Login vs. Register: In order to bid in the internet auction you must first register with all pertinent billing and shipping information. However, after you have registered once, you will be able to login with only your user name and password each time you return to the site. Upon login, you will automatically be directed to "Your Portfolio," which loads your current auction information any time you sign on, thereby negating the need to fill out forms repeatedly for each sale.
Search: You can search lots based on any or all of the following criteria: Wine Category/Type, Lot Number, Vintage, Keyword, Mixed Lots, No Bids. The search feature will return your results with additional information including the lot name, lot number, type of bottles in the lot, the minimum allowable bid for the lot and the estimated value.
How to Search
Search the auction with one or all of our 6 custom search criteria. Match multiple criteria together for a more specific search.
CATEGORY/WINE TYPE
Select a type of wine such as red bordeaux or australia. Use pull-down menu to select one of our 23 wine TYPES.
LOT #
If you know which lot you want to see: select the single lot, the range (such as 24-37), or the random grouping (such as 12, 414, 1025).
VINTAGE
If you are looking for a specific vintage of your favorite wine, enter that year.
KEYWORD
The most selective criteria you can use to narrow down to your favorite producer, vineyard or appellation. Enter the searchword of your choice.
MIXED LOTS
This feature will allow you to search for lots wherein multiple wine categories may be listed.
NO BIDS
You may select this feature to see only those lots with no current bids.
Your Portfolio: We have simplified the task of watching the lots that most hold your interest, whether you are bidding on them or not. Clicking on the "Your Portfolio" button will bring you to a condensed list of just the lots you have bid on or otherwise selected to watch (by checking the 'Lot Watch' box on the bidding screen). You will have access to all the key information for those lots including bidding level, number of bids received on the lot, and to whom the winning bid belongs (or the minimum bid required). Lots will sort according to those on which you have been outbid, lots you are only watching, and lots for which you have the current winning bid.
Autobid Limit: To place a bid that you will not have to monitor, choose this option. Put in an absolute maximum bid you are comfortable with, and let the autobidder work on your behalf. Any time you are outbid within the limit set by you, autobidder will automatically put in a bid at the next increment until either you maintain the winning bid or are bid out of contention for the lot.
Submit Multiple Bids: For your convenience we offer a way to submit multiple bids all at once rather than submitting bids individually. If you are bidding on more than one lot, you can enter your bid on each lot and then submit all your bids together - at the click of a single button located at the top and bottom of your search and portfolio pages.
Bid Increments Explained: Bids must be submitted in the proper increment. Bids submitted off-increment will be rounded down to the next bid increment.
Proper Bid Increments are as follows:
Increment
Example
$0-$50
every $5
$50-$200
every $10
$200-$300
every $20
$300-$500
$x00, $x20, $x50, $x80
$500-$1,500
every $50
$1,500-$2,000
every $100
$2,000-$3,000
every $200
$3,000-$5,000
$x,000, $x,200, $x,500, $x,800
Above $5,000
every $500
Refresh Page: From both the search page and your portfolio page, there is a button labeled "refresh page" that allows you to refresh the lots that you are watching. This allows you to see if any new bids have been entered since you opened the page or last submitted a bid.
Active Close: To make sure you have every opportunity to make the final winning bid on the lots you really want, our site employs an Active Closing Mechanism. At the auction closing time, you can be involved in a back and forth bidding situation. You will have 2 minutes from the time the last bid was placed to counterbid, even after the official bidding deadline. Submit a winning bid and then the opposing bidder will have two minutes to counter before the final "hammer" falls! (Note: you can only do this from your portfolio page as described, and be sure to refresh your screen frequently to keep up on all the current action.)
