"Advertise" another business on label?

[SteveM]

I have friends that want to pay me for my wine. I always tell them I cannot sell it or except ANY kind of donation. I think the law also covers the, "Buy the glass, I give you a bottle of wine" loophole as well.

But I had a thought. I own an Etsy shop. Amongst other things, I sell Wine related SVG & PDF files that you download and use in your own projects. What you do with the files (other than reselling the files, you can't do that) is your business. You could create a Cutting Board, T-Shirt or Poster or whatever your imagination can think up and sell it at your local craft show or just hang it on your own wall, whatever.

My question is this. Could I "Advertise" a specific bundle I may have created, that is Wine related on my Etsy site?

In my opinion, this is not selling wine or asking for a donation or the, “You buy this, and I give you that for free” loophole. They are purchasing an actual Item I am selling for a different purpose, but I am not having to give them anything physical.

So, if someone asks, "Can I pay you something." or whatever, I can just say, "if you want to support me, scan the QR Code and support my Etsy Shop".

Is this legal? Thoughts?

 

[cmason1957]

This is probably a question to ask of a lawyer well versed on ATF and your local state rules and regulations.

One thing I have heard is always legal, provided you stay below the legal limit is someone buys the raw materials and you make the wine, they get the wine. But I don't do even that. You want wine, here, take some I will give it to you.

 

[winemaker81]

If the product sold does not include alcohol, AFAIK, it's not subject to the ATF. If you sell "pictures for making wine labels" and it includes only graphics, that should be legal since it's just graphics.

 

[winemaker81]

So, if someone asks, "Can I pay you something." or whatever, I can just say, "if you want to support me, scan the QR Code and support my Etsy Shop".

Is this legal? Thoughts?

In the USA, any sale of alcohol without relevant licenses is bootlegging. The penalties for bootlegging can include confiscation of real estate, e.g., they take your house. Check the USA ATF site. Also note that federal, state, and local laws ALL apply, so you have three sets of laws to be wary of.

Regardless of how you try to position it, if you accept money or goods in exchange for alcohol, it's illegal. All it takes is someone to utter a statement regarding that in the wrong place to invoke an investigation. Even if you prevail in a trial, the cost of defending yourself can be bankrupting.

This reminds me of something my father, who was a cop, said when I was a teenager: "If you're going to steal something, make sure it's worth it. You get the same sentence for stealing $1,000 as $1,000,000."

Can you make enough selling wine illegally to make it worth it?

 

[winemaker81]

side note especially for folks in the USA: if you're doing something illegal, DO NOT post about it online. It's an open confession of guilt. This applies to anything, not just alcohol related stuff.

I've seen a few reports of idiots videoing themselves doing something illegal, like vandalizing someone's car, and posting the video. Open-n-shut case. As Ron White says: "You can't fix stupid. Stupid is foevah!"