Bidding Instructions and Pricing El Salvador Cup of Excellence Internet Auction

The 2024 Cup of Excellence Internet Auction is sponsored by The Alliance for Coffee Excellence,

Inc. (ACE) and Salvadoran Coffee Institute. If assistance is required during the auction please

contact kathia@cupofexcellence.org, or erwin@cupofexcellence.org.

Acceptance of Terms and Conditions

Your participation in this auction indicates your review and agreement to the following terms.

Should you purchase any Cup of Excellence coffee at this auction you agree to the terms and

conditions of purchase and shipping included in this agreement. Any buyer of any Cup of

Excellence coffee through the auction or through a secondary channel agrees to the use and

restrictions of the Cup of Excellence® mark. Any misuse of this mark may be cause for legal

proceedings. It is the responsibility of the bidder to determine quality and appropriate value.

Bidders should assess the value of each coffee based on quality in the cup and its appropriateness

for their company. Farm information is for educational purposes only but can be used to help sell

the winning coffees.

Auction Opening Date and Times

Auction will open for bidding on July 18th at 9:00AM (New York)

Your opening time may vary- please check based on 9:00AM EDT (New York)

The Auction will open for bidding at

● 06:00 (Los Angeles)

● 09:00 (New York)

● 14:00 (London)

● 15:00 (UTC Oslo/Amsterdam)

● 16:00 (Moscow)

● 17:00 (Dubai)

● 21:00 (Hong Kong)

● 22:00 (Tokyo/Seoul)

● 23:00 (Melbourne/Sydney)

Coffee Lots

The 30 coffee lots being offered for sale through this internet auction were designated Cup of

Excellence (COE) winners at the 2024 El Salvador competition. The designated coffees were

blindly cupped through the following process:

Preselection stage: April 29th – May 3rd with the 15 National Judges, at Palacio Tecleño de la

Cultura y Artes El Salvador, with Rony Gamez as the head judge.

National stage: May 13th – May 17th with the 12 National Judges, at Palacio Tecleño de la Cultura y

Artes El Salvador with Stephen Vick as the head judge.

International stage: May 20th – May 24th with the 17 International Judges, at Volcatenango El

Salvador, with Stephen Vick as the head judge.

No other coffee can be sold using this designation. Online bidding for any Cup of Excellence lots

is only available through this website. Each lot is separate and distinct.

Auction Pricing

Pricing for the lots are figured in USD dollars and cents per pound. A minimum opening price of:

● $6.00/lb for coffee with a score between 87-87.99

● $6.50/lb for coffee with a score between 88-89.99

● $7.00/lb for coffee with a score 90+.

For each lot has been set by Salvadoran Coffee Institute as representative of the winning farmers.

All opening bids on all lots must be $6.00, $6.50, $7.00 USD or any amount greater. Incremental

bids must be $.10 (ten cents) per pound or any amount greater than $.10 (ten cents) per pound.

Bidding, Opening and Closing

All lots will open together with the same minimum price. The bidding page will indicate “OPEN”

until all lots have at least one bid after which a 3-minute countdown clock will begin. A bidder

may place multiple or single bids on any or all lots during the open auction or during the 3-minute

countdown clock. Each bid on any lot resets the clock to 3 minutes. A clock on the bidding page

will indicate the time remaining for the auction. Once there are no more bids on any lot during

the 3-minute time window the auction and all lots will close for bidding. A PENDING notification

does not end the auction even though bidding may cease. No bid is final until the FINISHED

notification appears. Once the auction software indicates FINISHED the highest bid wins the lot

and all lots are closed for any additional bidding. At the conclusion of the auction, the buyer for

the lot and the person responsible for payment and for shipping coordination will be the bidder

placing the highest bid or auto bid for that lot. Should there be two identical auto bids the first

auto bid placed wins the lot.

Proxy and Auto Bids

An auto-bid or proxy feature is available to any bidder wishing to allow the software to place

their next highest bid. A bidder can place a high bid on any coffee lot using the auto-bid function.

The software will then place a ten cent higher bid above a competitive bid until the auto bid price

is reached. The software will not place any higher auto-bid amount unless there is a competitive

bid for that lot. Each Bidder will be able to view the current high bid for a Lot at any time during

the Auction. Individual bids once accepted by the auction software, may not be revoked or

withdrawn. However, you may cancel an auto-bid to prevent the system from placing further

bids on your behalf.

Packing Fee

All Cup of Excellence coffees are vacuum packed in cartons each containing 2 (two) 15kg bags.

Successful bidders will be charged $.20 (twenty cents) per pound mandatory fee for vacuum

packing. Bidding calculations and vacuum packing fee are based on actual pounds after milling

and packing the coffees. The number of 30kg boxes as well as the weight in pounds will be shown.

Communication During and After Auction

Each Bidder will log in using his/her confidential password. All bids will be identified during the

auction with a bidding number not a company name. During the auction the software will

communicate any outbids, any auction issues, notifications or final successful bids using the email

address registered for that bidder. It is the bidder’s responsibility to ensure that the registered

email is correct. Contact ACE staff for verification if uncertain.

Posting the Results

30 minutes or earlier after the end of the auction successful bidders will be identified by their

company names. The auction results will be posted on the ACE website. Buying group members

and their company identification is the responsibility of the actual bidder. Buyers can also be

added at a later date.

To modify & add names of winning bidders on the ACE website please email

costel@cupofexcellence.org once the auction has concluded.

Payment and Shipping Requirements for El Salvador Cup of Excellence Internet Auction

The 2024 Cup of Excellence Internet Auction is sponsored by The Alliance for Coffee Excellence,

Inc. (ACE) and the Salvadoran Coffee Institute. If assistance is required immediately following the

auction please contact kathia@cupofexcellence.org or erwin@cuppfexcellence.org