茅台酒疯狂的吸引着Costco的购物者
US retailer Costco's luxury liquor Kweichow Moutai bottles sold out at half the market price during the Mid-Autumn Festival holidays, leading the chairman of the liquor company to secretly visit the retailers and urge them not to speculate with the liquor.
美国零售商好市多旗下的高档酒贵州茅台酒在中秋节期间以半价销售一空，导致该公司董事长暗中走访零售商，敦促他们不要投机倒把。
The 500-milliliter, 53-percent-proof Moutai Flying Fairy retails for 1,499 yuan ($223) a bottle at Costco, which is also the official guide retail price from the manufacturer based in Southwest China's Guizhou Province.
这款500毫升、不含53%成分的茅台酒在好市多的零售价为1499元(合223美元)一瓶，这也是这家位于中国西南部贵州省的茅台酒生产商的官方指导零售价。
But that price was hiked up as high as 2,700 yuan at other stores and often out of stock, the National Business Daily reported on Monday.
但据《每日经济新闻》周一报道，其他商店的售价高达2700元，而且经常缺货。
Moutai Chairman Li Baofang secretly visited some such stores and was quoted as saying. "Moutai is for drinking, not speculating."
茅台董事长李保方秘密走访了一些此类门店，“茅台酒是用来喝的，不是用来投机的。”
Costco's membership-based system made it more difficult for speculators to hoard Moutai and its mature retail channel ensures members get a fairer price.
好市多的会员制使得投机者更难囤积茅台酒，其成熟的零售渠道确保会员获得更公平的价格。
But the results of that fair price was that 100 bottles of Moutai Flying Fairy initiated a frenzy on the opening day of Costco's first Shanghai store in late August.
但这一公平价格的结果是，在8月下旬好市多上海首家门店开业当天，100瓶茅台飞仙掀起了一股热潮。
A special supply of about 10,000 bottles for the Mid-Autumn Festival, a time for family reunion and feasts in China, sold out in two days.
中秋节是中国家庭团聚和宴请的节日，特价供应约1万瓶，两天内售罄。
Festivals are a time for the producer to increase market supply and speculators like to stock up, Chinese analysts said.
中国分析师表示，节日是生产商增加市场供应、投机者喜欢囤货的时候。
One Shanghai shopper, who gave only the surname Yu, told the Global Times Monday that she bought the heavy booze purely for profiteering not for drinking.
一位只透露姓余的上海顾客周一告诉《环球时报》，她购买这种烈性酒纯粹是为了牟取暴利，而不是为了喝酒。
The price difference also tempts counterfeiters and worries buyers.
价差也会吸引造假者，令买家担忧。
For example, a Moutai Flying Fairy package including bottle, paper box and anti-counterfeit mark was being sold for 400 yuan, news portal thepaper.cn reported in 2018.
例如，据新闻门户thepaper.cn 2018年报道，一款包括酒瓶、纸盒和防伪标志的茅台飞仙久的包装售价为400元。
Liquor industry insider Shu Guohua told the Global Times Monday that imbalanced supply and demand drive the crazy prices, but more important drivers are speculation, collection and investment in its appreciation.
白酒业内人士舒国华周一对《环球时报》表示，供需失衡推动价格疯狂上涨，但更重要的推动因素是投机、收藏和投资。
Speculators hoard Moutai and make it unavailable, meaning real shoppers must pay top whack or turn to rival brands, Shu noted.
他还指出，投机者囤积茅台酒，使其无法销售，这意味着真正的购物者必须支付高价，或转向竞争对手品牌。
To avoid such speculation, the manufacturer is building direct-sale channels and governments are also regulating, he said.
他说，为了避免这种投机行为，制造商正在建立直销渠道，政府也在进行监管。
On September 7, the Guizhou market regulation administration issued a notice to collect evidence and clues about hoarding, bidding up the price, counterfeiting and false promotion of Moutai, according to media reports.
据媒体报道，9月7日，贵州省市场监管局发布通知，要求收集有关囤积、哄抬茅台价格、造假和虚假促销的证据和线索。
