Whether you're new to buying and selling spirits or you've got a specific query about buying or selling with Whisky.Auction, our FAQs provide everything you need to know.
General | Buying | Selling
general Top
You can use Whisky.Auction to buy or sell bottles of single malt Scotch whisky, blended whisky, Japanese whisky, Irish whiskey, American whiskey such as bourbon, other world whisky, Cognac, Armagnac, gin, rum, vodka, tequila, liqueurs, vermouth, fine wine, vintage Champagne, vintage port. We are here to help so contact us for more advice on what we accept.
You can also buy and sell miniature whiskies and spirits and whisky memorabilia, whisky books, crystal decanters, whisky jugs and whisky mirrors.
Setting up an account to sell and buy on Whisky.Auction is straightforward. There is a one-off registration fee of £5 for buyers, you can bid on as many items as you like. It is free for sellers to register.
Register to buy/sell »If you need help you can contact us and we’ll help guide you through the registration process.
Go to the log In page, enter your email address and password, and then click the LOG IN button.
If you know your password, log in and go to your user profile then click the change password button.
If you've forgotten your password, go to the log In page, click the forgotten password link and enter your email address. A link to allow you to reset your password will be emailed to you.
Please email [email protected].
Our offices are in north-west London. You can find full details on our Contact Us page.
We run a monthly live auction as well as regular specialist miniature live auctions. Each auction runs for ten days.
In each auction we will list items received and accepted before the cut-off time indicated below. The dates for our auctions are as follows:
Different categories of auction items finish at different times.
| 19:30 Grain Tequila Wine - Europe - Other | 19:40 Armagnac Vodka Wine - Spain | 19:50 Blended Malt Vermouth Wine - France - Other |
| 20:00 Liqueurs Gin Wine - Burgundy - White | 20:10 Whisky - World - Other Spirits - Other Wine - Burgundy - Red | 20:20 Whiskey - Ireland Wine - Rhone |
| 20:30 Lowland Wine - New World | 20:40 Campbeltown Wine - Italy | 20:50 Rum Wine - Bordeaux |
| 21:00 Blended Whisky Champagne | 21:10 Whiskey - USA Fortified & Dessert | 21:20 Whisky - Japan Books |
| 21:30 Cognac Memorabilia - Other | 21:40 Island Glassware & Ceramics | 21:50 Islay |
| 22:00 Highland | 22:10 Speyside (non Macallan) | 22:20 Macallan |
Buying Top
Whether you're just browsing or looking for a specific item, we've got the tools to help you.
Our standard search is usually your best starting point if you’re looking for something specific.
You can also sort lots by category, for example single malt whiskies or blends.
You can sort items alphabetically and by price too (which is ideal if you're looking for a bargain), or you can sort by auction end time.
You can build a personalised watch list of your favourite items by clicking the WATCH button on any item you want to follow.
For the duration of a live auction the my bids page gives you a quick roundup of the items you are winning and anything you’ve been outbid on.
First make sure that you are logged in, then find a lot that you wish to bid on. When you've found something you like the look of, enter your maximum offer and click the Bid button.
The current winning bid in an auction goes up in intervals, based on the value of the previous winning bid:
| From | To | Increment |
|---|---|---|
| £2 | £9.99 | £1 |
| £10 | £29.99 | £2 |
| £30 | £99.99 | £5 |
| £100 | £499.99 | £10 |
| £500 | £999.99 | £25 |
| £1,000 | £1,999.99 | £50 |
| £2,000 | £4,999.99 | £100 |
| £5,000 | £14,999.99 | £200 |
| £15,000 | £29,999.99 | £500 |
| £30,000 | £99,999.99 | £1,000 |
| £100,000 | £100,000+ | £5,000 |
When you enter your maximum bid, the auction will automatically raise your bid and that of the winning bidder until one of you has the highest bid. It will stop when it reaches either your maximum bid or the other bidders.
You can easily increase or reduce your maximum bid to any value above the current bid by setting a new bid limit.
Bidding on an item at auction is a legal contract so we don't allow the retraction of bids, outside of what we are legally obliged to. Contact us as soon as possible after making an accidental bid and we will see what we can do to help. Please note that repeated requests for bid retractions will lead to your account at Whisky.Auction being closed.
We charge a commission on all sales made through Whisky.Auction, so each lot will cost slightly more than the final bid. Your invoice may also include postage if you have asked for your lots to be shipped to you. You can find details of our commission rates on our Buying page, and our shipping rates on our Delivery Charges page.
For questions on VAT, please see our dedicated page, Auction VAT Explained
If your items are damaged, you must contact us immediately. It is essential that you provide proof of the damage, we will need to see photos of the damaged items, including a photo of the bottle seal as well as the packaging
We take all possible measures to ensure the quality of liquid in any bottles that are sold through Whisky.Auction is of the highest standard. However, this is not something we can guarantee. All spirits, liqueurs, wines, sparkling wines and fortified wines are therefore bought at the buyer's own risk and we do not take responsibility for corked or faulty bottles.
You can find details of our shipping rates on our Delivery Charges page.
You can select the ‘Collection’ option when you are paying for your purchases at checkout. Please contact us to make an appointment to pick up your purchases within 10 working days of checking out, or we may apply a storage charge of £2 per bottle per day.
Unfortunately due to space restrictions we cannot currently store lots that you have won. All purchases must be paid for within four working days of the auction ending. We will ship them as payment clears or if you chose collection you must collect within 10 working days.
Selling Top
Selling on Whisky.Auction is easy. Once you have created your seller account (this is free) go to Sell My Items to tell us which bottles you wish to sell. This automatically creates a packing slip for you. So just print out your list of items and add it your parcel. You can find any past lists you’ve created in your dashboard.
We recommend packaging in plenty of bubble wrap and polystyrene in a sturdy cardboard box and to use your preferred courier. You can find really useful advice on the best way to pack a bottle on our magazine.
If you need help with any of this, please contact us.
Bottles must arrive before the cut-off date to be included in an auction. Anything arriving after that date will be automatically listed in the following auction.
The cut-off dates for our auctions are as follows:
We fully check, photograph and create a description for each bottle we receive from you and upload it on to the website.
If for any reason you aren't happy with a description, please let us know before the auction starts and we will try to amend it. We will not take responsibility for errors if not notified in time.
You can track the progress of your items directly in your dashboard. You can see a full list of your items we have received and the current total of any items in auction.
If a lot doesn't sell then you have the option of relisting it in the next auction, or having it sent back to you. If you have it sent back to you, then you will be responsible for paying for shipping. You can find details of our rates on our Delivery Charges page.
You can find a full list of any unsold items in your account.
We charge a commission on all sales made through Whisky.Auction as well as a listing fee, so your invoice total will be the sum of the winning bids, less the total fees applicable. You can find details of our commission rates on our Selling page.
You can find a summary of payments for your sold items with details of any charges.
Money will be paid into your bank account as soon as we receive the payment from the buyer. Please allow up to 28 working days for payment.
Whisky value varies depending on how old, how rare and it's condition. To get a FREE valuation please visit our whisky valuations page.
As a UK registered platform, from 1 January 2024 it is now a legal requirement for us to collect, verify and report information regarding our sellers’ income from auction sales through the Whisky.Auction platform to HMRC. This isn’t a change in what is taxable, or your tax reporting obligations.. See our dedicated page for more information
If your query wasn't answered here contact us, we're always happy to help.