[angels and bees]

Hi,
My wife and I are planning to sell at farmer markets, church bazaars, etc. with our honey harvest this year. As we consider the different sizes of jars to purchase, can those of you who sell at similar places tell us what sizes sell best? 8oz, 12oz, 16oz, 24oz, 32oz?
Thanks for your time in responding.

 

[JWPalmer]

In my area, the pint mason jars (22 oz. net wt.) sell well. I charge $15. Jar and label cost about $1. Most of my sales are word of mouth so I do not do the farmer's market route as there are only so many hours in a day.

 

[odfrank]

In my area, the pint mason jars (22 oz. net wt.) sell well. I charge $15. Jar and label cost about $1. Most of my sales are word of mouth so I do not do the farmer's market route as there are only so many hours in a day.

Same here. I offer 1/2 pints $10, pints $15 and quarts $25. Pints sell the most. I sell out of my house with a self serve cabinet. I have been selling here for 47 years.

 

[gww]

Word of mouth here also. I also don't sell much. I thought pints at $10 would sell the most but found quarts at $18 are actually more popular.
Cheers
gww

 

[dr4ngas]

I sold 12 oz. bears $10, 16 oz. skips $15, pint jars for $20 and the quart jars for $35. The bears and skips sold the best. Then the pints, maybe 2-3 cases and about half a case of quarts. Don't forget the 2 oz. bears $2 were a favorite for those that are not sure. The wife gave them out a lot to friends, co-workers and doctors/nurses when she had appointments. It did help a little on the sales of the other sizes. You wont to think about honey sticks 25 cents each or 5 for $1 was a little help on off days.

 

[angels and bees]

Thanks for your replies. It is helpful having replies from a cross-section of the country.
Do you find a preference for plastic or glass from your clients?

 

[dr4ngas]

Those with kids preferred the plastic over glass. The rest did not care that much either way.

 

[Grins]

Thanks for your replies. It is helpful having replies from a cross-section of the country.
Do you find a preference for plastic or glass from your clients?

I sell raw honey so I naturally thought the buyers would prefer glass to plastic. Nope, every single person I asked preferred the squeezable plastic. I quit glass. I sell 1 1/2 and 2 lbs, $10 and $13 respectively. I may add 3 pounders this fall. My price is $6.00 a pound plus a buck for the container. I've found some folks are looking for the smallest container they can buy, others are looking for an even dollar amount. I sell through FB and local bazaars. The bottles I ship are generally larger purchased through PayPal, the face to face sales are either cash or square. Cash buyers like even numbers, cc buyers less so.

Lee

 

[Doug B]

Squeezable plastic is better here as well. Seems like people prefer the simplicity of snap cap, easy portion control, and no spoon or dipper needed.

 

[NewbeeInNH]

I like glass better than plastic.

Does anyone have a favorite place to order lb. or 1/2 lb. glass honey jars?

 

[My-smokepole]

It depends on the market. Whole sale pints for me. Out of the house qts. At shows every thing from 8 oz jars to qts. I manly do glass. But when customers as for something you need to be able to supply it. A piece of knowledge that I learn a long time ago. Is that is learn to say yes. To their ?.like credit cards do you take them if yes you may have a sale. If no they can walk.

 

[Sickdog5]

In my area, the pint mason jars (22 oz. net wt.) sell well. I charge $15. Jar and label cost about $1. Most of my sales are word of mouth so I do not do the farmer's market route as there are only so many hours in a day.

i thought pint mason jars were 16oz?

 

[JWPalmer]

Honey is sold by weight, not volume. A 16 fluid oz. jar (pint mason jar) holds 22 oz. by weight of the honey my bees produce. Some honey is denser, lower moisture content, and may weigh more in the same size container. I use a scale when filling.

 

[crofter]

Honey is sold by weight, not volume. A 16 fluid oz. jar (pint mason jar) holds 22 oz. by weight of the honey my bees produce. Some honey is denser, lower moisture content, and may weigh more in the same size container. I use a scale when filling.

That is the one I sell most. If someone asks the weight, I tell them it is just shy of a pound and a half. That gives me $6 a pound for the honey and as JWP says, the dollar for the jar and label. Selling at farm gate removes the stipulation that the weight must be accurately printed on the label. Putting it on the shelves or reselling is different conditions.

I really should up the price but $10 is such a nice easy figure for the honor stand. Easy for people making their own change.

 

[odfrank]

I will add to my post #3.
My self serve cabinet has had a huge increase in sales due to Covid 19 food hoarding, home baking during quarantine and that it is socially contactless. I have a smartphone scannable QR code for Venmo and PayPal payments. Most sales are cash or check into the dropbox.

 

[Hogback Honey]

Same here. I offer 1/2 pints $10, pints $15 and quarts $25. Pints sell the most. I sell out of my house with a self serve cabinet. I have been selling here for 47 years.

OMG, I'm so lucky, when I run out of honey, we use a LOT, and I have only 4 hives, I purchase from a local Beek with a roadside stand. Their prices just went up, use to be $32.00 for a Gallon, and $15.00 for a quart. Gallons have gone up to $40.00 this year, just had to purchase a gallon for our sun tea.

 

[My-smokepole]

I do every thing from 8oz to 5 gallon buckets. It all depends on the person and market. Some plastic a lot of glass.

 

[JWPalmer]

Gallons have gone up to $40.00 this year, just had to purchase a gallon for our sun tea.

Wow. Gallons around here fetch about $60, or just at $5 per pound.

 

[Sickdog5]

I will add to my post #3.
My self serve cabinet has had a huge increase in sales due to Covid 19 food hoarding, home baking during quarantine and that it is socially contactless. I have a smartphone scannable QR code for Venmo and PayPal payments. Most sales are cash or check into the dropbox.

Do you ever have a problem with people stealing

 

[fatshark]

An interesting thread, both for the prices and the preferences.

For a comparison with the UK - 90% of my honey is sold in 227g or 454g (8oz or 16oz) glass jars through farm stores, organic cafes, artisan cheese (and honey!) shops etc. None of these have any honey in plastic. I only see that in large supermarkets. Sales at the gate account for the remaining 10% where people usually choose the larger jar. $10 to $13 for a 16oz jar is not an issue for customers ... but then nor is the $5 for the same size jar that some beekeepers have been charging for the last 15 years