How Much Is Your Wine Worthand Should You Sell It
Perhaps you received a special bottle of wine as a gift. Or you found one at your aunts house. Or have one remaining from that case you flew home from Europe after a wine-happy trip 10 or 20 years ago. Whats that worth? you wonder when you notice it on the rack. Should I sell?
Whether rare or simply important to you, every bottle has value. Its hard to know when its the right time to uncork or sell, but we can help you figure out how much its worth.
The Backstory To Selling Wine From Canada
Having managed wine storage facilities in Canada since 2004, and working on private cellars across the country, we frequently get asked to assist collectors in sell some or all of their wine. Typical reasons include estate sales, health matters, divorce, debt, etc. Many people realize that their palate has changed since they started collecting and theyre long in California Cabernet, for example, a wine they no longer enjoy.
Iron Gate began by working with US auction houses in 2008 to send Canadian collections south for sale. We would manage all the logistics, inventory, etc. and see the sale through to the client receiving funds.
While many clients were pleased with the results, others preferred not to have the risk associated with auctions in a very competitive market like the US. For this reason we began to form relationships with retailers outside of Canada who would offer a fixed price for the wine which they then resold at their stores.
In 2015 with the help of a US partner we began to look at the possibility of opening a retail outlet in NY. The concept was simple. The wine would come to our facility in Toronto for inventory and photography. It would then ship to a facility in Buffalo, NY where is would be held until sold. Title would pass in the United States through our US retail liquor license and the seller would be paid in USD from our US corporation.
Make A Wine Cork Vase
At some point in time, flower fans put their precious plants in clay vases. Some still do. Then came the porcelain and glass vases that gave a whole new beautiful touch to flowers.
Theyre soft to the touch and can serve as more than a container for holding flowers. When chosen correctly, they can be perfect decorations and can also highlight a persons individuality.
The bummer with trends is once somethings in, almost everyone wants a piece of the trendy item. All the fun is sucked out since everyone is doing it as the cool kids would say.
Sadly, thats the case for vases too. Walk into any home and chances are youll find a glass vase or two in it.
Heres where you need to think out of the box and create wine cork vases. Theyre still pretty new in the market, are durable, and they are quite attractive.
Making one is a piece of cake and you wont have to strain your budget on supplies unless youre planning on turning your biz into a full-time gig.
Youll need:
- Glass vases
- Wine corks that are similar in length
Arrange your corks on one side of the vase until you find a pattern thats uniform in size. If necessary, neaten up the lengths with a knife.
Glue the corks on the vase by adding a dab of glue to the cork. Repeat this procedure until you cover the whole vase with corks.
For the sides of your vase, use thick corks.
Let the piece dry and voila! Theres your cork vase.
Also Check: Stella Rosa Reserve
Best Ways To Sell Your Wine
So what are the best ways to sell your wine online? We’ve already shown you the best places to buy wine online, but those aren’t the sites where you will be selling yours.
You may know that selling wine is not necessarily as easy as going on Craigslist or eBay. In fact, there are certain hoops you need to jump in order to do it legally. To find out more about how to sell wine and sales laws, keep reading.
Best Places To Sell Wine Offline And Online
Do you run a wine store and need tips on how and where to sell your wine and liquor fast? If YES, here are 20 best places to sell wine online and offline.
People love to drink wine, especially fine wine. Since the late 90s, wine sales in the U.S. have steadily increased. One research conducted by the Wine Institute, has it that the U.S. has been the highest consumer of wine in the world since 2014.
With wines still being very much accepted for people, its sale has gone ahead to be more profitable than ever. This is regardless of whether you are selling the wine at a restaurant, in a liquor store, or from your own collection. To be a success in the business of wine selling, you must know that each type of wine takes a slightly different selling approach, so you need to read up on the type of selling you want to do.
The correct mode of selling your wine is going to depend on a few things. Most importantly, the type of wine you have collected, the amount of wine you have for sale, the provenance of your wine, the value of your wine cellar and how quickly you need to sell.
If you run a winery or you a wine collector who has decided to start selling your wines, we are going to show you some of the best places you can sell your wine both offline and online.
Don’t Miss: Cheddar Cheese Pairings
How To Sell Wine At An Online Auction House
Online wine auctions are almost exactly the same as bricks and mortar wine auctions. The perk is that you can access them via website or app. Selling your wine at an online auction, like the one hosted by JF Tobias, follows a similar procedure to selling your wine via a cash or brokered route.
How it works:
As is the case with many auction houses, you will be charged sellers and buyers commission. This will ultimately will have an impact on the amount of money you will receive once your wine is sold. You may want to choose one with particularly low commission rates. JF Tobias have one of thelowest auction commission rates, so selling your wine to them for auction may offer a greater reward.
