What is a 'good' price for raw honey?

[MrGreenThumb]

Raw honey...what is a good price for it by the pound? I am talking about the real deal...the entire comb smashed and placed into a container.

thx

[spunky]

Dont know, but I am going to try and sell mine for 8.00 a pint

[sqkcrk]

Raw honey...what is a good price for it by the pound? I am talking about the real deal...the entire comb smashed and placed into a container.

thx

If you are going to sell comb honey, why are you smashing it into a plastic container?

I can only imagine what that looks like and I wouldn't want it. Do you have very many customers who do?

The answer to your question is to be found out from your customers. Put a high price on it and then back off until it sells.

[Bizzybee]

That's a good one Mr GT. Honey retail prices are all over the place. For instance, I get $6 a pint for liquid honey and $10 for a quart. Folks will balk at $6 and tear my arm off for the $10 quart. So I don't sell a lot of pints. I don't intend to drop my price though because I then make less to pay for an extra jar.

A friend up in near you can't get more than $8 a quart and can't sell pints at all hardly.

Some folks are able to fetch a little more for chunk honey, cut and put in jars with the jars topped of with liquid honey. All in a nice neat presentation. Smashed? I have never seen. I got my doubts, but who knows. Usually lighter honey goes better with chunk or comb honey.

I got a buddy close by here that won't sell his honey for less than $5 a lb. delivered any way.

So bottom line is. It's kinda up to you to feel out your own market for pricing and tactics. That sounds like a dodge I imagine. But really, do what you feel comfortable with. GOOD LUCK!!!!!

[Dan Williamson]

It is interesting... I had a guy that I work with come to me and ask for me to give him "really raw honey" he wants me to extract the honey and then open the gate and put whatever comes out into the bottle. Bees, wax whatever is there.

I said to him... why don't you just buy comb honey. That is as raw as it gets. For some reason all the wax and honey mixed up with a potential bee or bee part in the mix is even more "RAW".

Whatever he wants. He put in a commercial epoxy floor in my honey house for free.....so whatever he wants he gets.

That said... I don't know what to charge. I'll give it to him for free considering I'm way ahead on our arrangement.

[ScadsOBees]

www.reallyrawhoney.com

But they basically mix it and then cream it for a little nicer presentation, but all the same stuff. And have a niche so charge for it.

Mostly you need to know your market. Most practical dutch people in my area wouldn't pay extra for all that junk in their honey.....:rolleyes:

[newbee 101]

I am gettting $5 for a 12oz bear, $7 1lb jar and $13 for a 2lb jar.
I try to get top dollar, I have alot of hours & money invested in my bees.

[newbee 101]

oops...my bad

[Bizzybee]

I figure after the freeze this spring followed by the drought. Honey crop about 10% of what it should have been. I got about $120 a quart in it this year. I'm coming up your way to sell newbee! :)

[newbee 101]

It took me 35 minutes to pull a super today, 1 frame at a time.
I shake them off and place them in a empty super. Then I do it again,
this time shaking the remaing few. I then carry the
super 150 ft to my screened porch. I was soaked with sweat.
Honey should be $20 a pound!

[GaSteve]

>But they basically mix it and then cream it for a little nicer presentation

Do they cream it or does it granulate on its own in a month with all the crap errr... natural stuff in it.

I've got to where I take a bottling bucket to the market stand and charge $3.50 per pound in the customers' containers. 1 pound in my containers is $4.50. They like the cheaper price and they like not having to throw away all those containers -- and I like not having to buy and ship the containers.

Occasionally I do hear complaints that other folks sell their honey for $20 a gallon. I politely suggest they buy it and then tend to all the paying customers waiting behind them:).

[sqkcrk]

>But they basically mix it and then cream it for a little nicer presentation

Do they cream it or does it granulate on its own in a month with all the crap errr... natural stuff in it.

I've got to where I take a bottling bucket to the market stand and charge $3.50 per pound in the customers' containers. 1 pound in my containers is $4.50. They like the cheaper price and they like not having to throw away all those containers -- and I like not having to buy and ship the containers.

Occasionally I do hear complaints that other folks sell their honey for $20 a gallon. I politely suggest they buy it and then tend to all the paying customers waiting behind them:).

