Pricing Information

In North Carolina, the retail price of spirituous liquor sold in ABC stores is uniform throughout the state, unless otherwise provided by law, as described in North Carolina General Statutes, GS 18B-804, Alcoholic Beverage Pricing. The Commission issues a Quarterly Price List that is effective on the first day of February, May, August and November. Any price changes made by a Distiller are effective with the issuance of this List.

On every delivered case of spirituous liquor approved for sale, there is an 86 percent markup. Therefore, the selling price at retail, in addition to cost of goods, includes:

  • Freight
  • Bailment fee that funds the ABC warehouse private contractor
  • Surcharge fee that funds the ABC Commission's budget
  • State tax
  • Local ABC Board markup
  • Rehabilitation tax
  • Other miscellaneous tax(es)


Please see to the Spirituous Liquor Pricing Breakdown for an example of the distribution of revenue from alcoholic beverages and the pricing break down pie chart for additional insights.

In addition to the Quarterly Price List, the Commission publishes a monthly Supplemental Price List reducing the retail prices of selected liquor products to reflect the distillers offers of special price reductions.

New items are considered and approved in January and July of each year for listing in the May Price List. Likewise, items that are not selling well and delivering minimum profits are removed from the list at these times. Special holiday packages with glass sets or other novelty items are approved in June each year and are limited for sale only in the November Price List.

The Commission will approve special orders of products not on the approved price list when a local ABC board has a request from a customer. When an ABC Board submits an order the Commission will immediately forward it to the proper vendor and when received at the state warehouse ship it to the local board where the order originated. The special order process may take 6-8 weeks depending upon the product's availability and the supplier's process.