The former state liquor store in Ocean Shores liquor store has been auctioned a third time and the final bid was $200,000 less than a previous winning bid.

In the third round of bidding, where a $25,000 deposit was required, the Ocean Shores store went for $75,000.

The Ocean Shores store was one of six stores that had to be re-auctioned by the Washington State Liquor Control Board, which has been selling off the rights to retail liquor licenses under the state initiative that privatized hard liquor sales.

The Ocean Shores store first had a winning bid of $205,000 in the initial auction in April, but the winning bidder defaulted on paying. It was put up for auction a second time last month, with a winning bid of $275,000, but the Indiana man who paid $10,000 for the right to bid, also defaulted and failed to take over the store.

The six stores that went back up for auction sold for a total of $600,000. Including that amount, the Liquor Control Board has now generated over $30.5 million dollars by auctioning off former state liquor stores.

Successful bidders earn the exclusive right to apply for a liquor license at the current location within its current footprint, but bidders will need to secure a lease with the property landlord. If they are unable to secure a lease, they may re-sell their right or request an alternative location within a one-mile radius of the existing location.

from The Daily World June 30, 2012