Buyer's Tips
There are two parts to buying wine at auction. Deciding what to buy and the procedure of bidding.
Before the sale
To decide what to buy, you first need either a catalogue or to look at the auction house website. For example, the Bonhams' website is at www.bonhams.com (catalogues on subscriptions@bonhams.com).
If you have particular wines in mind, most catalogues have an index at the back. Even so, it is always worth looking through the catalogue in case something catches your eye. Pay particular attention to any notes, especially on levels.
Levels out of the neck can be an indication of storage which has either been too warm or in fluctuating temperatures. Levels of top shoulder or above should not affect the wine, although more than one in a case up to 15 years old may be a bad sign. A high shoulder level will have had some effect on the freshness of the wine, while mid shoulder or below is a definte risk. These levels will have been taken into account in the estimate.
In a burgundy shaped bottle the 'ullage' is measured in centimetres, and anything over 4cm should be considered significant.
Notes on labels can work to the advantage of the buyer who wants to drink their purchases. Damp affected labels are a sign of good storage, although stained labels may not be, especially if accompanied by a note on 'seepage', which may indicate overheating at some point in the past.
When deciding what to bid on, remember to calculate in the 'buyers premium'. In the case of Bonhams this is 10% added to the hammer price. Also note the symbols which indicate that VAT at 17.5% is added to the hammer price, either for trade stock or stock offered under bond. Under bond means that the customs duty and VAT have not been paid on the wine so it has to be kept in a customs controlled warehouse. Unless otherwise marrked, bonded lots sold at Bonhams are 'offered duty paid' meaning that your bid price includes the cost of the duty, but not VAT.
There will be many wines that you do not know and can find no information on. Remember that auctioneers will not sell wines that they know to be out of condition but, unlike a retailer, they do not guarantee the quality of what they are selling. The bargains are more likely to be amongst the unknown wines but don't pay too much for them, and be prepared for the occasional disappointment.
Bidding at the auction
You can either attend the sale or send in a commission bid. The advantage of being at the sale is that, not only do you get the excitement of the event, but you might pick up a bargain that you had not anticipated.
Before going to the sale, mark your catalogue with the lots that you are interested in, the maximum that you want to bid on them and also the maximum you want to spend. Stick to this figure as it is easy to get a bit carried away!
The sale will normally go through at about 150 lots per hour, but can be up to 200. Get there in plenty of time! When your lot comes up bid clearly, and aim to capture the bid which will make your maximum also your bid (see bidding increments in the catalogue). The auctioneer may not let you in on your preferred 'step' if he is bidding on behalf of a commission bidder, in which case you have to decide whether to go a bid beyond your maximum if you need to.
If you can't attend the sale, you can fax, telephone or e-mail a bid at least 24 hours in advance. Write a key word from the lot description as well as the number to avoid errors. Give the maximum figure that you will pay, although the lot will be bought for the cheapest possible price on your behalf. You can leave an 'either or' bid if you would like to bid on more lots than you wish to end up with. You can also arrange to bid by telephone during the sale, but auction houses have varying minmum lot values where they will let you do this, at Bonhams it is £500.
