Just seeing if anyone has any experience at attending beer (bottle) auctions? A local retail shop is closing down and plans on doing a private auction for their higher-end stuff. I'm curious what to expect. Compared to standard retail prices, is an auction setting equate to escalated prices? Or is there value at purchasing beer this way? Any tips would be welcomed Thanks!
Never attended one, I have attended tons of auctions before when I farmed. I think the advice is the same for all. If you know what they have and what you want it is quite simple. List 2 prices for each bottle, the most you will spend for that bottle and the absolute most you will spend for that bottle. I recommend you think it out ahead of time, because sometimes if you are caught up in a bid with someone else, something primitive takes over and it becomes more about winning the bid vs getting the beer. So that is what the 2nd number is for. Tell yourself you may exceed the first number but never the second number. Because I can tell you if you do, you might feel happy winning, but you will always know you screwed yourself. Have fun. Also if you have never been to an auction, go they can be very interesting to watch/attend. And as with all auctions, deals can be had and people can be screwed. You see some weird dynamics, I know with farm stuff people would come with teams to buy. Things they wanted to buy they tainted the pool by having word get around that there were issues with xx and they talked with someone about how much it would take to correct these issues.....mainly to prevent anyone from bidding them up. So know what you want to buy and know all the possible issues that can exist with it so no one can sway you. And as always all purchases are final.
Great suggestions from donspublic, and the only thing that I can add to that is don't just buy junk because it's cheap. If it's not something you really want you might end up spending too much on bottles you don't really need, and then not having money left, or just kicking yourself when you get home. Also, be very aware of the age on things - you shouldn't be paying high prices for "aged" beers that are actually just "old" beers.
I've never heard of this for beer so out of curiosity, what are some examples of higher end things they are selling? Beer shops around me don't have a bunch of great stuff they are holding on to just to age/sell later - at least not enough volume to warrant an auction.
Also, I forgot to mention they provided a list of what they're auctioning off. So I already know exactly what I'm going after, and what to lay off. Also, this auction costs $50 to attend, but you get a $50 voucher for the event when you walk through the door. So all 40 people who are attending, will have a $50 voucher each. Obviously, you can't get a refund if you don't use it, so I expect some aggressive bidding when everyone has $50 to play with before tapping into their own wallets.
Yup, check the link Vitacca posted, the beer list is on it. I got my ticket yesterday...good thing because it's sold out. Wow!
I've never been to an auction, but I know of one that Jolly Pumpkin does every year (I think) where they auction good stuff from their cellar. However, it is advertised as a charity fund-raiser which probably causes bids to be a bit higher than otherwise, so take that for what it is worth for price expectations if a charity is involved.
That is a pretty heavy duty list! Lots of good stuff to choose from. Good luck on auction day and I hope you pick up some stuff you will really enjoy Cheers!
I would spend a small fortune there... all those CW BA 4-packs alone would be super dope, but there are actually a lot of good bottles on that list. Have fun and come home with some great beer!
Is that place legit going out of business or is that just a brilliant way to maximize profit? More places should do something like this. Just hoard all the whales and have a yearly auction AND charge $50 admission for it, but don't give out gift cards.
I've done quite a bit of business selling wine on winebid.com which is an online auction site. I had a great experience - they paid in full fast and the wine sold pretty fast too. They appraise the wine and have a pretty narrow window between reserve (minimum bid) and buyout. So you don't get screwed as either a buyer or seller. I would suggest getting a beer auction list beforehand and get the items you are interested in appraised. Then go from there.
By all means report back here about the experience and if possible what some of this went for. Curious on how it goes
