This reminds me of a conversation I have seen over and over again on WhiskeyTube... "Do you feel obligated to buy something whenever you enter a liquor store?" This seems like a ridiculous question to me. If a store doesn't have anything I want, then I'm leaving and going to the next store. I don't owe them anything just for walking in the front door.
Expose the store who emailed you! Everyone walks around thinking they can say and do what they want with no ramifications or accountability. EXPOSE THEM!
Charles, your videos are always spot on. Like everyone else I always prefer to get allocated bottles close to MSRP, but I’ve never been opposed to a slight up charge. I know that these stores don’t always get huge volumes of allocated product. However, paying stupid prices really does reinforce their bad behavior.
Listen brother you called the liquor store out, you are 100% correct, I reside Ajax Ontario 🇨🇦 we just had a bourbon drop at lcbo, Eagle Rare 10 yr old $66,40, Weller Antique 107 $72.95, E.H.Taylor Small Batch $106.40, Blanton's Single Barrel $76.40, just to name a few, that's all in Canadian funds, that launch was less than 2 weeks ago, you are 100% correct, we are getting scam, love your content please continue, everyone listen to him❤ 8:46
Yeah those all seem like somewhat normal prices if that's Canadian dollars. Well aside from the Taylor small batch, that seems high. The MSRP on those in the US is like $40 USD. But it's not really secondary price high.
@@red5standingby419 EH price is high in canada for some reason same price as here in manitoba. The LCBO and MLCC are government ran and controlled. They have the exact same mark up on all whiskey they bring in its a set percentage. Sometimes we definetely benift from that model, for example Blantons comes here to Manitoba twice a year and its $80 canadian $58 USD that under MSRP i believe in the US.
The problem lies in the state systems. Liquor should be just something you buy over Amazon like any other consumer product, having it pass through 3 or 4 entities is ridiculous.
Keep up the good work. I'm pretty much done hunting except for the excitement and learning to put your advice to work to get hard to find bottles at MSRP. I agree with the comment about standardizing the industry nationwide. Pro and cons to Amazon model, but mostly cons for the small shops and pros for the consumer. About the only unicorn I want at this point is WLW and even then I don't want to pay more than 2X MSRP and don't care if that never happens. I've got more bourbon on my shelf than I can share and drink in my life (I'm 70) and have only focuses on bourbon in the last few months. Already have my favorite Tequila and Rum, so it's bourbon time now. I like that you're drinking Green River FP while doing this video. Great bourbon at a great price. Sure I'd love a GTS, but will exercise patience. Hit a local Walmart in September during a BT allocation drop and purchases several BT, ER10, EHT, and Blanton's at MSRP. Don't need any more. Glad it happened and it taught me that secondary pricing is BS and fools with more money than brains play that game. I'll keep enjoying so many good bottles at a fraction of those prices and wait as the market finally gives the middle finger to the greedy bastards. The stores and folks selling out the back door that are greedy deserve what they have coming to them.
I appreciate the information you provide. I've been drinking bourbon for many years but only recently started buying more expensive releases. It really is a buyer-beware market. For example, ECBP has an MSRP of about $75 but I have seen it for as high as $139 in my area for the same batch. Had I not known the MSRP for this product, I would not know how much I'm overpaying. I won't be the "dumb ass" and overpay and if a store does engage in price gouging, I won't go back.
I'm in a control state and everything allocated is either lottery or blind luck (officially). So, I travel, and if I want something and its there, I a make choice. It also seems like product velocity is slowing down. I'm seeing things on shelves in my control state that I have not seen sitting on the shelf since Covid first hit. Perhaps the hype train might just be running out of hype? Anyway, I enjoy your content!
I live in PA, and our stores are state run. So many people come in and complain that we can't get BT products regularly blah blah, but they are at SRP. I always try to remind people that if this was private, that ER would be 90 and that Blantons would be 150. Can't please anyone, especially the BT junkies.
100% brother! Inevitability this bourbon boom will come back down. When it does, I’m already going to enjoy watching several stores here in NJ come back to reality like the car dealerships have. When they struggle to keep up, I’ll be there for it. Never forget the greed they once had. Thankfully, products like Green River, BenHolladay and Bardstown are flipping this market on its head with affordable, better tasting bourbon. Cheers! 🥃
Well said! I've met enough great people that run liquor stores and DON'T treat their customers like this to know that there's no reason for it other than greed.
Love the vid. Part of what I enjoy about hunting is upsetting stores when they try to sell you something and you say ,”nah I can get that for ‘xyz’ and they become so offended I don’t do it with that intention and it’s not a lie but it’s become a small joy seeing reactions and every once in awhile however rare, they renegotiate lol, some just want you to leave.
