Cheapskate Rant

[technodoll]

It's all in perceived value... and of course budget.

Organic, free-range eggs sell for nearly $6 here in select grocery stores, and there is no guarantee they are FRESH or that the hens are really well-treated.

I don't know if people in my town (strangers) would buy or pay for my eggs but my friends and family (specially my mom!) as well as my DH's colleagues from his city office are shelling out $5 per dozen on a regular basis, in fact we have trouble fulfilling recurring orders.

Need more hens

So, find out what comparable eggs are selling for in your area.

Start networking to your family and friends, work colleagues, craigslist, free local classifieds, etc and price your eggs a bit lower - but don't give them away! You are GOOD stuff on your hands here and I've found that giving the first dozen for free is a sure-fire way to get people to come back and be willing to pay good money for more.

Just IMO....

GOOD LUCK!!

 

[sommrluv]

Here's my question, are you actually advertising these in any way, or just putting a sign in front of your house? At my grocery store, Store eggs are $2-$3 a lb. I would wonder why someone could charge $1.25 or would for fresh, premium eggs. I would drive by.

Put ads on craigslist, or hang ads on grocery store bulletin boards. Offer a 4 pack for .50 to new customers to get them to try your eggs, than the new price is $3 a dozen.

If you do have a sign in addition, use words like free range, natural diet, Premium. It's all about perception.

 

[Sunny Side Up]

It's taken a while but I've collected about a dozen or so customers who are willing to pay a good price for eggs that are fresh and come from hens raised with personal care. They aren't as concerned about the type of feed the hens eat, but they're glad to know the birds get to free-range and eat a natural & varied diet. I drive into town once a week anyway to take my kids to the library so on those days I bring the eggs and deliver to my customers' doors. Often they'll leave out a cooler with the $$$ inside, to make it easier to coordinate delivery. Customers will phone or email me during the week to place their orders, and if I have extra eggs I phone the ones I haven't heard from the night before my trip to town. It's a bit of a hassle for sure, but since Mister lost his job I need this $$$ to help pay for chicken feed. I charge $4 a dozen for chicken eggs & $6 a dozen for duck eggs.

I have little cards I printed that advertise "Fresh eggs hand-collected daily from pampered free-ranging backyard hens known by name, not number." I post them on bulletin boards in town, especially at health-food & gourmet food stores. If I relied on sales to folks driving down my street I'd never sell eggs at those prices.

If you can't find customers like this perhaps you could instead use your eggs to barter for things you'd pay cash for.

 

[Junkmanme]

Once upon a time,

I extensively remodelled a house ( on speculation). When I listed it for sale at $59,900.00 (a while back), the BEST OFFER I could get was $50,000.00, which I disrespectfully declined.

The "Realtor-Lady" told me that the house was "over-priced". I disagreed.

I told the "Realtor-Lady" that it was "under-priced" and THAT was why the offers were not good. I told her to raise the price.

She said she couldn't do THAT.

I said that IF ....YOU do NOT raise the price to $62,500.00, I will find another Realtor who WILL !!! ( She did not have an "exclusive-agency agreement".)

She raised the price to $62,500.00.

It sold 2 weeks later.

(for $62,500.00)

take it for what it's worth........

-Junkmanme-

"Value is in the perception"

 

[ZohBug]

The "better" eggs in the grocery stores around here go for $4.50 to $6.50/doz and my kids won't eat them and call them "store eggs" (they also won't eat "store meat" or any form of "store dairy" fwiw). One of the farmers I buy from raised his egg prices from $3.25/doz to $3.75/doz in September because of the increasing cost of feed (some of which he grows himself). At the same time, he had bought a bunch of new layers which had rather small eggs, so to entice his customers, he had an awesome BOGO free sale at which time I bought 20doz eggs. Oh, I should state that he usually gives you one dozen free for every 10 dozen you buy, so I actually got 22doz eggs. That farmer sells the most awesome eggs we've had, but he's 50 miles away so I buy from another farmer as well who charges $4.75/doz. Right now, the farmer who is closer to us is hoarding his eggs for his family as he's about to process the chickens he can't find new homes for (he doesn't want to keep them over the winter, and, yes, my kids want us to take some of them) so I bought a dozen from a friend for $3. A dozen won't last us long as my two kids (ages 3 and 7) will eat 6 eggs for breakfast, so I found another source for non-store eggs who happens to be 5 mins away and she charges $4/doz.

Now, really, I know that what I need to do is work on getting enough chickens to keep my kids in eggs and properly support their habit, but until then, I'm forced to pay what the market will bear. The best deal is the farmer who is 50miles away, but it's now winter and with the road conditions, it's saner for me to pay a bit more for our safety. In the meantime, I have to start rationing our eggs. I think that for people who value quality, they'll sacrifice in other areas to get it and for me, quality food is one of those things I'll sacrifice other things for. I'll buy fewer eggs before I buy lesser quality eggs. Don't lower your price, promote the quality!

 

[poultrypatch]

FIRST: Let me say this is an interesting thread.
S_S_UP: LOVE your idea of the business card and what you have on it. That's great
Around here, southern MA, the reg store eggs are about $1.99 a doz on avg. EB about a $1.00 more. Same with Land O Lakes eggs. Then there's the "free range" eggs, they're about $3.75 a doz. If you want the "organic eggs" you can expect to pay $4.75 a doz. Speaking for my local stores in neighboring towns.
BUT..a new store has opened in a nearby town..Aldi's. They sell their store eggs, Golden Hen for ......... .49 CENTS A DOZEN. Who knows, they may go up in price.
My girls, RIR, are just getting ready to start laying soon. So, yes, I still buy eggs. For DH and self EB....for dogs I've been buying the 49 cent a doz eggs...they don't know the difference. If you ask me they both look the same when you break them open. I'll be happy to just have enough for ourselves and a few good friends that want them....they even want to pay !!
Best of luck to all of you hoping to get a few dollars for grain...hope you can so your chicks will be able to continue living the good life. )
Liz
Rochester, MA

 

[tazcat70]

Quote:
I love this idea!!!