Nowadays, with ever increasing demand for Scotch Whisky, it is all too easy to miss out on new limited-edition whiskies, such as the single-cask releases from Skene Scotch Whisky. Specialist whisky auctions provide drinkers, aficionados, collectors and investors with the opportunity to acquire such bottlings. Buyers can also bid for older bottlings, for example vintage expressions from closed distilleries.
It goes without saying that specialist whisky auctions also enable individuals to readily dispose of bottles that they no longer want. Maybe a collector can sell younger vintages to fund the purchase of an aspirational bottling. Or an investor can realise the value of part of their portfolio.
Historically, all specialist whisky auctions were through bricks-and-mortar auctioneers, such as Sotheby’s, Bonhams or Christie’s. They still very much exist today and are often the ‘route to market’ for super-premium expressions. Buyer and seller commission are high though in part due to such auctioneers’ very considerable overheads.
Recently, there have been ‘new kids on the block’ in the form of online-only specialist whisky auctions. Their popularity has grown massively over the last few years and they are now the dominant secondary-market for bottled Scotch Whisky.
The following are some of the bigger and/or more established UK online whisky auctioneers. The details given were correct as at February 2021. Please note that Skene Scotch Whisky does not endorse nor recommend any individual auctioneer.
- Scotch Whisky Auctions (Glasgow)
Website: www.scotchwhiskyauctions.com
Tel: 0141 243 2585
Email: mail@scotchwhiskyauctions.com
Auction frequency: Monthly
Seller Listing Fee: £5 per bottle (plus VAT where applic.)
Seller Reserve Fee: £10 per bottle (plus VAT where applic.)
Seller Commission: Nil
Buyer Commission: 10% of hammer price (plus VAT where applic.)
- Whisky Auctioneer (Perth)
Website: www.whiskyauctioneer.com
Tel: 01738 245576
Email: info@whiskyauctioneer.com
Auction frequency: Monthly (plus ‘ad hoc’ specialist auctions)
Seller Listing Fee: £5 per bottle (plus VAT where applic.)
Seller Reserve Fee: £7.50 per bottle (plus VAT where applic.)
Seller Commission: 5% of hammer price (plus VAT where applic.)
Buyer Commission: 10% of hammer price (plus VAT where applic.)
- Just Whisky Auction (Dunfermline)
Website: www.just-whisky.co.uk
Tel: 01383 745665
Email: sales@just-whisky.co.uk
Auction frequency: Monthly
Seller Listing Fee: £3 per bottle (plus VAT where applic.)
Seller Reserve Fee: £5 per bottle (plus VAT where applic.)
Seller Commision: 5% of hammer price (plus VAT where applic.) but reduces to 0% on “any individual bottle which sells for £1,500 or more”
Buyer Commission: 10% of hammer price (plus VAT where applic.)
- Whisky Hammer (Udny, Ellon)
Website: www.whiskyhammer.com
Tel: 01358 747470
Email: sales@whiskyhammer.com
Auction frequency: Monthly
Seller Listing Fee: £5 per bottle (plus VAT where applic.)
Seller Reserve Fee: £7.50 per bottle (plus VAT where applic.)
Seller Commission: 5% of hammer price (plus VAT where applic.)
Buyer Commission: 10% of hammer price (plus VAT where applic.)
- Whisky Auction (London)
Website: www.whisky.auction
Tel: 020 8838 9381
Email: info@whisky.auction
Auction frequency: Monthly
Seller Listing Fee: £3 per bottle (plus VAT where applic.)
Seller Reserve Fee: £4 per bottle (plus VAT where applic.)
Seller Commision: Varies from 2.5% (plus VAT where applic.) for lots selling for £2,000+ to 20% (plus VAT where applic.) for lots selling for less than £20.
Buyer Commission: 15% of hammer price (plus VAT where applic.)
- Whisky-Online Auctions (Blackpool)
Website: www.whisky-online.com
Tel: 01253 207167
Email: info@whisky-online.com
Auction frequency: Monthly
Seller Listing Fee: £3 per bottle (plus VAT where applic.)
Seller Reserve Fee: £5 per bottle (plus VAT where applic.)
Seller Commision: 5% of hammer price (plus VAT where applic.)
Buyer Commission: 15% of hammer price (plus VAT where applic.)
- The GrandWhiskyAuction (Invergordon)
Website: www.thegrandwhiskyauction.com
Tel: 01463 210427
Email: sales@thegrandwhiskyauction.com
Auction frequency: Monthly
Seller Listing Fee: £3 per bottle (plus VAT where applic.)
Seller Reserve Fee: £4 per bottle (plus VAT where applic.)
Seller Commision: 5% of hammer price (plus VAT where applic.)
Buyer Commission: 10% of hammer price (plus VAT where applic.)
Most online whisky auctioneers charge a small one-off registration fee. Buyers are also charged extra for delivery, insurance (where applicable) and using certain payment methods.
Every major online whisky auctioneer offers advice to sellers on getting bottles to the auction house. Also, every auctioneer will delivery to successful buyers or buyers can arrange to pick-up.
