The entire article itself is fascinating, especially if you are a fan of spirits (the alcoholic kind), but what I found most interesting was this:

As bourbon enthusiasts realized their favorite products were becoming harder to find, they started purchasing multiple bottles: two, three, six, why not 12. They then bunkered that bourbon in their basements, for the day when they couldn’t find their preferred dram, or, I suppose, the day when the apocalypse comes. Liquor store owners noticed. Though wholesale costs have only crept up slightly, retailers’ prices have skyrocketed for any bottle with even a slight smell of scarcity about it.

Wholesale prices crept up only slightly, but retailers artificially inflated their selling prices, sometimes at five times their standard price. And because of the rumored scarcity, bourbon enthusiasts leapt in, eager to buy in before prices rose even higher.

Artificial markets are everywhere. You see them at the end of every year on places like eBay as perceived scarcity impacts the sales price of holiday gifts.

Another example is a cut-in-line market, where you can pay to move up in line, perhaps paying for better seats at a concert than the folks who camped out all night to wait for their seats, or paying for the latest Apple product so you don’t have to wait for yours to ship. Cut-in-line markets come with their own premium pricing.