When faced with the catalogues of a wine auction, it can feel daunting; you don’t know where to start. But never fear as we have some tips and tricks you could find useful to succeed in winning bids at auction.
1. Maximum bid function
The advantage of online auctions versus physical ones is of course that that you don’t have to be physically present, but also that you can bid whenever you want to, especially on iDealwine with the maximum bid option. With this system, you can place a maximum bid at any time and thus avoid connecting in the final minutes before an auction closes. This maximum amount that you are willing to pay for the lot – invisible to other bidders – will be automatically triggered, whenever another bidder tries to exceed the current lot price. For example, on a bottle at €20, you place a maximum bid at €32. If someone tries to exceed the €20 bid, it will automatically increase to €23 and will be yours until the bid placed by someone else exceeds your maximum amount of €32, in which case you’ll receive a notification. If nobody bids against you, you get the lot, for the amount of your first bid (here, €20). This service is, of course, totally confidential and regulated by the auctioneer.
Don’t panic if you are in the opposite position and want to bid on a lot that already has a maximum bid. In this case, the lot will only be yours if you exceed the current maximum bid (of which you will obviously not be able to know the amount in advance). Until then, each time you try to place a new bid, the maximum bidder will just see their bid increase.
2. Track
There are also many ‘techniques‘ to make the most of auctions. Some amateurs prefer to bid only a few minutes before the end of the sale to avoid drawing attention to the lot they want. In that case they can use the tracking option, which will add the desired lot to the Watchlist found in their account and they will then be able to easily track the bids in a same page. To track a lot, simply make sure you are logged into your account and click on the bell symbol on the lot.
Be careful, however, for those who love the last-minute technique: plan to bid long enough before the electronic hammer, especially if your Internet connection is slow, and thoroughly check the time to which you are referring to (Paris Time / GMT+2 in summer or GMT+1 in winter). Also, for lots with maximum bids from other wine enthusiasts, if you try to exceed their bid at the last second, there may not be enough time to increase the bidding increments enough to win the lot yourself.
That being said, there is also the overtime bidding function on the website. This is a system that prolongs the time you can bid on a lot if a bid is placed upon it in the final minutes, giving you more of a chance to win your desired lot, especially if there is a maximum bid set upon it.
3. Alerts for wines in future auctions
If you have not been successful in your recent bids, you can always create an alert on the desired wine and be notified as soon as it is up for auction again. To do this, go to your account and select ‘Alerts / Watch’ from the dropdown menu. This will take you to the page ‘My Alerts’ and by clicking on ‘Add a product alert’ to enter the name of the bottles you’re looking for. With a new auction starting every week and featuring thousands of wines, you might not have to wait too long!
Our Beginner’s Guide to Wine auctions should help you out further if you’re still a bit lost. If not, our customer service is on hand for any questions or if you have a problem.
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