I have several relatives that were in the grocery/liquor business for over 50yrs in the Detroit area , myself for over 20yrs. Till everyone retired . We treated customers like they were family. These "New Owners " don't care about anything but money and treat customers like they are dime a dozen. All I say is good luck to them. Michigan is a state minimum state but they let you charge all you can get out of liquor if you want which I think is not a way to do business. 🤔 Cheers my friend 👍
My last comment on your channel has been proven true. These liquor stores are the ones who need to be shamed and put on blast. I’m tired of people blaming the distributors/manufacturers. Yes, some manufacturers create “artificial” scarcity. But most of the time, this “scarcity” is coming from these liquor stores marking stuff up 4x MSRP, and also the secondary market. You know it’s an issue when someone goes on a secondary site minutes after they buy something for $75 trying to sell for $225 while the hype is still at its very peak. I saw people on secondary trying to sell a WT 70th for $200 😂
Hey Charles you got that rite , I walk in the stores and they have secondary prices I just walk out.... A friend has a store and he said even the distributors always push them also to jack up the prices on allocated but he says he marks up all the bottles the same percent even if its allocated .... Thanks
100% Agree with you! It’s shameful what some of these stores are selling some bottles for. That store owner was hilarious, “it’s no one’s business what we pay for a product” , actually it’s everyone’s business. You used the State Of Michigan Liquor Price book which is public knowledge, and easily accessible to anyone on the The State of Michigan website, it’s not like you showed some private business document. I keep the price guide bookmarked on my phone so I can always look up what a bottle is supposed to cost, and I will even call out store owners to there face when I find them price gauging
Have a chain store not to far from me that magically has an allocated bottle in stock every Wednesday when they receive their shipments yet magically those bottles are never available for sale. "it's a bug in our system". Bullshit, they are going out the back door an on the secondary market.
"It takes 20 years to build a reputation and 5 minutes to ruin one." -Warren Buffett "It's not about what you like, it's about the consumer." -Joe Dirt This is all day one stuff. Bad actors always kill the golden goose.
This is why I insist on staying away from crazy mark up. It only takes one idiot to spend 500% msrp to ruin it for the real bourbon drinkers out there. Unfortunately there are enough idiots out there to make it financially feasible to be patient and wait for them to spend those crazy prices.
That e-mail sounds like it could have come from any of the large number of museums in my area. I look at the prices on some of this stuff and laugh. I see no reason to overpay for hyped up bottles. There are plenty of alternatives. There are other spirits besides bourbon too, and bourbon isn't even my favorite - it is merely one of many things that I like. If bourbon becomes too much trouble, I can always buy rum. The bourbon boom can't last forever. It will be fun watching these stores adjust to the new reality when people get sick of it and stop paying way too much for certain bottles.
I've moved over to rum mostly as well, plenty of interesting stuff happening and very few overhyped budget breakers. I'll grab reliable, good, fairly priced bourbon/rye/whiskey but the price gouging is a real turn off so I started looking at other spirits.
@@AdamWilson78 Another underrated spirit category is brandy. Aside from a few overhyped Cognacs for rich people, brandy is a bargain. Even at 30+ year age statements, brandy that won't bust the budget can be found. Also, I've noticed recently that cask strength, additive free brandies have started to turn up. These are well worth seeking out.
I’m ok with some smaller mom and pop stores charging a few dollars over state minimum. Usually there overall cost of doing business is more than bigger places. What pisses me off is these places the have bottles price double or even triple what suggested retail is. F those people, a state licensed liquor store shouldn’t be allowed to price gauge. Also shame on the consumers who are either uninformed or have more money than brains for supporting those type of stores and making it profitable for them to do business that way.
You can go on the NC state ABC warehouse page and see what brands are in stock and the pricing (since they are a control state all bottles are sold at MSRP). I live in SC and all ABC stores here are privately owned and this marking up of allocated bottles (often to full secondary price) happens all over. Distribution in SC is handled by a third-party vendor (and you can't tell me that there aren't some stores that are paying a "premium" to get more allocated bottles). The local store in my area that gets all the allocated bottles has a list of the who's who in town that don't care and will pay markups for those bottles. The system needs an overhaul.
I would say the liquor stores are very much playing the victim card. I went to one the other day that had the nerve to try and sell Buffalo Trace for almost 60$ Eagle Rare for 100$ EH Taylor for 200$ and almost all the other items were marked up anywhere from 5$ to 20$. Benchmark products were literally almost 30$ The guy used every excuse he could. Tried saying they dont get products often, blah blah blah. Well the issue is they are over charging for damn near everything in their store that they aren't moving products. Crazy to me.
I used to buy an obilgatory unsweet tea (im a northerner) and a cheese or meat stick.....but I've even stopped doing that. I walk into the store.......they have ER for $99 on the shelf......do they even deserve ANY of my business? Even a lowly $5 purchase? The lady at the counter the other day said "yeah the golfers and weekenders dont have a problem paying $99 for the Eagle Rare, so we just wait and sell it to them". They've sold about 3 bottles from the case since I was last there. I don't need MSRP of $39.......I'll pay a bit more......but it ain't gonna be $99. .....I WILL SAY.......the store owner is not necessarily wrong......there are PLENTY of people with too much money and too little brains that throw money at rare bottles. Its what the market will bear....but it also creates a reputation for the store and its owner that they don't care....they are going to make as much money off of you as they can......Right there should be your cue to leave and never come back. Every store owner though.....they remember the time they sold those 2 bottles of Blantons for $175 each and now they think the entire bourbon sipping world is stupid.....AND they sell Bud Light at full price..... If nothing else.....if this video stops a few people from FOMOing and spending way too much money on overpriced bottles...youve done your job! Cheers...
