eBay style site for wine industry launches

Written by Claire Weekes

Friday, 31 October 2008

An eBay style online wine auction site launches today (October 31).

Bid for Wine lets wine merchants who don't have their own website trade online, and gives small producers without importers the opportunity to sell their wines in the UK. Private individuals can also directly trade bottles or whole cases.

The site, which allows sellers to auction off part of a case at a time, says it will help reduce the "dozen dilemma" that sees wine buyers often forced to purchase whole 12-bottle cases.

Site users create auctions or fixed price listings to sell their wines through the site. Bid for Wine has set up a bonded account so that it can handle peer-to-peer auctions without breaking alcohol licensing laws.

Lionel Nierop, managing director of Bid for Wine, said: "We are using the internet to help overcome many of the challenges faced by independent wine merchants and producers who have to juggle the running of their day-to-day business with managing, promoting and sourcing or producing wines.

"By offering a centralised site where wines can be bought and sold, we can help people
access a wider audience than they would reach on their own and allow buyers to purchase
wines they might not otherwise see.

"Merchants can also use the site to pick up older and rarer bottles they might otherwise
only obtain via expensive and time-consuming attendance at auction house sales."