# Best Selling Containers



## Mitch (Jul 7, 2003)

I was just wondering what sells best for everyone here.

I use 12 and 24oz plastic bears,pint and quart glass mason jars and offer 1/2 and 1 gallon jugs on request.

I have to say hands down this year it was the 12oz bear that sold the best.The past 2 years befor that the 24oz bear was vey close.But this year money is tight so pepole seemed to buy the least coast cntainer.

The bulk of my sales is at local farmers markets


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## honeyman46408 (Feb 14, 2003)

I sell mostly Qts. I dont even have bears but do have 12oz angel bottles but use them for gifts most of the time. 99% of mine is sold out the door of our house.

I have talked to people that have done farmers markets and what sells today wont bee the hot seller tomorrow


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## MapMan (May 24, 2007)

honeyman - where do you get the angels and approx. price?

MM


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## Dan Williamson (Apr 6, 2004)

I sell 1lb Bear and 1lb dripless, 2lb, 3lb (mini milk jug), quart, and Gal.

The 1lb dripless are the number one seller in terms of quantity. The others still do well from a total revenue standpoint though... 

It really only matters what your best *net income* provider is!


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## Mitch (Jul 7, 2003)

Dan right on about the net.

Then when i posted i only had bottled honey on the brain,must be frost bite from a long snowy winter

I sell cut comb to in the nice 4x4 boxes now here is my best net seller, just not the number of containers.


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## Gregg (Dec 22, 2003)

Seems like the people that get honey from me use a lot of it, so 1 gallon is my biggest seller, by far. Also sell some 5 lb jugs and very few 1.5 lb. bears.


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## honeyman46408 (Feb 14, 2003)

MapMan said:


> honeyman - where do you get the angels and approx. price?
> 
> MM


www.ppc3.com

I don`t remember what I paid for them, Its been a year or more since I bought the last box.


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## MapMan (May 24, 2007)

honeyman46408 said:


> www.ppc3.com
> 
> I don`t remember what I paid for them, Its been a year or more since I bought the last box.


Thanks!

MM


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## honeyman46408 (Feb 14, 2003)

MapMan said:


> Thanks!
> 
> MM



If you want smaller amounts some of the suppliers have then (Brushy foe one) but the price is higher.


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## riverrat (Jun 3, 2006)

1 and 2lb queen line glass jars are my best sellers. people usually buy the 1lb then start buying the 2lb


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## Chef Isaac (Jul 26, 2004)

When I first started selling honey, I used all different sized glass containers. 2 oz, 4 oz, 6 oz, 8 oz, 19 oz, 12 oz, pound, pound and a half, etc. Wayyyyy to confusing. 

Now I sell in 1 pound plastic queenline jars. I keep some glass on hand for the customers who prefer that. I use the odd ball sizes left over from when I first started to sell honey and I use them for gift bags.


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## shughes (Jan 17, 2007)

12oz was by far my best seller last year (2:1) followed by the pint. I offer 6oz, 12oz bears and pint/quart mason jars. I expect the pint to pick up in sales this year as last years effort was establishing a customer base.


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## JC (Jun 3, 2006)

I only sell honey in the 2 pound glass queenline jars for $17.


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

I think a variety sells the best.


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## Shapleigh's Bees (Mar 8, 2008)

A lot depends on your zip code and your sales method. My brother has been keeping bees in Hanover, Massachusetts for several years and his sales are mostly at a booth at the town fair, with repeat customers contacting him at the house.

After years of trial and error, the only sellers are glass queenline jars with metal caps (old fashioned) and plastic bears.

From ePodunk.com:

At the time of the 2000 census, the per capita income in Hanover was $30,268, compared with $21,587 nationally.

Compaired to my town:

At the time of the 2000 census, the per capita income in Shapleigh was $19,331, compared with $21,587 nationally.


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## Jethro (Oct 22, 2006)

JC said:


> I only sell honey in the 2 pound glass queenline jars for $17.


I may need to rethink my pricing, I only get $7 for a 2# glass queenline. A 5# jug is only $16, and $35 per gallon.


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## JC (Jun 3, 2006)

Jethro said:


> I may need to rethink my pricing, I only get $7 for a 2# glass queenline. A 5# jug is only $16, and $35 per gallon.


Last year I charged $7 a pound for my honey plus $1 for the jar. This year I am charging $8 a pound plus $1 for the jar. 

I got a new customer last Friday while I was working with my bees! I told the customer that my honey is expensive because I do not use any chemical treatments. She did not seem to care about my high prices; she only wanted local honey. 