Thank you so much for the kind words and I don't hold it against you that you're from the north, but anytime you're down here in the south, I'll be more than happy to pour you a nice tall glass of sweet tea or bourbon...Cheers my friend
I think 99% of people who shop for allocated products that know a lot about liquor and know what the MSRP is on products. I think it's pretty well published. I'm pretty sure big box stores and little Mom and Pop stores pay the same price for the same liquor per capita with the exception of some wholesale places they get dozens of cases, but I doubt the price per bottle Is that vastly different to to give Mom and Pop stores the gall to charge $75 for a bottle of eagle rare. Stores that do this typically don't sell eagle rare, because everybody that's in the know is aware not to buy that for that price.
Lmao. I am drinking the same bottle watching this. Lol. It is our business, and people need to open their eyes. I walk out of every store that marks up their stuff. There is absolutely no bottle worth more than 300. Most are not worth over 100. My threshold is 80. I'm not going to pay over retail for most bottles. I can only think of like 3 bottles I would pay over retail, and it wouldn't much over that for sure.
If a store charges outrageous prices just don’t shop there at all and tell your friends not to shop there. No bottle of whiskey (if you are actually drinking it) is worth more than MAYBE $300 and that’s very few bottles IMO
Good video, I for one do not mind someone making a buck but some of these stores are straight up gouging people. I also have a hard time developing a rapport with places because my wife and I move every 2-3 years for her military service. The Class sixes on bases rarely ever get any type of allocated whiskeys despite the fact that us military folks do a lot of drinking. They do however seem to get $1500-$2000+ bottles of Cognac that ends up sitting in a class case that no one ever buys. If you ask the manager about allocated bourbons they will tell you that they always ask for it but the distributors always say that they don't have any...🤷♀
It’s not the stores fault it’s the consumers and influencers! RUclipsrs making videos saying $300 is a good secondary price is the problem. If we stop supporting these stores and start calling them out maybe things will start to change. But we will never know because it won’t happen!
Wow! Just, wow. I’d ask which store sent the email, however I suspect that’s a common theme across a large number of store owners, so that detail is moot. Thanks for everything you do! 👍
I've seen store owners / managers do some really shady things, like change the rules of a raffle the day of . But here in southeastern Massachusetts the biggest distributor puts unrealistic or illegal terms on allocated bottles. Having to purchase none related products or pallets of nips just to get a few bottles of lets say eagle rear and not even a case .
Exactly I have a store an hour from me that will have insane sales and I guarantee you they do this enough that they can’t be losing money. They’re selling makers Mart 46 for 2799 bottle many times you can get not Creek nine year for 2499 a bottle that’s 750 ML, so these places are charging $38-$47 for 750 of makers Mark 46 is making a lot of money when this store regularly has it on so-called sale for 27.99
I live in a tri state area. One being kentucky. I usually just shop at my CVS because its msrp and decent selection. Im not going to find the rare bottles there but one example is Knob 12. At CVS in my state 64.99 plus tax. In the first stop crossing the bridge into KY its $99. I cross into KY to get the bargains. JTS Brown and a few others. Living in a tri state its crazy seeing the price difference on bottles.
Other than demanding you take the video down, I don't see anything the liquor store owner said that was wrong. Unless they are in a controlled state, they can charge whatever they want, it is up to the consumer to decide if they want to pay that or not.
Why should liquor stores have to buy cases of one product to be able to buy higher-end products? That seems almost like coercing. People aren't forced to buy a truck for a chance to buy a car.
Is it a similar situation in all the states that are not state controlled? I'm in CT and many of the lottery systems allowed in other states are not allowed here. I go over the border to NY and they can't have a owner who has more than 1 store. Total Wine for example has just 1 store in all of NY. Could some of these distribution/retailer rules that you discussed be different in other states than the one you worked in?
Exactly I first walk in new stores as traveling look or ask for allocated things ask price and if marked way up will walk out. I will not deal with stores like that. Do like some of this good stores do save them throw big party people buy raffles tickets and you sell them at MSRP or small faction more and you win and people will buy more while there. Seen tons of videos and meet store owners doing the raffle partys and it works. Or just sell at MSRP and you will get people to come back.
Solid plan. One of the worst gougers in my city has a Cyber Truck sitting outside their store. Last time I went didn't want to go to normal spots and just wanted to pick up a bottle of Triple Sec and go home. No prices on shelves. Brought the bottle up. Overpriced as hell. Last time I will ever go to that store. He also has bad reviews for price gouging. Lesson learned stay way from stores that won't put prices on shelves or bottles.
