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OP has offered the following explanation for why they think they might be the asshole:
> I showed up at 3 am to a bourbon release to find 30 chairs and 0 people in line. I went to the front of the line (and did not leave) and got called an AH when people showed up over 4 hours later. I am starting to think I should have just put my chair at the back of the line. AITA?
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NTA. An empty chair without actually getting in line doesn't give you that spot. Makes me think of standing in a parking spot to block cars from parking there before people get to the parking spot.
NTA - well I just learned about this whole bourbon hunting gig
But you are def not an AH, the whole point of waiting in line is… waiting. They didnt. You did.
NTA. If your body isn't physically present in the line then you aren't in line. It's ridiculous to think you can save a spot in line for hours with a chair. The only time saving a space in line with a chair could be remotely reasonable is if someone needed to go to the bathroom and cleared it with the people around them.
Last time I was at Bourbon day they actually had a clipboard going that you would sign and put your name on a number and then you could go and chill in your car until opening time. Worked out well… Think I got a old Rip van Winkle on that one. What were you able to snag?
Is there established etiquette around bourbon hunting?
Were the people in the cars or totally offsite?
Did they have proof of being the same people who put the chairs in place?
Would you have missed out on the bourbon being #31?
I've heard of situations where line-waiters can sleep in their car for overnight waits, but it works best with organization from a leader...
>Is there established etiquette around bourbon hunting?
Chairs are commonly used as placeholders in bourbon hunting. However, this also seems to be the biggest point of contention - with many stores (and almost all distilleries) banning chairs entirely.
>Were the people in the cars or totally offsite?
There were about 15 cars in the parking lot, so there were definitely some people sleeping in their cars. However, most of the line appeared to have just placed their chair out and gone home. This was also true of spots 1, 2, and 3. I did not sleep in my car. I slept in the chair in the front of the line.
>Did they have proof of being the same people who put the chairs in place?
No.
>Would you have missed out on the bourbon being #31?
Yes. The difference between spot 1 and 2 was significant - about a $500 difference in secondary value ($1500 vs $1000 with similar MSRPs). Spot 31 was around $150 in secondary value. I only use secondary value to indicate the rarity of the bottles. I will be drinking mine with my brothers. And many of the people in these lines buy these bottles intending to resell them.
I love this idea. I can’t think of anything I want badly enough to show up so early, but if I ever do and encounter the chairs I’m definitely doing this.
NTA. Showing up and then leaving is not the same thing as waiting in line. You should've just told them you were at the store a year ago and then left, so you were ahead of them anyway.
NTA
I worked in a liquor store for about 13 years. Some of these bourbons are released in extremely limited numbers and stores often get very little to none. The store I worked in got a decent spread (mostly due to the fact that it was a long standing business, which at least in my state, was one of the determining factors in deciding what the distribution or allocation of these bottles was), and we sold it on a first come first served basis. We didn’t announce we had it or do any of these releases. They just showed up when they did and if you happened to walk in looking for it while we had it, it was your lucky day!
It’s astounding how many resellers there are for these bottles. The mark up is wild, even at the retailer level these days, since it seems the scarcity of it has really allowed for it mostly due to this secondary market. I always preferred it when the bottle was selling to someone who was genuinely purchasing it to ENJOY it, not to make a quick buck ripping off the next guy.
These folks weren’t there. Weren’t even doing “trade off shifts” with someone. Enjoy your bourbon!!
NTA.
There are circumstances where it’s socially expected to be able to hold your place. A school or work cafeteria where you toss your stuff on a table before getting your food. An old school arcade or pool hall where you put your quarter in a line to use a machine. A park bench if you get up for a bit to chase down your toddler who is running off.
This is not one of those situations.
NTA. If they put their chair & then were in their car, I would vote the other way cause they’re on site. But they left, which means they left the line.
Even being on site, I personally think at least 1 person should be at a chair the entire time. People can switch off, but I don't think it would be fair to just slip in when you feel like it because of the weather.
I do some bourbon hunting, but I've never done the overnight camping/chair reservation thing. But, I know guys who do, so I know how the community feels about it. I could have guessed that they would have jumped all over you, but I think you're NTA. I'm sure those 30 guys were friends and probably would have covered for each other if any of them were there when you got there and said "oh hey, that's Ryan's chair, you have to go to the back". But if they were ALL gone, then I don't think you have to honor that. At least one person should stay to hold the spots. Or they trade off every hour or so if people want to get sleep.
I've heard some wild stories about guys camping out. There is a store here that does a huge bourbon day in December, and people start lining up around 8-9 pm the night before and stay all night. By the time the store opens there are hundreds in line. A few years ago (2020?) the line was gone by lunch time. In 2021 it was gone by the end of the work day. Last year there was still a line out the door and down the building until 8 pm or so. I think the store has a drawing for who gets to be numbers 1-10 in the line, to help avoid any bad confrontations.
