# Best bang for the buck?



## Deeohgee

1 lb. jars at 8 - 9 a pound. Hard for people to justify in their minds of buying 2 Lbs. for almost $20.


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## bigtex

$12.00 a quart in East Texas


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## Pinchecharlie

You guys think that simple is better? Just a mason jar and done or is there any money in fancy. We like fancy because my wife's an artist but K.I.S.S. Comes to mind for me (keep it simple stupid)


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## matthewstiles

Muth bottles come to my mind from your description


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## burns375

People like the muth jars as a cool bottle to put on the shelf. The classic 3/4 lb spout tip squeeze bear is probably my best seller. The 1.5lb bear does well also. I would offer a variety, then next year make more of what sells the best. 
I attached what i sell for here..


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## Pinchecharlie

burns375 said:


> People like the muth jars as a cool bottle to put on the shelf. The classic 3/4 lb spout tip squeeze bear is probably my best seller. The 1.5lb bear does well also. I would offer a variety, then next year make more of what sells the best.
> I attached what i sell for here..


Thank you for your generosity !


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## Cloverdale

KISS is the best way to market. Don't use plastic jars. Do one thing that is original for you; whether it is in your gift basket or your labeling....your wife being an artist helps, she'll think of something. What you see is what attracts your customers. They notice things like that. Also, it seems that beeks are jumping on the greed wagon IMO. Keep your honey at a fair price. Think of your honey as a gift. (not to you but to customers).


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## Cloverdale

PS. Muth jars look great, but when the honey crystallizes you can't get it out of the jar!


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## GaryG74

Muth jars are glass instead of plastic. Glass jars can be put in a pan of hot water (not too hot, less than 150 degrees) and the honey will re-liquify. Try that with a plastic jar and you get a warped and twisted plastic blob, if you're lucky.


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## Cloverdale

GaryG74 said:


> Muth jars are glass instead of plastic. Glass jars can be put in a pan of hot water (not too hot, less than 150 degrees) and the honey will re-liquify. Try that with a plastic jar and you get a warped and twisted plastic blob, if you're lucky.


Agree. Plastic I would not use. But as a customer of buying honey the Muth jar and crystallized honey was a pain inthe neck. I would want "easy" for customers.


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## TWall

I, and some of my customers, like the 1 lb inverted bottles. Yes, they are plastic, but they are easy for the customers to use.

Tom


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## Lauri

This is a favorite.










I don't sell honey, but I do harvest a fair amount. I don't 'give' a drop away ether (after all that work and expense) and really don't eat it. But I _do_ use it as trading material or a 'thank you' for folks that are generous with me. 

Such as the local cedar mill that allows me to buy lumber at a great discount, or the land owner that allows me to hunt deer and elk on their property. My husband gets discounted ice for his fishing boat at almost every harbor he moors his boat..just for a little sweet 'compensation'. Even when ice is in low supply, he still will get his when others are turned away. It works well for us and folks are tickled with the 'adult' honey jar.
I have a friend that drinks the Crown Royal and he saves me all his empties. There is always a little liquor in the bottom which I leave for added flavor. I've never tasted it, but I am told it is excellent. 


Otherwise I harvest honey comb, packaging on a butcher tray and food saver bag.





















I'm currently harvesting some nice clean frames from treatment free hives this year and am thinking about selling them on the frame. But I can get good retail prices here and the frames average 10#-12# which would make them a big chunk for someone to purchase.

Still, there are those that like unique and custom. If marketed as a Christmas gift item, a person might sell a few here and there.



















The best bang for my buck is not buying jars at all. My surplus honey harvesting is on a smaller scale than some however and this is just what works for me at this point.


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## Harley Craig

Lauri try filling a bottle of whalers vanilla rum with honey with about a 1/2 teaspoon of rum still in the bottle for adult gifts it is AMAZING


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## Lauri

Honey in liquor bottles is not my idea, I'm sure I've seen it somewhere. But it is popular with folks. They love it.

There are some beautiful decorative liquor bottles. Any bar would probably save them if asked.


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## Pinchecharlie

Hey thanks Laurie I've seen your post on partial frame foundation and I must say it looks like it's working gangbusters ! I had the same thought to just find jars and bottles from wherever and make it practical and recycled and a little more interesting. I admire your success and after trying to extract I think I enjoy bees more than honey! Thanks again charlie


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## BoldBee

Can you sell it mixed with liquor? Do you need a special license?