Yep, greed is at the core of the problems ailing the bourbon market (and all whisk(e)y in general). Greed on the part of distillers/ndp's, distributors, stores and speculator/flipper buyers. The amount of people looking to grift the bourbon market has exceeded the amount of people that actually care about and drink the stuff. I get that the stores need to make a living as well and the liquor stores are starting to be viewed by bourbon enthusiasts the same way coin/bullion collectors look at coin/bullion stores. There is always going to be some sort of overhead margin to pay employees, pay operating expenses, property upkeep, taxes, etc. But the sheer avarice on display at virtually almost all stores selling liquor is grotesque. In the end this is only going to hurt consumers and ironically the businesses themselves when the pendulum swings back. Taxes are high, cost of living is through the roof and not improving, we're looking at a severely weakened economy going into next year, you've got the election coming up and all the government waste and deficit spending with no end in sight. People are starting to pull back and really watching their bucks. But if you're in the 1%, things are fantastic as everything is falling apart for the other 99%.
I live in a area where the only hard liquor is sold in liquor stores. So no hard liquor at places like Sam's Club or grocery stores. We have no large liquor stores like Total Wine (I wish we did). There are some stores that are straight up gouging people. Others with higher prices. And some that are reasonable on only certain things. We have 22 liquor stores within our county (I don't live in major city). We are oversaturated with stores. Most of them are low volume. The higher volume stores have lower prices. I really think prices would be better if some of them shut down. But till they do I just got to shop around and remember prices so I don't get gouged.
I buy from an MSRP store if they have what I want (Kroger). If they do not have it, I will buy from a tater store if it is only marked up about 5 to 10 dollars. I avoid the crazy allocated like Pappy as only for crazy rich people. I got a $120 bottle (MSRP) as a gift, I only spend $21 to $35 for a bottle. If it costs more I really do not need it.
Just found your channel and subscribed and like. I believe that you should not have to pay crazy prices.I know where 4 Bottles of Old Forester Birthday Bourbon . The cheapest one out of the 4 stores want $800 for a $200 msrp bottle I just can't do that it's not worth it. I like your channel keep up all the hard work. CHEERS
As someone who is a former distributor who's sold directly to total wine. can tell you with one hundred percent certainty that the discount that they receive is solely based on volume. They keep their prices low,sell high volume, and receive a larger discount. Most of the discounts they receive are between $5 and $10 off per case..... if you sell products at secondary prices in your retail store, your volume will be low, and you will never receive a good discount. Don't price gouge your customers!!!!
I mean that store isn't wrong. I can't hate the stores for doing what a vast majority of customers will do.until secondary dies the stores will charge secondary. I'd rather the store make the money than the guy who chases the truck to flip
I don't hate the store owners who up-charge for hard to find stuff... but I also don't buy anything from them either. Of course they are free to charge whatever they want for their products, *as they should be* but I am also free to take my business elsewhere, which I do. God, I love freedom!!!
@@red5standingby419 Casey is right, tho. Secondary is the problem, and as long as wealthy guys with thick wallets don't mind paying the extra $$ for the clout of having a hard-to-find bottle on their bar, it's not going away. Time is money, and most people don't want to stand in lines at 4am or drive 6 hours to a distillery to stand in lines, or drive around town every day checking stores. Trying to tell the masses to stop paying secondary is like trying to tell people not to vote democrat. It's a hopeless endeavor. A massive supply boom is the only thing that will shut it down unfortunately, unless the FDA announces that bourbon will make your dick rot and fall off.
Store owner sells bottle for MSRP. Customer buys it, flips it on secondary, makes a killing, 20x what the brick and mortar biz did. Customer is happy. Store owner sells bottle at secondary, higher or just under so the customer willing to pay secondary gets it. Customer who wants to buy low and sell high unhappy and wails it's unfair.
If you are interested in showcasing your store on my channel. I would love to have you on a live stream or if we are close to each,possibly an in person interview. You can show the viewers the store and your prices. Email me at charles@thatbourbondude.com and we can set something up.
This reminds me of a conversation I have seen over and over again on WhiskeyTube... "Do you feel obligated to buy something whenever you enter a liquor store?"
This seems like a ridiculous question to me. If a store doesn't have anything I want, then I'm leaving and going to the next store. I don't owe them anything just for walking in the front door.
Expose the store who emailed you! Everyone walks around thinking they can say and do what they want with no ramifications or accountability. EXPOSE THEM!
Agree
Yup
Expose them do we don’t shop there.
If they wanted to be anonymous, they shouldn't have sent an email on a buisness account. Please expose the store. That email was horrendous
Agreed!
Expose the store.
Charles, your videos are always spot on. Like everyone else I always prefer to get allocated bottles close to MSRP, but I’ve never been opposed to a slight up charge. I know that these stores don’t always get huge volumes of allocated product. However, paying stupid prices really does reinforce their bad behavior.
Listen brother you called the liquor store out, you are 100% correct, I reside Ajax Ontario 🇨🇦 we just had a bourbon drop at lcbo, Eagle Rare 10 yr old $66,40, Weller Antique 107 $72.95, E.H.Taylor Small Batch $106.40, Blanton's Single Barrel $76.40, just to name a few, that's all in Canadian funds, that launch was less than 2 weeks ago, you are 100% correct, we are getting scam, love your content please continue, everyone listen to him❤ 8:46
Those prices are MSRP LCBO doesn't Jack up prices 😂
Yeah those all seem like somewhat normal prices if that's Canadian dollars. Well aside from the Taylor small batch, that seems high. The MSRP on those in the US is like $40 USD. But it's not really secondary price high.
