The development of private sales (consumer to consumer) websites on the Internet is in full swing. This trend has obvious advantages for consumers, for example on e-Bay or PriceMinister, this sector's two major wesites, individuals can cut out the middleman and good bargains are available to all.
Xavier Hubert, 43, who lives in Gironde, is passionate about wine and possesses a personal cellar of 2000 bottles. It was this passion that inspired him to set up a website specific to wine, www.e-bouteille.fr , which went online a few weeks ago.
This website has two major functions : cellar management and private wine sales.
The idea is to advise consumers about managing their own cellars : where and how to store bottles, to recognise and classify bottles which have lost their labels and to evaluate individual bottles or whole cellars.
Interactive : "I wanted to provide a complete service : free cellar management without the consumer having to install special software but also a trade window for individuals wishing to buy or sell their own wines", explains Xavier. He goes on to stress that safe payment is guaranteed and that there is no publicity for individual wines on his website.
"Not forgetting the 'community' spirit of today's websites, our clients can send in their impressions of a wine tasted."
Xavier, who previously worked in the hotel-restaurant business, is also a computor science buff and employed specialists to complete the project which he financed himself.
In practice, wine amateurs looking for cellar management advice benefit from the website's easy access to enter their bottles' characteristics (appellation, vintage...) using a database. Photos of labels and bottle prices can also be found in specific guide sections. All this information is then stocked in virtual compartments which enable the cellar owner to stock check by region or vintage. "Like a virtual cellar inventory with an updated value per bottle made visible via a system of graphs. These files also leave a trace for insurance companies in case of theft," adds Xavier. Thanks to a password, each client manages his stocks.
Supply and demand : Behind each cellar owner lies a potential merchant : some may find their bottles have increased considerably in value as has their need for extra cashflow, some may be looking for a particular vintage for a birthday present, some may simply wish to speculate and earn a quick euro....For all these reasons and more, the private sales sector for wine buffs is expanding rapidly.
So much so that the French government is seriously considering the creation of a "self-declared entrepreneur" status to put an end to the legal grey area surrounding an almost professional activity for some speculators. Above a certain financial threshold, the latter could be subjected to regulations...and taxation.
On the e-bouteille website not only can clients can buy and sell online but every cellar's contents can be viewed anonymously by the other amateurs, potentially provoking spontanious offers!
"The two parties are put in contact via email. We collect the payments and the seller is paid only once the bottles have reached their final destination intact. The website looks after the logistics and dispatch follow up in exchange for a commission," explains Xavier.
Another illustration of this growing demand for private wine sales is the planned launch of a consumer to consumer sales platform in September by the well-known online wine website Wineandco. This Bordeaux-based operator underlines the fact that wine is often a recognised value in inheritance and can be a serious financial investment : "A bottle of 2000 Haut Brion selling for 150 euros in 2001 is now worth 600 euros..." For an elitist market only of course.
César Compadre S.O. 08/07/08
Translated by Maxine Colas..
doc@sudouest.com