FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

You can place your bids in the following ways:
 

• - live online via Sylvie's app via your smartphone or tablet
• - via this website
• - in the auction room
• - by phone, after prior registration
• - by email before the auction begins
• - via a rescue service, if the previous options are not available to you

In the latter case, we will place your bids on lots on your behalf in the auction room. We need your written permission and your identification for this. The working language during the auction is English.
 

First you must download the Sylvie's App from the Apple Store or Google Play and register yourself as a new contact. You enter your address details and your credit card number for identification. The new registration also applies to bidders who have previously participated via the bidding platform on the website.

After registration you can bid live online via your smartphone or tablet as soon as an auction has been published. The bidding steps are already pre-programmed. When the bidding steps change during the auction for a specific lot, you will see this adjustment automatically appear before you start bidding.

All placed bids are immediately visible to all other bidders in the Sylvie's App. They will receive a message when they have been outbid and have the opportunity to adjust their bid.

You will immediately see which bids were successful and which were not.
 

Anyone can participate in the auction room after showing a valid ID at the counter. If you want to bid as a professional, we will ask for your excise number and other company information. You do not need to register your arrival in advance, unless otherwise stated on the website and in newsletters.

You will receive a bid number from us upon arrival. Your bids will be registered on this number in the room.
 

Yes, you can watch our auctions live online. When the auction days are up, you can follow the auction from your screen. You do not need to register for this.

Since August 2019, you can place your bids live online via auctions.sylvies.be, in addition to leaving maximum bids online on this website, as has been possible for years.

With live online bidding, the auction starts as soon as the catalogue is published. During the auction days, the online bids from the website, the written and telephone bids and the room bids come together.

Both online systems function completely separately from each other and you must register for each system separately. As soon as a new auction has been published, you will find the differences between both systems described in detail here.

Yes, you can use both systems - as well as all other bidding options - in the same auction. However, we advise you to choose one system per lot to avoid bidding against yourself.
 

Your bids will be visible live as soon as the auction is published. The bidding process therefore starts in the room prior to the auction days. Your bids may have an effect on the bids of others. After all, they have to make a higher bid to get the lot.

As a result, you will not be able to lower or withdraw your bids on the app.
 

The platform of the Sylvie's app uses a different technology than the online platform of the website.

All participants must therefore register as a new contact before using the Sylvie's app for the first time. This also applies to buyers who have previously bid at Sylvie's.
 

There is more than one option to enter bids. The auctioneer sees the bids from all platforms on his screen and uses this to determine the starting bid.
 

You will find all abbreviations via this link and in the online catalogue on this website upon publication.
 

You can register during the auction to place bids live online and in the room.

For all other bidding methods, you must register prior to the auction, and preferably as early as possible so that we can guarantee your participation.

A rescue service is available by email and telephone via 0032 (3)7769077 for placing bids on the auction day itself, subject to the available capacity to process your request.
 

The first person to place the highest bid is the winner. A logbook is kept of all bids and Sylvie's records bids by telephone.
 

A lot number with the designation 'VAT', 'TVA' or 'VAT' indicates that in addition to buyer's commission, VAT must also be paid on the hammer price and the buyer's commission. You will find a detailed explanation of how VAT works, with calculation examples, here.
 
 

All bidders on the Sylvie's app can immediately see whether their bids were successful or not. The outcome is subject to verification by the auctioneer and bailiff. The other bidders will receive an email within 3 working days after the auction, unless there are logistical questions.

Within 3 working days after an auction, Sylvie's publishes all achieved results on the website. The prices stated are the hammer prices. Hammer prices do not include additional costs for VAT, insurance, export documentation, storage or transport. Storage at Sylvie's is free for the first 6 months.
 

A lot can remain unsold because the price the seller wanted to achieve has not been achieved or because a lot has been withdrawn from the auction.

Once the auction has been published, you are welcome to view the wines by appointment. This is possible during our opening hours.
 

Sylvie's publishes the catalogs on both digital platforms no later than 10 days prior to an auction. The first publication is on the website, the second publication is on Sylvie's app.

Sylvie's Wine Auctions also offers you a catalogue in Excel and as a PDF. The PDF will be available on this website once the auction has been published. You can request the catalogue in Excel from us by email.
 

We will send you an invoice or proof of purchase containing all the necessary information. You will receive this information within 3 working days after an auction, unless there are logistical questions. We will contact you.
 

Sylvie's bank details are:

BELFIUS BANK

IBAN BE23 0689 5085 8691

SWIFT GKCCBEBB

Bank address: Laar 14/1, 2630 Aartselaar
 

We accept payment in cash and bank transfers.

Payment in cash is only possible in Antwerp at the counter and up to a maximum per bidder per auction of €3,000.00. Anyone who pays at the counter must respect the payment term of 7 days.
 

Your credit card information ends up at Stripe Bank. We only see your address details, the type of credit card and the last 4 digits of your card number. We use your credit card information to certify that you are 18 years or older.
 

The intention is that you make your own payment by bank. Sylvie's no longer accepts payments by credit card. The wine invoice must be paid in full. Bank charges are always at your expense.
 

You can collect your lots or have them shipped from the first Thursday after an auction.

If you collect your wines yourself, we would like to receive notice of your arrival in advance.

Personal collection of VAT-registered lots is only possible for bidders who demonstrably live in Belgium.
 

Yes, when:
 

• - you are a wine professional and it concerns a delivery on a pallet;
• - and/or the wine is intended for Belgium.

A wine professional is a legal entity trading in wine where excise registration is mandatory for legal entities within the European Union.

Your transporter is welcome by appointment. We will only deliver the wines after receiving official transport documentation showing that the wine is intended for you. The transport is then at your own expense and risk.
 

We only use packaging that has been tested and approved by the carrier for the transport of wine, so that your wine arrives safely and in good condition. We use, among other things, cardboard packaging from Vinologix and Styrofoam packaging from Europack. These packaging are biodegradable.

Our packaging for export meets the required ISPM15 standard.
 

Yes. If the weather is too cold or too hot, we will not ship wine and you can use our storage for free (longer). Too cold means that the outside temperature drops below zero degrees and too warm means that the outside temperature exceeds 25 degrees.
 

The carriers for Sylvie's have been selected for their proven performance. We mainly work with DHL and FEDEX.