# Ross Rounds



## Dan Williamson (Apr 6, 2004)

Chef Isaac said:


> Was wondering if one could get $10 for a ross round?
> 
> any thoughts?


I sell them for $5. If you think you can get $10 for it try. You might find a mkt for it. Seems really high to me considering they are approx 8oz of honey but hey let the free mkt work! 

You won't know unless you try!


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## JohnK and Sheri (Nov 28, 2004)

I sell them for $5 also. If you are in a "premium" market with no competition you might be able to get that much. I have a few customers who love comb honey so much they would pay that if they had no choice.
Sheri


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## JC (Jun 3, 2006)

Chef Isaac said:


> Was wondering if one could get $10 for a ross round?
> 
> any thoughts?


I once saw Ross Rounds for sale at $7.50 at a large grocery store in another state a few years ago. I charge $10 for a Ross Round. No one cares what my production costs are, except me. Price is relative to what other beekeepers charge. I do not have any competition. My price would be too high only if someone else was selling Ross Rounds for $5 in my area.


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## Dan Williamson (Apr 6, 2004)

JC said:


> I once saw Ross Rounds for sale at $7.50 at a large grocery store in another state a few years ago. I charge $10 for a Ross Round. No one cares what my production costs are, except me. Price is relative to what other beekeepers charge. I do not have any competition. My price would be too high only if someone else was selling Ross Rounds for $5 in my area.


How many do you sell?


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

Chef Isaac said:


> Was wondering if one could get $10 for a ross round?
> 
> any thoughts?


I saw them in the Pentagon Mall outside of Washington, DC, a number of years ago, in a Science store for $11.00.


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## JC (Jun 3, 2006)

Dan Williamson said:


> How many do you sell?


I only sold a handful of Ross Rounds last year; however, I only produced 5 supers of Ross Rounds. This year I intentionally did not produce any Ross Rounds; I produced extracted honey instead. 

I am only a hobby beekeeper with a few hives. My opportunity costs are very high since I can make more money in less time and with less effort in accounting and tax planning. My hay day for selling hive products was in high school in the 1960s. I had a good mail order business selling royal jelly. 

Having said all that, I love marketing and selling. I was an outside salesman for 30 years. I have no problem selling Ross Rounds for $10 each. I am the only beekeeper producing it and there are no substitutes. I have to turn away 80% of the people who ask for my honey. I tell them that I only sell what I do not eat, and I usually eat all that I produce.

I do not try to convert the corn syrup crowd. I sell to the vegan diet crowd (target marketing) who would not think of putting extracted honey from Communist China into their mouths. I am an uncertified organic producer of honey.

You will not be able to sell Ross Rounds for $10 even if you do not have any competition. You have already established a base price of $5. You have painted yourself into a corner with a low price. You can only go up in small increments without offending people. 

If you are selling all the Ross Rounds that you produce, your price is too low. If you do not sell any Ross Rounds, your price is too high. I always try to find a happy medium when I price goods. At $10 for a Ross Round I only have to work half as hard as you to make the same amount of money. That sounds like a good deal to me.


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## Dan Williamson (Apr 6, 2004)

I don't have the time to try target marketing. I'm not really interested in selling it for more than $5.

I don't sell all that I have so my price isn't too low. 

If you only have a few hives then its easy to set the price as high as you want because you don't care if you sell it or not.

If you have 2-3K lbs or more of honey you tend to set the price where you think it will move. I can't eat that much! 

I'd probably never be able to make in beekeeping what I make as an energy trader. But I like the challenge of trying to set up something that my kids may be interested in running. I don't plan to make this anything bigger than a small business. Its fun and I enjoy a challenge.


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## JC (Jun 3, 2006)

Dan Williamson said:


> I don't have the time to try target marketing. I'm not really interested in selling it for more than $5.
> 
> I don't sell all that I have so my price isn't too low.
> 
> ...


How many supers of Ross Rounds did you produce and what percentage of that amount did you sell at $5?


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## Dan Williamson (Apr 6, 2004)

JC said:


> How many supers of Ross Rounds did you produce and what percentage of that amount did you sell at $5?


Most of the honey I produce is liquid honey.... so most of lbs I'm talking about are extracted...

