# Anyone sell in large urban areas? pricing?



## dbrez8

Im starting to sell my honey direct via local markets/fleas in a large market urban area. I have high end packaging and positioning it as a super-local (hives within 2 blocks of where I'm selling) premium product. My area has a lot of crunchy yuppies who would sign up to the idea and have disposable income. 

Anyone sell in/near Manhattan or an other large city? What pricing do people bear?

Here is what I'm thinking..
1oz $3
4oz $8
8oz $15
16oz (1lb)	$28
32oz $50

Love your input.


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## Clairesmom

*Re: Anyne sell in large urban areas? pricing?*

I think $28/pound is highway robbery, no matter where you are located.


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## bsharp

*Re: Anyne sell in large urban areas? pricing?*

If you can get those prices, by all means do it. I feel guilty asking $10/lb. I like to stick to "bill amounts," so I don't have to worry as much about making change.


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## dbrez8

*Re: Anyne sell in large urban areas? pricing?*

My reasoning is: there is a popular store in the area that sells all kinds of honey products and rare honey from across the world. They sell raw honey from the general area for $12/22/38 for 8/16/32oz. My honey is way more local and sold directly from the beekeeper shortly after it's harvested, therefore I added a premium on top of their pricing.

I might come down a bit to

1oz $2
4oz $7
8oz $13
16oz (1lb)	$25
32oz $48


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## bobbybee

*Re: Anyne sell in large urban areas? pricing?*

I think that if you are comparing it to your local market and are providing a product that no one else can provide (super-local), then sell it for as much as you can. if anyone feels that it's too high, then they don't have to buy it.


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## DaisyNJ

*Re: Anyne sell in large urban areas? pricing?*

How about you add "Flow hive super" and bottle it right in front of the clients. They may pay more.


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## dbrez8

*Re: Anyne sell in large urban areas? pricing?*

Ha. Funny you say that. I'm actually planning to bottle from the bucket, cork, then dip in liquid wax to seal it in front of them


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## bobbybee

*Re: Anyne sell in large urban areas? pricing?*

have someone video that. I'd like to see their reactions


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## Knisely

*Re: Anyne sell in large urban areas? pricing?*

I have been very happy to get $13 for a pint and $20 for a quart selling in Queens on Long Island. If you were to sell a quart, would you want $70?

It sounds as though you have an idea that will provide a bit of a spectacle and a very unusual 'finishing touch' to anyone who purchases from you. As has been commented, people are free to keep their money in their wallet.


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## clyderoad

*Re: Anyne sell in large urban areas? pricing?*

have you ever sold honey to the public?
how much honey do you produce?


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## ruthiesbees

*Re: Anyne sell in large urban areas? pricing?*

If you can say "raw", "local", "treatment-free", "unfiltered", etc you should be able to get those prices in Boston or New York...especially if you have a nice high-end container (glass)


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## dbrez8

*Re: Anyne sell in large urban areas? pricing?*



clyderoad said:


> have you ever sold honey to the public?
> how much honey do you produce?


First time selling to the public
I have 2 hives and likely 3 next year. Wont ever have more than that. Trying to get as much as I can for what I have rather than a low-cost volume business. Just trying to see if my prices are crazy or possible. Much easier to lower prices than increase them


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## Clairesmom

*Re: Anyne sell in large urban areas? pricing?*



dbrez8 said:


> Ha. Funny you say that. I'm actually planning to bottle from the bucket, cork, then dip in liquid wax to seal it in front of them


You might have a problem trying to do that due to food safety laws. You would need to check local and/or state ordinances to be sure as they vary by location.


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## GoodyFarms

*Re: Anyne sell in large urban areas? pricing?*

In Boston you may be able to get those prices (things are stupid crazy expensive there). One thing to look at is what are other honey producers at farmers markets pricing their honey at? This doesn't mean that you can't get more if you can differentiate your product (bottle/label/story/etc) but it could be a challenge. If your bottles are different size/shapes than your competition, it will make it more difficult for a consumer to compare. 

Smaller bottles at higher margin will most likely be your best bet. People going to a farmers market do a lot of impulse buying and you want to determine what is that dollar level that a large population will impulse buy at. It might be $10 or $15.


Guidelines that might help: 
http://www.mass.gov/eohhs/docs/dph/environmental/foodsafety/farmer-market-guidelines.pdf


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## Michael Palmer

*Re: Anyne sell in large urban areas? pricing?*



dbrez8 said:


> Just trying to see if my prices are crazy or possible.


Crazy, I would say.


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## TWall

*Re: Anyne sell in large urban areas? pricing?*

Your prices sound crazy to other beekeepers. My grandfather would keep the price of the sweet corn we sold to what he thought was reasonable. A dozen ears of sweet corn is not as valuable to a man with 20 acres of sweet corn as to a man with no sweet corn.

