeven activity. Additionally, Vinfolio provides a shipping cost subsidy for each bottle sold for $100 or more. The shipping subsidy is 1.5% of the gross value for bottles sold for $100-$199 and 2.0% when $200 or more. For example, if you sold 12 bottles for $200 each, your shipping subsidy would be $4 per bottle or $48 which reduces your actual shipping costs potentially to zero (but not below zero) based on the originating shipping zone.
• Cancelling Transactions
  • What happens if I want to cancel the sale or I don't ship the wine to Vinfolio within the required two week period?
    • Vinfolio will cancel the transaction and charge you an $8 per bottle fee. Repeated voluntary cancellations or failures to send sold wine to Vinfolio will result in suspension of your selling privileges in the Marketplace.
  • What happens if I send my sold wine to Vinfolio and one or more bottles fail inspection?
    • • Your credit card will be charged an $8 fee for each rejected bottle (including missing bottles) and the entire transaction cancelled (as the bidder's bottle quantity requirement can no longer be met).
      • Each rejected bottle will be marked as not saleable based on its Vinfolio-assigned barcode ID (to avoid repeating the problem).
      • All wine received is added to Vinfolio storage under the name of the seller where storage fees will begin to be incurred.
      • Accepted bottles will remain as marked for sale in the seller's cellar management account and may be sold from Vinfolio storage where a lower transaction fee may apply.