Paying and getting the wine

Every price on Encave — on the browse grid, on the lot page, in the bid box — already has the buyer fee in it. There is no buyer's premium added at the invoice, which is the standard way a wine auction turns a £400 hammer into £520 at checkout.

The one thing that can still be added is duty and VAT, and only on lots sold in bond. Those lots say so on the card, and where the duty is known the card shows the duty-paid equivalent next to the in-bond price so the two are comparable.

Encave records the sale and holds back the seller payout until you confirm delivery. There is no account with Encave, no balance and nothing to withdraw: the protection is simply that the seller is not paid until you have the wine and have said it is as described. That is what makes it safe to buy a forty-year-old bottle from someone you have never met.

1. 1You win the lot, or buy it outright, and pay at checkout.
2. 2The seller sees the sale and arranges handover with you in the order thread.
3. 3The wine arrives. You check it against the listing and the photographs.
4. 4You confirm delivery, and the hold on the seller's payout comes off.

If something is wrong, raise it on the order before you confirm — confirming is the step that frees the seller's payout, and the in-app dispute process closes once it has.

A bid is a commitment to buy, and there is no cancel button on a won lot. We will not charge you for failing to pay — nobody takes your card on your behalf — but the seller loses a sale and the lot has to be relisted, and repeated non-payment is looked at by a person. Nothing about your account is restricted automatically.