The Really Raw honey that I have helped produce and bottle is NOT CREAMED. Basically the process is, no heat in the hot room, uncap the frames into the extractor, pump the honey into the tank in the packing room, keep the tank agitated to keep cappings evenly suspended in the honey, bottle the honey. If kept at about 55 degrees F the honey will start to set up rather quickly. Usually quite hard too. I imagine that the customer has to microwave the honey to use it, maybe not.

[paintingpreacher]

It seems prices are different everywhere I go. Last week on vacation I bought a pint of honey in Arkansas for $5.00. Paid $6.00 for 16 oz in Oklahoma. Bought a pint in southern Mississippi for $6.50 then stopped at the home of a beekeeper in Central Mississippi and he was selling quarts for $7.00. I was in Kentucky a couple of months ago and about one mile from Walter Kelley Co I stopped by a produce stand and was shocked to see honey priced at $2.50/pint... This honey was out of Nashville Tn. and was labeled clover honey. I don't see how honey can travel that distance and sell for $2.50/pt.

[honeyman46408]

"I don't see how honey can travel that distance and sell for $2.50/pt."

Somebody is REALY working the girls CHEAP !!

[sqkcrk]

"I don't see how honey can travel that distance and sell for $2.50/pt."

Somebody is REALY working the girls CHEAP !!

Volume and the loss leader theory. They sell it cheaply to get you in the store so you buy other things that they make profit on.

[beegee]

You should charge whatever your market will bear. I have friends who sell their extracted and chunk honey for $8.00/qt. I sell mine for $10.00/qt. When people ask me to sell it to them wholesale, I reply, "Why should I, when I can sell all I can bottle at $10.00?" Some people I met in PA last spring were selling a 2 lb jar for $10.00. I might raise my price to the point where I meet resistance. I'm thinking $12.00/qt right now. The PA price for a 3lb qt would be $15.00. My light amber honey is especially fragrant and tasty, for some reason. My bees forage on the same range my grandfather's bees foraged for 50 years and his honey was always good. I guess it's the blackberry, tupelo, poplar, and sourwood that grows in this locale. A few miles down the road, a friend's honey has a different taste. Anyway, I have way more demand for my supply of local honey, and I should be pricing it to the max.

[Troutsqueezer]

Packaging sells. Put some time and effort into the labeling. Make it look like it should cost more than Sue Bee.

[RBar]

Unbelievable honey this year in East Tennessee, 'not sure what it is, but is is almost white-clear...almost NO color, thick, nice smooth but spicy flavor. Wonderful stuff.
Did the sourwoods bloom late this year? EVERYTHING was killed by frost here this year. Anybody else know what this is? LOTS of clover now that it has started raining, but almost no bees see on it...something else they really like out there...
I took mine the same way as you but only four frames at a time placed in an empty NUC, all my extractor will take. WHen I return the empties to the hive, I take the next four out, the empties attract the bees from the remaining somewhat. THIS is the way to go for me, easy to carry. WHen I get too tired, I just quit until next time, making sure I put the top back on. I can even keep track which honey came from which hive easily, if I bottle regularly. RBAR

[peggjam]

There's a guy on ebay selling shallow frames of honey, frame and all. Not sure what the price is up to, but last time I looked it was $6 something:).

[Andrew@ThreeElms]

Man, I would love to get $8/qt. I stopped by the Amish stand at the side of the road yesterday about a mile from my house. They are selling honey, 3lbs for $5.50.

It drives dow the price for everyone. Argggg.

[MapMan]

Andrew - it is frustrating!:(

A mile from here, they had 7# tubs for $12.:mad:

MM

[nc_beekeeper]

The going price around here is anywhere from $12-$14 a quart.

[wayacoyote]

Pricing: I've had people ask me "why would I buy your honey at you're price when I can go to my neighbor and get it for a lesser price." I explain how our honey may be different, but answer their question by saying, "you won't buy mine at my price if you don't want to."

This has been my trend since the first time I set a price on my honey. My father was the peddler for me and he explained that a man at work was selling it for nearly a dollar less per pound. He wanted to know what he should tell potential customers who pointed that out. I reminded him that I didn't want to compete with this already-established supplier, and that he should tell customers to buy from the other guy if price was all that mattered to them. He abbliged me and we ended up selling everything to his coworkers who discovered there was more to honey than the price. Many comments were made about them liking our honey better for various reasons.
WayaCoyote

[Dan Williamson]

Man, I would love to get $8/qt. I stopped by the Amish stand at the side of the road yesterday about a mile from my house. They are selling honey, 3lbs for $5.50.