@@red5standingby419 EH price is high in canada for some reason same price as here in manitoba. The LCBO and MLCC are government ran and controlled. They have the exact same mark up on all whiskey they bring in its a set percentage.
Sometimes we definetely benift from that model, for example Blantons comes here to Manitoba twice a year and its $80 canadian $58 USD that under MSRP i believe in the US.
Thank you for putting this video out there!
The last vid was reasonable, well thought out and logical. So is this one. Keep doing ya thing fella.
The problem lies in the state systems. Liquor should be just something you buy over Amazon like any other consumer product, having it pass through 3 or 4 entities is ridiculous.
Thanks for the vid man. Always up front and real! You’re blazing trails Charles!🙌🏼
Thanks buddy
Keep up the good work. I'm pretty much done hunting except for the excitement and learning to put your advice to work to get hard to find bottles at MSRP. I agree with the comment about standardizing the industry nationwide. Pro and cons to Amazon model, but mostly cons for the small shops and pros for the consumer. About the only unicorn I want at this point is WLW and even then I don't want to pay more than 2X MSRP and don't care if that never happens. I've got more bourbon on my shelf than I can share and drink in my life (I'm 70) and have only focuses on bourbon in the last few months. Already have my favorite Tequila and Rum, so it's bourbon time now. I like that you're drinking Green River FP while doing this video. Great bourbon at a great price. Sure I'd love a GTS, but will exercise patience. Hit a local Walmart in September during a BT allocation drop and purchases several BT, ER10, EHT, and Blanton's at MSRP. Don't need any more. Glad it happened and it taught me that secondary pricing is BS and fools with more money than brains play that game. I'll keep enjoying so many good bottles at a fraction of those prices and wait as the market finally gives the middle finger to the greedy bastards. The stores and folks selling out the back door that are greedy deserve what they have coming to them.
I appreciate the information you provide. I've been drinking bourbon for many years but only recently started buying more expensive releases. It really is a buyer-beware market. For example, ECBP has an MSRP of about $75 but I have seen it for as high as $139 in my area for the same batch. Had I not known the MSRP for this product, I would not know how much I'm overpaying. I won't be the "dumb ass" and overpay and if a store does engage in price gouging, I won't go back.
SMH… I’ve overpaid so many times because I didn’t know better… but I’ve been in the space for 2 years now and learned some great lessons!
I'm in a control state and everything allocated is either lottery or blind luck (officially). So, I travel, and if I want something and its there, I a make choice. It also seems like product velocity is slowing down. I'm seeing things on shelves in my control state that I have not seen sitting on the shelf since Covid first hit. Perhaps the hype train might just be running out of hype? Anyway, I enjoy your content!
I live in PA, and our stores are state run. So many people come in and complain that we can't get BT products regularly blah blah, but they are at SRP. I always try to remind people that if this was private, that ER would be 90 and that Blantons would be 150. Can't please anyone, especially the BT junkies.
It’s the Indian way😂😂😂😂mark it up
100% brother! Inevitability this bourbon boom will come back down. When it does, I’m already going to enjoy watching several stores here in NJ come back to reality like the car dealerships have. When they struggle to keep up, I’ll be there for it. Never forget the greed they once had. Thankfully, products like Green River, BenHolladay and Bardstown are flipping this market on its head with affordable, better tasting bourbon. Cheers! 🥃
Well said! I've met enough great people that run liquor stores and DON'T treat their customers like this to know that there's no reason for it other than greed.
We all know who these particular owners are
Love the vid. Part of what I enjoy about hunting is upsetting stores when they try to sell you something and you say ,”nah I can get that for ‘xyz’ and they become so offended I don’t do it with that intention and it’s not a lie but it’s become a small joy seeing reactions and every once in awhile however rare, they renegotiate lol, some just want you to leave.
It's the little things in life
I have several relatives that were in the grocery/liquor business for over 50yrs in the Detroit area , myself for over 20yrs. Till everyone retired . We treated customers like they were family. These "New Owners " don't care about anything but money and treat customers like they are dime a dozen. All I say is good luck to them. Michigan is a state minimum state but they let you charge all you can get out of liquor if you want which I think is not a way to do business. 🤔 Cheers my friend 👍
I am a small business owner and I hate higher mark up! I love my customers and I want my customers to enjoy their spirits ❤
My last comment on your channel has been proven true. These liquor stores are the ones who need to be shamed and put on blast. I’m tired of people blaming the distributors/manufacturers. Yes, some manufacturers create “artificial” scarcity. But most of the time, this “scarcity” is coming from these liquor stores marking stuff up 4x MSRP, and also the secondary market. You know it’s an issue when someone goes on a secondary site minutes after they buy something for $75 trying to sell for $225 while the hype is still at its very peak. I saw people on secondary trying to sell a WT 70th for $200 😂
Hey Charles you got that rite , I walk in the stores and they have secondary prices I just walk out.... A friend has a store and he said even the distributors always push them also to jack up the prices on allocated but he says he marks up all the bottles the same percent even if its allocated .... Thanks
You are doing good job exposing Sazerac pushing their products which just won’t sell!!
