Yes, sorry the June auction was out this morning but the May is still out.
I completely agree, for EU, the reason is the sharp fall of Euro against Dollars or CHF, about 15% in one year and of course the new customs taxes and VAT for EU customers.
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Actually i dont quite see the benefits of getting bottles from rumauctioneer for me as normal drinker if its rlly made up that way, except if you are looking for special bottles wich are no longer available and you rlly want to have them.
If it is like stated that you loose around 40% of the sellingprice, when selling, the bottle has to get way higher in price than the original sellingprice. So if im interpreting this the right way, sellers are actually loising money if their bottles are sold for around the original price.
So another question - why are there so many bottles in auctions still currently available and other bottles wich didnt rise significantly in value - this would result in a huge financial loss/ a not existing rentability for sellers ?
Also for me on the buyer side - there are no benefits for me, winning a bottle for 30bucks wich is originally 60 since aditional cost are adding that up for example …
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That is a statement I would deem not correct. There are many discussions around the issue and the consensus isn’t the EU but rather the closure of using tax law loopholes. RA could have easily fixed their problem, but they where unwilling to.
Without the EU you would have that problem with any purchase abroad, let’s be happy at least we have it easier than in any time in history with this.
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@TheDunderHut
Auction Price x1.7 is not a closure of using tax law loopholes.
Within the EU, trades were made more difficult. In Germany, sales of 2k or more are reported to the tax office.
Does that look like free trade to you? It’s never been that bad, I don’t know what history you’re talking about.
To fix this, RA would have to offer an individual solution for each EU country, which is simply too much. I would have done the same, just get out of the EU and focus on the rest of the world.
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There is a difference between “get reported” and “get taxed”.
Free trade is completely possible within the EU and Schengen area.
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And why should I be reported as a private individual if I sell a bottle that I have had in my possession for more than a year?
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That is turning into a political discussion. 
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Agreed, from tax law perspective, which is the only one I feel an expert on, there is barely an excuse for how RA handled things. The rest is of course opinion, and that I do not wish to take from you!
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Great read, guys. Several points from me
- thanks a lot for calculations. You guys are lucky to have a flat rate for alcohol import. In Poland the RA fees are like 1.9, not to mention that you need to run import company.
- now it’s clear that the rum market is centralized in the EU. The prices adapt to the varied taxations. No real bargains from our perspective, unfortunately.
- this may still confuse spiritradar users and bidders, who bid first and calculate costs later. Ultimately, I believe this is why some auction prices are higher than shop prices.
- RA past auction site crash from time to time. Use direct URLs
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I just read in a whisky forum, that Krüger (whiskyauction.com) will expand its platform and include r(h)um and cognac, too. The expansion is supposed to happen this year.
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Leaves you wondering why they didn’t jump on that train earlier.
Afaik Krüger has 10% sellers fee and 10% buyers fee. So overall a whopping 20%. Auction houses are definitely on the winning side of this market.
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10% sellers and 10% buyers fee isn’t too bad. If you take a look at the US auction houses who specialize in Americana, fine art and collectibles the fees are much higher. Heritage Auctions who is the biggest auction house in the US, probably even in the world (2022 sales: 1.45 billion $) take a whopping 15% sellers and 22% buyers fee. They started to move into wine and my guess is that they might move into bourbon/ whisk(e)y in the future. However if you bring them a rather large collection the sellers fee is negotiable (down to 10%) and one can even get a finders fee.
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Whiskyauction.com is well known. I have sold several bottles there in the past. For German customers a main advantage is, that there is no hazzle regarding shipping and taxes. Therefore I am really looking forward to WA.
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Cool, so it looks like another EU-based rum auction. That’s great
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I would just like to add that the recent RA changes turned out to be a godsend for those of us who can play the geographical arbitrage game with the UK bottles.
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Can you elaborate? I mean, the bottles are cheaper, indeed, but the taxation balances it out, in general. Am I right?
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One might pick it up in the UK if schedule / travel plans align
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That + friends and family.
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You mean buy with a EU billing address but pick up / send to a friend in UK? If a EU billing address is enough1 to avoid VAT on fee and the +VAT-items that would reduce the cost path down to hammer price + 10% fee + shipping + exchange rate.
“The Last” from the example above (June 23 auction) would be 997€ 974€2 (plus a trip to UK that ideally takes place anyway so no extra cost). RT June 23 auction had The Last at 1.280€ hammer price, so 1466€ incl. shipping… 
1: Is it???
2: Shipping within UK starts at 12GBP
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No I meant buy UK lots and ship them to the UK. The cost is Hammer + 10% plus shipping, exchange shouldn’t matter there are so many financial products with which you can avoid it.
For VAT/import tax only the physical movement of the goods matter; your billing address is immaterial.
eta: keep in mind you need to check bottles in and can’t carry them in your hand luggage if you’re flying. Overland it’s not an issue of course.
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