This year I've only produced about 6 supers of RR. I've probably only produced about 4 additional supers of Cut Comb. I've produced probably 2200 total lbs of extracted honey this year.

Last year I only produced 4 supers I think and sold about 90% but I still had some left and I was selling them at $4.50 last year. 

This year I have sold probably $1200 worth of honey so far and of that have only sold 10 RR's at $5. 

**edit** Just realized I've sold 11 RR's so far with this season's crop not 10.

I am a very small producer of comb honey. I haven't seen the demand for it yet. Maybe I haven't done a good job of trying to push it. I'd like to see the demand increase but for what I'm seeing the effort hasn't been worth the return... even if I could have sold the 10 YTD at $10 each.

I have a decent mkt for liquid honey but still to be seen with any type of comb honey.


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## JC (Jun 3, 2006)

Dan Williamson said:


> Most of the honey I produce is liquid honey.... so most of lbs I'm talking about are extracted...
> 
> This year I've only produced about 6 supers of RR. I've probably only produced about 4 additional supers of Cut Comb. I've produced probably 2200 total lbs of extracted honey this year.
> 
> ...


Thanks for the information. I am not in touch with the "feel" of the market since I am only a small hobby beekeeper.

What people buy, or don’t buy, is fascinating. My son, for instance, does not eat honey; however, he buys bee pollen for $1 per once and consumes it everyday! I have never once in my life mentioned bee pollen to him. 

In 1965 I had the job of separating bee pollen by color at the bee breeding lab in Baton Rouge. I wanted to sell bee pollen in 1965; however, all the researchers at the lab made fun of my idea. 

People were resistant to the idea of extracted honey when the extractor was invented. If it wasn't comb honey, it wasn't "real" honey. Now I find some people who are resistant to the idea of eating comb honey!


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## lake thompson honey (Feb 11, 2007)

i sell ross rounds at the farmers market and various festivals for $7.50 and have no trouble getting it. they are a specialty, seasonal item. where else are people going to get them? there is a big market for raw honey and comb honey. $5.00 for a ross round is too cheap.


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## JC (Jun 3, 2006)

lake thompson honey said:


> i sell ross rounds at the farmers market and various festivals for $7.50 and have no trouble getting it. they are a specialty, seasonal item. where else are people going to get them? there is a big market for raw honey and comb honey. $5.00 for a ross round is too cheap.


Thanks for the information. I had the feeling that $5.00 for a Ross Round was very inexpensive. The key is that you do not have any trouble getting $7.50 for a Ross Round. 

In April you were looking for the fair market value of bee pollen. GNC sells 10 ounces of Bee Pollen (Code 079123) for $9.99 plus tax. The label says that for more information call 1-888-462-2548.


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## Dan Williamson (Apr 6, 2004)

lake thompson honey said:


> i sell ross rounds at the farmers market and various festivals for $7.50 and have no trouble getting it. they are a specialty, seasonal item. where else are people going to get them? there is a big market for raw honey and comb honey. $5.00 for a ross round is too cheap.


How many would you say that you sell /yr at $7.50.

I took 7 RR with me down to the local corner this weekend where I sell every Sat. I sold $209 worth of honey. I only sold 2 RR at $5 each. So $10 in RR and $199 in liquid honey. If my prices where higher I don't think I'd sell any...Maybe its location dependant.


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## John F (Dec 9, 2005)

JC said:


> My opportunity costs are very high since I can make more money in less time and with less effort in accounting and tax planning.


What a fun conversation this comment could start.
Perhaps opportunity cost isn't measured in just money and effort...



Dan Williamson said:


> ...Maybe its location dependant.


It's market dependant. I suspect that the folks you get stopped at the corner are doing so specifically for their everyday liquid honey needs. The comb honey crowd hasn't found you yet. Put a big sign out that says "I have comb honey too!" up the road a bit and let us know if things change. Give it a month of Sundays.

Something else, comb honey isn't the norm anymore, as JC mentioned. Tap into impulse buyers. Infrequent farmers markets or markets that see a fair share of tourist traffic would be good. Put up your booth near the local history museum and show folks how honey used to be sold. Make a "then and now" package with a bit of comb honey and a bit of extracted honey.

For Chef, you have a jewel in Pike's Market.


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