Q & A
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Sellers: Your questions are answered here
Access More Buyers. Experienced. Efficient.
How does VINEX reduce my risk of dealing with buyers?
The role of VINEX is to provide a secure, digitised trading market where you can connect and successfully complete negotiations, reach new buyers, all supported by an efficient sampling process.
VINEX reduces your risk and ensures legal, ethical and fairness in trading. We provide the following assurances through to contract execution:
Trading Rules
Trading activity is monitored and reviewed
Member Feedback
Feedback is encouraged and reviewed
Member Ranking and Profile
All members are ranked by trading activity
Sampling Restrictions and Monitor
Requests are restricted for new members
Professional VINEX Support
VINEX supports all members
Clearing and Settlement
Completed trades are subject to the trading rules
Registration Verification
All members are authenticated at registration
Member Anonymity
Protection of anonymity is paramount
First Listing Approval
New member listings must be approved by VINEX
Regular Audits
Compliance audits are conducted regularly
Exception Reporting
Comprehensive daily reports are monitored
Security and Privacy
Advanced technology provides secure protection
To offer and sell wines, do I need to subscribe for access?
No. Once you have an account you can offer and promote your wines for sale - it's free.
There's no publishing or negotiation fees. You only pay a fee if completing a successful trade agreement.
Fees & Rates Summary
- No listing or negotiation fees
- Contract fees apply to completed trades
- Pre-Harvest Forward Contract fees apply
- Professional access subscription fee is optional
- Wine promotion fees are optional
- Fees may apply for other VINEX services, eg. Freight, VINPay Guaranteed Invoice Payments
Who are the buyers?
Buyers purchasing through the marketplace have all been verified by VINEX. They include established exporters, importers, bottling facilities, wholesalers, retailers (and other wine producers who have additional supply requirements). Buyers are across all regions and markets across more than 57 countries.
Can I sell grape-based products, other than wine?
Yes. You can offer all types of grape-derived products including juice, must, concentrate, flavoured wines, fortifieds and grape spirit. For wines, there are options to customise your listings; including organic, kosher, crude, faulty and numerous other variations. VINEX Support can assist with more information.
When selling, what fees do I pay to VINEX?
Suppliers are invoiced a contract fee payable to VINEX on either receiving a fully executed Sale & Purchase Agreement, or wine under the agreement is drawn-down. Fees are based on a percentage of the total value of each contract, and may also include an optional Fulfillment fee. Other VINEX services are also available that may including fees, eg. securing a Pre-Harvest forward contract, freight or to VINPay invoices. A full list of Rates & Fees can be found under Services here
Do I have to provide samples?
Obviously sampling is vital to completing a successful trade. While you can choose not to supply samples, when you add a listing and negotiate with a buyer, you must provide a final sample for the buyer’s acceptance as part of the Clearing & Settlement approval process. If samples are made available when negotiating a trade you are 300% more likely to complete a trade.
How do I supply samples?
When offering your wines through the marketplace, you can indicate if samples are available or not. The supply of samples to interested buyers is at your cost, including freight and must be delivered duty paid (if international). VINEX will advise you of the buyer’s request and provide dispatch address details, along with labels to print and apply to each bottle. On entering a tracking number, VINEX automatically reports the delivery status displayed on your dashboard.
Can I show my company name?
Yes. When publishing each wine, before selecting Request Offers to push the details live, you can tick the option to "please display our company name and description to others viewing my wines." This way, each of your wines in the marketplace will display your company name above your profile and ranking for all members to see, and read a short description about your company. To remove your name from a published wine at any time, select Edit Listing and untick the option above Request Offers and then select Request Offers to republish your wine without your identity showing.
How does the Direct (Invitation Only) Market work?
The confidential Direct Market is available to members with Professional access. Here you can offer your wines and restrict your universe of buyers to only those in the industry you would like to confidentially approach. Your wine offered is locked and restricted in view (no price, quantity or technical details are displayed) and can only be viewed by members invited with an Access Code. You can confidentially invite up to 8 members (search by Country and Company Name) to respond to your offered wines. If the buyer you're looking to invite is not in the VINEX database, there's a request button to add the buyer's name. When offering your wines, you can pre-qualify the buyers you would like to notify and trade with. The Direct Market provides you with control and efficiency, whilst creating competitive tension amongst those buyers invited to submit offers. Your anonymity is retained throughout to ensure equality in trading when offering your wines, and to avoid destabilising the main market.
When listing a wine, what are the 5 Quality Levels A - E?
The wine quality levels ranging from A - Luxury down to E - Generic are broad categories within which wines must be classified to provide an indication of quality. Just as price may also indicate a quality assessment, the A - E categories are another convenient way to search and compare wines of interest. Of course, you will ultimately make your own determination as to the quality, style and value of a wine. The Boutique Market is only relevant for wines within the quality grading levels of A - C and from a single region.
Below are some guidelines to consider when listing your wine requirements and selecting an appropriate quality level.
A/Luxury |
Wines showing the exceptional concentration of flavour, structure and character. Suitable for iconic wine brands, generally released following extended maturation. |
B/Premium |
Wines showing outstanding regional or varietal characters, with impressive quality, structure and character. Suitable for aspirational wine drinkers, released after limited maturation. |
C/Reserve |
Wines showing sound regional or varietal characters without the flavour weight and structure of Premium quality. Suitable for the occasional wine purchase. |
D/Commercial |
Wines showing an approachable varietal character with less structure and weight than Reserve quality or above. Suitable for everyday drinking. |
E/Generic/Other |
This quality level is for generic (entry-level) wine, flavoured wine, must, juice, concentrate, spirit, tannin and all other grape-based products. |
What is VinScore?
VinScore is an independent evaluation service provided by VINEX to increase buyers' interest in your wines. The service is only available for 'Finished/Bottle Ready' and 'All Bottled' wines. Each wine is given a rating (within its quality level) out of 5.0. With a VinScore your finished wine listings will be more appealing and provide an unbiased filter to help buyers compare listings of interest. Whilst you’re not obligated to purchase or display a VinScore, it has been shown that listings are 300% more likely to lead to a completed trade.
Can VINEX assist me with a wine valuation?
Yes. VINEX provides a service called VinValuation – it’s free and you don’t need to supply a sample. Based on your wine’s details, VINEX will respond to you with a VinValuation after taking into account all market and current trading factors. We will advise a valuation price range along with commentary on the prevailing market conditions.