If you trade your wine with an established online auction house such as JF Tobias, you will be able to leave all logistical processes to them. The wine will be collected from wherever you store it and later photographed for condition purposes.
Pros
Cons
- Whilst you could achieve a sale that is above the market price for your wine, there is also potential for it tofall below your expectations. This may be down to a lack of activity in an auction.
- Theres no guarantee that your wine will sell at the next auction. Sometimes they need to be put up for auction multiple times until they sell. This means that it can sometimes take a while to receive funds.
Free Collection Or Transfer
After receiving a confirmed quotation and accepting an offer , we will assist you in organising the transfer or collection of the agreed wines into our Bonded Warehouse account at LCB Vinothèque so that we can carry out a Condition Report. We cover the costs and your wine is fully insured during this process.
Releasing: Check with storage provider
Collection or Transfer: 3 5 Days
Don’t Miss: Stella Rosa Prosecco Review
How Much Can I Sell My Wine For
When consigning and selling your wine collection with IronGate.Wine, we set the pricing based on comparable, competitive retailers in the United States including Benchmark, K& L, etc. Where no retail comparisons exist we look to worldwide auction houses and add the buyer premium which, in most cases, is where retail prices tend to fall.
If selling your wine collection privately, you will receive approximately the average hammer price minus 5-10% cost of sale, depending on the collection. The benefit being a fixed sale price, contractually agreed in advance. All funds are held in escrow until the transaction closes in a foreign country.
If consigning your wine collection to Iron Gate Auctions, the market determines the price and it is our job to ensure your wine is properly showcased and were communicating to the maximum amount of potential buyers through our marketing efforts.
Certain wines sell better at auction, some better in retail in the US, some better in Hong Kong. As the ONLY Canadian company to offer all these options we can analyze your collection and match the possibilities with your specific goals and desired risk levels.
In Ecommerce There’s A Huge Market For Wine
Ecommerce is a bustlusiness that experts are predicting will grow leaps and bounds over the next few years. There’s plenty of room for your business in the online economy. There’s also a huge market for wine. If you’ve ever been intrigued by the prospect of working from home and being your own boss, it’s time you learn a thing or two about how to build a wines ecommerce website.
Recommended Reading: Can Wine Cause Leg Cramps
Selling Others Wine On Your Platform The Platform Is Your Product
If you are more interested in the business and less in making your own wine, this is the perfect business model. Here, your prime clients are the alcohol selling brands, and the product you sell them is the platform for them to sell their wine offerings.
Imagine an eCommerce app like Amazon for alcohol that is what you are providing. The development process is the same you find the best web and app development company to build your brands digital side. Then you create and offer merchant accounts to the alcohol product sellers, and they list out their products, images, description, and prices.
You can offer the delivery service, or you can let the merchants deliver themselves. For the platform you provide them to sell, you earn a commission from every order made over your alcohol app platform.
Best For Wine Club Management: Vinespring
VineSpring provides wineries and breweries with a robust ecommerce solution for selling wine online. What particularly distinguishes this ecommerce platform from others is that its specially designed for wine ecommerce. Its created by people with in-depth knowledge of how the wine industry works, so you get an online store specially crafted to the needs of large-scale wineries and breweries.
VineSpring can help wineries showcase their products and reach a wider audience. Their platform is mobile responsive and flexible. Whats more, the platform collaborates with a number of design studios that are devoted to crafting unique and beautiful website templates for wineries.
Inventory management can be time-consuming and tedious, particularly for large-scale wineries that experience high-volume sales. This is where VineSpirng steps in and provides wineries with the chance to track wine bottle production and gives access to production history where business owners can gain an insight into every detail including bottling, selling, and shipping.
Besides that, VineSpring features an amazing POS system that takes tap, chip, and swipe transactions. By using this system, the staff can process orders on a fulfill screen. Plus, business owners can use it to learn about their clients drinking preferences and purchasing habits.
Recommended Reading: Wine And Leg Cramps
What Happens After Your Buyer Bids
If you sell your wine via auction house or online marketplace, shipping is usually already included. The professional sellers already have contracts with shipping companiesyou simply supply the wine. However, if you decide to sell the wine on your own, youll need to consider a complex set of legal steps before your buyer can buy it. You must:
- Get a wine-selling license through your state
- Get approval from your state to ship wine to your buyers location
- Check that your buyers state allows wine shipments
- Contact a trustworthy shipping company
- Pack the wine according to the companys standards
- Send the wine to your buyer
In some cases, you might be denied a shipping license, which means you cant sell your wine at all. This is why the sales fees for auction houses or online marketplaces are often worth the extra cost. Heres what happens when you ship via an online marketplace:
The last step is the most important one for your buyers. A collector who spends thousands of dollars on a top-tier bottle of DRC wants to ensure that the bottle they are buying is authentic and reaches them safely. Selling your wine through other websites like eBay doesnt necessarily guarantee authenticity or a refund for heat damage. Experienced collectors prefer to shop with retailers who offer them shipping thats specifically designed with wine in mind.
