Sales Terms & Conditions

Auction:

Golden Gate Bottle Auctions aims to provide a user friendly and detail oriented auction. Bidding is only allowed through our online auction site, once you have registered and created a profile. We will not accept any bids through email or phone. Please make sure to enter your shipping address, or select Local Pickup, when you register. Bottles can be viewed in our office for up close inspection, but appointments are required.

Minimum Bid Raises:

  • $1.00 to $250 - $10 raises.
  • $250 to $500 - $25 raises.
  • $500 to $1,000 - $50 raises.
  • $1,000 to $2,000 - $100 raises.
  • $2,000 to $5,000 - $200 raises.
  • $5,000 & up - $500 raises.

Bidding:

Each auction lot will close at the stated time, or within 10 minutes of the last bid. Bidding will continue past the official auction closing time until no bids have been placed for 10 minutes. When bidding, you may enter your maximum bid, which will allow you to bid just once, at the next allowable bid increment above the current price. For example, if the current bid for a lot is at $70, and you want to bid $260, you would have to enter $275, since the allowable bid increment for any bids above $250 is $25. If you enter $260, you will receive an error telling you to enter a bid that conforms to the proper bid increment in that price bracket. After you enter your maximum bid price, Golden Gate Bottle Auctions will proxy bid incrementally for you up to your maximum bid amount. If there is a tie, the first person to bid that amount wins. You will receive emails when you bid, get outbid, win a lot, and receive an invoice. Please double check your bid amounts before submitting them. All bids are final.

Bottle Conditions:

Since many of the bottles in our auctions will be from the West Coast, keep in mind that almost all of them will be dug bottles. While bottles can come out of the ground in an absolutely mint condition, that is very rare. Most dug bottles will have a tiny flea bite, crush, light scuff, extremely faint wear, or stain that can only be seen with enough light, magnification, and time. We will do our best to locate and describe potstones, chips, flashes, and cracks. Many bottles have been professionally cleaned, and at times, it is almost impossible to tell. If a bottle has obviously been cleaned, we will note that in the description.

Payment:

Payment for lots you have won is due within 7 days. Any lots that have not been fully paid for within 10 days will be voided. Once all lots in the auction have closed, you will receive an email notification with a link to your invoice located on your profile page where you may pay online with a credit card. Credit card payments will incur a 3% fee. You may also mail a money order, cashier’s check, or personal check to our office. We will aim to ship your item within two days of payment receipt, during normal business hours. If paying by personal check, we will hold the shipment until the check clears.

Buyer’s Fees:

A 15.0% buyer’s premium applies to lots that you win. In addition to the buyer’s premium, lots shipped to a California address will incur a state or local sales tax. If you are a registered California reseller, you may provide us with your resale certificate, California CDTFA form 230 (https://www.cdtfa.ca.gov/formspubs/cdtfa230.pdf), to abate the sales tax. You may enter your seller’s permit number into your profile, but we will not confirm it until the form 230 is received. Shipment to out of state winners will not incur any sales tax.

Shipping:

We offer shipping by UPS and USPS for PO Boxes. We also allow for in-person pickup, but appointments are required. If more than two items are won, we will need to determine the best way to combine shipping and may require an extra day or two to finalize your shipping cost and invoice. Once we have added the shipping cost to your invoice, you will receive an email with a link to the invoice where you may pay. All items will be fully insured for the hammer price. Exceptionally large items will incur higher shipping fees.

Returns:

We accept returns upon the discovery of undisclosed damage or condition issues. All return requests must be initiated withing 24 hours of receipt of the item, in writing, with photographs attached. If a lot has damage, it is the buyer’s responsibility to inquire about the specifics of the issue and ask for additional photos or information. Once your bid is placed, you have acknowledged and accepted the condition of the bottle. The final decision to accept a return is at the discretion of Golden Gate Bottle Auctions. If you end up returning an item, we will provide you with a return label back to Golden Gate Bottle Auctions.