re: Please Don't Undercharge for Your eggs!

[picklespickles]

yes, it really is finding the right market for each product or service. like i mentioned earlier, by driving an hour away and packaging my services differently than my neighbors, i can charge three times more, seriously. so it is finding a good match.

 

[LynneP]

We have regs here from the egg marketing board. Briefly, it says we charge the same amount for the various sizes. A youngster who had a small business was undercutting by selling at $2.50 a dozen and he was told to charge the standard prices or stop selling. He simply didn't realize the value of what he had been providing. It was a win-win situation.

Like many of you we give our spares to friends or boil them for the barn cats.

 

[lilshadow]

We charge 2.00/doz and 3.00/18 count here. People do buy them. However, I give my eggs to family (immediate members) for free, and I give eggs to a friend. I also trade my eggs for raw cows milk. If someone did not have money for the eggs I would give them away. I am not trying to make a profit or even pay a feed bill.

 

[ole-crone]

How much is your feed???!!!

We figured that even selling our eggs for $4 a dozen we are losing a dollar with each sale. Dh was so frustrated that he stopped running the numbers so he wouldn't start complaining to me about keeping chickens.

I give eggs away when they start to lay again in late winter/early spring. I let people know that once the Market starts, they are sold for $4. I figure giving some away here and there eventually gets people hooked on the taste of homegrown eggs and they end up being a customer.

I have also traded eggs to friends who own a diner for free lunches.

 

[Shared Acres]

This is true with most all jobs.

I'm a photographer, and people want to compare me to a big box store chain.

Walmart charges nothing because they want you buy stuff while you are in there. They also typically provide you with people who don't really know anything about photography, they are just pushing a button. (The images on the wall are corporate provided and don't necessarily represent the work/quality of that store.)

It happens in all fields.

 

[coffeemama]

I hear what you are saying, but I'm not sure your plea will work. I have a design and sewing business, and I see grannies with tons of time and resources selling similar products to mine for next to nothing. A friend of mine bought a beautiful handmade quilt for her daughter for $5-that what they were all priced. I have just had to work harder to prove that my products are better quality, more modern, ect. It sucks, but it's part of the business game no matter if you're in eggs or bags.

 

[n2h20]

i don't think she is trying to get rich selling eggs but just to make a living.
it's like hiring a contractor. you want one that is licensed insured etc,, and if every one hired joe schmoe off the street who says he can do it for half price it would put the big company's out of business. its kind of like out sourcing all our products to China,,, it hurts U.S, companies and puts them out of business.
Or if you have joe fix your car in his driveway and dump the oil out back,, it only hurts Frank who has been in business for ever and has rules to follow.

i only have 4 laying chicks so i dont have a lot of excess eggs, but when i do sell them i sell a dozen for $5. at our stores here fresh organic free range eggs go for $5-5.50 a dozen. Why would i sell them for any less, if i could get 5 bucks,, most people say they will pay that regardless,, want to help me out and support my chickens and "the cause"

i dont know the prices for eggs in small town midwest, but if you can only get 1.50 for your "farm Fresh natural fed free range" eggs that sucks!!

its like driving a hybrid car,,, you are not driving it Necessarily because its cheaper,, but to support not driving fossil a fossil fuel vehicle.

 

[carousel]

This is an interesting thread,
I have rarely sold my eggs, most I give away as gifts, thanks yous and just because to friends and family.
This spring I will have about 12-14 layers and I have had people at work ask if I will sell eggs, My plan was to give them a 1/2 dozen to start, and if they were happy with them they would be 3.50 a dozen, 3.25 if they give me a carton back.
But I don't expect to sell a lot of eggs, I will still eat them

as will my dogs and I will still give them away to friends and family.
I have a lot of friends that helped me with chores at the house I ALWAYS give them eggs. As I always give "good" will eggs to the folks living near me.

 

[gritsar]

Quote:
My husband has lots of medical problems and it has really amazed me how much my chickens help reduce my stress. I just love watching them do their chicken things.
And they are not that expensive. Cat food for the kid's cats cost much more than my chicken feed.

When my SO saw how much just having a few chickens has helped me cope with having several life altering medical conditions he told everyone that he'd continue to pay for their feed even if they never laid another egg.

 

[WestKnollAmy]

We sell our eggs at $3 lrg dz, $2.50 medium dz and $2 for a small dz. I weigh each dz as I place them in the carton. Whatever we don't sell each week goes to the soup kitchen for the less fortunate than us. And there are so many less fortunate we are glad to be able to give back to our fellow man.
We would love to make a living at this but know that really we can't. That would take a large scale operation and more land to free range our naturally fed chickens.
My best hope is to be able to afford all the feed I have to buy in the winter from a grainery. So far, so good.