How much do you sell eggs for?

[Kaugomu]

I started out selling mine for $3/dz and recently (maybe two weeks ago?) raised up to $4/dzn. Honestly, at $3 people (friends) were quick to snatch them up, I've had 0 takers at the new price. However, I felt the need to raise it after doing the math on what goes into my feed mix I feed a custom mix of feed which comes out to a total of just under $40 per 50/lbs, and I'm getting about 150 eggs per month. So since I go through about 75 pounds of feed per month (not including scratch and other treats) $3 simply was underselling the eggs. But, if no one is going to buy them at $4 I may have to go back down and cut my losses. At the farmers market they go for $5 or $6 per dozen, so I figured I was fine, but evidently not so much.

 

[jllynn601]

I am going to have to start selling my eggs because I simply don't want them to go to waste... I'm gathering that I should sell them for $3 a dozen... But what I'm curious about is labeling.

These are just plain ole backyard chooks... I know I want to have a vintage style label but I'm also wanting to include a couple sentence about my girls and about how they're free range, organic, pasture raised, chemical free, etc. and maybe a little recipe on the inside.... I just want them to have an extra flair to them. Does anyone think its worth it???

I'll only be selling about 2 or 3 dozen a week to friends and family and friends of friends.

 

[PugetCountry]

I'm in WA and organic and free range eggs sell for around 3.50-4.50 a dozen at the grocery store.

I think some of you are coming up against differences in culture. Around here Wal-Mart is not looked upon favorably so people do appreciate the work and care that go into someone raising healthy\happy animals and will pay for that. Now...we all know Seattleites can be over the top too so I'm not suggesting that the culture here is superior but it is different on a general level.

I personally can't imagine comparing farm raised eggs to Wal-Mart and expecting the same price...it's not the same quality..,that's nuts.

On the colored eggs (blue\green)...I bought a dozen colored eggs from a local organic farm for $6...and I don't know what it was but they were not good eggs and I've never paid that much for eggs. They truly had a different texture and flavor. I'm sticking to my co-op eggs until mine start laying.

If I were in the position of selling my eggs for less I would raise my price (to a reasonable price)...and let those folks go back to the Wal-Mart eggs and see the difference themselves

 

[crooked stripe]

I have 15 hens and just starting getting eggs. How should I price due the different sizes. Most run in the small size. I know they will get bigger but for now what should I do?

 

[cphinney]

I don't sell them because we don't have enough to sell. In the area you can get easily $4.00 a dozen, you might be able to get $5.00 or more if you go all organics and get a few buyers for them, in Austin the organics deal has gotten pretty big. Also it wouldn't help to have the most colorful box of eggs possible.

 

[KelsiNS]

Yard eggs go for $6-8/dozen here!

 

[cphinney]

I'm in WA and organic and free range eggs sell for around 3.50-4.50 a dozen at the grocery store.

I think some of you are coming up against differences in culture. Around here Wal-Mart is not looked upon favorably so people do appreciate the work and care that go into someone raising healthy\happy animals and will pay for that. Now...we all know Seattleites can be over the top too so I'm not suggesting that the culture here is superior but it is different on a general level.

I personally can't imagine comparing farm raised eggs to Wal-Mart and expecting the same price...it's not the same quality..,that's nuts.

On the colored eggs (blue\green)...I bought a dozen colored eggs from a local organic farm for $6...and I don't know what it was but they were not good eggs and I've never paid that much for eggs. They truly had a different texture and flavor. I'm sticking to my co-op eggs until mine start laying.

If I were in the position of selling my eggs for less I would raise my price (to a reasonable price)...and let those folks go back to the Wal-Mart eggs and see the difference themselves

Must of been something wrong with those specific blue/green eggs, assuming they wer a standard chicken egg like our Americanas you cant tell the difference between white/brown/green eggs.

BTW we love Wal-Mart here in Texas, plenty of other stuff that a family with kids need besides eggs that Wal-Mart has. Sounds kind of bitter that if you were able to lower the prices of your eggs, you would raise them just to make people go back to Wal-Mart...that's not very neighborly,

 

[PugetCountry]

I'm definitely not bitter...I was just conveying that it's pretty rude of people to want someone else's time, work and investment for a price\value that's not comparable. Everyone puts a personal value on items they consider important...and if they don't see the value in fairly priced eggs...then yes, they should buy what they feel is a better value to them.

That's all.

 

[AK Baha]

I live in Alaska.Eggs go for $5.00 a dozen.

 

[Chris King]

I checked that very thing just this morning, as my neighbour has expressed an interest in buying eggs from me. In any given area, the price depends on a few different factors:

1. pasture-raised eggs fetch a premium; in this area (Winston-Salem, NC), they range from $3/doz. for small eggs to >$5/doz. for large and XL eggs from small, local producers; I priced them in Whole Foods the other day... just shy of $8/doz!

2. "free-range" per USDA regulations doesn't have to include any fresh/green pick, just access to the outside, so if your hens have an outdoor run but not really much, if any, access to fresh greenery, then you can market them as "free-range" (and certainly as "home-grown" or suchlike), but you should probably price them less than eggs from pasture-raised hens, yet more than conventionally raised eggs; the difference between conventional and free-range eggs seems to be at least $1/doz. for any size, often more

3. "organic" has become a legal term in food commerce, so even though I don't use any non-OMRI-approved substances on my land and my hens' feed is 100% organic, I cannot legally say that my eggs are organic, except in conversation; interestingly, pasture-raised, non-organic eggs still fetch a higher price than "free-range" organic eggs in natural grocery stores and farmers' markets, probably because "free-range" doesn't necessarily = green pick, and to many (including me), it's more important (nutritionally and psychologically) for the hens to be able to forage a variety of fresh plant material than to be eating even organic, mass-produced feeds

4. fertile eggs (intended for hatching) go for much more than eggs for eating, no matter how the hens are kept; around here, they seem to be selling for ~$12/doz.

5. price half-dozens at a little more per egg than full-dozens, as it's a matter of "economy of scale"

I'd suggest checking for CSA (community-supported agriculture) programmes, farmers markets, and other producer co-ops in your area to see what is the going rate in your area for the category of eggs you're producing.

Have fun!