BOOKERS, auction site ascendant

All the 2017 batches are selling (not asking) for north of the expected auction range.

Let’s make something clear off the jump. I don’t work for an auction site, nor do I have any incentive to report on them. I get no referral revenue for you visiting or buying off these sites. I follow these auctions because I’m fascinated by the economics of whiskey sales in secondary markets and I like to share now and then when I see some things that are “trending.”

In October/November of last year, I began to see some small movements in the Booker’s market. New batches selling at auction for $125ish which when you factor in taxes, shipping, and buyers fees…comes to about $175. This was for a new batch not a dusty unnamed pre-2015 release (link provided here for a 2022 batch auction). Ok, this got my attention, so I began to watch and track. Slight increases here and there for some of the post-2016 batches, but prices stubbornly were sitting at the $125-150 range for most of them, until December.

In December I found a few listings for Backyard BBQ that were ending north of $300 (here’s the highest I saw) and one topped out at $380 list price, factoring in the buyers premium, taxes, and shipping came to a staggering and soul crushing $500!!!! This was a 2018 release for shit sakes!

I wrote an article about this on 12/3 and in the two months following the prices have only gone up on almost every other batch of Bookers. Here’s a link to the 2020 Boston batch which ended at $245 list (all in $334!!). Beaten Biscuits for $215 ($296!!). 2019 showed up with Bookers Country Ham for $350 ($467!!). It goes on and on. Almost every Bookers current release is now north of $150 on secondary (more factoring in taxes, premium, and shipping) and the older ones are now commanding 2x what they did even six-months ago. Bookers secondary pricing has in fact, gone mad.

$200-$300+ on secondary for Bookers is 2x-3x retail pricing. When that level of potential profit is possible, you then see the dread pirate bottle flippers get involved. This tends to increase scarcity for new things, which increases the FOMO of the buyers who can only get them on secondary, which creates bidding wars for the coveted bottle. As the price continues to rise on the older bottles (quickly I might add) it garners attention, and people start recklessly and foolishly spending more money than they should to not miss out on their favorite batches, or completing their collections/verticals.

I’m aware that this article will shine a little light on what’s happening with Bookers at auction, but I hope that it doesn’t incentivize others to spend dumb money when there’s so much great whiskey out there to be had (those Baker’s singles are special!). It’ll be interesting to see if this is just the latest meme stock bourbon (like the Whistle Pig Piggy Bank was), or if the pricing is here to stay.

- Mickey Pinstripe