Auctions

[Bobthebuilder]

well puck me
that's not what I saw an hour ago
The paolo scavino's were still on another tab but when I reclogged in they went back to $3 also
I guess they must have transferred the passed in lots from a previous auction and forgot to change the reserve, then realised and changed them.
Will be interesting to see what price these two wines go for at this auction in the end (said with a raised sceptical eyebrow)

[vovo]

I can vouch for the fact that they were indeed well above $5

[Bobthebuilder]

a couple of weeks ago I put 6-8 bottles on my bid/watch list, late one night on an auction that had just opened that day.
the following night I logged on to check out where things were at and whoosh, all gone, nothing at all on my list.
I thought I was going a bit bonkers at first, wondered if I had been dreaming the night before.

[winetastic]

I picked up some of the Paulo Scavino Barolos in the first $5 reserve auction for well under $77, I don't think anything fishy was going on.

[Bobthebuilder]

I picked up some of the Paulo Scavino Barolos in the first $5 reserve auction for well under $77, I don't think anything fishy was going on.

I paid $46 for them, unreserved auction earlier this year, any chance we paid the same?

[winetastic]

I picked up some of the Paulo Scavino Barolos in the first $5 reserve auction for well under $77, I don't think anything fishy was going on.

I paid $46 for them, unreserved auction earlier this year, any chance we paid the same?

$39 + brokerage here.

[Bobthebuilder]

I picked up some of the Paulo Scavino Barolos in the first $5 reserve auction for well under $77, I don't think anything fishy was going on.

I paid $46 for them, unreserved auction earlier this year, any chance we paid the same?

$39 + brokerage here.

So that was you at 39!

[rosewaterwrx]

I have long suspected there are dummy bids at times. I actually rang to withdraw a bottle I had at auction with Langtons recently and was told I could only withdraw it if there were no bids, regardless whether it had reached the Reserve. Fair enough I s'pose. So I said I wasn't sure if there had actually been a bid as I couldn't' recall what price it had started off at. Her reply was along the lines of 'Well it might depend whether it's a buyers bid or a (??) bid'. I just didn't quite pick the second word. Though what other type of bids are there other than a bid by a buyer????

[Polymer]

I don't think Langtons shill bids any of their stuff...

Not sure about in Australia but in some countries it is illegal...It just isn't worth their reputation to shill bid...They make 30% on doing very little and taking no risks of inventory...

I can see Langtons bidding on stuff for themselves (For Dans for example..not sure if there are any legal issues in that).

I'm sure many of us have got some really crazy deals on the $5 dollar (or no reserve when they had that) reserve...In some cases on stuff they imported and my price was probably at their cost or below...

[felixp]

I agree.
I use them very infrequently, but was recently stunned to learn that I had won the lot of six bottles of Clinet 2010 for $150. I sometimes put in a bid very low and see what happens, and occasionally it is successful!! Not sure that I would bother with any wines older than 10 years, as you just never know where the have been stored. (particularly single bottles of stuff like Grange and HoG)

[WAwineguy]

You guys should also check out Sterling Wine Auctions in Perth - usually has great variety, and many good French reds.

[Bobthebuilder]

You guys should also check out Sterling Wine Auctions in Perth - usually has great variety, and many good French reds.

I've bought from them a few times
They have some great stuff, and like you said, great variety too.
I do wish they photographed the bottles like langtons, I like to see the ullage
They do seem to be very thin on notes on the bottle condition too, most of the time there is nothing at all
When there is no notes on a 15+yr old wine and no photograph, its just a bit to much of a punt for me

[winetastic]

You guys should also check out Sterling Wine Auctions in Perth - usually has great variety, and many good French reds.

Have purchased via Sterling, my feedback:
Reserves tend to be set at pretty silly/high levels, bidding near retail price will often not meet the reserve.
Shipping to the eastern states takes a very long time, would definitely not consider it an option except in the middle of winter.
Selection of Italian and French wine seems pretty good.
Website / user interface is pretty bad, slightly better than Langtons since its faster.

[Bobthebuilder]

I found that too with the reserves being too high
It's not with everything but if it's good, and it's got a bit of reputation, your not really going to get any decent bargain after BP and shipping is taken into account. Shipping is also nowhere near as good as Langtons, both in price and structure.
You can't build up your parcel over 30 days like you can with Langtons and you have 2 auctions only per month, compared with 2-4 a week at Langtons.
It's a shame really, because there's a lot I like about their auctions, but the little things of convenience make a big difference and once the reserve is too high it just becomes game over for me.

[WAwineguy]

Yes that is true - often wines are passed in and appear on the next auction, but I haven't seen their reserves drop. Clearly they are maximising returns for sellers, as long as they are prepared to wait.

One very good feature of the Sterling website is the huge auction price history they have for all of the wines - very useful. They've also got some sort of valuation tool based on a worldwide database of auctions.