# A question on honey prices



## nursebee (Sep 29, 2003)

If you are physically able to produce honey, you are able to GO TO THE GROCERY STORE yourself. Try health food stores also. If you sell out and have the demand consider raising your prices. Most stores likely do not sell the kind of honey that a hobbiest produces so it almost does not matter what price the store sells for.

Bee magazines also publish this data monthly for various regions.


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## Guest (Sep 9, 2004)

The reason I ask is I am rarely in town, as as soon as I leave school I ride the schoolbus home. I am not old enough to drive or I would drive into town on my own, I would ask my parents, but we live 20 miles out and with gas costing what it is.... Well, you know.

I just wnat to be sure I'm not asking too much of a premium on my honey, but I don't want to be offering it at less than what the store charges.


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## The Honey House (May 10, 2000)

Try here:
http://www.ams.usda.gov/fv/mncs/honey.pdf 


Only 20 miles? That's just a nice Saturday morning walk!


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## Dee (Apr 22, 2004)

what are you considering selling it for?
the next time im in the store i will look for you.
Deanna


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## Pugs (Jul 15, 2004)

Hi,

It is great that you're interested in bees. There aren't many young people involved with them anymore. It would be helpful to know what state you lived in, what kind of honey you're selling, and how much honey you have to sell. Some of the speciality honeys get better prices than just 'wildflower' honey. Also, your honey is bound to taste better than the highly filtered/processed store honey, so it should be worth more than that. I'll check some stores this weekend and let you know what they are selling for here in Western Oregon.

There are some very knowledgable people here that will go out of their way to help you, once they know you're not too lazy to do your work. If you had stated when you asked the question that you were too young to drive and lived in the country, I'm sure you'd have got alot more answers and incouragement. Hang in there! 

How many hives do you have? How long have you been a beekeeper?

I'm getting my hives next spring. This will be my first go at beekeeping and I'm in my mid forties. I wish I had started at your age.

Pugs


[This message has been edited by Pugs (edited September 09, 2004).]


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## Hillside (Jul 12, 2004)

In the Minneapolis, Minnesota area prices vary considerably. I've seen prices that range from around $2.80 per pound for the cheap imported stuff to around $4.00 per pound for locally produced honey. If you produce "Whipped" honey, I've seen prices as high as $8.00 per pound but $6.00 is probably more common.

The price per pound tends to decrease with larger package sizes. For similar honey, an eight ounce package may sell for the equivalent of $4.00 per pound whereas a 2 pound package may be closer to the $3.00 per pound Range. It costs a lot more to package in small containers.

Honey in my household is kept in a 12 ounce cylinder. It doesn't take much space and it's easy to squeeze out the amount you need. There is also a 5 pound jug in the cabinet for when you need larger amounts for baking or for refilling the cylinder. Those are the two sizes that I like.


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## Guest (Sep 10, 2004)

I live in west central Mineesota. I don't know what to call my honey. It's got some soybean, clover, thistle, and wildflower in it. I'm probaly just going to call it Local honey.


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## Branman (Aug 20, 2003)

I sold my honey for $5 for a lb jar, $8 for a 2lb jar. But these are yuppie city folk...


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## DCH (Aug 30, 2004)

Hey beekeep,

Our honey is a mixture like yours. We simply call ours "Ohio Wildflower Honey".

We package it in 1 1/2 lb canning jars which holds about 20 - 22 oz (by weight) of honey and raised our price to $4.50 per jar. Our price is based on a terrible production year here in Northern Ohio and a comparable $4.50/lb "average" price being charged by other local honey producers.


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## Pugs (Jul 15, 2004)

Hi all,

I checked prices at Winco yesterday. Winco is a warehouse grocery store. No frills, bag your own groceries, no debt/credit cards excepted. Cash and checks only. Most likely the cheapest place in town.

The price of a 1 pound jar of honey was $4.00. This was a blended honey with honey from Canada, USA, Argentina and Australia. A 5 pound bottle went for $14.00 if I remember right. There was one kind that the label seemed to imply that it was local honey for $5.00 a pound, but it was a blended honey too and the label was just confusing.

I didn't get to the saturday market to see what local honey was selling for. Sorry.

Pugs
p.s. I just found an old jar and lid for fireweed honey bought a few years back, it was $8.50 for 3 pounds from a local beekeeper.


[This message has been edited by Pugs (edited September 12, 2004).]

