New to Bidding and Buying?

WineCommune does not charge you any fees or commissions to use our service to buy wine! To start bidding, you'll first need to register at no charge as an WineCommune.com member. Then let the fun begin! Here's what to do:

1. Once you register, find an item you'd like to bid on by browsing through WineCommune's listings. Or, you can try a search for a specific item.
2. When you find something you want, scroll to the bottom of the item's page. If the lot is an auction, you will be able to bid on the lot. Enter the amount of your bid, and click the "review bid" button. If it is a fixed price lot, you can buy it today!
3. Carefully look over what you're bidding on, enter your User ID and password and then click the "place bid" button. Bidding is now complete and you're off to the races!
4. As you wait for the auction to close (this is usually several days), you'll receive a daily email telling you if you're the high bidder or if you've been outbid by another WineCommune member. If it was a fixed price lot, you will "win" immediately and should get a confirmation email right away.
5. Going, going, gone! When the auction closes, if you are the high bidder, you must email the seller within three business days to claim your item. Congratulations you're a winner!
6. There are no fees to buy on WineCommune!

Free Registration

WineCommune does not charge you any fees or commissions to use our service to buy wine! To start bidding, you'll first need to complete our secure and simple on-line registration. Registration is FREE and allows you 24-hour access to WineCommune where you’ll connect with thousands of available wine lots for sale, be able to post wine for sale quickly and easily, and take advantage of the many other services WineCommune has to offer like our new Broker Services search agent where prequalified sellers help you find exactly what you’re looking for. To become a registered WineCommune member at no charge, click here.

Once you’ve completed your registration, then let the fun begin! Here's what to do to start bidding.

Getting Started – How to Find What You’re Looking For

Start by browsing through WineCommune's listings of lots. There are different ways to do this:

Featured Auctions
Browse through our Featured Auctions right on WineCommune’s home page. Featured Auctions are auctions that users pay a small fee to display on our home page. These auctions also appear along the right hand column of WineCommune’s Auctions page.

Auctions Page
To visit the general listing of auctions, click on the Browse tab at the top of the site. This leads you to an index of auctions by category:Red, White, Sparkling & Champagne, Dessert and Sweet, Opening Today,or Closing Today where listings are grouped accordingly.

Auction Short Cuts
Or, you can go straight to our Auction Short Cuts by clicking on one of the above categories along the left hand column of WineCommune’s home page.

Browse Auctions
You can further narrow your search by using the Browse Auctions pull-down menu feature at the top left hand side of WineCommune’s home page. Here you can go straight to specific categories within a general category (i.e. “Bordeaux” or “Chardonnay”).

Search
To Search for a specific wine or item (i.e. Caymus Special Select), simply enter in your search in the Search box under the Browse Auctions pull-down at the top of the left hand column of WineCommune’s home page. A Search Results page will appear displaying any matches to your search, providing direct links to any lots available on WineCommune.

Advanced Search
If you can’t find what you’re looking for from a Search, try our Advanced Search feature allowing you to further fine-tune your search criteria by criteria such as dollar amount, bid status and category of wine.

Search by Price
Using the Advanced Search feature, you may enter in a range of price you are looking to spend as a way of targeting your search. On the Advanced Search page, next to ‘Current Bid Range’ enter an amount or amount range (i.e. from $35 to $50) and click the ‘Search’ button.

Search by Lot Number
If you’ve already been on the site and know the lot number you’re looking for, you can Search by Lot Number. Simply enter the lot number into our ‘Lot Number’ Search box also located at the top left hand column of WineCommune’s home page. This will take you directly to the bidding page associated for that lot.

Can’t Find What You’re Looking For?

There are two additional ways WineCommune can help you find the wine you are looking for: 1) through our wine Broker Services or 2) through our private email Notifications.

Wine Broker Services

Looking for a wine that is not currently available on WineCommune? Post a wine request through WineCommune’s new Broker Services and it will be sent to a network of special prequalified sellers who will receive your request and contact you to make you offers to sell you the wine. This is not an auction. If a prequalified seller has the wine you are looking for, you will be sent an offer to buy that wine. You simply browse through the lists of offers made to you on your request, and choose which offer suits you best. Choose by price or quality of wine, or availability—whichever criteria are important to you. Once you post a wine request, you can review and accept or reject offers made by sellers who wish to sell you the wine. It’s that easy. To get started, go to the Post a wine request or through the ‘wine request’ link under ‘What’s New’ on WineCommune’s home page.

Notifications

If the wine you’re looking for isn’t on the site now, chances are it could be soon. Use WineCommune’s Notifications to be alerted whenever a seller posts a wine you are looking for. To start this notification, click on Notifications under ‘What’s New’ within the right hand column of WineCommune’s home page. An email will be sent to you as soon as the wine you are looking for becomes available. Use New Notification to set a new alert. Use Manage Current Notifications to edit or delete notifications you have requested.

Placing a Bid for Auction

When you find something you would like to bid on, go to the lot page for that item by clicking on the item listed. The Lot Page gives you all sorts of information on the wine or item for sale, plus details about the auction. If you would like to make a bid, scroll to the bottom of the item's page until you see the bidding area. Enter the amount of your bid, and click the ‘Review Bid’ button.

Carefully look over what you're bidding on, enter your User ID and password and then click the ‘Place Bid’ button. Bidding is now complete and you're off to the races!

As you wait for the auction to close, you'll receive a daily email as long as you are the highest bidder. Then, if you've been outbid by another WineCommune member, you will be sent an email so that you may choose to take further action to outbid.

Going, going, gone! When the auction closes, you will be notified by WineCommune whether or not you are the winner. If you are the high bidder, you will be notified via email by the seller within three business days to arrange payment and shipping.

Want it Badly? Just Buy It!

If the seller enables the ‘Buy It!’ function, there is also an option to buy the wine at a set price without going through the auction process. If the seller has opted for this, you will see the price offered below the bidding area and may choose to purchase the wine for sale straight out thus overriding the auction process. To do so, simply enter your username and password identifying yourself to the seller and click on the ‘Buy It’ button. This will notify the seller that you would like to buy their wine and you can begin communication with the seller to buy the wine. Click here for full details and restrictions.