Frequently Asked Questions

Whenever a sale in our buy-now marketplace is made, and your bottle is already at Rare Pours facility, you will receive your funds within two business days. However, if you have sold your bottle before sending it to Rare Pours, your funds will transfer 48 hours after our in-house authentication and processing is complete.

If your rare bottle sells at auction, then once the auction has closed, the buyer is allowed the customary 72 hours to send funds. From that point, you will receive payment within two business days.

Payments are made via Stripe, the highly secure and established platform for the digital world. For sellers that prefer other payment methods, Rare Pours can accommodate a variety of other options. Please discuss this with our team after initiating the selling process with this form.

When you send us your bottle for auction or the buy-now marketplace, we provide thorough instructions. Our assistance includes a prepaid shipping label (at a reasonable cost) and Importer’s Permit to print and include with your box, as well as helpful tips on how to package your collectible alcohol safely.

If you are selling an especially valuable or large collection, you may qualify for Elite Client Services and its complimentary insurance. Please ask us for details regarding bulk shipments, personalized retrieval service, special pricing considerations, and more.

Another option is to deliver your bottles to the Rare Pours facility yourself. Once you have initiated the selling process using this form, our team is happy to discuss that possibility with you.

For your convenience, any prepaid shipping fee is deducted from the final sale price of your item.

There are two main ways to sell on our peer-to-peer platform: our buy-now marketplace and our monthly auction.

Within the marketplace, you can either send detailed information and photographs of your bottles and then list—and sell them—before shipping to us (an On-Demand Listing), or you can follow our preferred method of a Traditional Listing.

Our Traditional Listing process includes shipping your collection to us before selling, such that we can inspect, authenticate, and appraise your bottles before they go on our buy-now marketplace. This is a win-win: Your payment arrives sooner than with an On-Demand Listing, and we take fresh photos for you. Your buyer receives the bottle sooner, as we can ship it quickly from our facility.

Based on our team’s careful evaluation of your submissions, some or all of your bottles may qualify for our monthly auction.

To fully understand the steps and what they comprise, please visit our How It Works page.

Our modest fees—on the low end of those you see in the United States—vary based on whether you sell at auction or on our marketplace.

For the buy-now marketplace, there is currently a 10% fee for sellers ($20 minimum). Soon we will offer loyalty discounts for sellers, so stay tuned to our email newsletter (signup is available at the bottom of this page).

For auctions, there is a 5% fee. As mentioned above, unusually rare collections may qualify for a discussion of fee reduction.

At a certain value point, we may provide Elite Client Services, which can include special pricing considerations for your inventory. Please send us a message if you believe your bottles may qualify. Learn more about Elite Client Services in an FAQ below.

For your convenience, fees and shipping are deducted from your sale price before funds are transferred to you.

As you proceed through the Rare Pours selling process, our team will offer to list your approved bottles on our buy-now marketplace and/or our monthly auction.

If your bottles are listed on our marketplace, you have the option of allowing best offers from shoppers. A box will appear on your listing page, such that shoppers can type in any dollar value then click “Submit Offer.”

You will receive a notification in your Rare Pours account, as well as in your inbox (if your email notifications are turned on). You can either accept or reject the offer. If you do not respond within 48 hours, the offer will automatically be rejected.

All offers by shoppers—and all accepted offers by sellers—are binding and final.

When you initiate the selling process with Rare Pours, appraisal is complimentary. To request to sell on Rare Pours and have your bottles appraised, please fill out this quick form.

While your cataloging bottles in advance is very helpful and accelerates the process, it is not required.

Some sellers may already have gathered all the necessary information in a document, such as a Google Doc or Excel spreadsheet. The correct bottle name, year, estimated value, desired price, and more are all included.

At this point, Rare Pours and the seller discuss which bottles to send, if any. Once the bottles are shipped and arrive at the Rare Pours facility, we carefully photograph each one. We also support the seller’s work on listing them, as well as make any final adjustments based on seeing and inspecting the bottles ourselves.

Other sellers may not have as much information prepared about their collection. According to your unique situation, Rare Pours assists you, ensuring all bottles are properly cataloged.

