Conor McGregor has had a whirlwind 2018, and it doesn’t seem like his name is leaving the news cycle anytime soon. From struggling to throw a football with the Dallas Cowboys to losing a fight against Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 229 in October,McGregor’s autumn has been eventful to say the least, but his major victory has been his whiskey brand, Proper No. 12 Irish Whiskey. The brand has been such a success that people are selling their empty bottles on eBay—and they’re actually making money doing so.
Proper No. 12 was released in September, and while some poked fun at how much promo McGregor did for the drink across social media, it looks like it all paid off because the brand sold hundreds of thousands of bottles, leading to the worldwide shortage.
McGregor, who admits he is never one to apologize, apollogized to fans for the shortage. He went on to say Proper No. 12 “sold more cases in less than one month than many whiskey brands sell in a full year” according to TMZ Sports. He later took to Instagram to tell the UFC fans and whiskey drinkers of the world that Proper No. 12 would be back in stock come December. Just in time for the holidays.
But because the internet is weird, the people who just couldn’t wait the measly month for their Proper No. 12 found the next best thing—the empty bottle, which are selling on eBay for as much as €80 ($90.27 USD).
According to TheIrish Mirror, the item description online reads “You are bidding on an ‘empty’ bottle of the hottest new whiskey on the market. Only a limited amount were released for sale. Very rare. Great price that includes free shipping!”
The prices of what people are actually paying for these ‘very rare bottles’ varies. The Mirror goes on to report Eric Hammer of New Jersey bought the whiskey for $31 and was able to sell the empty bottle for $40. Hammer says he was surprised he was able to sell the bottle for more than he paid, but goes on to say, “the obsession with anything McGregor-related is no joke.”
But for all of you who actually want alcohol when you buy a bottle of whiskey, Proper No. 12 will be back in stock in December and will be available in even more countries in 2019.
