Selling a few eggs... a bit of a rant

[lengel]

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If you're having fun, that's a little different.

 

[thechickman04]

trust me i am...well kinda sometimes i dont feel like listening

 

[domromer]

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I deal with that too. Customers like to complain that all my eggs aren't huge. I try to explain that huge eggs are made by chickens that sit around all day and do nothing but lay. My girls expend energy by running around, hunting for worms, chasing wild bids that land in the yard.

I ask them if they'd all rather have large uniform eggs, or taste??

 

[thechickman04]

thats a good idea..i hope she says taste

 

[poppycat]

You guys are funny.

My experiences with this person just get weirder and weirder. They just offered to trade me something basically worthless for eggs

I'm really not sure why they don't just buy eggs from Costco.

Whatever. I figure they can buy eggs from me on my terms or forget it. I'm sure I can find easier people to deal with.

 

[chickfillhay]

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Groucho was wise beyond his years. Shame we don't have more people like that!

SWEETSHOPLADY, GOOD ONE!

 

[blurose]

My trouble with selling my eggs is keeping up with the demand. I have a sign out at the road that reads "Fresh Eggs 4 sale." I then have a little sign in my front yard that says "Eggs for sale" on one side and "No eggs today" on the other. Some people just don't know how to read anymore. I can't tell you how many times I've had people knock on my door and ask for eggs when the sign plainly reads "NO eggs today." I only have 13 hens and get an average of 9-12 eggs daily. I have one reg customer who wants 5 doz at a time. Gee whiz! That is nearly a whole weeks worth of eggs. I sell my eggs first come, first served and after quite a few times of leaving empty handed, this guy finally asked if he could call ahead. So, I let him, but I still only sell him what I have in the fridge and don't let him pre order the next day's eggs. I have one lady wants to pay me in advance so she can be sure to get eggs. I say no to this of course. As for egg size, most of my eggs are big and either brown, green, blue or really dark brown. However, I do have 2 very reliable laying hens that are buttercups and lay small white eggs. I always include at least one and sometimes 2 of these in each dozen. I have explained to people that these hens are smaller and therefore lay a smaller egg. Everybody is okay with it. I sell my eggs for $2 as dozen right now, which is about 50 cents cheaper than in the store for a dozen large "anemic" eggs.

I only sell my extra eggs to pay for the feed and shavings anyways.

I've actually had one ignorant person come and say to my son that she didn't want any of my "colored" eggs, that she'd only eat white eggs. Good thing I wasn't here at the time or she'd have gotten an earfull I can assure you.

What an idiot! I keep my hens under lock and key 24/7 (lock the gate to the 6ft tall-chainlink fenced yard) because you wouldn't believe how many people want to "buy" my chickens or want me to "give" them some piece of wood or fencing that they see that I "might not be gonna use myself." Do people have no shame anymore?

 

[domromer]

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I get that too, someone will offer to barter for a dozen. They usually think offering a can of Pepsi is a good trade.

I tell them to go and buy them at the farmers market for $5 a dozen.

 

[Rafter 7 Paint Horses]

I've been really lucky with my egg customers. I've only had one complain about the size of the eggs when I only had young pullets laying. He bought 10 dozen every time he came to Texas from Arkansas, though. Once the eggs got bigger, he never said a word. He has given me baking size pumpkins, a new wristwatch, and other trinkets in appreciation of the eggs. He still pays for them, and his wife sometimes slips me a few extra dollars cause she says I'm too cheap on the price! If I have extra eggs, sometimes I put an extra dozen in the sack as a surprise.

A lot of my customers give me things like jelly and vegetables from their gardens. They always insist on paying for the eggs anyway. These are the ones that I throw in a free dozen for every once in awhile.

It is sad that people just don't respect other people or their property anymore. As good as our egg customers are, we have a gate at the end of the driveway with a sign on it, No Trespassing...Bad Dogs, and it is closed and locked when we leave. And the DOGS are turned loose! If we didn't, we would not have anything left. Before DH put the gate up, he had a lot of equipment and tools stolen.

I'm sorry you are having a hard time with some of your customers.

Jean

 

[Reinbeau]

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Too many signs. Put the "No Eggs Today" sign out at the road. Make it obvious and hopefully more people will pay attention.