According to Oklahoma Statute Title 15 § 598.3, all consumable alcohol products must be marked up a minimum of 6% by law. Selling less than 6%, UNLESS it is a ‘bona-fide’ clearance product and marked as such, is prohibited.
The statute reads, “…any advertising, offer to sell, or sale of any merchandise, either by retailers or wholesalers, at less than cost as defined in the Unfair Sales Act with the intent and purpose of inducing the purchase of other merchandise or of unfairly diverting trade from a competitor or otherwise injuring a competitor, impair and prevent fair competition, injure public welfare, are unfair competition and contrary to public policy and the policy of the Unfair Sales Act, where the result of such advertising, offer or sale is to tend to deceive any purchaser or prospective purchaser, or to substantially lessen competition, or to unreasonably restrain trade, or to tend to create a monopoly in any line of commerce.”
This law is in place as it relates to alcohol to protect public health and safety by preventing retailers from offering free or extremely reduced prices on alcohol which increases binge drinking and the social ills that inevitably result from it. Selling alcohol at or below cost has been shown to “injure public welfare” so keeping a minimum mark-up at both the wholesale and retail tiers is consistent with the duty of our legislature to protect and maintain public health and safety.
The law also protects small businesses from the predatory practice often used by big box stores and warehouse ‘clubs,’ in which they price the most popular products below cost to eliminate most or all of the competition so that they can then be the only, or one of the few outlets, remaining in that community which inevitably leads to higher prices, decreased selection and a less robust local economy.
The punishment for selling below 6% above cost (with some exceptions) in Oklahoma is up to a $500 fine that results from a misdemeanor charge and conviction. The ABLE Commission can take separate action which could include additional fines and even revocation of the violator’s ABLE license.
All violations reported here will be investigated by the RLAO and, if deemed legitimate, aggregated and forwarded to the proper authorities for action. The RLAO will gladly keep submitters anonymous.
If you have other alcohol-related violations to report, please call the proper ABLE enforcement district.
