Auction Guide

The auction platform offered on WineBarrel is easy to understand in its use, but there are some rules and functions which we describe in detail below.

Placing a Bid

Our auction platform offers users three possible types of bids:

  • Instant bid
  • Strategic bid "Price at a defined point in time"
  • Strategic bid "Price before the end of the auction"

Auction Type Indicator

There are three different types of auctions:

  • Château Lafite Rothschild 1970 WineBarrel Auctions - Auctions from WineBarrel. All bottles were purchased, cleaned and inspected by WineBarrel. The data (name, vintage, condition, etc.) was collected by the WineBarrel team, the photos were taken by the WineBarrel team.
  • Château Lafite Rothschild 1970 Consignments - Auctions from a WineBarrel customer. All bottles belong to a consignor, but have been cleaned and inspected by WineBarrel. The data (name, vintage, condition, etc.) was collected by the WineBarrel team, the photos were taken by the WineBarrel team.
  • Château Lafite Rothschild 1970  User Auctions - Auctions that are offered on the WineBarrel platform but are the property of a seller; all data and photos were collected and created by the user (not WineBarrel).

Instant Bid

An instant bid increases the current bid at the time of bidding. In practice, it is possible for different users to place an instant bid of the same amount at almost the same time. In this case, the bid with the earlier entry time (submission of the bid) has priority.

Price at a Defined Time

A strategic bid of the type "Price at defined time" is stored in the system and is activated at the specified time. In practice, it is possible that different users enter an identical strategic bid at almost the same time. In this case, the bid with the earlier entry time (submission of the strategic bid) has priority.

Price Before the End of the Auction

A strategic bid of the type "Price before the end of the auction" is stored in the system and, if the defined auction price has not yet been reached, is activated at the specified time. In practice, it is possible for different users to enter an identical strategic bid at almost the same time. In this case, the bid with the earlier entry time (submission of the strategic bid) has priority.

Initial Bid

If an auction has not yet been started, the first bid does not lead to an increase in the specified price. For example, if an auction starts at 100.-, the price will continue to be 100.- after the submission of the first immediate bid, regardless of the amount of the bid.

Prices

Value Added Tax

Auction prices are quoted in Swiss francs (CHF). The price shown includes the statutory value added tax - this will be deducted at checkout for foreign deliveries (deliveries outside Switzerland/Liechtenstein).

Postage and Packing

Only postage and packaging costs are added to the hammer price at checkout.

In the detailed view of the auction, the price for postage can be calculated country-specifically.

The packaging costs vary depending on the number of bottles and usually amount to CHF 2.- per 12 bottles.

Increase of the Price by Bids

If a bid is placed (regardless of the type of bid), the price of the auction is only ever increased by the necessary minimum. The bid placed earlier in time has priority.

Example: If the current auction price is e.g. 100.-, a bid of 150.- increases the price to 101.-. If another person subsequently places an additional bid of e.g. 120.-, the price increases to 121.-, whereby the person with the bid of 150.- remains in the lead.

This procedure is entirely in the interest of the buyers and means that the final bid is always only one franc higher than the next lowest highest bid of all the other bidders.

Duration of an Auction

Auctions have a predefined duration. WineBarrel usually sets this to 10 days and does not change this value once an auction is online. The duration is always visible in the detailed view of the auction and is only activated when the first (instant) bid is placed.
Based on the time of the first (instant) bid, the expected end of the auction can also be derived (start time +10 days).

Note: as our auctions are visited internationally, it is possible that an auction ends in the middle of the night in relation to your location - this cannot be prevented, but we offer our users tools to take this into account with the strategic bids.

Automatic Extension of an Auction

In order to prevent bidding battles in the last seconds of an auction, the auction is automatically extended if a bid is received in the last 2 minutes of the auction. This prevents an auction from being won by the bid that arrives the shortest before the end of the auction and creates fairness among all bidders. The duration of the auction will be adjusted to 2 full minutes again.

Example: A user enters a bid 10 seconds before the end; the system adjusts the auction's running time to 2 full minutes - so that all interested persons can decide in calmness whether another bid should be added.