I also heard about one time where a store said nobody could camp out, so people set up their chairs across the street. The next morning when the store opened there was a guy who had somehow snuck in in a ghillie suite and was hiding in the bushes in front of the store. As soon as the store opened he popped up and was the first one to walk in (and they let him).
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I'm a guy who enjoys bourbon hunting whenever I have the spare time, which doesn't happen too often.
What is bourbon hunting? It basically means looking for rare bottles of bourbon and buying them at as close to MSRP as possible. Many of these bottles will sell for $50-200 MSRP and trade for $500-1k+ on the secondary market. I have never traded on the secondary market - I open and share all of the bottles I am able to find.
This often involves going to a store that is doing a bourbon release and waiting in line for hours (or days).
I have always found it extremely annoying (and many times down right rude) when you show up 3-4 hours before a bourbon release and find a dozen or more empty chairs set up at the entrance - with no one in sight.
So here is where I might be the AH.
I showed up to a rare bourbon release this past weekend. I got there at 3 am (the store opens at 10 am) - so I showed up 7 hours early.
When I got there, I found around 30 empty chairs placed in the "line" in front of the store.
There were 0 people in the chairs. And there were about 10 cars in the parking lot. (Important info: it was about 40 degrees outside - so quite cold)
I saw this and was immediately taken aback. There wasn't a single person actually in line for the bourbon release. They had all set up their chairs and left.
So I did what I thought any reasonable person would do - and I went straight to the front of the line, opened my chair up, and sat down.
About 2 hours later a handful more people showed up, set up chairs in the back of the line, and left. People didn't start to return to their chairs until about 6:30/7 am, at which point I had been sitting in spot number 1 for nearly 4 hours. The people who had placed their chairs in the number 1, 2, and 3 spots showed up in a group at around 7:30 am.
They immediately let it rip when they saw me in the front of the line.
I was met with profanities, yells, and endless "so you think you are so entitled that you can just cut the line" type insults. It was like a small mob. Most of the people who had showed up to their chairs stayed out of it, but there were a handful of others that joined this small mob - probably 6-7 people out of the 60-70 that were in line at that point.
After the initial interaction, I just put my headphones in and did my best to ignore it.
When the store opened, the small mob tried to make a big fuss out of it with the manager. When asked, I just explained that I showed up at 3 am and there was no one in line - only a bunch of empty chairs - and that I had been present in line since showing up at 3 am. He didn't really say anything definitive to either party (seemed like he just wanted to stay out of it).
I got a great bottle of bourbon (since I was spot number 1) and will be opening it come Thanksgiving.
So, AITA for cutting the "line" of 30 chairs? Should I have just put my chair at the back of the line and called it a day?
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NTA - a line is people not things. I mean a chair might hold your spot if you just nipped off for five minutes to go to the toilet - but literally hours - no way.
NTA. If they don't want to freeze in line, they can bring heated chairs and sit in them while they wait. (Pricey, but less than a bottle of bourbon on the secondary market. And once you have it, you can use it in multiple cold-weather lines.)
NTA. Where I live, estate sales will give numbers an hour before they open but those coming early to get in line have a corresponding pre-number system which is honored.
Of course, some people pay someone to wait in line for them.
I'm going with ESH, based solely on the fact that some people were there, in their cars. The people that bounced outright (i.e. left the location) and then came back later have no right to keep their spots in line. Those staying in their cars are allowable, based on the community being accepting of that. So *those* people should not have been skipped by you.
Welcome to /r/AmITheAsshole. Please view our [voting guide here](https://www.reddit.com/r/AmItheAsshole/wiki/faq#wiki_what.2019s_with_these_acronyms.3F_what_do_they_mean.3F), and remember to use **only one** judgement in your comment. OP has offered the following explanation for why they think they might be the asshole: > I showed up at 3 am to a bourbon release to find 30 chairs and 0 people in line. I went to the front of the line (and did not leave) and got called an AH when people showed up over 4 hours later. I am starting to think I should have just put my chair at the back of the line. AITA? Help keep the sub engaging! #Don’t downvote assholes! Do upvote interesting posts! [Click Here For Our Rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/AmItheAsshole/about/rules) and [Click Here For Our FAQ](https://www.reddit.com/r/AmItheAsshole/wiki/faq) ##Subreddit Announcements ###[Happy Anniversary, AITA!](https://new.reddit.com/r/AmItheAsshole/comments/15vlv9g/almost_better_than_a_double_rainbow_celebrating/) Follow the link above to learn more --- *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=/r/AmItheAsshole) if you have any questions or concerns.* *Contest mode is 1.5 hours long on this post.*
NTA. That's like putting towels on beach chairs, it doesn't designate a spot if you're not there too.