You honest and truthful ❤
100% Agree with you! It’s shameful what some of these stores are selling some bottles for. That store owner was hilarious, “it’s no one’s business what we pay for a product” , actually it’s everyone’s business. You used the State Of Michigan Liquor Price book which is public knowledge, and easily accessible to anyone on the The State of Michigan website, it’s not like you showed some private business document. I keep the price guide bookmarked on my phone so I can always look up what a bottle is supposed to cost, and I will even call out store owners to there face when I find them price gauging
You're the man..keep up with the good work
Have a chain store not to far from me that magically has an allocated bottle in stock every Wednesday when they receive their shipments yet magically those bottles are never available for sale. "it's a bug in our system". Bullshit, they are going out the back door an on the secondary market.
Good video brotha. Hope to see more like this. Cheers Brotha. 🥃
That email is hilarious!
"It takes 20 years to build a reputation and 5 minutes to ruin one."
-Warren Buffett
"It's not about what you like, it's about the consumer."
-Joe Dirt
This is all day one stuff. Bad actors always kill the golden goose.
This is why I insist on staying away from crazy mark up. It only takes one idiot to spend 500% msrp to ruin it for the real bourbon drinkers out there. Unfortunately there are enough idiots out there to make it financially feasible to be patient and wait for them to spend those crazy prices.
Thanks for the inside look. I appreciate it. 🥃
That e-mail sounds like it could have come from any of the large number of museums in my area. I look at the prices on some of this stuff and laugh. I see no reason to overpay for hyped up bottles. There are plenty of alternatives. There are other spirits besides bourbon too, and bourbon isn't even my favorite - it is merely one of many things that I like. If bourbon becomes too much trouble, I can always buy rum.
The bourbon boom can't last forever. It will be fun watching these stores adjust to the new reality when people get sick of it and stop paying way too much for certain bottles.
I've moved over to rum mostly as well, plenty of interesting stuff happening and very few overhyped budget breakers. I'll grab reliable, good, fairly priced bourbon/rye/whiskey but the price gouging is a real turn off so I started looking at other spirits.
@@AdamWilson78 Another underrated spirit category is brandy. Aside from a few overhyped Cognacs for rich people, brandy is a bargain. Even at 30+ year age statements, brandy that won't bust the budget can be found. Also, I've noticed recently that cask strength, additive free brandies have started to turn up. These are well worth seeking out.
Please share more (alot more) of this type of content -- expose the greedy.
I’m ok with some smaller mom and pop stores charging a few dollars over state minimum. Usually there overall cost of doing business is more than bigger places. What pisses me off is these places the have bottles price double or even triple what suggested retail is. F those people, a state licensed liquor store shouldn’t be allowed to price gauge. Also shame on the consumers who are either uninformed or have more money than brains for supporting those type of stores and making it profitable for them to do business that way.
You can go on the NC state ABC warehouse page and see what brands are in stock and the pricing (since they are a control state all bottles are sold at MSRP). I live in SC and all ABC stores here are privately owned and this marking up of allocated bottles (often to full secondary price) happens all over. Distribution in SC is handled by a third-party vendor (and you can't tell me that there aren't some stores that are paying a "premium" to get more allocated bottles). The local store in my area that gets all the allocated bottles has a list of the who's who in town that don't care and will pay markups for those bottles. The system needs an overhaul.
I would say the liquor stores are very much playing the victim card. I went to one the other day that had the nerve to try and sell Buffalo Trace for almost 60$ Eagle Rare for 100$ EH Taylor for 200$ and almost all the other items were marked up anywhere from 5$ to 20$. Benchmark products were literally almost 30$ The guy used every excuse he could. Tried saying they dont get products often, blah blah blah. Well the issue is they are over charging for damn near everything in their store that they aren't moving products. Crazy to me.
I used to buy an obilgatory unsweet tea (im a northerner) and a cheese or meat stick.....but I've even stopped doing that. I walk into the store.......they have ER for $99 on the shelf......do they even deserve ANY of my business? Even a lowly $5 purchase? The lady at the counter the other day said "yeah the golfers and weekenders dont have a problem paying $99 for the Eagle Rare, so we just wait and sell it to them". They've sold about 3 bottles from the case since I was last there. I don't need MSRP of $39.......I'll pay a bit more......but it ain't gonna be $99. .....I WILL SAY.......the store owner is not necessarily wrong......there are PLENTY of people with too much money and too little brains that throw money at rare bottles. Its what the market will bear....but it also creates a reputation for the store and its owner that they don't care....they are going to make as much money off of you as they can......Right there should be your cue to leave and never come back. Every store owner though.....they remember the time they sold those 2 bottles of Blantons for $175 each and now they think the entire bourbon sipping world is stupid.....AND they sell Bud Light at full price..... If nothing else.....if this video stops a few people from FOMOing and spending way too much money on overpriced bottles...youve done your job! Cheers...
