April Auction starts Friday 12 April. Bottle deadline 8 April.

Frequently Asked Questions

Online businesses like Rum Auctioneer are now legally required to collect and report the taxpayer information of sellers who earn certain income on our platform in accordance with the DAC7 Directive (in reference to EU Council Directive 2021/514) and the Platform Operators (Due Diligence and Reporting Requirement) Regulations 2023.

Please note: This does not change your existing, or create new tax obligations for you. Learn more about our Tax reporting obligations for sellers.

If you have won EU lots in one of our auctions, you can choose to collect your order in person or arrange a courier to collect and ship your order from our Netherlands Office. As all items enter the Netherlands they require an excise charge. This will be invoiced and payment required prior to collection. 

Please note: Customers arranging collection either in person, or via a third party, are responsible for the local customs declarations in your destination as per the usual rules on personal allowances. 

Please note that in order to collect or drop-off your bottles, you must book an appointment:

Book Appointment for Netherlands Office

Netherlands Office Address: Whisky Auctioneer Ltd, West Building, Ruthvenfield Grove, Inveralmond Industrial Estate, Perth, United Kingdom PH1 3FN (Get Directions)

Opening Times: Mon-Sat 10am-5pm

To comply with U.S. customs and licensing requirements, Rum Auctioneer is required to apply removable government health warning stickers to all bottles shipped to the U.S. This legislation applies to bottles of all sizes (including miniatures).  

Rest assured that these removable stickers will be applied to glass only, ensuring there is no damage or markings to bottles, labels and/or packaging. In cases where there is no access to appropriate glass space (due to concealed packaging or small bottles), the labels will be placed in a clear pouch with the product. 

If you are successful at auction, once payment is received by Rum Auctioneer then your order will be dispatched within 10 working days.

If after 10 days you still haven't received shipping/tracking details for all your orders to be shipped, please contact our Client Services Team who will be happy to help.

For more information, please visit our updated shipping page.

 

You can submit as many bottles as you like. 

Rum Auctioneer reserves the right to restrict, in the case of new releases from a single seller, to one bottle per auction.

The value of a bottle of rum is constantly fluctuating according to supply and demand. Rum Auctioneer can provide a valuation according to the latest market trends. If you would like a free, no-obligation valuation, please visit our Free Auction Estimate page.

We make selling your rum with us as easy and hassle free as possible. All the information you need can be found in our Step-by-Step Guide to Selling Rum at Auction.

Most courier companies fail to cover alcohol or glass on their insurance policies. We can offer Loss & Breakage Assurance for your items at a cost of 3% of the total hammer price and commission.  

If you would like to add Loss & Breakage Assurance to your order this is selected at the checkout stage.

We have many years experience in shipping rum globally and work hard to reduce any risk of damage to items bought in our auctions. 

We make it extremely easy for you to get your bottles to us - whether you want to ship them, drop off, use our in-person pick-up service or arrange a courier.  

You can find all the steps and information on our Sell Your Bottles Help Section.

When browsing the bidding history on a specific lot,  the list of recent bidders is shown as 'anonymised bidders' with the exception of any bids placed through your account - which would appear as your username.

When logged in to your account your bids are shown with your username, however, other users are not able to see this and you will appear as an 'anonymised bidder'.

User information/identity will never be revealed in the bidding process. We take user data and information protection very seriously at Rum Auctioneer.  Further GDPR info here

All of the information that you need about the fees involved for selling can be found on our dedicated Seller's Fees and Payment Terms page.

UK Head Office Opening Times: Mon-Sat 10am-5pm

Book Appointment for UK Head Office

Please note, items can only be collected after 10.00am due to licensing laws and our offices can only be accessed if you have booked an appointment in advance.

 

London Seller Services Hub Opening Times: Mon-Fri 10am-5pm

Book London Drop-Off Appointment (Bottle drop-offs only)

 

Netherlands Office Opening Times: Mon - Fri 10am - 5pm

Book Appointment for Netherlands Office

 

Please note: our offices can only be accessed if you have booked an appointment in advance.

Sellers are paid within 21 business days from the end of an auction, however, payment is only completed if the buyer has paid us.

Payment is made by direct bank transfer and can take a few days to show in your account. 

Any banking charges or exchange rates are paid for by the seller.

