Advice for pricing please.

[Sutty]

I sell to 2 local retailers at £6 per 340g jar, one puts them out at £8, the other at £10 (sells slower!).
I suspect the hex jars have more visual appeal so that's what I use.
I have a "mates rate" of £5 which I sell at at work.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

im retired my hives are 5 min walk up the fields .so i dont have any fuel cost .honey price around me seems to be about the same price .
im not a big hitter only hobby .so selling is not income i relie on .it pays for more kit .i see what you mean .about time put in etc..i could make more if i charge for advice i give out .to folks who want bees in thare gardens..

but selling it at an unrealistically low price just undercuts those trying to make a few pence or even a living from it and just queers the market

 

[user 11159]

im the only beekeeper in the small village i live in .3 miles both sides of me to nearest town .i do no others all seem to charge the same .so dont think im doing anyone out ..no one complains whare i live .that so and so wants x amount and your under cutting them ..or over charging .the shop puts more on than i sell at door .it still sells ..its a win ..win for me .buy from the shop get my deatails of label buy from my door ..i will get £1.more than i sell to shop job lot ..

 

[judy12]

I sell for £5 per 340g to everyone then my stallholder friend and the local art gallery both resell for £6.50 and we're all happy. But I'd like some advice on selling cut comb. I use the simple Thorne cases.

 

[thorn]

For the last couple of years I've sold at £6 for a 340g jar, or £5 for those taking 10 or more. This year I'll go up to £7/£6.

 

[Dibbler]

For the last couple of years I've sold at £6 for a 340g jar, or £5 for those taking 10 or more. This year I'll go up to £7/£6.

May I ask roughly where in the UK ? Reading everything it seems location has a bearing on the price.

 

[beeker]

£5 for 227g £7 for 340g. 20% less for 10 or more to shops.
Keeping it at around what I think is the level of a couple of big commercial producers nearby, and don't want to undercut them, it's their living after all. So hopefully they'll appreciate that. (at least one is active on here)
A couple of little keepers like me have accused me of wearing a mask, but no customer has ever questioned the price and I've just sold last jar from last year, so quite happy.

 

[pargyle]

May I ask roughly where in the UK ? Reading everything it seems location has a bearing on the price.

Location has a lot of bearing on price .. what other beekeepers there are in the area and what they are selling their honey for. Even the type of outlet has an influence on price - if the outlet attracts wealthy clientele they will get a better price than a local shop in a deprived location.

Selling from the door and to colleagues at work is regular business - if the price is right and your customers like your product they will come back for more. Establishing what the market will bear in these circumstances is difficult. Too cheap and you will sell out - too expensive and you won't sell any.

Look around at what price there is locally for local honey ... make your product look better than other local offerings and price it near the top end of what others are sellling for and then gauge your success by the repeat orders you get.

 

[Curly green finger's]

I sell for £5 per 340g to everyone then my stallholder friend and the local art gallery both resell for £6.50 and we're all happy. But I'd like some advice on selling cut comb. I use the simple Thorne cases.

I sell cut comb for £10 per tray, our association advised I sell for that price as that’s what it is sold for at the fairs and markets.
This was last year I presume the price will be the same.

 

[thorn]

May I ask roughly where in the UK ? Reading everything it seems location has a bearing on the price.

Leeds, West Yorkshire.

Check the price of English honey in your local supermarkets and match them.

 

[judy12]

Could I ask how much a tray of cut comb weighs?

 

[Swarm]

£5 for 227g £7 for 340g. 20% less for 10 or more to shops.
Keeping it at around what I think is the level of a couple of big commercial producers nearby, and don't want to undercut them, it's their living after all. So hopefully they'll appreciate that. (at least one is active on here)
A couple of little keepers like me have accused me of wearing a mask, but no customer has ever questioned the price and I've just sold last jar from last year, so quite happy.

That's very decent of you, I got undercut by a full £1 per jar (340g) at a butcher shop I'd been supplying for years. I must say I was a little disappointed with the owner, I do hope this new supplier spends as much as we used to on our monthly meat bill.

 

[Dibbler]

Location has a lot of bearing on price .. what other beekeepers there are in the area and what they are selling their honey for. Even the type of outlet has an influence on price - if the outlet attracts wealthy clientele they will get a better price than a local shop in a deprived location.

Selling from the door and to colleagues at work is regular business - if the price is right and your customers like your product they will come back for more. Establishing what the market will bear in these circumstances is difficult. Too cheap and you will sell out - too expensive and you won't sell any.

Look around at what price there is locally for local honey ... make your product look better than other local offerings and price it near the top end of what others are sellling for and then gauge your success by the repeat orders you get.

I live in a rural part of Norfolk. No one sells honey within 5 miles of me. £7.00 for 340g being a small beekeeper like myself. There are 2 commercial producers around 8 and 10 miles away.
Their prices are between £8 340g and £9.50 454g.

My 1st winter/spring honey I've sold for £5 340g.
I realise I've priced it a bit too cheaply. Not valuing the product or my time.
I've got orders for my summer honey and said my price will increase to cover costs.
Price from my gate will be £6.50 340g/12oz.
Selling to 2 small local shops for £5.50 so they make a profit too.
All my hives are on my own land so no travelling costs.
Time will tell if I've got it right.

 

[Dibbler]

Thank you everyone for all your replies. You have helped me so much.

 

[pargyle]

Thank you everyone for all your replies. You have helped me so much.

It's one of the real treasures of this forum ... Lots of varied advice, given promptly by people who have, very often, been there and got the t-shirt. You won't find anything in beekeeping on the internet that comes close.

You still have to make your own mind up about what you are going to do - but that's one of the joys of beekeeping ! Keeps your brain in gear ...

 

[Curly green finger's]

Could I ask how much a tray of cut comb weighs?

It Varys aldepending on the comb but anything from 200g to 250g is £10
9 times out of 10 my comb weighs between these weights in the trays I use- weights are then wrote on a seperate label or not at all as most are local customers and not sold to retailers

 

[judy12]

Forgot to say, the people I sell for £5.00 for 340g give me the jars and lids back because they know how much they cost.

 

[robinharman]

That's very decent of you, I got undercut by a full £1 per jar (340g) at a butcher shop I'd been supplying for years. I must say I was a little disappointed with the owner, I do hope this new supplier spends as much as we used to on our monthly meat bill.

Same happened to me - I sent in Mrs H as a UC (JMB will know) and she bought a jar of honey with labels copied from those I had designed for the shop.
Sat tight and after a couple of months later an order came in. I said that I thought they were getting honey from elsewhere. A bit sheepish they apologised and said they were 50p cheaper but had now run out (September). Also customers had commented that it had granulated and was not the same as normal.

Normal service resumed and has been steady for five years.

 

[Dibbler]

Forgot to say, the people I sell for £5.00 for 340g give me the jars and lids back because they know how much they cost.

One of my customers text me to say how gorgeous the honey was and how much she loved the hexagonal jar as it will make a great candle holder. ( darn it )
I'm thinking basic round jars next year lol.

 

[Jules59]

My local commercial beekeeper in North Warwickshire sells 8oz/227g for £6.