Display of Bids in the Bidders List

Visibility of Strategic Bids

Strategic bids (amount of bids, time of bids as well as user details) are not visible to other users until the time of activation.

List of Bidders (Detailed View of Auctions)

The amount of bids as well as the user name are visible in the detailed view of an auction. This serves the purpose of transparency. The use of anonymised user names to preserve identity is possible and permitted.

The list of bidders is only updated when a manual bid is placed and when the page is reloaded. If another user places a bid (manually or time-controlled), the view is not updated.

If a bid drives up another bid, the intermediate step is shown in the bidders list. However, this does not happen in steps of 1.-, but in one go.

Example 1: User "Anna" has bid 150.-, the current auction price is 100.- and user "Bob" bids 120.-. In this case, a new entry for 120.- from "Bob" appears in the bidders' list, and a bid for 121.- is also listed for "Anna" - this is the current highest bid. The bid of "Bob" for 120.- did not lead at any stage, but in order for "Anna" to know why the bid price is now at 121.-, the intermediate step is displayed accordingly.

Example 2: User "Anna" has bid 150.-, the current auction price is 100.- and user "Bob" also bids 150.- at a later time. In this case, two new entries over 150.- are listed - one for "Bob" and one for "Anna", whereby the bid of "Anna" is above that of "Bob" (because it was placed earlier) and therefore leads. The bid of "Bob" over 150.- did not lead at any time, but so that "Anna" knows why the bid price is now at 150.-, the intermediate step is displayed accordingly.

Display When Bids of the Same Amount are Placed

If two (or more) users have placed bids of the same amount, both users will be listed in the list of bidders. The bid with the earlier entry time is higher in the list and beats the other bid(s). Note: the display is rounded to seconds - technically the measurement is much more accurate, but it makes little sense to display mili-, micro-, nano-, ... seconds.

'Buy now' Function

There are auctions that have a "buy now" price defined. The auction ends immediately when a user uses this option.

Note: currently this option is rarely offered, most auctions run until the predefined duration is reached.

'Watchlist' Function

With the "Watchlist" function we offer our users the possibility to inform themselves about the status of an auction without obligation. We offer the following watchlist types:

  • Inform when the auction has started
  • Inform n-minutes before the end of the auction
  • Inform n-minutes before the end of the auction if a certain price has not been exceeded

The watchlist function has no influence whatsoever on bids placed and is to be understood as a notification function only.

Payment & Delivery

Once an auction has been completed, the winning auctions are offered for payment in the user profile. In the checkout process, postage, VAT and packaging are calculated based on the country to which the delivery is made.

Delivery will only take place once payment has been received in the WineBarrel bank account.
We normally ship on the Tuesday following receipt of payment.

Mail Dispatch and Resulting Delays

Delays must be expected when sending e-mails (especially notifications)! Even if e-mails are delivered immediately by our systems, the receiving server may deliver the e-mail to the user with a delay (e.g. grey listing, high mail volume, other problems) - we have no influence whatsoever on these systems and therefore cannot guarantee timely information via e-mail.

Technical Details

  • Time information is based on server time, time settings on the end-user device are not relevant
  • All time calculations are based on a resolution of microseconds (millionth of a second, 0.000001 or 10−6 second)
  • The server time zone is CET/CEST
  • Time changes during running auctions have no influence on the predefined running time (default 10 days). Users must take into account that the end of the auction may be affected by local time changes (e.g. change of summer time -> winter time).

No Storage of Credit Card Data

WineBarrel does not store any credit card data. The payment process is handled by our payment service provider (Postfinance Switzerland, SIX Payment).

Deletion of Bids and Interventions by the Operator

Bids entered by users cannot be cancelled. WineBarrel does not intervene in the bidding process (neither with its own bids nor with other measures that manipulate the process). In exceptional cases (e.g. technical error) an auction can be cancelled and restarted by WineBarrel if necessary.

The Winebarrel Team is Excluded From Auctions

The WineBarrel team itself does not participate in auctions.