Unicorn Auctions
Unicorn Auctions is a Chicago online auction house for rare spirits and wine, with weekly timed sales and its own storage vaults. This page covers what it sells, how bidding works, and every buyer cost, including storage, pickup and shipping, with a direct link to unicornauctions.com.
- Founded
- 2020
- Based in
- Chicago, Illinois
- Buyer's fee
- 15%
- Free storage
- 30 days
Go to Unicorn Auctions →How buying worksFees
About Unicorn Auctions
Unicorn Auctions started in 2020 in Chicago. It sold about $50 million in 2024, and its weekly sales often list 4,000 to 6,000 bottles. It keeps bottles in two Chicago vaults, in Ravenswood for spirits and Bridgeport for wine.
Sales are weekly timed online auctions on the website and apps, with auto-bidding up to your maximum. A bid in the final 10 minutes extends the lot by 10 minutes. Unicorn takes in and checks every bottle before it is listed. It also runs an Exchange where you can make offers on fixed-price listings.
What Unicorn Auctions sells
How buying works at Unicorn Auctions
- Make an accountSign up free on the site or app and add a card. A small pre-authorization is charged and voided.
- BidBid or set an auto-bid. A late bid adds 10 minutes.
- PayPay by noon CT on the third business day after the sale, or your card on file is charged.
- Choose deliveryPick ship, pickup or storage within 5 business days, or it goes to storage.
- CollectBook a pickup in Chicago or a shipment, which goes out 14 to 28 business days after payment.
What it costs
Unicorn adds its premium and Illinois sales tax to every win, and charges for storage after 30 days.
| What | Cost |
|---|---|
| Buyer's premium | 15% of the winning bid |
| Sales tax | Chicago and Illinois rate of 10.25% on every sale, wherever you live |
| Card fee | Card processing costs may be added; no rate published |
| Late fee | Up to 3% of the purchase price, plus 3% more each week |
| Free storage | 30 days from the auction end |
| Storage after 30 days | $0.50 per bottle per month, billed on the 1st, not prorated |
| Shipping, wine | From $30 for one bottle down to $8 per bottle for six or more |
| Shipping, spirits | $25 per bottle for 1 to 5, $20 per bottle for 6 or more |
| Transit insurance | Optional, through Vertical Insure, billed if you choose it |
| Failed delivery | Return fee if no adult is home or the delivery is refused |
Worked example: a $1,000 winning bid adds a $150 premium, for $1,150. Sales tax at 10.25% adds $117.88, for $1,267.88 before shipping. Shipping one bottle of wine adds $30.
Paying, pickup and storage
| When to pay | By noon CT on the third business day after the sale. Exchange buys by noon CT on the third day. |
| Payment | Visa, Mastercard, Discover, American Express or ACH. Wire for some international buyers. |
| Shipping states | Unicorn does not carry alcohol itself but arranges carriers. Wine and spirits are held if your state bars shipments to individuals. |
| Weather | Unicorn advises against shipping below 20°F or above 80°F and may hold shipments. You can email to accept the risk and ship anyway. |
| Pickup | Wine at 1511 W 38th St., Chicago, Monday to Friday, 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Spirits at 1801 W Foster Ave. Book in the app. Ages 21 and up with ID. |
| How long wine is held | 30 days free, then monthly fees with no set end. Bottles unpaid for over 90 days may be resold or destroyed. |
| Claims | Report breakage within 24 hours of delivery. All sales are final. |
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UX Search is independent and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Unicorn Auctions. Bidding, payment and delivery all happen on the house's own site under its own terms. Information checked October 22, 2026 from unicornauctions.com (conditions of sale dated Oct. 2026, services, auction page) and help.unicornauctions.com (storage and shipping, local pickup) and everybodywiki.com (company background); fees and rules can change, so confirm them on the sale page.