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Step-by-Step Guide to Buying Whisky at Auction

Bidding on whiskies online at Whisky Auctioneer couldn’t be simpler.  We run a live auction every month for 10 days and you can place a bid at any time during this period. 

Our auctions feature an unrivalled range of old, rare and collectible whiskies to buy online. If you are interested in buying whisky visit our current auction page, but if there isn’t an auction live, don’t worry, just make sure that you are registered and ready to bid for the next auction. 

View our Upcoming Auction Dates

  

1. REGISTER AN ACCOUNT 

Registering an account will give you lifetime access to buy and sell in our regular monthly and exclusive auctions. Registration costs £5 (ex VAT) to authenticate users and mitigate against illegitimate bidding. 

 

2. BID ONLINE 

To bid on a lot in a live auction, you can either: 

Make a single increment bid by pressing  the orange button on the right of the lot listing. This button displays the increment amount. You will then be prompted to confirm your bid. (Find out more about our incremental bidding system here)

OR 

Enter the maximum bid you would be willing to pay for the item in the £ box and hit 'PLACE' to confirm your bid. If someone bids against you, our bidding system will then increase your  bid incrementally until your maximum bid amount is reached. If you are outbid, we will automatically notify you by email. If the auction has not yet ended you will be able to increase your bid should you wish. 

*In order to bid over £5,000 in our auctions, we will require verification of your account, find out more about this here.

Read our Tips for Buying at Auction here

 

3. HOW DOES THE AUCTION END?

Our auctions end from  7PM (BST) on the closing date. Once 7PM (BST) is reached, bids on any lot will extend the ENTIRE auction by a further two minutes. Therefore, the auction will only finish if 7PM (BST) has passed, and there has been a two-minute period where no bids have been placed on any bottle across the entire auction. The auction will usually continue for several hours after 7PM (BST). 

  

4. PROCESS YOUR ORDER AND PAY 

If you have successfully won a lot, we will notify you automatically by email. Follow the link in your email and the on-screen instructions to process your order. Important information regarding payment can be found  here. 

 

5. COLLECT, SHIP OR STORE YOUR ORDER 

You can find out all information regarding collecting or shipping your order here. Whisky Auctioneer also offer a storage service which you can read about here. 

 

FAQs

How can I become verified to bid over £5,000?

​In order to bid above £5,000 we require an identity check.  This is to ensure the legitimacy of users so that bids are valid and fair.  Once you submit the below, our Customer Service team will review the documentation and you will then be alerted whether you have been approved or not.  Once approved, you will be able to bid over £5,000 on any lot across the auction.  Please note, that should circumstances arise as per our terms and conditions, we reserve the ability to revoke approval, or, alternatively, approve after further review should an individual not be approved.
 

If you are a Private Individual please provide 2 forms of ID:

  • Your passport or other government-issued photo ID; and
  • Proof of your residential address (for example a Bank Statement or Utility Bill dated within the last 3 months but clearly showing your name and address).
     

If you are an Organisation please provide 2 documents:

  • Organisations incorporation;
  • Registered office and business address;
  • Director details;
  • Shareholders and any ultimate beneficial owners and;
  • Passport or other government-issued ID of individuals with access to the account who may bid

You can upload these documents as either a scanned image or a photograph. This can be done at any time, either prior the auction to ensure that you are ready to place your bids or during a live auction if you decide you wish to increase your maximum bid. 

To upload your identity documents and verify your account to place bids over £5,000 you can do so here.

How does an online whisky auction work?

Individual sellers deliver bottles that they wish to sell at auction to our office in Perth. Once they have been authenticated by our highly-experienced team, photographs are taken and the bottles are listed on the website in the next available auction. Whisky Auctioneer hosts whisky auctions on a frequent basis, during which registered users across the globe can bid on bottles online. The highest bidder at the close of the auction is then notified by email and asked for payment within 3 days. The seller receives payment within 21 working days of the end of the auction.

What is incremental bidding?

Once your maximum bid is placed, our system automatically increases the bid level of the lot incrementally (based on the table below) until it reaches your maximum bid;

The bid increments vary based on the current bid. Please see the table below.

Lower PriceIncrement
£0.01 - £0.99£0.25
£1.00 - £4.99£1.00
£5.00 - £24.99£2.00
£25.00 - £99.99£5.00
£100.00 - £499.99£10.00
£500.00 - £999.99£25.00
£1,000.00 - £1,999.99£50.00
£2,000.00 - £2,999.99£100.00
£5,000.00 - £9,999.99£200.00
£10,000.00 - £19,999.99£500.00
£20,000.00 - £49,999.99£1,000.00
£50,000.00 - £99,999.99£2000.00
£100,000.00 - £249,999.99£5,000.00
£250,000.00 - £499,999.99£10,000.00
£500,000.000 - £999,999.99£25,000.00
£1,000,000.00 - No Limit£50,000.00

 

When and how does an auction end?

The end date of the current auction will always be clearly displayed on the orange notification bar at the top of the website.

Our auctions will end anytime from 7pm (UK Local Time).  Once 7pm is reached, activity on any item will prolong the ENTIRE auction by a further 2 minutes.

This means that the entire auction will end when there has been no bidding activity placed within the last two minutes after 7pm. The auction will usually take several hours to finish after 7pm has passed.

Do I have to pay VAT?

If you are within the E.U, 20% Value Added Tax (VAT) is applicable to all fees and surcharges.

Delivery charges are subject to VAT.

Please note that VAT is not applicable to the hammer price of the whisky.

How long does it take to receive my winning lot(s)?

NOTICE REGARDING CORONAVIRUS - COVID-19: Please see our information page regarding up-to-date information on our ways of working to ensure the safety of our staff and customers. 

If you are successful at auction, once payment is received by Whisky Auctioneer then your whisky will be dispatched within 7 working days.

UK orders normally arrive within two days of dispatch. 

European orders normally arrive within five days of dispatch.

The rest of the world can vary dependent on location. 

If you need an item faster, please let us know and we will try our hardest to meet your expectations!

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Contact Us

UK Address:
Whisky Auctioneer Ltd,
West Building, Ruthvenfield Grove,
Inveralmond Industrial Estate,
Perth, United Kingdom, PH1 3FN

German Address:
Zechenring 6B, 41836, Ratheim,
Germany

Tel: +44 (0)1738 245576

Email: info@whiskyauctioneer.com

Opening Times: Mon-Sat 10am-5pm