How do I get started on selling eggs?

[cowhlb]

Thanks for replying everyone! I will take a lot of these ideas into consideration.

 

[reyecat]

Here in BC we can sell person to person without a lot of regulations.

we just sell to friends and acquaintances and make sure they know the eggs are uninspected and have them bring their used cartons. I've never had to buy cartons.

If you want to sell in a retail situation you have to follow all the guidelines. certain washing techniques, new cartons every time (wasteful) and probably have to pay for any number of licences which would drive your final cost up

we figured out our cost of keeping chickens per day and then divided by the average amount of eggs we could sell each day then added a dollar per dozen. That's how we figured out what to charge. It was surprisingly cheaper than what other farm eggs are selling for around here.

 

[kiwijean83]

Good luck cowhlb, I am sure business will take off for ya Ours did, we can't keep up with demand!

 

[laurawilches]

I used Craigslist and also my own Facebook. Regarding cartons, I usually ask people to bring their own. Price wise since I live in Northern California I charge $5 per dozen for my free-range eggs, and they are still a decent price compared with supermarkets. Of course I don't have 15 hens like you, only 7 but I get between 5-6 eggs everyday for a family of 2

I don't wash them to keep their protective bloom and because I keep my nesting boxes very clean every day, so the eggs come out clean too. I don't refrigerate them because they are usually gone by the end of each week and you can keep them up to a month out. Also, if I refrigerate them by the time people pick them up and drive them home they have sweat (condensation will occur) and not so good bacteria may grow there.

Of course I keep my eggs in a basket away from the heat and sun and in a cool place. When my hens decide to lay eggs somewhere else and they get dirty, I simply take the excess with my hands and leave those eggs for personal consumption, but I don't wash them until before I crack them open.

Good luck and trust that people are always looking for healthier and more nutritious eggs!

 

[Debrajarrell]

We had surplus eggs this spring/summer also . We built a small cart on wheels ,placed an ice cooler in it laid a frozen gallon of water in bottom and 2-4 dozen eggs on top. Wheeled it to the end of our driveway with a sign on front that said fresh eggs $2 and have sold out every wednesday and saturday since its been out. We left a note inside for customers to place money in mailbox and a (temporarily out ) sign on the bottom that we ask customers to place on front when they purchase last dozen. We have made it easy and convenient and everyone loves it and have given positive feed back . Shareing fresh Eggs is good thing.

 

[indymom]

I put up a small sign at end of driveway advertising fresh pasture raised eggs when I had surplus.( I live in town, suburb of Indy) I haven't had to do that again for 3 years. The eggs sell themselves w/ customers telling friends when eggs are plentiful in the spring. I organize my sales via text and keep a red cooler on front porch. Eggs go out in cooler w/ ice pack about 15-30 minutes before pick up time, money goes in cooler. I call it my magic cooler- eggs in, $ out. I try to clean my eggs a little as possible. I use damp paper towel folded up to clean them. Any w/ broken egg or stains or pecks/cracks in shell don't get sold, they are the ones we keep to eat. I write date the eggs were laid on end of recycled cartons, only sell eggs 5 or less days old. Using texting and the cooler allows me to have a life and not have to be here every time someone wants to pick up eggs or order them either. If demand gets to be more than supply. I start a wait list- this usually happens in late September and I suspended sales last year late November as the girls shut off the supply due to really cold weather, resumed in March of this year. When I had pullets (very small eggs) I sold 18 smalls for same price as dozen medium, large, XL mixed. Now that all are at least year old, I mix the dozen in regards to size, trying to put in a couple of smalls and a couple of XL- jumbo eggs to balance the overall weight of the dozen so it falls in the range of a typical dozen of store bought large eggs. (egg scale is great for this).

 

[jngavinTX]

This is where I buy my cartons. Pretty good quality

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00EVS1GU0/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[Glee]

Hi, I've been selling eggs for about five years now. There are several things to keep in mind. It's an up and down sort of thing. Customers come and go, and the chickens have their ups and downs. So, you can't always count on sales.

I have found the following things in the market where I am (Ann Arbor). First, My customers seem to prefer that I at least rinse the eggs off and refrigerate them, However, I have one customer that wants them un-washed and un-refrigerated the way they do it in Europe. I keep a basket of eggs separate for her. Some love a variety of colors, and some don't. Give them the option. I have a sign at the road that says simply "EGGS". That brings me a few customers, but not a steady supply of them. I periodically put an ad on Craigslist when I get too many eggs and too few customers. I use re-cycled cartons which my customers are only too happy to supply. However, this too can be unreliable. I bought some of the cheapest plain cardboard cartons I could find to have on hand. I print labels with my name, address, and phone number on them to put on any carton that leaves my place. I take eggs to the local farmer's market during the summer. I have other things to sell as well, and these seem to bring in people. I give eggs to charities like churches and local shelters when the surplus gets too much for my storage. Churches and the local shelters have some rules so, call ahead. Last, I ran out of space in my kitchen refrigerator, and customers sometimes need to come at times when I am not home. So, I put an old refrigerator on the back porch so they can help themselves. I have never had any stolen from there, but I did have them stolen from a roadside stand I used to keep. The refrigerator freezes during winter here in Michigan, so I don't use it during the worst part of winter. While freezing doesn't harm the eggs, customers don't like them to be frozen.

I always make enough money to pay for the chicken's feed and other supplies. Sometimes I get a little profit for myself. I keep a teapot on the kitchen shelf where I put the cash. It's handy to have for making change, and I can dip into it for money to go to the movies or out for dinner.

I get a kick out of my customers. Some have become friends. They seem to look forward to a chat when they pick up their eggs if they aren't in too much of a hurry.

To sum up: put up a sign at the road, run an ad on Craigslist, go to a farmer's market, tell all your friends and neighbors. Many people I know take them to work to sell, and my hubby has some regulars at the local pub, too.

Good luck. It's fun, really.

Glee at Fair Feather Farm home of happy hens.

 

[Glee]

I charge $4.00 a dozen here in Ann Arbor that's at the top of the organic egg price range. My customers must think that's good because they keep coming back. I sell every egg my hens can lay usually.

 

[Thassa]

In the spring at chick time TSC generally has cartons on sale for $.33 each. I stocked up as a backup although my customers and friends keep me well stocked.