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Honey price

36K views 49 replies 35 participants last post by  wdcrkapry205 
#1 ·
I live in South Carolina. I have another beekeeper who want's to buy my honey by the 5 gallon bucket. How do I figure out the right and fair price to sell my honey to him? Thanks in advance for any advice you give me. Anna
 
#32 ·
I have a couple 55 gallon drums of honey that I will have left over this year. By left over, I mean that I will have more than I need to sell to our customers that we bottle for (both wholesale and retail) between now and next honey harvest (2011).

There are only three options available for "excess" honey:

1. Sell it to packers ($1.30 to $1.50 per pound right now; if they are actually buying it),
2. Sell it to small beekeepers getting started in 5 gallon buckets, or
3. Give it away (yeah, right)

Our prices for our wholesale average about $5.25 per pound. Our prices for retail average $10 per pound. Ideally, we can sell exactly what we produce at Retail. That doesn't exactly work out... yet. Our second best option would be to sell both retail and wholesale (at $5.25 per pound)... that doesn't exactly work out yet.

Basically, when you have honey left over, as a business, you should sell it. I have a multiple choice quiz for you with the above as questions. Which option above gives you the best price:

1. Sell it to packers - $1.50 per pound?
2. Sell it to small beekeepers - $2.08 per pound?
3. Give it away - $0.00 per pound?

Answer: #2 sell it to smaller beekeepers to resell!!!

Also, by selling it to smaller beekeepers and treating them fairly, then they can turn around in later years and sell you some honey if you came up short one year. In addition, they can buy bees, pollen, propolise, etc. from you down the road and they can also tell their friends about your services, etc.

It's good business sense to sell in the bucket. We sell it for $125 for a 5 gallon bucket (with the bucket returned later). Next year, I will sell them for $150 per bucket ($2.50 per pound).
 
#33 ·
w3b's:

Option d is to hang on to it. It does not go bad unless high moisture. You may need it because your next year crop could be short. Between now and then you may pick up a wholesale account or two. You may not be looking for them but they might be looking for you. Then if you have honey you have options.

I sell alot of honey to smaller beekeepers. They tend to appreciate the product more than say a large packer.

Jean-Marc
 
#34 · (Edited)
This is a culture shock. I buy a 30 lb case of five pound jars for $55.00 from a commercial beekeeper and I thought that was plenty. And it is good water white alfalfa honey! When I last sold honey in the early 80's, I got $1.25 for an 8oz bear, $1.75 for a pint, $3.00 a quart, $10.00 for a gallon and $45 for a five gallon bucket! The wholesale was in the high fifty cents and I figured I was getting a fine markup over that in a 55gallon barrel. I sold about thirty percent of my crop at farmers markets that way and I was competitive with what others were charging. Maybe I will be able to pay for $85 packages! But, if I feel like giving it away, and I will; I will. People who eat honey buy honey. It is not a zero sum game, you increase overall consumption in my opinion.
 
#43 ·
Vance G said:
Here again I have old information. I had no idea they were other than a U.S. co-op
The Co-Op itself is comprised of only US members, to the best of my knowledge, however they do purchase a HUGE amount of honey from outside the US to fill certain markets.

They have long been established as "The World's Largest Honey Marketing Organization."


VanceG said:
Sue bee is reputable, a co-op. I think their main problem is one of having to blend to much dark honey into the mix to utilize their members production.
Blending member honey is not the issue, Sue Bee has well established markets for bakery grade honey. If I'm not mistaken, Honey Nut Cheerios is one of the largest amongst them. Been awhile since I read all the reports, so don't hold me to that.

Walmart says, what Walmart will pay... Walmart says what Walmart will accept... What Walmart wants to pay doesn't buy premium bottle grade honey from any packer, except maybe in China, and they can't import that. Their accepter fellas ain't necessarily real bright either, when it comes to buying honey. They do however cave into lessons learned the hard way, and the Sue Bee brand is supposed to return to their shelves this year. Guess their US, Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil, Wherever road tar honey didn't sell real well, except to beekeepers that took it home to laugh at it.
 
#46 ·
the price is never the same from one city to the next and what is posted in the bee mags is not often a good indicator of what one can actually get at your local market just price it a little higher than you think you should and if its not moving then lower it till it does...
 
#47 ·
Figure out your own price. Then, when you get to the market, if there are other Honey Sellers, set your price a little higher than theirs and don't lower it to try to increase sales. You may not sell the volumes that others do, or sell out as quickly, but you will make more per pound and you will stay in the consumers eye longer.

Remember, you are not selling honey to get rid of it. I hear this at bkprs mtngs every now and then. "I couldn't get rid of my honey, so I lowered the price." Why? It's not like melons or strawberries, which will rot if not sold. You are building a customer base for YOUR honey. It takes time and persistence and lots of honey.

How much do you think you should sell it for?
 
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