It is always easier to lower prices than raise them. If you sell out fast your price is too low.

Let us know what you end up doing.

Tom


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## DavidZ

*Re: Anyne sell in large urban areas? pricing?*

my understanding of sales, you just priced yourself out of the market.
that's taxed, those are amazon prime prices.
never seen honey more than $20/qt.
good luck, you will loose your market the first time you set up to sell,
cause the next time they see you they will walk on by.
when they see your lowered prices after the first try, people will question on quality


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## Mike01876

*Re: Anyne sell in large urban areas? pricing?*

I am local to Boston, the average price we see along the route 93 corridor into southern New Hampshire for (real) local honey is approximately $10-14/lb retail, observed as we comparison shop the regional farmers markets / fairs / specialty stores. We typically sell in the exact middle of this range without any trouble at all, with certain types of events/locations pushing us towards the top end a few times per year.

I do have a friend who sells at a couple of locations in downtown Boston, at a farmers market and some other affluent area retail type setting, and she gets $16/lb for her product packaged in the typical classic Queenline glass jars with white plastic top. The caveat here is that she doesn't do much volume, but there are reportedly some number of buyers at $16/lb if price is what you are focused on. 

I cannot imagine there are many buyers at $25 to 28/lb, even at prime locations like the SoWa Open Market / New England Open Market in Boston's suddenly trendy South End, but more power to you if you manage to find them!


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## clyderoad

*Re: Anyne sell in large urban areas? pricing?*

I guess some here haven't dealt with the urban bohemian crowd or the urban real food/local food crowd. 
Positioned properly, marketed properly, packaged properly, artisanal local small batch hive numbered and dated jars of honey
can fetch $25/lb. Some already sell their harvest (300-400 lbs) at these prices. Crazy? maybe. But it's happening.
This market ain't Amazon Prime.


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## Clairesmom

*Re: Anyne sell in large urban areas? pricing?*

John McPhee wrote a great book called "Giving Good Weight".

That title has always stuck in my mind as I engage in dealings with other people.


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## BigGun

*Re: Anyne sell in large urban areas? pricing?*

I got a call Sunday morning from my sister in Manhattan. She was at a farmers market and a guy had his nyc local honey for sale. He had $10 for 8 ounces of light honey and $20 for dark per 8 ounces.


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## clyderoad

*Re: Anyne sell in large urban areas? pricing?*



BigGun said:


> I got a call Sunday morning from my sister in Manhattan. She was at a farmers market and a guy had his nyc local honey for sale. He had $10 for 8 ounces of light honey and $20 for dark per 8 ounces.


Yup.
The flip side is a fairly large non NYC metro area beekeeper who sells at many of the NYC green markets charges $8.00/lb for his honey
in plastic bottles (urban bohemians don't care for plastic, by and large) and is glad to get it. He can't get that price where he's from and has a lot of it to move.
It's conceivable the price range at a NYC green market for a pound of honey is $8 to $25 and the sellers make sales.


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## Mike01876

*Re: Anyne sell in large urban areas? pricing?*

To me this topic is fascinating, who among us remembers Economics 101 and all the hours discussing Maslow's hierarchy of needs and economists' supply and demand curves!?!?! 

I know there are absolutely buyers at those prices in smaller quantities, I think it is just a question of how much volume across what period of time. 

My only observation of real life high(er) volume sales in the cumulative $20-24/lb range was either last season, or the one before, at the premier hipster market here in Boston named SOWA/NEOM. A local honey vendor was working the crowd fairly well, people always stopped by to listen, many took samples and some were leaving with product. They had a range of products and prices, but the most popular item seemed to be 4oz glass hex jars that they priced at either $5 or $6 each, resulting in an effective price of $20-24/lb not including the cost of the hex jar, label and so on.

We watched for quite some time to gauge activity, then came back much later in the day to determine what type of total volume they were doing. We guessed they probably moved fifty or sixty of the 4oz hex jars at that price, but not much else seemed to have had traction. Assuming the price was $6 and not $5 for each hex jar (my mind is failing in old age) and a few other sales as well, they probably took down $400+ cash for the six hour market. 

This is real money for sure, but the market table fee there is I think $65, plus parking, plus gas and time to drive in and out of Boston (they had an hour ride each way) not including the cost of the hex jars, labor and six hours for the market plus a couple hours for setup/take down. They may have cumulatively made $24/lb before accounting for costs, but at least in that location, at that price, on that particular day, the total sales numbers would have been a disappointment to me after deducting our costs. Perhaps it was just a lousy day for sales, we have all had them, but the other possibility is their price for larger quantities was just too high to encourage any volume. I think in these hip urban communities five or six bucks is truly pocket change, completely disregarded to satisfy any impulse buy, but twenty something dollars for a one pound jar will cause potential buyers to stop and think about that whole hierarchy of needs thing - which we try to avoid!

