# Scotch Whisky Auctions Scraper (`lulzasaur/scotchwhiskyauctions-scraper`) Actor

Scrape Scotch Whisky Auctions live lots and past-auction sold prices (comps). Per-lot data: title, distillery, current/winning bid (GBP), sold date, auction name and end date, age, vintage, cask type, ABV, size, image, URL. Keyword search across the live auction or all past auctions.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/lulzasaur/scotchwhiskyauctions-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [lulz bot](https://apify.com/lulzasaur) (community)
- **Categories:** E-commerce
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $10.00 / 1,000 results

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/platform/actors/running/actors-in-store#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

Actors are web data automations that power AI and operations. They run on the Apify platform to scrape websites, process data, connect APIs, and automate workflows.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.
Actors are written with capital "A".

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.
The best way to integrate Actors is as follows.

- **AI agents and MCP clients** — the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/integrations/mcp.md) at `https://mcp.apify.com` (remote, streamable HTTP, OAuth on first use).
- **Agentic workflows and local Actor development** — [Agent Skills](https://apify.com/.well-known/agent-skills/index.json) with the [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): `npm install -g apify-cli`, then `apify login`.
- **JavaScript/TypeScript projects** — the official [JS/TS client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md): `npm install apify-client`.
- **Python projects** — the official [Python client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md): `pip install apify-client`.
- **Any other language** — the [REST API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2.md).

For usage examples, see the [API](#api) section below.

For more details, see Apify documentation as [Markdown index](https://docs.apify.com/llms.txt) and [Markdown full-text](https://docs.apify.com/llms-full.txt).

# README

## Scotch Whisky Auctions Scraper

Scrape **[Scotch Whisky Auctions](https://www.scotchwhiskyauctions.com)** — one of the UK's largest online whisky auction houses (Glasgow, ~5,000 lots per monthly auction) — for live auction lots and past-auction sold prices (comps).

### What it does

#### Live mode (default)

Scrapes lots in the currently running auction:

- Lot number, title, and URL
- **Current highest bid** (GBP) — refreshed via the site's live price endpoint at scrape time
- Auction name and **auction end date**
- Distillery (best-effort), age, distilled year (vintage), cask type
- ABV, bottle size, bottle number
- Bottle image

Optional keywords filter the live catalogue server-side (e.g. `macallan`, `springbank`).

#### Past mode (sold-price comps)

Searches **all past auctions** by keyword and returns the public **sold price and sold month** for every matching lot — over a decade of hammer prices (2011 onward) across Macallan, Springbank, Ardbeg, Bowmore, Karuizawa, and thousands of other bottlings. Results are sorted newest-first. Ideal for price histories, valuation models, and whisky investment comps.

If no auction is currently live, live mode automatically falls back to past-auction comps so runs always return data.

### Input example

```json
{
    "mode": "past",
    "searchQueries": ["macallan 18", "springbank 21"],
    "maxResults": 100,
    "scrapeDetails": true
}
```

### Output example

```json
{
    "lotNumber": "181-01784",
    "lotId": "884833",
    "title": "Macallan 10 Year Old",
    "distillery": "Macallan",
    "status": "sold",
    "currentBid": null,
    "winningBid": 80,
    "currency": "GBP",
    "soldDate": "July 2026",
    "auctionName": "The 181st Auction",
    "auctionEndsAt": "July 12, 2026",
    "auctionUrl": "https://www.scotchwhiskyauctions.com/auctions/230-the-181st-auction/",
    "age": "10 Years Old",
    "vintage": null,
    "caskType": null,
    "abv": "40%",
    "size": "70cl",
    "bottleNumber": null,
    "imageUrl": "https://d3suvtcq00dftb.cloudfront.net/images/8657379602e06b22285b729ffa4ab1e2-med.jpg",
    "url": "https://www.scotchwhiskyauctions.com/auctions/230-the-181st-auction/884833-macallan-10-year-old/",
    "searchKeyword": "macallan",
    "scrapedAt": "2026-08-03T20:00:00.000Z"
}
```

### Fields

| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| `lotNumber` | Auction lot number (e.g. `182-03060`) |
| `title` | Lot title |
| `distillery` | Distillery / brand (parsed from lot description; best-effort) |
| `status` | `live` or `sold` |
| `currentBid` | Current highest bid in GBP (live lots) |
| `winningBid` | Final sold price in GBP (past lots) |
| `soldDate` | Month the lot sold (past lots, e.g. `July 2026`) |
| `auctionName` / `auctionEndsAt` | Auction the lot featured in and its end date |
| `age`, `vintage`, `caskType`, `abv`, `size`, `bottleNumber` | Bottle details from the lot page (with `scrapeDetails`) |

### Use cases

- **Whisky price tracking** — build sold-price histories per bottling
- **Valuation / investment models** — comps across 180+ auctions since 2011
- **Bid sniping research** — monitor current bids in the live auction
- **Collection management** — value a collection against real hammer prices

### Notes

- Data comes from public server-rendered pages; no login is used.
- `distillery` is a best-effort parse (lot descriptions are free-form).
- Bid counts are not publicly exposed by the site.
- Set `scrapeDetails: false` for fast bulk price sweeps (list data only).

# Actor input Schema

## `mode` (type: `string`):

'live' scrapes lots in the currently running auction (current highest bids, auction end date). 'past' searches ALL past auctions by keyword and returns public sold prices (winning bid + sold month) — ideal for comps back to 2011.

## `searchQueries` (type: `array`):

Optional keywords (e.g. 'macallan', 'springbank 1966', 'ardbeg'). In live mode they filter the current auction's catalogue server-side; leave empty to scrape all live lots. In past mode each keyword is searched across every ended auction (defaults to 'macallan' if empty).

## `maxResults` (type: `integer`):

Maximum number of lot records to return across all keywords. Default 50.

## `scrapeDetails` (type: `boolean`):

When enabled (default), each lot is enriched from its detail page with distillery, age, vintage (distilled year), cask type, ABV, bottle size, bottle number, and full description (one extra request per lot). Disable for fast bulk price sweeps using list data only.

## `proxyConfiguration` (type: `object`):

Proxy settings. The site serves full server-rendered pages without a proxy (the default). Enable Apify proxy only if you see Blocked (403/406) warnings in the log.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "mode": "live",
  "searchQueries": [],
  "maxResults": 50,
  "scrapeDetails": true,
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": false
  }
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `results` (type: `string`):

No description

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "mode": "live",
    "searchQueries": [],
    "proxyConfiguration": {
        "useApifyProxy": false
    }
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("lulzasaur/scotchwhiskyauctions-scraper").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = {
    "mode": "live",
    "searchQueries": [],
    "proxyConfiguration": { "useApifyProxy": False },
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("lulzasaur/scotchwhiskyauctions-scraper").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print("💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/" + run["defaultDatasetId"])
for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "mode": "live",
  "searchQueries": [],
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": false
  }
}' |
apify call lulzasaur/scotchwhiskyauctions-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "command": "npx",
            "args": [
                "mcp-remote",
                "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=lulzasaur/scotchwhiskyauctions-scraper",
                "--header",
                "Authorization: Bearer <YOUR_API_TOKEN>"
            ]
        }
    }
}

```

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/tbllygZlZDGIvx9xR/builds/yh1cAvoJWVHQ2dG33/openapi.json