[This message has been edited by Pugs (edited September 12, 2004).]


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## wayacoyote (Nov 3, 2003)

Papa sold some honey for me at his factory this year (first time I sold any). My price was about double what another man there sold it for, and so a lot of people were hesitant at first. But once they had some, they quickly wanted more. We sold out very quickly. can you say "Quality"? 

Just last week, my coworker brought in some that his uncle was selling. He was charging more than I was. I was selling mine in mason jars. He uses "honey bottles". I had to admit that his looked like a better buy, because it had that consumerism quality... 

Looks like I'll have to be better prepared for next year.


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## tony williams (Sep 16, 2004)

the kentucky store sell the honey for an 8 oz. jar for 3.89 and the 12 oz. 5.95 for and the 16 oz. for 8.95 tony

------------------
tony


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## tony williams (Sep 16, 2004)

the kentucky store sell the honey for an 8 oz. jar for 3.89 and the 12 oz. 5.95 for and the 16 oz. for 8.95 tony

------------------
tony


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## Terri (Apr 14, 2003)

Here in Kansas, The grocery store sells it for $5 a pound, and so do the folks at the Farmers Market. They charge more than that for chunk honey (put attractive chunks of honeycomb in a jar and fill the rest of the jar with honey), or whipped honey.

If you ask whoever does the grocery shopping in your home, they can check the local price of honey.


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## Guest (Oct 3, 2004)

Pugs
This is my first year and I wish I had started twenty years ago. I got interested in it because it seemed every year my apple crop was going nowhere. After going to a few beekeeper meetings I really learned a lot.
Here in KY honey sells for about $3.00 a lb.And as I found out it will sell. As soon as people see your hives they will start asking for it. One thing you need to do..check the moisture. I extracted back in
Aug. with 100% capped frames. I mean fully capped. AFTER bottling and SELLING some I thought I might need to check, just to be safe. 19.5%! How can this be? I still don't know. Maybe I'll find out at the next meeting. Henry


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## suttonbeeman (Aug 22, 2003)

Henry,
here in ky we have alot of humid weather and as you well know a wet summer this year.
Honey is hydroscopic and will pick up moisture from air. A large number of people mistakenly believe if its capped that bees dont make mistakes and its ok. In the southwest you may have honey at 12-14%. Usually depending on the year my honey on ky will be 16-18.5% However I have seen complete supers at 21% and completely fermented in the comb(will have lots of air bubbles and fruity taste). It is best especially after early flows as they usually come in dry(locust)to remove honey as bees begin to cap it and use a dehumidifier to dry it here in ky. In June and july humidity increased and it is common to have wet honey. After its capped or in a tank or jar its almost impossiable to dry. You can take about 1% a day of mositure out.
Rick


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## Guest (Oct 8, 2004)

Thanks suttonbeeman.
I have heard that you can put the extracted honey in a bucket in a closet or confined space with a dehumidifier to dry it.
The honey I pulled off a couple days ago seems real thick. Haven't had time to extract it yet but you can't shake it from the frames. Looks dark. Goldenrod maybe?
Thanks. Henry


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## mark williams (Jan 19, 2003)

Man'O'Man,After reading this I'm to cheap,been selling to store's 1# jar's $2.25 & Quarts $6.00, No wonder they are calling me from everywhere.>>>>Mark


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## timg (Oct 21, 2001)

If you look in the American Bee Journal they list honey prices in regions throughout the US.


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## Mikhail (Oct 14, 2004)

Good day!

We are from Ukraine.
We have a honey araund 20000kg. We have alwaes sertificate. Coast 2.6$\kg

Best regards Savchenko Mikhail
ICQ 175571637


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## Mitch (Jul 7, 2003)

Hi beekeep39
It is hard to tell a set price for your honey.I see that you can not drive so it would be a bit tuffer to see what other beekeeper are selling for in your area.You may try the news paper or it you are with someone and go by a honey stand have them stop and check out the prices.Do not be afraid of the price you set and see how it goes.I am in a small town and sell most of my honey at a farmers market so i cant get the big bucks here.

As for what do you call your honey. I lable mine 100%wild flower honey.This seems to work out great for me.One other thing i do is set 3 bottles in the middle of my table so all can see it.One of lite one med and one dark.This seems to be a great sales tool,alot of people stop and ask why there are 3 different colors of honey.And you may have guessed most that ask buy.

Bob


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