My only other data point is from friends who are much closer to downtown Boston while we are up on the New Hampshire border, they also sell in the $12-14/lb range and with a good market in an affluent neighborhood of Boston they say they often move just about $600 of product in a four hour farmers market. It sure isn't $25/lb, but I think many would still be quite envious!


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## AdamBeal

*Re: Anyne sell in large urban areas? pricing?*



clyderoad said:


> Yup.
> The flip side is a fairly large non NYC metro area beekeeper who sells at many of the NYC green markets charges $8.00/lb for his honey
> in plastic bottles (urban bohemians don't care for plastic, by and large) and is glad to get it. He can't get that price where he's from and has a lot of it to move.
> It's conceivable the price range at a NYC green market for a pound of honey is $8 to $25 and the sellers make sales.


Good point. I like the idea of bottling and packaging in front of them but if you are bottling from a plastic bucket with a honey gate that might be a huge red flag for these folks. Probably will want a stainless bottling tank.


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## clyderoad

*Re: Anyne sell in large urban areas? pricing?*



AdamBeal said:


> Good point. I like the idea of bottling and packaging in front of them but if you are bottling from a plastic bucket with a honey gate that might be a huge red flag for these folks. Probably will want a stainless bottling tank.


I don't know about plastic bottling buckets and how they would react-no bottling at the markets here.
They sure like glass though and if it says Mason on it, all the more.


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## aunt betty

*Re: Anyne sell in large urban areas? pricing?*

My urban sales is basically signs at the bee yard that say call or text with a number. Pretty primitive.

Was hoping to use all glass mason jars. They say "made in USA" right on the jar plus I can buy them locally from many places.
Turned out people wanted plastic bears so I bought and sold about 500 twelve-ounce bears at $5 a bear. Then something clicked around July and alluva sudden everyone wants it in glass. $20/quart. 

I think there is a learning curve where you have to melt the face off one of them bears in the microwave then you decide glass is better. I hod to do it once.  Maybe they're recycling the bears.


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## BoldBee

*Re: Anyne sell in large urban areas? pricing?*

I'm new to bees and honey, but I started a different small business years ago and sell to high end clients all around the world. Very similar to what you are are saying, keep it on a small scale & charge more. I can say that after 10 years with that business that it helps you still like it when things are tough, keeps the stress down!
I have found that people will pay what they think it's worth. They honestly don't care what your competition, or other beekeepers think about your prices. Either they can afford it and want it, or can't afford it or don't want it. It's that simple. I will say I've seen people with more money than brains pass up a high quality product because it was priced too low. You might say that you don't want that customer, but I'll take them any day of the week. Business isn't about other's feelings. If you take good care of your bees, let them take good care of you.


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## SandyCreekApiary

*Re: Anyne sell in large urban areas? pricing?*

Instead of bottling honey right in front of them perhaps cutting comb honey right from the frame would be more attractive to them. Just a thought.


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## D Coates

*Re: Anyne sell in large urban areas? pricing?*



SandyCreekApiary said:


> Instead of bottling honey right in front of them perhaps cutting comb honey right from the frame would be more attractive to them. Just a thought.


Handling honey that's not in a sealed container will bring in bees who are curious. Bees hanging around your booth is an excellent way to spook customers.


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## jayheyhoney

*Re: Anyne sell in large urban areas? pricing?*

True - Knockin, bobbybee.


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## Jenny21

*Re: Anyne sell in large urban areas? pricing?*

Wanted to update with what I've been pricing my honey at. This is my first honey harvest, I took one super and proceeded to bottle 36lbs of honey. I bought sleek straight-sided glass bottles with black caps, made 'upscale' labels and shrink seal the jars. I have been charging in Chicago:

4oz: $6
6oz: $8

I've gotten comments from some urban 30-something women (friends) that I should be charging more. For a super local product with an upper-middle class demographic, I can probably go as high as $10 for a 4oz. I've only been selling in my social circles so far, but might try the neighborhood at $7 & $9.


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## aunt betty

*Re: Anyne sell in large urban areas? pricing?*

Went snoopin' at the farmer's market in Urbana, Illinois this morning.
Prices at one stand were comparable to what I charge.
Another had it sky high and was calling it "Queen Anne's Lace" honey. 

Both people got upset because another beekeeper was asking "how much?". 
Wanted to know where I was selling my honey at. I told them "at my house in Champaign". 
What a buzz kill.


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## Bee Arthur

*Re: Anyne sell in large urban areas? pricing?*



aunt betty said:


> Another had it sky high and was calling it "Queen Anne's Lace" honey.


I've got a lot of Queen Anne's Lace. I've never seen a honey bee on it.


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