Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission

by Christie Scott You may have heard some say that liquor is cheaper in California. The facts are that only a handful of products are significantly lower, while most products are very competitive. In fact, after you’ve added in the California sales tax, many popular products in Oregon are actually less expensive. Many retail stores in states like California use a sales tactic called “loss leaders.” This is the practice of drastically marking down a few popular, fast-moving products to entice customers into coming into the store and purchasing other products. But then other products are likely marked higher to make up the cost difference. The OLCC does not use these techniques to entice people into liquor stores. For public safety reasons, the state does not try to encourage alcohol sales or try to entice people into the stores. The most common size bottle sold in Oregon is 750 ml also known as "fifths." Most people who purchase alcohol purchase this size - a...

Actually, the OLCC offers about 1,700 different distilled spirits items. The distribution center regularly carries about 1,300 items, and that number swells by at least 30 percent when adding special orders and one-time product offerings. Customers are responding enthusiastically to the wide variety of new distilled spirits and the agency continues to expand its product line to meet the demand. By continually evaluating the product line, the OLCC provides consumers with new beverage varieties as they are introduced and eliminates non-performing items.