Skip to content
InVintory Help

Why did my collection value change?

Your collection value is the market value of your bottles, added together. This article explains how we work out each market value, what it is good for, and what it is not.

How we work out a market value

Section titled “How we work out a market value”
  1. Collect shop prices. Our pricing partners gather the prices shops around the world are asking for each wine and vintage.
  2. Take the middle price. We use the median of those shop prices for one 750 ml bottle, before sales tax and VAT. Half the shops ask more and half ask less.
  3. Match your bottle. The price is for your exact vintage and bottle size. If we only have a 750 ml price, we scale it up to your size, with a small premium for larger formats.
  4. Fill gaps. If our pricing partners have no price for your vintage, we estimate one from other vintages of the same wine and from similar wines from the same region.
  5. Your price wins. If someone on your collection set their own price, we use theirs instead.
  6. Convert. We convert the price into your currency at the current exchange rate, updated daily.
  7. Add it up. Your collection value is the sum of every priced bottle. A bottle with no price at all counts at your collection’s average bottle price, never at what you paid — or is left out, if someone switched off Estimate unpriced bottles in the collection’s settings.

Open any wine’s market value to see a tag saying which kind of price it is:

Tag Meaning
Verified market value Our pricing partners have a price for this exact vintage (step 2).
Estimated market value We estimated it (step 4).
Custom market value Someone on your collection set it (step 5).

What it is good for

Section titled “What it is good for”
  • Checking a deal. A bottle offered below our market value is cheaper than a typical shop.
  • A rough guide to replacement cost. Your collection value gives an idea of what it might cost to buy your bottles again at typical shop prices today. It is a guide only, not a professional valuation — for insurance, get a professional valuation.

What it is not

Section titled “What it is not”
  • Not a selling price. Selling usually brings in less. Auctions take fees from buyer and seller, and a merchant buying your bottle pays less than its own shelf price.
  • Not your local shelf price. It leaves out sales tax and VAT, so it usually sits a little below what you pay at the till. In many Canadian provinces shelf prices also include a government markup. A shop with a sale can be cheaper.
  • Not equally sure for every wine. A price from many shops is more reliable. A price from only a few shops, or estimated from other vintages, is less certain. Very old vintages, rare wines and spirits are the most likely to be thinly listed.

What makes your value move

Section titled “What makes your value move”
  • New price data. When new shop prices come in, prices change, even if you changed nothing.
  • Exchange rates. Prices are converted at the current rate.
  • Bottles coming and going. Adding or removing a bottle changes the total, and also moves the average used for unpriced bottles.
  • The estimate switched on or off. Turning Estimate unpriced bottles off drops every unpriced bottle from the total at once. Turning it back on adds them again.

If a price looks wrong

Section titled “If a price looks wrong”
  • Set your own price. Open the wine, tap the Market Value card, tap the bottle size, enter your price and tap Save. Tap Reset to go back to ours at any time.
  • Tell us. Email support@invintory.com from the address you sign in with. Include the wine and vintage, and we will check the price at its source.
Collection → tap a wine → Market Value → tap a size → Save

Next steps

Section titled “Next steps”