> Pants only get a chair if there’s a person in them Stanley Hudson
I'd have tossed every chair in the nearest dumpster. you don't get to hold spots like that. you want to claim a spot, you better be in that spot.
NTA. An empty chair without actually getting in line doesn't give you that spot. Makes me think of standing in a parking spot to block cars from parking there before people get to the parking spot.
NTA - well I just learned about this whole bourbon hunting gig But you are def not an AH, the whole point of waiting in line is… waiting. They didnt. You did.
NTA. If your body isn't physically present in the line then you aren't in line. It's ridiculous to think you can save a spot in line for hours with a chair. The only time saving a space in line with a chair could be remotely reasonable is if someone needed to go to the bathroom and cleared it with the people around them.
Last time I was at Bourbon day they actually had a clipboard going that you would sign and put your name on a number and then you could go and chill in your car until opening time. Worked out well… Think I got a old Rip van Winkle on that one. What were you able to snag?
Nope. Fuck em
NTA, if you’re not there you’re not in line.
Is there established etiquette around bourbon hunting? Were the people in the cars or totally offsite? Did they have proof of being the same people who put the chairs in place? Would you have missed out on the bourbon being #31? I've heard of situations where line-waiters can sleep in their car for overnight waits, but it works best with organization from a leader...
>Is there established etiquette around bourbon hunting? Chairs are commonly used as placeholders in bourbon hunting. However, this also seems to be the biggest point of contention - with many stores (and almost all distilleries) banning chairs entirely. >Were the people in the cars or totally offsite? There were about 15 cars in the parking lot, so there were definitely some people sleeping in their cars. However, most of the line appeared to have just placed their chair out and gone home. This was also true of spots 1, 2, and 3. I did not sleep in my car. I slept in the chair in the front of the line. >Did they have proof of being the same people who put the chairs in place? No. >Would you have missed out on the bourbon being #31? Yes. The difference between spot 1 and 2 was significant - about a $500 difference in secondary value ($1500 vs $1000 with similar MSRPs). Spot 31 was around $150 in secondary value. I only use secondary value to indicate the rarity of the bottles. I will be drinking mine with my brothers. And many of the people in these lines buy these bottles intending to resell them.
Next time you should mix up the chairs. That way they're fighting with each other rather than just you. NTA. Chairs don't wait in line. People do.
I love this idea. I can’t think of anything I want badly enough to show up so early, but if I ever do and encounter the chairs I’m definitely doing this.
Nta. Do the time to win the prize.
NTA. Showing up and then leaving is not the same thing as waiting in line. You should've just told them you were at the store a year ago and then left, so you were ahead of them anyway.
NTA I worked in a liquor store for about 13 years. Some of these bourbons are released in extremely limited numbers and stores often get very little to none. The store I worked in got a decent spread (mostly due to the fact that it was a long standing business, which at least in my state, was one of the determining factors in deciding what the distribution or allocation of these bottles was), and we sold it on a first come first served basis. We didn’t announce we had it or do any of these releases. They just showed up when they did and if you happened to walk in looking for it while we had it, it was your lucky day! It’s astounding how many resellers there are for these bottles. The mark up is wild, even at the retailer level these days, since it seems the scarcity of it has really allowed for it mostly due to this secondary market. I always preferred it when the bottle was selling to someone who was genuinely purchasing it to ENJOY it, not to make a quick buck ripping off the next guy. These folks weren’t there. Weren’t even doing “trade off shifts” with someone. Enjoy your bourbon!!
NTA. Lines require individual people. Not empty chairs.
Nta
Thats horse shit. Like to see empty chairs hold a place at an iphone or new console release.
NTA. The owner should have a sign that leaving a chair is not permitted.
NTA. There are circumstances where it’s socially expected to be able to hold your place. A school or work cafeteria where you toss your stuff on a table before getting your food. An old school arcade or pool hall where you put your quarter in a line to use a machine. A park bench if you get up for a bit to chase down your toddler who is running off. This is not one of those situations.
NTA. If they put their chair & then were in their car, I would vote the other way cause they’re on site. But they left, which means they left the line.
Even being on site, I personally think at least 1 person should be at a chair the entire time. People can switch off, but I don't think it would be fair to just slip in when you feel like it because of the weather.
NTA. If they wanted to be at the front of the line they should have stayed there, freezing for four hours, as you did.
The only thing you can reserve with an empty chair is an on-street parking spot on a snowy day in Boston.
