Warning Rant!!

[crazy_bull]

Today, I had a stand at the wonderful Oundle Food Festival, an extremely well run and ultimatley very profitable day, however:



It is lovelly to meet so many people who are interested in bees and even to meet fellow beek's who come over and introduce themselves, however out of the perhaps dozen beekeepers i met today 2 seperate guys picked up and 'violently' inspected virtually everthing on the stand (similarly to how a bored child would) and instead of putting it back neatly on the display almost throwing it down and then walking away!

Then to top it all off an middle - late aged chap came pushing through a small crowd of people who were in the process of buying honey and said how much is 'your honey' £5 i replied he coughed then loudly said to everyone at the stand bloody hell i wouldn't buy this honey i will sell you all you want at £2.50!!

He then walked a few yards away talking to a few of our now non customers, i was already for going and having words but was swamped with plenty of other customer who agreed what a male chicken he was.


Is it that fellow beeks are jelous of another beek making a go of it, or as i am hoping it is just a few small minded people like you get in all walks of life. I have done dozens and dozens of shows and this is the first time anything like this has happened.

Rant over!

On a lighter note i did meet an extremely nice gentleman in his late 70's who had a dozen hives and asked me how much he should increase his honey too. He had been selling his honey at £2/lb for the last 10 years and his wife had refused to let him increase it however he said she had passed last year and he now felt he could charge a bit more


Plus we had 4 local shops approach us for supplying honey to them which was nice.

All in all a good day but marred by so very strange fellow beekeepers! Hope their not on here!


C B

 

[Poly Hive]

Ah.......... the joys of selling to the public. I could add what a bunch of XXXXXXXX

But we all love them dont we??????????????????????????/

PH

 

[Ouarda]

well what can you say!!! obviously not taught any manners as a child

 

[crazy_bull]

Ah.......... the joys of selling to the public. I could add what a bunch of XXXXXXXX

But we all love them dont we??????????????????????????/

PH

Trouble was Poly as a % it was the fellow beeks who were the biggest bunch of Tw@s, not the vast majority of the public.

There were some really great members of the public who were a pleasure to meet and serve.

 

[Queens59]

We had a deli for 10 years and did numerous 'Food Fairs' - we found our loudest critics were fellow deli owners who had
a) Not thought of the idea
b) Applied too late
c) Charged 'high' prices and couldn't understand why we had more trade than they did!
d) Had deli's for less time and never made a profit for 'whatever' reason...

 

[Geoff]

If it is that cheap there must be a reason. It is easy to sell c****p at any old price. You are selling a premium product and if people go for the cheapest stuff whatever then decent pure British honey is wasted on them - they are probably quite happy with a cheap supermarket imported blended honey.
I sell plants and now veg through Country Markets and they do not intend to undercut other retailers. You charge a fair price for good value. You sell on quality. Yesterday I sold potatoes that were more expensive then the shops and 20p/kilo more than another seller on the stall. I was selling 4 varieties of new potato and I had fewer left than the other seller at the end.
I hope to get my honey on there when i can get the labelling sorted out. We have just received the new instructions for selling honey from the Country Markets HQ and they have made some serious omissions.

 

[Arfermo]

Nobody I know in my area will accept less than £4 per lb, whether at the door or by the bucket and I suggest that we stick together at this figure or agree another which doesn't cut the throats of fellow beeks?
Arfermo

 

[oliver90owner]

Geoff,

I know what you meant, but your comment was far from bomb-proof (statistics and all that). For instance perhaps the other seller started with a great deal more tats than you? So they may still have sold ten times as many as you!

CB,

The guy selling honey at £2.50 was, perhaps, the manager at one of the local supermarkets? Cheap, imported, 'Chinese', blended with others to get it just within the marketing pesticide/antibiotics specs, and quite likely laced with AFB spores.

Had you said on here re Oundle food fest, I may have come along to seek you out - so no, it was not I rummaging through your kit! And, furthermore, I would have said I could sell as much honey as they wanted at 5p less than yours! Or suitably bribed I might comment 'how on earth could you sell such a premium product as cheaply as that!'

By the way, I can sell it much cheaper than that - if the purchaser will take it by the 10l bucket - only one label needed, for a start!

Regards, RAB

 

[Geoff]

Geoff,

I know what you meant, but your comment was far from bomb-proof (statistics and all that). For instance perhaps the other seller started with a great deal more tats than you? So they may still have sold ten times as many as you!

Regards, RAB

No she didn't sell more, she sold less. It quite pleased me because the condescending cow made a comment the previous week that was intended to belittle my spuds, saying that people wouldn't buy them. But mine were better with skins you could scrape off with your finger nail. Hers were hard tough skins. It is quality that attracts the customer, otherwise you are competing with the supermarkets.
Perhaps we should all help fellow beeks who are selling honey by going up to the stall and saying in a loud voice " How much are you charging? For British honey? Bloody hell that is cheap."
I have had notification of the Shrewsbury Flower Show. I think the beekeepers will be selling at £5/lb this year.

 

[BlidworthBees]

Would it be a good idea to have a sticky thread on this forum to give details of any shows or events whick Beeks are attending either with displays or sales of honey and other products ?

