Selling colored eggs...do you ask more for them?

[honeydoll]

I am going to be hatching some olive eggers and blue egg layers, I have customers requesting colored eggs, should I ask more for them? What is your opinion? Also, how much do you sell your cage free organic eggs for? I was told my price ws too high, so I need a base. Thanks everyone. If I can't get more for my organic, I am just going to change my feed and charge less. I need to at least break even.

 

[krcote]

$3 a dozen in New Hampshire.

 

[greyhorsewoman]

That is not an easy question to answer. First you didn't say how much you are currently asking for your eggs. Is there a lot of competition for home-raised eggs in your area?

There is an extensive thread about egg prices you might find useful: https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=138

Generally, my customers preferred the brown eggs, with only a select few being interested or even wanting colored eggs. (Realizing that an egg is an egg, regardless of color.) We do have two local small scale egg producers who sell their eggs at our little local grocery. One has sized brown eggs and the other uses clear cartons with randomly colored eggs. Our local grocery prices them the same (I think they are going for $2.99 right now == so I don't know what the folks are actually getting paid.)

 

[Fred's Hens]

Egg prices are local issues.

Your experience simply not match anyone's here, no matter what is posted by others. Your customers, your local market will determine price. If you overshoot your market, you end up with 14 cartons in the fridge and just have to feed them back.

If you sell too low, your bottom line will suffer badly. Try to price right, listen to your customers, try to make new customers, and try to sell to those who understand you cannot compete with WalMart with either price or product, and don't want to.

 

[A.T. Hagan]

My green/blue eggs go into the general mix. I've been trying to come up with a standard 7 brown eggs (of varying hues), 4 white eggs, and 1 blue/green egg in every dozen as a trademark sort of thing.

 

[Happy Chooks]

I looked at what eggs sell for at the grocery store. Brown eggs here are $3.50 a dozen (not organic or free range, just brown eggs) So I figured $3.00 would be good and I'd have plenty of customers. (and I do)

My customers actually prefer the color variety, but no, I don't charge extra for them. I personally like the color variety, so they get what I like to hatch.

 

[honeydoll]

Thanks everyone. I know prices vary palce to place, but just needed some ideas. Organic eggs at WalMart here sell for 4.00 a dozen. My eggs are XL brown for 3.50. I will go down to 3.00. Maybe even 2.50. I think I may stop the whole organic thing and go with just free range. I just cannot seem to break even going organic in this area. But I am selling to people who want organic. I will have to really pick my brain and try to find a good solution. Thanks again for the advice. I just started selling and am learning very fast fast price is number 1, then the organic label. They said a local farmer sells his organic eggs for 2.50. I was thinking, really? I cannot see how he makes any money that way, or even breaks even. Can you really feed chickens organically and sell for 2.50, if so I need to know where this guy buys his food.

 

[JordanFamily]

Also if you are selling fertile eggs for hatching, those are a higher price....

 

[jeremy]

I sell regular brown eating eggs for $4 a dozen. The "fancy" cartons with green, blue, brown, white and dark brown go for $6-$8 a dozen.

Mind you, I live in CA and market to people in the Bay Area, specifically Berkeley.

 

[Prdtordude]

I looked at the Organic feeds and I figured the numbers don't make sense for me to feed, no one will pay $6.00 a dozen for organic. Which is what it would take to make a little profit, unless you grow your own feed, but that's a whole different story.

So I just let my customers know that I do feed soy/corn based laying pellets along with free ranging for all the bugs and minerals they can get on our 2 acres.