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## BadBeeKeeper

BoldBee said:


> Can you sell it mixed with liquor? Do you need a special license?


I think that some places have rules/regulations/laws regarding selling honey in 'used' containers. Might be a good idea to check that out when deciding whether to do it or not...not advising as to whether to follow the law or not, but I generally consider it advisable to know what the law -is-, and what the risk may/might be and use it as a factor in making the decision.


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## DerTiefster

I think there is no law prohibiting sale of such collector's item liquor bottles as Lauri has shown. At least if there is not liquor remaining in them, as defined by the glorious alcohol laws passed by our respective glorious legislatures and signed by our ... well, you understand. And if Lauri left the bottles open near her bees so they might benefit from the well-known disinfectant properties of the residual alcohol vapor, and a few of the bees became confused and dropped their honey in the wrong place, well, that's also understandable.

I'm sure everyone understands.

And besides, she said "gifts." I heard her.

Beautiful frames. Absolutely tops for a marketing draw in prosperous areas. I may try that sometime. I wonder whether offering for sale such an interesting biological artifact as a demonstration bee frame still falls under food laws....


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## aunt betty

We put up a really crude hand-made sign that looks like a kid did it.
Raw honey for sale.
People beat a path to my door and the honey was g o n e. 
$20 a quart. 
$70 a gallon. Sold a lot of half-gallon mason jars. 
They way I drink whiskey it'd take years to collect 5 bottles.


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## crofter

I use mason jars in 250 ml and 500ml That would be 1/2 and 1 pint US. Sell for nice round figures of $5 and $10. each. The weights are just under 3/4 and 1 1/2 pounds so works out to $6 dollars a pound and pays for the jar and label. I could go to a fancier bottle and label and up the price but this way is easy. I would not be thrilled with trying to hit the hole in a muth bottle or any small top for that matter. You wind up having to wash dribbles off the outsides.

I put the bottles out on a table in the laneway, with an honor system cash box and the honey sells itself.


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## R.Varian

Out of the 6 different size jars my wife purchased this year, the most popular was the 1lb glass jar. we priced them at $10.00. The # 2 seller was the quart size for $20.00. Nothing else sold very well?


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## BadBeeKeeper

DerTiefster said:


> I think there is no law prohibiting sale of such collector's item liquor bottles as Lauri has shown. At least if there is not liquor remaining in them, as defined by the glorious alcohol laws passed by our respective glorious legislatures and signed by our ... well, you understand. And if Lauri left the bottles open near her bees so they might benefit from the well-known disinfectant properties of the residual alcohol vapor, and a few of the bees became confused and dropped their honey in the wrong place, well, that's also understandable.


LOL!



> Beautiful frames. Absolutely tops for a marketing draw in prosperous areas. I may try that sometime. I wonder whether offering for sale such an interesting biological artifact as a demonstration bee frame still falls under food laws....


Here, there are no legal impediments if honey is sold in the comb. However, if you bottle it and wish to sell it in a retail establishment, you must have a 'kitchen license'.



aunt betty said:


> *$70 a gallon.* Sold a lot of half-gallon mason jars.


Wow. When I bought my first pail of honey to make mead, I only paid $60 for five gallons.



> They way I drink whiskey it'd take years to collect 5 bottles.


That's no fun. I get almost that many in a week...OK, I'm exaggerating...slightly...inch:


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## gww

crofter


> I put the bottles out on a table in the laneway, with an honor system cash box and the honey sells itself.


I am probly a bit more off the beaten path but that is how I want to roll.
Cheers
gww


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## Goof

burns375 said:


> People like the muth jars as a cool bottle to put on the shelf. The classic 3/4 lb spout tip squeeze bear is probably my best seller. The 1.5lb bear does well also. I would offer a variety, then next year make more of what sells the best.
> I attached what i sell for here..


I realize this posting is a bit older, but the price of those bottles are double what you have listed.


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## D Coates

2oz $2.50
8oz $5
12oz $7
12oz chunk $12
12oz (4"x4") comb $14
16oz $9
16oz muth with dipper $12
32oz $16
5lbs $35
1 gallon $72

Biggest seller is the 8oz but I sell alot of the others as well. All in plastic except for the chunk and muth jars.


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