2012 syrup prices

[highlandcattle]

Has anyone given any thought to what you'll be charging for quarts, pint and half pints this year? Trying to be fair, but need to make some money on this deal.

[spud]

Gallons are $35.00 1/2 gallons are $18.00 and quarts are $12.00

Spud

[West Mountain Maple]

thats almost less than bulk prices with jugs costs, we have to keep prices "fair" to us too, hp $6, pt $10, qt $16, $28 hg, gal $50 is what i am trying this year

[jasonl6]

Should be staying the same here. gal $43, 1/2 gal $25 , quart $13 , pint $7 I do a few samplers for people too but don;t really sell anything less than pints.

Jason

[mapleack]

Leaving ours the same as last year, $45 gal, $25 half, $15 qt, $8 pt, $5 half pint.

[sugar ED]

Gallons are $35.00 1/2 gallons are $18.00 and quarts are $12.00

Spud
JUST got to ask ! Are you using your sugar shack for a tax write off ? Is this grade A Amber PURE MAPLE SYRUP or even a B !!! ? I'm in Vermont visiting family at least once a month or more ,and in 1980 and back, was the last time I saw A -1 GAL. of PURE MAPLE SYRUP cost $35.00 !.
I'm pretty sure (not pos.) But if thats, just say (good PURE syrup) ,than just go to ur local BIG sugar house and thay would take it off ur hands for $35.00 a gal. . Sap is going at around .50 cents per gal and if ...(lol) only 40 gals.to 1 gal syrup, thats $20.00 in just sap ! Not to mention the cost of -taps,tee,tubing,time/labor,arch,pans,filters,jars/jugs,WOOD/GAS/OIL and much more!
I'm on West Mountain Maple ,side."thats almost less than bulk prices with jugs costs, we have to keep prices "fair" to us too, hp $6, pt $10, qt $16, $28 hg, gal $50 " . And sold All of mine last year for the same ! even in Vermont ! to friends/family.. Gas is $4.00 a gal ! 1980 was $1.20 ! and GOLD IS NOW WHAT!!!. So I don't think I'm asking to much !
Good Luck Sappin and having fun ! Ed
P.S. "the having fun* with friends/family ,is what makes it worth it all ! and sooo sweeet !

[maple flats]

I'm also staying with last year's prices. $45 gal, $25 1/2gal, $15 qt, $8 pt and $5 pt.
Anyone selling at $35 is losing money. Forget the jugs and sell it bulk. Don't tell me the competition forces you to sell that low, hogwash! In '09 I had a poor season and I priced my product at $54 gal. I still sold out early. I had 150 gal that year and sold out by June, and my local competition was at $45-$52. I still get the same customers back every year. The only reason I dropped my price to $45 is so I sell my product at retail and little or none bulk.

[ennismaple]

Same prices as last year.

[spud]

My situation is a bit different. I sell sap and the price I get is the equivalent to making $20.00 per gallon based on 2% sap. The person I sell my sap to will give me syrup as pay if I would like. I do plan to sell some syrup to some friends but probably not more then 50 gallons or so. The prices I set are still much better than what I would get for selling sap. No big producer would give me $35.00 for a gallon when all they get is $30.00. There are more maple producers and more maple syrup made in Franklin county then anywhere in the United States. I could never get $45.00 a gallon or more where I live. If a guy had 100 taps in his backyard it would not be hard to sell what little he makes to his family or friends. But all that changes when you make 2000-3000 gallons per season. By next year I should be up to 6000+ taps and if I set my sugarhouse up to boil then most everything will be sold bulk at about $30.00 a gallon. We can make a very good profit at that price so to sell in jugs for $35.00 is a little bonus. I think it's great that some of you guy's south of me are making up to $65.00 a gallon. I hope you make a bunch of cash for you and your family. Good luck to all.

Spud

[kinalfarm]

45$ gallon / 25$ half/ 15$ qrt don't sell anything smaller

[spud]

I'm also staying with last year's prices. $45 gal, $25 1/2gal, $15 qt, $8 pt and $5 pt.
Anyone selling at $35 is losing money. Forget the jugs and sell it bulk. Don't tell me the competition forces you to sell that low, hogwash! In '09 I had a poor season and I priced my product at $54 gal. I still sold out early. I had 150 gal that year and sold out by June, and my local competition was at $45-$52. I still get the same customers back every year. The only reason I dropped my price to $45 is so I sell my product at retail and little or none bulk.

Hey Maple Flats,

Why would you say that anyone selling for $35.00 a gallon is losing money. Does this mean all producers selling bulk make no profit? What about me selling sap for 65% of bulk price? The competition does not force me to sell at any price. I sell at that price because that is the going rate. If a guy sells bulk for $30.00 and then chooses to fill a few gallon jugs and sell them for $35.00 he is going to make some more money. A gallon jug cost about $2.50 so that means he is still making $2.50 over bulk price. It may have been better for you to say that YOU would lose money if YOU sold for $35.00 a gallon not everyone else.

Spud

[northwoods_forestry]

Same as last year except that we are selling the new VSMA 36 oz "quart" and 18 oz "pint" tins at the same price as a regular quart or pint.

Gallon - $50
1/2 Gallon - $28
36 oz tin - $18
18 oz tin - $10
1/2 pint - $6 ($8 last year)

Spud, I hear ya, but still think that retailing VT syrup for $35 gallon is crazy.

[Thad Blaisdell]

I am selling it for $35 per gallon. And making money doing it. Bulk price is just below $30.00 add in a jug I am still making an extra 2.50 per gallon. I have presold almost 200 gallons. Extra $500 in my pocket. I am only bottling to sell during sugaring season. after that it is all gone bulk.