I only use Russian bees; however, I still lose some colonies. Someone has to pay for those lost colonies. Additionally, Russian queens are $25 each!


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## Mitch (Jul 7, 2003)

Well as we all see the containers and the price can very alot.I thing it was said be by it depends on your zipcode.And i am in a small podunk town.My price is going up this year for sure.As for the container i think i am going to add a few sizes and see what happens.

I had one person tell me not to sell the sizes they do in the local stores any thoughts on that?

One other thing a i am wondering about.For the people that are getting 7 to 8 bucks a pound.How many pounds of honey are you selling in a season at the price?


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## JC (Jun 3, 2006)

Mitch said:


> Well as we all see the containers and the price can very alot.I thing it was said be by it depends on your zipcode.And i am in a small podunk town.My price is going up this year for sure.As for the container i think i am going to add a few sizes and see what happens.
> 
> I had one person tell me not to sell the sizes they do in the local stores any thoughts on that?
> 
> One other thing a i am wondering about.For the people that are getting 7 to 8 bucks a pound.How many pounds of honey are you selling in a season at the price?


I am not selling much honey. I only have 10 colonies and I only started selling my honey last year because people kept asking me if I sold honey. I got tired of telling them, "no, I do not sell my honey." However, I have lots of experience in selling and marketing. I was a full-time outside salesman on straight commission for 15 years and I was also a sales and marketing director. Selling honey for $8 per pound is a piece of cake. If you sell honey like a commodity, for example like white sugar, you will be selling your honey for around $1 to $3 per pound. By the way, if you are using the same containers that the stores use, you are contributing to the image of honey as a commodity (the image that all honey is equal).


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## Shapleigh's Bees (Mar 8, 2008)

JC has it right. You won't sell honey at reasonable prices to folks looking for a bargain. You have to position yourself and your product as better. My brother's town? The snob appeal of "fine local honey" sells it. Here in Podunk Maine, I plan to tap into Mainer's strong desire to support local business, their love of nature and natural products, the health and environ-conscious folks, and appeal to the small but vibrant tourist market.

I have a neighbor selling eggs for $1.50 a dozen, which is quite a deal compared to the grocery. He advertises with a hand written cardboard sign tacked up at the dump. Now I have to think "Is it worth driving over there to save 69 cents?" When my wife should be saying "Don't forget to stop and get those fresh eggs from Joe." His sign made me think "those are some *cheap *eggs" not "I bet those are fresh and taste better than the commercially fed chickens."

If you price it right, the price will influence folks to buy. If you price like the grocery, folks will start thinking about how many bee's knees they might be eating. Those bargain hunters, let them hunt.

And for heaven's sake, if your price is high, do not lead with the price card, lead with the quality card. It's all about playing your hand right.

I sell dogs at two to three times the typical local price.


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

I think that I sell more lbs of honey in the 2 lb jars. But I don't know if I would sell much if that's the only size I sold. If i think of it, I'll check my records when i get back home in a couple of weeks.


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## berkshire bee (Jan 28, 2007)

*variety*

I sell cut comb and bottled honey in 3.5 oz sampler, 1/2 lb, 1 lb, 1 lb gift jars and bulk. My biggest seller is 1 lb although I sell a lot of 1/2. Basically, everything sells out at the stand, but I usually have more 1lb classic jars than other sizes.


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## JC (Jun 3, 2006)

sqkcrk said:


> I think that I sell more lbs of honey in the 2 lb jars. But I don't know if I would sell much if that's the only size I sold. If i think of it, I'll check my records when i get back home in a couple of weeks.


If I had a store front, I would need more sizes and varieties of honey. However, people are coming to me, even stopping their cars along the highway where I keep my bees, to buy pure local honey for health reasons. They are only going to buy one jar of honey; therefore, I am not going to waste my time with anything less than a 2 pound jar of honey. 

Additionally, I try to sell that second jar of honey. I tell the customers that I only extract honey once a year and I have a limited supply of honey. (I suggest that they put that second jar in the freezer.) If the customer does not buy that second jar on the spot, they usually come back within a week to buy that second jar after they experience the great taste of my freshly extracted honey.


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## Scott J. (Feb 6, 2007)

I sell 5 round pint jars to every 1 quart jar. I sell by word of mouth. Presently those are the only two sizes I sell. $10 and $15 respectivly. This next year I am going to offer some of the 12oz bears. I had requests this last year for them as stocking stuffers for X-mas.


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