If your bottle does not sell at auction, or is not getting offers or a buy-now sale on our marketplace, our team will discuss relisting at another price point — or in another upcoming auction—with you. We are committed to helping you secure the right price for your collectibles.

Several factors go into our evaluation of a bottle. We weigh provenance (i.e., whether the seller knows where the bottle came from), fitness for Rare Pours (including uniqueness and price point), and more.

All bottles sold on Rare Pours must be unopened.

While we will consider a damaged bottle, we cannot guarantee we will accept it. As with all requests to sell bottles, please ensure your bottle is described as best as you can and includes thorough, well-lit photographs of the item. Send your bottle(s) for review.

Of course, “damaged” is a subjective term, and our team will determine whether the bottle is a suitable fit for our platform. Please keep in mind that we only allow unopened bottles to be listed.

No, as we are open to selling bottles of all sizes (even miniatures on a case-by-case basis). Send your bottle(s) for review.

Whether you are a broker or an individual selling an especially valuable or sizable collection, you may qualify for Elite Client Services and its complimentary insurance. Please ask us for details regarding bulk shipments, personalized retrieval service, special pricing considerations, and more.

Whether you make a buy-now marketplace purchase or win an auction, every bottle goes through the exact same authentication process at our facility.

After a preliminary review by both a team member and advanced technology on our digital platform, our skilled team hand-inspects each bottle for authenticity, including any anomalies that would affect its value.

Another key part of the Rare Pours process is provenance. We are fastidious about the origin of each bottle, holding our sellers accountable for providing the product that they claim it to be. You can shop with confidence thanks to the Rare Pours’ Authenticity Guarantee.

We take seller verification very seriously. Our process to approve sellers includes agreement to stringent terms and conditions of vending on the Rare Pours platform.

These terms and conditions include that:

• The seller agrees that any listings submitted are accurate, including photos and bottle details disclosing any issues or defects.
• The seller commits our standards for timelines to ship bottles to buyers.
• The seller only creates and sells from one Rare Pours account.
• The seller signs via DocuSign and its verification tool, which includes government-issued photo identification and cross-checking their identification.

Yes. When a seller opts to consider lower prices than the buy-now one, a box to type in your offer appears on the listing page. When shopping, you can also filter by Accepting Offers to browse all relevant listings.

Once you submit your offer, stay tuned to your Rare Pours notifications via email or in the app. Within 48 hours of making your offer, you will receive a notice of whether your offer was accepted.

Please note that all offers are binding and final.

On our buy-now marketplace, buyers pay a 3% fee. This helps cover top-tier shipping materials, payment processing fees, and more.

At auction, the bidder who wins the listing pays a 15% fee.

This depends on whether you are bidding on a no-reserve or reserve listing.

In a no-reserve listing, when the auction ends, the highest bidder wins the item.

In a reserve listing, when the auction ends, the highest bidder who is at—or above—reserve wins. However, if the highest bid is below the reserve price, the seller is not obligated to sell their bottle(s). At this stage, Rare Pours communicates with the seller to see whether they will accept the highest bid. If the seller accepts, the deal is finalized and the highest bidder receives the invoice.

Rare Pours offers optional insurance at checkout, whether you are securing your item(s) at auction or utilizing our marketplace.

This modest fee covers any damage your bottle(s) encounter between leaving the Rare Pours facility and receiving your signature at delivery. See more details.

This phrase means that the bottle is currently in the Rare Pours facility, having undergone thorough authentication and inspection. These items are ready to ship promptly after purchase.

Rare Pours provides flat shipping fees for buyers within the continental United States.

• 1 bottle: $21.99
• 2-3 bottles: $25.99
• 3-6 bottles: $29.99

• 7+ bottles: For more than six bottles, sellers work directly with Rare Pours to determine shipping fees or alternate forms of delivery from our facility. Please contact us to begin this discussion.

The best way to stay abreast of Rare Pours news—including upcoming auctions—is via our email list. Scroll down this page to join, and you will receive periodic emails about rare finds, auctions, and more.

Of course, you are also welcome to visit our Auctions page for the latest details.