Scenic Views No More: Maotai Lunar New Year Zodiac Liquor Overpriced by 100 Yuan, No Takers

Guizhou Maotai’s “Year of the Snake” liquor, called “Snake Maotai,” has encountered a cold reception since its launch, with the market price only slightly higher than the official guidance price by over 100 yuan. Additionally, there were no takers even at a hundred yuan premium on second-hand trading platforms.

Just like in previous years, China’s Guizhou Maotai Distillery (Group) Co., Ltd. (‘Maotai’) has introduced a zodiac liquor this year to commemorate the Year of the Snake in China. This special edition liquor is named the Snake Year Maotai Zodiac Liquor (‘Snake Maotai’).

On January 5th, ‘Snake Maotai’ was officially released with an official price of 2499 yuan per bottle, being the final installment of the 12 zodiac liquor series by Guizhou Maotai, causing significant market attention upon its release.

Reported by New Yellow River under Jinan Daily Newspaper Group on January 14th, to the surprise of scalpers, dealers, and regular consumers alike, the Maotai zodiac liquor, which used to have a premium of at least two to three thousand yuan per bottle in previous years, faced a sudden downturn this year. On January 2nd, single-bottle prices of ‘Snake Maotai’ were around 3800 yuan for spot sales and 2700 yuan for futures, a difference of nearly 1100 yuan. By the release day on January 5th, scalpers in the market offered to buy back ‘Snake Maotai’ at a sharply reduced price of 2549 yuan. Many liquor stores are now buying back ‘Snake Maotai’ at prices below its official launch price, with market repurchase quotes averaging around 2400 yuan per bottle, nearly a hundred yuan lower than the official selling price.

According to a report by Tencent News Prism on January 8th, due to the excessively low market price, the scalpers who originally planned to purchase ‘Snake Maotai’ at a 200 yuan premium above the official price have started reducing prices or even ceased buying, leading some lottery winners to opt-out of their purchases. Industry insiders commented, “The initial plunge in prices right after the launch, and lottery winners opting out.”

As of January 13th, the latest market price indicated by Today’s Liquor Price shows that ‘Snake Maotai’ is currently priced at 2650 yuan per bottle, marking a decrease of over 1000 yuan since its pre-sale on January 2nd, with a drop of over 30%.

The online sales scenario isn’t favorable either. Reported by New Yellow River, ‘Snake Maotai’ is currently being sold on e-commerce platforms like Taobao for 2779 yuan per bottle, with immediate shipping, yet only a few hundred buyers paid on the same day. On the second-hand Xianyu platform, individual bottle prices have dropped to 2600 yuan, edging closer to the launch price.

A netizen posted on a forum that they had pre-ordered several bottles of ‘Snake Maotai’ liquor with the intention of selling them at a premium on second-hand platforms, but to their dismay, no one showed interest even after a mere hundred-yuan markup per bottle for three consecutive days.

Regarding the reasons for the cold reception of ‘Snake Maotai’ this year, New Yellow River cited industry insiders’ analysis, pointing out that one reason is the oversaturation in the current market release of ‘Snake Maotai,’ diminishing its scarcity and collector’s value. Maotai’s official e-commerce platform iMaotai showed that from January 1st to 5th, each day nearly 50,000 quotas were released, with each person allowed to purchase 1 to 2 bottles. The maximum daily release of ‘Snake Maotai’ bottles was close to 100,000, totaling nearly 500,000 bottles in five days. In contrast, last year’s ‘Dragon Maotai’ had a purchase limit of one bottle per person, with an initial release of around 16,000 bottles on the first day, resulting in a mere 0.2% success rate.

A professional engaged in the circulation and sales of liquor remarked, “Official quantity control is necessary; otherwise, it might stable during the festive season but may drop again later, or even lead to price inversion.”

On the other hand, “inventory clearance” remains a critical keyword for liquor enterprises and dealers in 2025, with a persistently high societal inventory (including purchased but unopened bottles) still an issue. In this context, scalpers, dealers, and consumers are gradually becoming more rational.

Netizen “Mo” commented, “These zodiac liquors are just a hype. Does adding a zodiac sign change the liquor? No, it doesn’t. Initially, people bought into the trend because they had the money, but now they don’t, so there is no commercial value anymore.”

Netizen “Dao Kun” also believed, “The pricing is too high. Liquor is for drinking, not for speculation.”

Netizen “!” sarcastically remarked, “Brewed from grains, yet costs thousands. One might think it’s made of gold.”

Alex Chen observed, “Those who buy don’t drink, and those who drink don’t have to buy! Maotai has deviated from the principles of liquor and become part of the speculative economy!”