Why are people so weird?

[rehdancer]

You could try letting people know that if they want eggs they must provide their own containers for transport. And I think you should charge. Folks around here get $2.50/doz. My birds aren't even laying yet and already I have 2 customers !!

 

[Echilde]

I sell mine for $3 a dozen but sometimes the first one is free, if someone has never had fresh eggs before and is unsure of them. I also ask for cartons back, but that seems to be hit or miss depending on the person lol. Cartons get expensive tho!!

 

[KDrake]

I sell mine for $3 a dozen but sometimes the first one is free, if someone has never had fresh eggs before and is unsure of them. I also ask for cartons back, but that seems to be hit or miss depending on the person lol. Cartons get expensive tho!!

Yes, I'm thinking I need to raise the price if I provide the carton. The price I give is lower because I'm supposed to get my cartons back

 

[noregerts]

Nice. Have you done this before? Does it work well? I was thinking about showing up with some eggs to the peach/cherry stand and offering a trade. I'm not sure how it will go over, but I'd love some fresh produce and I'm happy to trade some eggs.

yes one day when I was shopping there I noticed he was selling fresh eggs so I asked him about it. He said they sell really well. He pays me $2 a dozen and resells them for $4 a dozen. Usually I end up spending the money before I leave there though. Works for me!

 

[DobieLover]

I sell my extra eggs for $4 a dozen and I know of no one else in my area that sells for that much. The highest I've ever seen is $3. I feed omega 3 enhanced, organic, fermented feed that I make and my birds are kept on pasture.
I took nice pictures of the flock and the eggs and posted to CL and Nextdoor.com. I received not one reply from CL. I got 7 replies in the first week from Nextdoor and I have more demand for my eggs than supply. I even told my best customer that she could get eggs around the corner from me for $2.25/dozen but the chickens there are on a dirt lot, she doesn't feed omega 3 enhanced or organic. She will not buy from her. She waits for my girls to crank them out and buys from me.
I have 14 more pullets coming down the pike to help with the demand issue and my chicken addiction fix. I have customers in line for these new eggs.

 

[Sea Wolf]

All I really want is my cartons back! Or bring me your extra grocery store cartons that you throw away! My chickens are going to lay way more than I can ever use. I'm happy to share. BUT MY CARTONS!

Don't expect your cartons to be returned. Charge for them by raising the price of your eggs a bit. If someone whines about it, tell them why. Go to some of your local restaurants, especially breakfast places. Ask if you can have their empty egg cartons. It's what I do and you will get stacks of them. I charge $3.00 a doz for eggs. If I take them to the feed store, they give me $4.00 (either cash or in trade). Maybe you aren't charging enough? Farm type eggs, free range, sell for $6.00 a dozen in the store here. Even more if they are organic.

 

[IamRainey]

I'm happy to share my eggs but I keep it to family members and close neighbors. I must be picking the right folks because I ALWAYS get my cartons back -- 'course they're all stamped with adorable images so that may help. I also get the cleaned microwaved shells back from some of them. ...because my girls can never get enough eggshell.

I use this cute stamp to remind folks but, honestly, they've always been enthusiastic about getting eggs and happy to return the cartons from well before I got the stamp.

Once a neighbor recommended an electrician who came to do a small job for me. He was such a mensch he didn't want to charge me for what he considered too minimal to get paid for. I, meanwhile, don't like feeling like I'm taking advantage of anyone so we settled on a dozen "farm" fresh eggs. Now we're thick as thieves and he's done a number of jobs for me. Mostly in exchange for cash but sometimes it's a small job and what he wants is figs from my trees or something homebaked or more of those eggs.

 

[RhodeIslandRed5]

I picked a bunch of bell peppers and carried them to my local produce seller for him to buy. I expected five for all of those, but the highest he offered was 2 measly dollars!! I was dumb and took it. I should've told him to forget it. He can sell his stuff for a fortune, and yet he gives me only two dollars for my hard-earned produce, and he didn't even have any peppers on his table available.

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

Why do people you know (friends/family) expect their eggs for FREE??

Maybe I'm the only one with the problem, but I've had several people (people who I do work business with, siblings) just want eggs for free. Don't even offer me any money. My fault for allowing it a couple times. I don't anymore - but WHY??

I had somebody just hand me a carton this morning wanting eggs. She didn't give me any $$, maybe (hopefully) she will have some when she comes back to get them.

Also, I ask clients to return my cartons, I even have a stamp inside that says "Please return carton", have I gotten any back? Nope. I have a family who buys 3 dozen a week and has 6 of my empty egg cartons. Next time she wants some, I will be reminding her I need those cartons back. Never would've thought I'd have any issues!

Okay, rant over

Do you have any kids? I go on and on about how selling these eggs is my daughters small business, so while I wouldn’t really charge them if it was my business, I really need to support her in her efforts, etc... They never balk at paying when I say that! A friend of mine does something similar. Even if you don’t have kids, I bet you can come up with some hard luck story about the price of feed or whatever that has made it impossible for you to give eggs away...

 

[TooCheep]

I have a very small setup (3 hens) and sell 1/2 dozen eggs/week to my neighbor for $2. This at least pays for the commercial feed that I buy. Fortunately, they are very good about returning egg cartons and occasionally throwing in store-bought egg cartons. When I have some extra (every 3-4 weeks), I'll give 1/2 dozen to various friends and other neighbors. They never return cartons.

I think that giving away the results of your work devalues it in the mind of many recipients. I've seen similar results when giving away garden plant starts. Free ones are rarely valued and often end up not even being planted. Just a part of human psychology. Makes you wonder how the same thing applies in other situations where people get things for free...