It drives dow the price for everyone. Argggg.

I don't know how folks can even remotely sell that low on a retail basis.

I sell quart jars for $9.75 and 3 lb plastic jugs for $9.50.

It was my biggest seller last weekend.

I don't try to sell my honey over someone elses.... I tell them... If you like the honey you are getting for cheaper go buy that honey. They rarely leave without buying mine.

[JC]

I get $8 for a 1 pound jar, $14 for a two pound jar and $20 for a quart (3 lbs.). How do I sell a quart of honey for $20 when a local beekeeper sells his honey for $7.50 a quart? I tell the customer that my honey is expensive (relative to what other beekeepers get for their honey). I produce organic (uncertified) honey. I do not use any chemical treatments on my colonies. What I sell is what I eat, and I like the best!

What is honey worth? Ask some of your friends, not other beekeepers. Today I showed a quart of honey to a woman and I asked her to guess how much the honey was worth. She guessed $20, not $7.50!

[RAlex]

Andrew I am getting 4.50 for 1 pound jars and 8.00 for 2 pound jars. I know some of the other beeks tell me I am too high. I asked "have you bought Gas lately " and how trips to the yards do you make long before you see any honey ? I figure if thier honey isnt worth as much as mine then they should sell it cheaper :)....Rick

[riverrat]

Andrew I am getting 4.50 for 1 pound jars and 8.00 for 2 pound jars. I know some of the other beeks tell me I am too high.

I wont bee one of the beeks that tell you your prices are to high I get 5.00 for one pound and 8.00 for 2 lbs so your in the ball park but in the cheaper seats:D when everyone cuts there price to beat the other guys price the only real thing that ends up getting cut is our throats:mad:

[wfarler]

Check the stores for a baseline:
at the Warehouse stores you can buy rock bottom 5# bottles for honey of unknown origin (5 or 6 countries listed) for so little over the wholesale price that it makes you think they are dumping it

at the regular grocery store prices average out to around $5/lb - they are mostly selling 12 oz. bears for 3.75 - same unknown origin stuff. I've seen ross rounds for $7-$8 each.

at the specialty grocery stores but also Target they are selling 'unique' honey - buckwheat, huajillo (sp?), orange blossom, etc. for $5+ /lb.

at the health food stores you will see local honey at $5+/lb and 'organic' labeled honey and other niche products up to $7.

at farm stands a pint with a large chunk of comb floating in it goes for $7

I find my neighbors are not too price conscious about local honey - if they are they just shop elsewhere. I try to cultivate the market for local honey, people who appreciate the unique flavor and health benefits. I offer it at a fair market price of $5 lb.

It's supply and demand, if I end up with too much of it I'll start wholesaling to the health foods store or increase my marketing efforts. Also, branch out to different products that don't undercut my core line. I have spring and fall honey. I have customers who recognize the taste difference. If I get to where I want to increase the size of the sale I'll try for higher ticket gift jars or chunk comb, rounds, etc. Just not sure where that limit is right now since my customers soak up all the 1lbs I've got (some buy 4 at a time). I have people request it by the gallon but I just tell them it's kind of expensive that way - I will only discount the price of the jars/labels saved.

I spend time educating my customers as well so they know what goes into the honey and more importantly what is not in it.

[Mitch]

The best advice i saw here was what the market will bear in your area.Along with your packageing will do the best selling for you.I wish i could get $8 a pound here but it just will not happen sure i could sell a few containers at that price but not what i need to sell.

The last coment i read is still disturbing to me.The idea that someone else is driveing the price down for everyone.Not true you saw what people posted on prices.Everyones market is different,even just down the road 20 miles you may do better or worse.I have found you have to develope your market to some point.the only odd ball price i saw posted was the $2.50 a pint.I have places here that sell cheep not that cheep tho but it will not effect my prices.I use to post my prices when someone new asked but stopped do that for this reason.

Here are some things that i look for in priceing my honey.I look at the the honey in stores,at the local beekeepers stand, at a festavle or farmeres maket.This will give you a good idea where to start.

Here is somethings i will not do.i will not change my price at a Fest. or othe market up or down.I will not undersell the person that i know is making part or all of his liveing selling honey.For that matter i try to stay way from the persons market alltogether if possible.

I am just a hobie beek with 20 or so hives

Bob