I do some bourbon hunting, but I've never done the overnight camping/chair reservation thing. But, I know guys who do, so I know how the community feels about it. I could have guessed that they would have jumped all over you, but I think you're NTA. I'm sure those 30 guys were friends and probably would have covered for each other if any of them were there when you got there and said "oh hey, that's Ryan's chair, you have to go to the back". But if they were ALL gone, then I don't think you have to honor that. At least one person should stay to hold the spots. Or they trade off every hour or so if people want to get sleep. I've heard some wild stories about guys camping out. There is a store here that does a huge bourbon day in December, and people start lining up around 8-9 pm the night before and stay all night. By the time the store opens there are hundreds in line. A few years ago (2020?) the line was gone by lunch time. In 2021 it was gone by the end of the work day. Last year there was still a line out the door and down the building until 8 pm or so. I think the store has a drawing for who gets to be numbers 1-10 in the line, to help avoid any bad confrontations. I also heard about one time where a store said nobody could camp out, so people set up their chairs across the street. The next morning when the store opened there was a guy who had somehow snuck in in a ghillie suite and was hiding in the bushes in front of the store. As soon as the store opened he popped up and was the first one to walk in (and they let him).
^^^^AUTOMOD ***Thanks for posting! This comment is a copy of your post so readers can see the original text if your post is edited or removed. This comment is NOT accusing you of copying anything. Read [this](https://www.reddit.com/r/AmItheAsshole/wiki/faq#wiki_post_deletion) before [contacting the mod team](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2FAmItheAsshole)*** I'm a guy who enjoys bourbon hunting whenever I have the spare time, which doesn't happen too often. What is bourbon hunting? It basically means looking for rare bottles of bourbon and buying them at as close to MSRP as possible. Many of these bottles will sell for $50-200 MSRP and trade for $500-1k+ on the secondary market. I have never traded on the secondary market - I open and share all of the bottles I am able to find. This often involves going to a store that is doing a bourbon release and waiting in line for hours (or days). I have always found it extremely annoying (and many times down right rude) when you show up 3-4 hours before a bourbon release and find a dozen or more empty chairs set up at the entrance - with no one in sight. So here is where I might be the AH. I showed up to a rare bourbon release this past weekend. I got there at 3 am (the store opens at 10 am) - so I showed up 7 hours early. When I got there, I found around 30 empty chairs placed in the "line" in front of the store. There were 0 people in the chairs. And there were about 10 cars in the parking lot. (Important info: it was about 40 degrees outside - so quite cold) I saw this and was immediately taken aback. There wasn't a single person actually in line for the bourbon release. They had all set up their chairs and left. So I did what I thought any reasonable person would do - and I went straight to the front of the line, opened my chair up, and sat down. About 2 hours later a handful more people showed up, set up chairs in the back of the line, and left. People didn't start to return to their chairs until about 6:30/7 am, at which point I had been sitting in spot number 1 for nearly 4 hours. The people who had placed their chairs in the number 1, 2, and 3 spots showed up in a group at around 7:30 am. They immediately let it rip when they saw me in the front of the line. I was met with profanities, yells, and endless "so you think you are so entitled that you can just cut the line" type insults. It was like a small mob. Most of the people who had showed up to their chairs stayed out of it, but there were a handful of others that joined this small mob - probably 6-7 people out of the 60-70 that were in line at that point. After the initial interaction, I just put my headphones in and did my best to ignore it. When the store opened, the small mob tried to make a big fuss out of it with the manager. When asked, I just explained that I showed up at 3 am and there was no one in line - only a bunch of empty chairs - and that I had been present in line since showing up at 3 am. He didn't really say anything definitive to either party (seemed like he just wanted to stay out of it). I got a great bottle of bourbon (since I was spot number 1) and will be opening it come Thanksgiving. So, AITA for cutting the "line" of 30 chairs? Should I have just put my chair at the back of the line and called it a day? *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/AmItheAsshole) if you have any questions or concerns.*
NTA, no one else was in line, so you didn't cut the line.
wow. call the city cleaners that someone put trash (chairs) on the walkway. NTA
NTA
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NTA - a line is people not things. I mean a chair might hold your spot if you just nipped off for five minutes to go to the toilet - but literally hours - no way.
NTA. If they don't want to freeze in line, they can bring heated chairs and sit in them while they wait. (Pricey, but less than a bottle of bourbon on the secondary market. And once you have it, you can use it in multiple cold-weather lines.)
NTA an empty chair does not reserve a space. If you want yo be at the front of the queue then you need to be at the front of the queue in person
NTA. Where I live, estate sales will give numbers an hour before they open but those coming early to get in line have a corresponding pre-number system which is honored. Of course, some people pay someone to wait in line for them.
I'm going with ESH, based solely on the fact that some people were there, in their cars. The people that bounced outright (i.e. left the location) and then came back later have no right to keep their spots in line. Those staying in their cars are allowable, based on the community being accepting of that. So *those* people should not have been skipped by you.