Where To Sell Your Wine Online
If you do not want to go through the stress of getting a brick and mortar location, selling your wine online is your best bet. You can either set up your own platform to market your wines, or you can partner with already established platforms online. There are really good ones that can enabke you make your listing so people can see your wine. These platforms can include
- JJ Buckley Fine Wines
While there are numerous online platforms for selling wine, one of the most convenient option is JJ Buckley Fine Wines. Their team of wine experts will guide you along each step of the selling process, from explaining what they require for your wine inventory to providing a competitive initial offer and even durable shipping materials.
While carrying out the business, they carefully inspect each item once it reaches their facility, finalizing the offer and sending payment within 10 business days.
Not only are JJ Buckley Fine Wines highly skilled wine experts, but you can sell to them whether you want to transfer one bottle or a whole collection of fine wines. And with no minimum required, your fine wine wont need to be bundled before you can contact their team.
- Naked Wines
When prospective buyers look at a wines page they will see the percentage of those who have said they would buy again a list of peoples reviews.
- Vivino
You May Like: Will You Be My Bridesmaid Wine Bottle Labels
Become Familiar With Customs Documentation
There are several different certifications and documents you must complete in order to export wine. The TTB website lists the following:
- Certificate of Free Sale.
- Sanitary Statement/Certificate.
- Certificate of Manufacturing Process.
Its the responsibility of the seller to confirm which of the above certificates are required for the country to which they want to import wine.
Selling wine internationally definitely represents a great opportunity for established businesses. But its important to know for sure whether or not the investment will justify the return.
Start Building A Network
Building momentum with your business relies on having people know about it. In order for people to know about your products, they often need to see them in a context theyâre familiar with.
Common contexts for buyers include their existing shopping outlets, their circle of friends, and people who influence them. By creating business relationships that can reach each of these areas, youâll be in a position to create real traction for your business.
There are at least three types of networks you should build:
- Leads and customers. Individuals who are interested in your business are what will generate engagement and sales. You should make customer satisfaction and delivering value a prominent focus of your weekly work.
- Partnerships and those you can influence. If youâre friends with the owner of another food business, discuss the potential of a partnership. Offering buyers complementary products is a great way to introduce customers from both audiences to each otherâs business.
- Influencers who can act on behalf of your business. Influencer marketing is a fast-growing trend in the business world and for good reason. People are more likely to buy from those they trust, and people trust those they like. Look for opportunities to get your product in the hands of influencers who will be both honest and bold.
You May Like: Malibu Wild Safari
Choose A Software Platform That Has Aged Well
Experience is an important part of choosing a business partner. As an online merchant, partnering with an experience vendor is absolutely critical for the success of your business. Ecommerce is a relatively young field, and an experienced partner means someone who has been there since the beginning.
Different Online Wine Selling Business Models
There are several ways that you can start a wine selling business, and whether it will work or not depends solely on who you are and what are your business goals. Still, if we have to offer an alcohol selling business model for the online app and web-based medium, we would suggest two main business models.
Selling Your Wine Online
Selling Others Wine On Your Platform
Both the business model have their own advantages and challenges, and you need to choose any one of them based on your experience in the wine business and your end goal from this business startup.
Recommended Reading: How To Get Wine Out Of White Shirt
Make A Wine Cork Pendant
Breath-taking, beautiful, and creative are some terms to describe these works of art. To make a wine cork pendant, you must let your imagination run wild.
Check out some tips from professional wine cork pendant makers but dont limit yourself to their ideas.
The supplies for the pendant are:
- Wine cork
- Doily or bicycle stamp
- Eye screw
Cut the corks into thin slices using the small saw or knife. Take your time to avoid cutting yourself.
For a smooth and flat surface, sand the cork slices.
Ink or paint the flat surfaces if you want to. Dont forget to get creative. Then, allow them to dry completely.
Stamp the image of your choice onto the front of the slice. Its okay to use an image thats larger than the slice.
You can also write something pretty on the slices instead of stamping. Or, for effect, carve a message with a strong, thin and pointed object and finish up with some bright colors.
Tip: Before stamping, add a pattern on the slice by painting onto a texture plate and pressing the cork slice onto a plate. Let them dry fully before stamping.
Also, press the slices into the stamp instead of stamping onto them since the corks are small.
For the final step, screw a 5mm eye screw into the upper part of both slices for hanging.
Consider coming up with various designs to maximize your chances of getting more customers.
