Whether you’ve just inherited an entire cellar’s worth of fine Bordeaux from a grandparent, or you’re a budding wine investor wondering what to do with your first few bottles, selling wine from home is the most convenient way to profit from a wine collection. However, selling wine isn’t as easy as throwing a few photos up on an auction website and shipping the bottle off in a cardboard box to the highest bidder. There are strict laws governing who is and isn’t allowed to sell wine online, and most of the time, the average investor isn’t legally allowed to do so.
But, that doesn’t mean it’s impossible to sell wine from home. There are convenient (and legal) options for wine investors looking to profit from their bottles. In this guide, you’ll learn the simplest and most reliable way to sell wine from home so you can start seeing a return on your investment.
The Best Way To Sell Wine from Home
Every reseller has slightly different rules and processes to sell wine from home. In general, here’s how the process works from start to finish:
- Ship to the reseller: You send your wine to the reseller for inspection and processing. The best resellers offer shipping services to make this process seamless. You can even insure the bottles to protect your investments en route to the reseller. This is an especially useful option for new investors or people who have inherited wine and haven’t shipped fragile bottles before.
- The reseller inspects the wine: As a seller, it benefits you to have a reseller carefully inspect your bottles before auctioning them off. That’s because experienced wine collectors are often only willing to pay top dollar for wines they know are authentic and in good condition. The best resellers have a reputation for selling only the finest wines, so they attract some of the industry’s top buyers (which may mean a higher return on your investment). Some of the qualities the best resellers look for in the wine include:
- The ullage (fill level) of the wine inside the bottle
- The condition of the wine label
- Whether the label looks authentic
- The condition of the cork and capsule
- The wine’s coloration
- The reseller prices the wine: Experts on staff appraise the wine based on its condition, current market demand, professional reviews for that vintage, and proprietary data trends. These experts know exactly how much your bottles are worth, which may help you sell wine from home at the highest possible price. Or, you may decide on the price yourself, based on your own research.
- The wine is uploaded to the marketplace: Experts may take professional photographs of the wine. In addition, they’ll often include a detailed description of the wine alongside critic reviews and average scores. From here, buyers can easily find the wine on the website. Experts may even recommend your bottles to specific buyers they know who are interested in that vintage or producer.
- The reseller handles bids and payments: All bids and payment processes go through the reseller’s website. The wine remains in the reseller’s secure storage warehouse until it’s sold.
- The reseller ships the wine to the buyer: Once your wine has sold, the reseller handles all of the shipping details. You then receive your share of the sale.
Although your wine is being sold by a third-party reseller, in practice, it feels like selling wine from home. In fact, it’s even easier. You don’t have to worry about taking photographs, looking up prices, negotiating with buyers, or shipping the wine safely across the country. It’s a convenient way to turn a profit from your wine collection in as few steps as possible.
Can You Legally Sell Wine From Home?
The legality of selling wine online varies from state to state, but the most important thing for investors to know is that all states ban the sale of wine by unlicensed consumers. Unless you purchase and maintain a liquor license from your state of residence, you cannot legally sell wine from home on your own.
However, getting a liquor license is not going to solve wine investors’ problems. For one thing, the process can be costly and time-consuming. Another hurdle is that some states strictly control who can get licensed. These licenses are primarily designed for wineries, grocery stores, wine shops, or other retailers to sell wine to consumers on a mass scale. They’re not typically meant for someone who inherits a few dozen bottles from a relative or who wants to sell a pristine case of 2018 Château Montrose after it ships from the winery.
Sellers who ignore these strict laws could face hefty fines or worse, depending on the jurisdiction. Selling just one bottle of wine on an auction website without a license is a potential legal land mine. Most postal carriers are also trained to look for illegal wine shipments that aren’t properly licensed or labeled. It’s simply not worth the risk.
This is why most investors opt to sell wine from home legally using a licensed reseller. These resellers have already gone through the process of acquiring the necessary licenses. They will sell your wine for you in exchange for a small fee or percentage of the sale. It’s the safest, most reliable, and only legal way to sell wine from home.
So, if you have a few bottles you’re ready to sell right now, here’s how to do so using a licensed reseller.
Can You Legally Sell Homemade Wine? | Season 1, Episode 7 | What you need to know to sell wine!
FAQ
How much homemade wine is legal?
How much does a bottle of homemade wine cost?
How do you sell wine from home?
Every reseller has slightly different rules and processes to sell wine from home. In general, here’s how the process works from start to finish: Ship to the reseller: You send your wine to the reseller for inspection and processing. The best resellers offer shipping services to make this process seamless.
How to make money selling wine?
To navigate this process, here are all the steps you should take to make money selling wine: 1. Decide Which Wines Are Worth Selling 2. Find a Licensed Seller or Auction House 3. Ship the Wine to the Licensed Seller 4. Determine the Wine’s Value 5. Make the Wine Attractive to Buyers 6. Receive Your Cut of the Profits
Should you sell wine online?
It’s made it possible for first-time investors to make a healthy profit, even if they have no prior experience selling wine. Meanwhile, experienced collectors and those who have a taste for luxury goods also benefit from selling their unwanted wine bottles online, so they can make room for more of the finest new vintages.
Should you sell wine bottles in your wine collection?
You’d want to sell wine bottles in your wine collection for one of these reasons: You want to free up space in your wine cellar for new ones. You may have bought too many too soon. You need more money to buy new wines. In this case, you’d pick the wines nearing peak maturity to make the highest profits.