If it exists already perhaps someone could give me the link as I am still finding my way round this forum.

 

[kazmcc]

Why do people have to be so nasty? You get some right door handles about don't you. I think Blidworth has a good idea, we should post when people are going to do fairs and fete or shows, and go along and support each other. Then, when you get some scrote pulling a stunt like that, you have some people there to back you up, mingle and big up your honey. That has made me really mad now. Everyone has been so nice to me here with all my daft questions and it's upsetting to think others can behave towards any of you so rudely.

 

[Haughton Honey]

No she didn't sell more, she sold less. It quite pleased me because the condescending cow made a comment the previous week that was intended to belittle my spuds, saying that people wouldn't buy them. But mine were better with skins you could scrape off with your finger nail. Hers were hard tough skins. It is quality that attracts the customer, otherwise you are competing with the supermarkets.
Perhaps we should all help fellow beeks who are selling honey by going up to the stall and saying in a loud voice " How much are you charging? For British honey? Bloody hell that is cheap."
I have had notification of the Shrewsbury Flower Show. I think the beekeepers will be selling at £5/lb this year.

Do you do Whitchurch or any other North Shrops market town Geoff?

If so, I'll pop along and say hi.

 

[Silly Bee]

suitably bribed I might comment 'how on earth could you sell such a premium product as cheaply as that!'

 

[taff..]

I did a stall at our little village fete yesterday. it was the first time I have sold any honey and didn't really know what to expect, so I took PH's advice and bottled it in nice 12oz hex jars with really nice labels and chose to give them a try at £4.

I had an open bottle with breadsticks for tasters and just about everyone that had a taster bought a bottle, everything was going well untill one old woman came to the table....

me - would you like a taste

oldy - (in that tone that only old people can do) no thank you, I used to keep bees and know what honey tastes like

me - Oh, ok, you dont know what MY honey tastes like

oldy - It's very expensive isn't it

me - not really, its excellent quality and comparable with other honey sellers

oldy - Hmph (as she walked off)


I was quite annoyed with her untill I heard her giving the stallholder next door the same sort of grief.

on the bright side another old gent came and chatted, and told me tales of his 40 years in beekeeping and gave me some good encouragement, and I sold about half of my stock

 

[Arfermo]

Shrewsbury Flower Show 13/14 August 2010.

Shrewsbury Flower show attracts some 80,000 bods over the 2 days - 13th and 14th August this year. The likely price for honey being sold at the show this year is £5/lb with 15% off as commision ie at net £4.25 or so. Pretty good I reckon as, locally, £4 at the door is the going rate.
Arfermo

 

[milkermel]

get wallys like that in all walks of life, people comment about prices of pest control or how much I charge for my milking I do. The ones that should loudest are usually the with least to offer.

glad you had a good day selling!

 

[Friar Tuck]

Here is my plan (when i get some honey ;o) Set up a stall at a carboot maybe. Take my wbc garden ornament set that up next to the stall, also take one small very cute niece age 9 in her beekeeping suit light the smoker. Job Done ;o) also take other bits of kit hive tool, suit, bee brush and educate people as well as flog them honey

 

[Erichalfbee]

Friar Tuck,
What a splendid idea!
I shall steal it
I have a five year old step grandson but alas no honey only RAIN
Next year, maybe

 

[Friar Tuck]

Friar Tuck,
What a splendid idea!
I shall steal it
I have a five year old step grandson but alas no honey only RAIN
Next year, maybe

Haaa i do work in graphic's and marketing ;o) your welcome to use the business model

 

[Geoff]

Here is my plan (when i get some honey ;o) Set up a stall at a carboot maybe. Take my wbc garden ornament set that up next to the stall, also take one small very cute niece age 9 in her beekeeping suit light the smoker. Job Done ;o) also take other bits of kit hive tool, suit, bee brush and educate people as well as flog them honey

Well make sure you stick to the honey regs as far as labelling goes. Local Trading Standards have sent me a copy cause I was not happy with the new instructions from Country Markets HQ - Boy, HQ must think I am a real pain in the a**** cause I kicked up a fuss about the instructions about selling eggs.....and I was right.
White Park - I sell veg and occasionally plants at Whitchurch Country Market but am not usually on the stall - the lady who runs it does not seem too keen on male helpers. I have done a farmer's market and may well do some if I can persuade my ladies to part with the stuff that is the real reason for me having spent so much money on them.
Artermo -£4/lb? I am hoping for £4.50
Taff - when you have a stall some people think they can haggle. Where do they think they are - Morocco?
I was at a big market/car boot selling plants and these guys came up to my stall.
Them "How much are your cowslips?"
Me "£1.50"
Them " How much for two?"
Me "£3"
Them " Ah, but the guy round the corner is selling two for £2.50"
Me " Well you had better hurry up then before they have all gone"

I dont allow my self to be haggled down, not after I let it happen the first time i did any selling and felt cheated afterwards. i know my plants are good and if anyone does any discount it is me who makes the offer because I think I have a particularly good customer.
Remember when you are selling your own honey it is a premium product. It means you are to a certain extent in control of the price. Make sure you are giving value for money but don't undersell yourself. I learnt with plants that is better to make the money by selling fewer at a higher price. Any fool can sell anything if it is under priced.