Once your maximum bid is placed, our system automatically increases the bid level of the Lot incrementally (based on the table below) until it reaches your maximum bid. 

The bid increments vary based on the current bid.  Please see the table below.

Lower PriceIncrement
 £0.01 - £0.99 £0.25
£1.00 - £4.99 £1.00
£5.00 - £24.99£2.00
£25.00 - £99.99 £5.00
£100.00 - £499.99£10.00
£500.00 - £999.99£25.00
£1,000.00 - £1,999.99£50.00
£2,000.00 - No Limit£100.00

The end date of the current auction will always be clearly displayed on the blue notification bar at the foot of the website.

Our auctions will end anytime from 7pm (UK Local Time). Once 7pm is reached, activity on any item will prolong the ENTIRE auction by a further 2 minutes.

The entire auction will end when there has been no bidding activity placed within the last two minutes after 7pm. 

Whisky Auctioneer reserves the right to accept or reject any bottles/items at our own discretion. We do not accept the following items for auction: 

    • Cream liqueurs
    • Home-made merchandise
    • Items which could contain risk to our customers, for example liqueur chocolates
    • All unofficial miniature re-bottlings, with the exception of Perfect Measure and Drinks by the Dram.
    • Items that have exceeded “Use by” or ”Best before” dates.
    • Merchandise or non-rum ephemera, with the exception of original artworks, books or items of historical significance.Items which could contain risk to our customers, for example liqueur chocolates
    • Cask Ends.
    • Glassware or ceramics that are not packaged as part of an original gift set (glasses, jugs, empty decanters, etc).
    • Unsealed bottles originally sold with a sealed closure.
    • Bottles that we believe to be counterfeit, or where we have reasonable doubts regarding their authenticity.
    • At present we cannot accept miniature bottles at our office in Germany

    Rum Auctioneer reserves the right to accept or reject any bottles at their own discretion.

    If your item fails to meet a reserve price, we still require the listing fee and reserve fee be paid. We will then offer you a chance to re-list the item or discuss returning the bottle to you.

    Yes, but please see our Help page on storage and any applicable charges.

    You can collect your orders by booking an appointment if available, but please note this is subject to our offices being open to the public. If you intend to have the items shipped then please complete our Ship Stored Orders form.

    Yes. We can ship to many places, including North America. For a full list of countries we can ship to please see our International Shipping page, where you can also find information on shipping costs per country and any restrictions.

    All of the information that you need about the fees involved for buying can be found on our dedicated Buyer's Fees and Payment Terms page.

     

     

    Yes. Please find out more information on collection services here.

    Should you wish to collect your bottles in person, please book an appointment first:

     

    Book Appointment for UK Head Office

    UK Head Office Address: Rum Auctioneer Ltd, West Building, Ruthvenfield Grove, Inveralmond Industrial Estate, Perth, United Kingdom PH1 3FN (Get Directions)

    Opening Times: Mon-Sat 10am-5pm

     

    Book Appointment for Germany Office

    Germany Office Address: Rum Auctioneer Ltd, Zechenring 6B, 41836, Ratheim, Germany

    Opening Times: Mon-Sat 10am-5pm

    Due to the governing laws for licensing in Scotland, there is a minimum price for alcohol units. As a result we have introduced a minimum bid price for each item, £15 will be the starting bid for most bottles of rum, but this will be calculated on a lot by lot basis.   

    VAT is applicable to all fees and surcharges.

    Delivery charges are inclusive of VAT, where applicable.

    VAT may be applicable to the hammer price of the rum, please find more information here.

    Customers across the world can choose to sell their rum with Rum Auctioneer. Our Client Services team will support sellers by providing valuations for their bottles and advice on the best way to get their bottles to us for sale in our next auction.

    The bottles will be checked-in, authenticated, photographed, and then listed into the next available auction by our expert team. Rum Auctioneer hosts monthly auctions, where registered users from across the globe can bid on bottles via our website.  

    After the auction closing date, the highest bidder will be notified by email. Payment is required within 72hrs. The buyer can then choose to ship, store, or collect the bottle(s). Buyer fees are applied during the online checkout process.  

    The seller will receive payment within 21 working days of the end of the auction, directly to their chosen bank account. Seller fees will be applied to the seller’s invoice after the auction.