Thank you so much for the kind words and I don't hold it against you that you're from the north, but anytime you're down here in the south, I'll be more than happy to pour you a nice tall glass of sweet tea or bourbon...Cheers my friend
Great video love the content do you have a list or link to the price list
In the video I did (what do liquor stores really pay) I have the link pinned in the comments and in the video description.
I think 99% of people who shop for allocated products that know a lot about liquor and know what the MSRP is on products. I think it's pretty well published. I'm pretty sure big box stores and little Mom and Pop stores pay the same price for the same liquor per capita with the exception of some wholesale places they get dozens of cases, but I doubt the price per bottle Is that vastly different to to give Mom and Pop stores the gall to charge $75 for a bottle of eagle rare. Stores that do this typically don't sell eagle rare, because everybody that's in the know is aware not to buy that for that price.
Lmao. I am drinking the same bottle watching this. Lol. It is our business, and people need to open their eyes. I walk out of every store that marks up their stuff. There is absolutely no bottle worth more than 300. Most are not worth over 100. My threshold is 80. I'm not going to pay over retail for most bottles. I can only think of like 3 bottles I would pay over retail, and it wouldn't much over that for sure.
If a store charges outrageous prices just don’t shop there at all and tell your friends not to shop there. No bottle of whiskey (if you are actually drinking it) is worth more than MAYBE $300 and that’s very few bottles IMO
best content in the game! thanks
Good video, I for one do not mind someone making a buck but some of these stores are straight up gouging people. I also have a hard time developing a rapport with places because my wife and I move every 2-3 years for her military service. The Class sixes on bases rarely ever get any type of allocated whiskeys despite the fact that us military folks do a lot of drinking. They do however seem to get $1500-$2000+ bottles of Cognac that ends up sitting in a class case that no one ever buys. If you ask the manager about allocated bourbons they will tell you that they always ask for it but the distributors always say that they don't have any...🤷♀
It’s not the stores fault it’s the consumers and influencers! RUclipsrs making videos saying $300 is a good secondary price is the problem. If we stop supporting these stores and start calling them out maybe things will start to change. But we will never know because it won’t happen!
Thank you for the support and comment 🙏.
Cheers 🍻
Wow! Just, wow.
I’d ask which store sent the email, however I suspect that’s a common theme across a large number of store owners, so that detail is moot. Thanks for everything you do! 👍
I've seen store owners / managers do some really shady things, like change the rules of a raffle the day of . But here in southeastern Massachusetts the biggest distributor puts unrealistic or illegal terms on allocated bottles. Having to purchase none related products or pallets of nips just to get a few bottles of lets say eagle rear and not even a case .
Exactly I have a store an hour from me that will have insane sales and I guarantee you they do this enough that they can’t be losing money. They’re selling makers Mart 46 for 2799 bottle many times you can get not Creek nine year for 2499 a bottle that’s 750 ML, so these places are charging $38-$47 for 750 of makers Mark 46 is making a lot of money when this store regularly has it on so-called sale for 27.99
I live in a tri state area. One being kentucky. I usually just shop at my CVS because its msrp and decent selection. Im not going to find the rare bottles there but one example is Knob 12. At CVS in my state 64.99 plus tax. In the first stop crossing the bridge into KY its $99. I cross into KY to get the bargains. JTS Brown and a few others. Living in a tri state its crazy seeing the price difference on bottles.
Other than demanding you take the video down, I don't see anything the liquor store owner said that was wrong. Unless they are in a controlled state, they can charge whatever they want, it is up to the consumer to decide if they want to pay that or not.
Why should liquor stores have to buy cases of one product to be able to buy higher-end products? That seems almost like coercing. People aren't forced to buy a truck for a chance to buy a car.
Transparency is a must and they will be exposed 😆
Something to be said about NC ABC. It may suck at times but the prices are fair.
Was the email from Grand Cru in OKC?
Is it a similar situation in all the states that are not state controlled? I'm in CT and many of the lottery systems allowed in other states are not allowed here. I go over the border to NY and they can't have a owner who has more than 1 store. Total Wine for example has just 1 store in all of NY. Could some of these distribution/retailer rules that you discussed be different in other states than the one you worked in?
Exactly I first walk in new stores as traveling look or ask for allocated things ask price and if marked way up will walk out. I will not deal with stores like that. Do like some of this good stores do save them throw big party people buy raffles tickets and you sell them at MSRP or small faction more and you win and people will buy more while there. Seen tons of videos and meet store owners doing the raffle partys and it works. Or just sell at MSRP and you will get people to come back.
"Why? Cause Fuck em thats why!" Dave Chappelle, Popcopy skit, The Chappelle Show and every shitily ran liquor in America!
I also don’t shop there if I see a Tesla
Solid plan. One of the worst gougers in my city has a Cyber Truck sitting outside their store. Last time I went didn't want to go to normal spots and just wanted to pick up a bottle of Triple Sec and go home. No prices on shelves. Brought the bottle up. Overpriced as hell. Last time I will ever go to that store. He also has bad reviews for price gouging. Lesson learned stay way from stores that won't put prices on shelves or bottles.
