I talked to someone today about reselling of highly allocated wines. He said that various state laws imply that you need a license to sell and even ship wine. I know that shipping wine is a no no unless you have a license and there is no way I do that, but I didn’t realize that a friendly exchange at cost might be questionable.
I’d still assume that the occasional sell is not going to raise any eyes from our lovely local government even if they knew how to hack our emails, but there are certainly people who seem to sell a lot of stuff all the time on CC here (and presumably on ebob as well.)
So is what is happening in CC completely illegal unless it is a local trade, or a licensed seller and shipper?
Given that almost anything you do with alcohol in the US is illegal unless you are licensed up the gazoo, I wouldn’t be surprised at all.
In California, and I believe different in each state, can sell only to a licensed wine store or wholesaler, reds over 10 years of age and whites five.
alan
If BATF or any state alcoholic beverage control enforcement unit joined and/or monitored the commerce corners on the web, they could make life miserable for a lot of people.
Common sense and state/federal law often butt heads and are not compatible. We have all these laws to control distribution, collect taxes and most importantly, keep alcohol out of the hands of children. How many 14 year olds are going to buy your allocation of Screagle on line? But, the rules are in place to make sure it doesn’t happen. MADD has been a key proponent in new laws and pushing for enforcement of the existing laws.
If you wish to have your voice heard on this issue, you can join D.A.M.M.
Thanks All, that’s definitely good to know. Glad that I don’t have to do it either now that I know this.
Drunks Against Mad Mothers? ![[rofl.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/a/a7452fcd8e675af869f8da01174474a545b03944.gif "rofl"){kind=small}
Across state lines or through the mail? In no way legal. Peer to peer with in-kind trades from hand to hand, maybe.
And technically, taxes are due on any sale if you’re sellling above your cost basis.
Not legal in most states, but not the target of enforcement, either.
Hopefully, this falls in the category of things like Tuesday night $2 ante poker games and wagering on fantasy football and NCAA office pools, which are technically illegal but not the object of enforcement. But with each passing year, government at all levels intrudes more aggressively into our personal lives, so I’m not sure how long that will continue being the case.
As one of the antagonists in Atlas Shrugged explains, “There’s no way to rule innocent men. The only power any government has is the power to crack down on criminals. Well, when there aren’t enough criminals, one makes them. One declares so many things to be a crime that it becomes impossible for men to live without breaking laws. Who wants a nation of law-abiding citizens? What’s there in that for anyone? But just pass the kind of laws that can neither be observed nor enforced nor objectively interpreted and you create a nation of law-breakers – and then you cash in on guilt. Now that’s the system.”
Chris - No need to bring Ayn Rand into this. Overall, rules on alcohol sales have been significantly relaxed over the past 20 years – to allow sales on Sunday, to allow credit card purchases (prohibited in NY state until the late 80s), to ship across state lines, to allow auctions, in some states to allow end runs around the three-tier system, and so on. By any measure, the government’s role is diminishing. Restrictions like this are the legacy of Prohibition, maintained by the liquor distribution lobby. The momentum is all the other way.
The land of the free? 
Land of the free and the sometimes rabidly temperate.
Actually, that’s good to hear. But (as I’m sure you know) there are still plenty of absurdities. In Maine, for ex., and underage cashier at the grocery story can ring up your wine purchase but can’t touch the bottle! Talk about stupid…
In New York, beer can be sold only in food stores, but not before noon on Sundays (they have to cover the cabinets). Wine and liquor stores, meanwhile, were not permitted to sell glasses or even a cork screw until a relatively few years ago.
I raised this issue long ago. If the Calif ABC ever decides to come after the folks selling wine on this board, it could be costly for all.
Bad boys, bad boys, whatcha gonna do…
Should we be worried by your avatar, Bob?
Nope. I retired as a prosecutor after 33 years. I’m out of the system. Now I run 3 wine competitions and judge 6 or 7 others. I just got to see Cal ABC in action. Other parts of my agency represented them.
Don’t you think it is a matter of degrees?
Sell a bottle or two?, not worth the time or effort of the enforcement agency. Have an on-going venture to resale wine? That would be a problem.
I’ve heard that type of sentiment expressed by a local BTF agent about moonshining (our local avocation).