Living in Oregon alcohol is state controlled at msrp. Less opportunity but better prices.
Another good video brother 👍💯😉
#keepit100
Not paying more than 100 for any bottle from anywhere for the rest of the year.
I’ve only ever paid $100 once for a bottle- it was Stagg Jr.
Yep, greed is at the core of the problems ailing the bourbon market (and all whisk(e)y in general). Greed on the part of distillers/ndp's, distributors, stores and speculator/flipper buyers. The amount of people looking to grift the bourbon market has exceeded the amount of people that actually care about and drink the stuff. I get that the stores need to make a living as well and the liquor stores are starting to be viewed by bourbon enthusiasts the same way coin/bullion collectors look at coin/bullion stores. There is always going to be some sort of overhead margin to pay employees, pay operating expenses, property upkeep, taxes, etc. But the sheer avarice on display at virtually almost all stores selling liquor is grotesque.
In the end this is only going to hurt consumers and ironically the businesses themselves when the pendulum swings back. Taxes are high, cost of living is through the roof and not improving, we're looking at a severely weakened economy going into next year, you've got the election coming up and all the government waste and deficit spending with no end in sight. People are starting to pull back and really watching their bucks.
But if you're in the 1%, things are fantastic as everything is falling apart for the other 99%.
I live in a area where the only hard liquor is sold in liquor stores. So no hard liquor at places like Sam's Club or grocery stores. We have no large liquor stores like Total Wine (I wish we did). There are some stores that are straight up gouging people. Others with higher prices. And some that are reasonable on only certain things. We have 22 liquor stores within our county (I don't live in major city). We are oversaturated with stores. Most of them are low volume. The higher volume stores have lower prices. I really think prices would be better if some of them shut down. But till they do I just got to shop around and remember prices so I don't get gouged.
How are you not telling us which place so we don't go into this/these stores anymore?!
all in good time... i have something in the works
Liquor stores are no different than car dealers. Snakes.
I buy from an MSRP store if they have what I want (Kroger). If they do not have it, I will buy from a tater store if it is only marked up about 5 to 10 dollars. I avoid the crazy allocated like Pappy as only for crazy rich people. I got a $120 bottle (MSRP) as a gift, I only spend $21 to $35 for a bottle. If it costs more I really do not need it.
Consider yourself lucky if you can buy from a grocery store, Sam's Club, or Total Wine. I don't have that option where I live.
Respect to you sir. Buy what you can afford 🔥
I have Fortaleza not sure what it’s worth?
$84.99
Just found your channel and subscribed and like. I believe that you should not have to pay crazy prices.I know where 4 Bottles of Old Forester Birthday Bourbon . The cheapest one out of the 4 stores want $800 for a $200 msrp bottle I just can't do that it's not worth it. I like your channel keep up all the hard work. CHEERS
The Patel Cartel
😂
In all honesty all these big store Total Wine Specs etc are getting the liquor at dirt price
As someone who is a former distributor who's sold directly to total wine. can tell you with one hundred percent certainty that the discount that they receive is solely based on volume. They keep their prices low,sell high volume, and receive a larger discount. Most of the discounts they receive are between $5 and $10 off per case..... if you sell products at secondary prices in your retail store, your volume will be low, and you will never receive a good discount. Don't price gouge your customers!!!!
I mean that store isn't wrong. I can't hate the stores for doing what a vast majority of customers will do.until secondary dies the stores will charge secondary. I'd rather the store make the money than the guy who chases the truck to flip
You are the problem
I don't hate the store owners who up-charge for hard to find stuff... but I also don't buy anything from them either.
Of course they are free to charge whatever they want for their products, *as they should be* but I am also free to take my business elsewhere, which I do.
God, I love freedom!!!
@@red5standingby419 Casey is right, tho. Secondary is the problem, and as long as wealthy guys with thick wallets don't mind paying the extra $$ for the clout of having a hard-to-find bottle on their bar, it's not going away. Time is money, and most people don't want to stand in lines at 4am or drive 6 hours to a distillery to stand in lines, or drive around town every day checking stores. Trying to tell the masses to stop paying secondary is like trying to tell people not to vote democrat. It's a hopeless endeavor. A massive supply boom is the only thing that will shut it down unfortunately, unless the FDA announces that bourbon will make your dick rot and fall off.
Patel Cartel lol
💯
Everyone is invited to come over to my liquor store you will my prices
Bravo
Store owner sells bottle for MSRP.
Customer buys it, flips it on secondary, makes a killing, 20x what the brick and mortar biz did. Customer is happy.
Store owner sells bottle at secondary, higher or just under so the customer willing to pay secondary gets it.
Customer who wants to buy low and sell high unhappy and wails it's unfair.
Everyone is invited to come over to my liquor store you will love my prices
If you are interested in showcasing your store on my channel. I would love to have you on a live stream or if we are close to each,possibly an in person interview. You can show the viewers the store and your prices. Email me at charles@thatbourbondude.com and we can set something up.