[ejmaple]

staying the same as the past. pints $12, quarts $20.

[maple2]

we are getting $52, $32, $20, $12. same as last year.$35 gal. is below my wholesale price. if its too cheap, people may think something is wrong with it. does it cost less to make syrup this year than it did last?

[West Mountain Maple]

Selling to friends and family for 35 a gal is one thing, but when you advertise it on Craigslist for that, you are clearly trying to undercut everyone, then people see that and think everyone else is way overcharging. That is a real smack in the face to the majority of us and the maple industry in general. AS someone stated $35 a gal is 1980's prices.

[mapleack]

I am selling it for $35 per gallon. And making money doing it. Bulk price is just below $30.00 add in a jug I am still making an extra 2.50 per gallon. I have presold almost 200 gallons. Extra $500 in my pocket. I am only bottling to sell during sugaring season. after that it is all gone bulk.

Thad, if you sold 100 gallons instead for $45, you'd have an extra $1,250 in your pocket, only have to twist half as many caps and not stir up the mapletrader price hawks!

[bowtie]

this is my first year "selling" syrup and i am $45 gallon,$25 1/2 gallon, $15 quart, $8.50 pint. the big guy in area is at $54.95 gallon, so i htought being new i need to get my syrup out there at a reasonable price. hope to make around 50 gallons, and if i can not sell it all at retail i wil sell it for bulk. i figure that i need to make all i can to learn the "art". i am exploring trying to get into local stores and go from there. i think any small producer under 200 gallons is not going to make a ton of money especially per hour but i do not think that is why most of us do this anyway. we could all get a job at min wage and probably make more on the side than making syrup but where is the satisfaction in that. that said $35 seems light to me but if that is what he feels he has to sell his for than so be it, i doubt that it will "change" market price for the rest of the guys in the area.

[DonMcJr]

What about us Low Scale guys, and are Michigan prices higher/lower or the same?

Lets see, I spent 18 hours Start to finish boiling 34 1/2 Gallons to yield 92 oz or Syrup...

That's 11 Half Pints...time $6 for $66 profit...

At 18 hours time that's $3.66 an hour!!

Good thing I'm doing this for enjoyment too and buying a half-pint evaporator in a a week to make the boiling faster LOL!

[tuckermtn]

we are $55 gal, 32 half gal, 18 qt and 10 pint. this is for plastic. Glass is more.

[metalhead62]

thad u are cutting ur own price if u do as u are then u will force ur wholesale price down and then who buys ur bulk and at what price but its ok for u and the rest dont matter hey but dont whine when ur bulk price drops a couple bucks toooo so why dont we all do that and then there will be no wholesale bulk as far as that goes we could sell it for 25 a gallon and still make money and then hows ur other 9000 taps pay thad

[Dill]

I haven't changed in 3 years, 35 1/2, 20 qt, 13 pt and 7 1/2 pint.
I guess I should just drive up to VT buy all your gallons and put them in new jugs for that kind of price.

[Riverdale]

We are at $48/gal, $28 half, $16 qt, $9 pint for 2012.

[spud]

thad u are cutting ur own price if u do as u are then u will force ur wholesale price down and then who buys ur bulk and at what price but its ok for u and the rest dont matter hey but dont whine when ur bulk price drops a couple bucks toooo so why dont we all do that and then there will be no wholesale bulk as far as that goes we could sell it for 25 a gallon and still make money and then hows ur other 9000 taps pay thad

Would it be possible for you to write your comments in English so the rest of us Trader's know what you are saying? Just say no to drugs metalhead.

Spud

[vtmaplemaker]

Anybody that sells syrup for under $45 a gallon, obviously doesn't make a quality product... Its like taking the low bid on a job, when there are 5 bids within 2% and one that is 20% cheaper, good luck with that one!

By the way Thad, maybe if you charged what syrup was worth, you would be self sufficent, not trying to be..

[jmayerl]

Anybody that sells syrup for under $45 a gallon, obviously doesn't make a quality product... Its like taking the low bid on a job, when there are 5 bids within 2% and one that is 20% cheaper, good luck with that one!

By the way Thad, maybe if you charged what syrup was worth, you would be self sufficent, not trying to be..

I do kinda agree with this but, it may still be a good product. I dont want to bash someone without knowing them or how they make there syrup. Some people just have no idea about what a business is or how to run it -big or small. I found that people that buy syrup at the house or farmers market are more than happy to pay more for a well made locally produced product. That being said here are my prices(slight increase from last year, but hello gas is $4/gallon and there is a lot of driving involved with our production.)
gallon 48, 1/2gallom 27, qt 15, pt 8, 3/4pt 6, 1/2pt 5. half pints are new to us larger ones are plastic, smaller is glass.

[stoweski]

hp $6, pt $10, qt $16, $28 hg, gal $50 is what i am trying this year

Ditto. Nice to see that those up on the hill are charging the same as I. :)

[maple marc]

$130 a gallon...........in the form of cream. Added value works.

Otherwise, we just sell syrup in pretty glass, so as not to compete with the commodity sellers:
$15 pint, $9 half pints

[spud]

Anybody that sells syrup for under $45 a gallon, obviously doesn't make a quality product... Its like taking the low bid on a job, when there are 5 bids within 2% and one that is 20% cheaper, good luck with that one!

By the way Thad, maybe if you charged what syrup was worth, you would be self sufficent, not trying to be..

I think it is safe to say that 90% of all Maple Syrup made is done so by larger operations that sell their syrup bulk. According to you ( vtmaplemaker ) all that syrup is of poor quality. Is it possible ( vtmaplemaker ) that the big operations have set themselves up in a way to be far more efficient then you? Just because you can't do it does not mean it cannot be done. I would very interested to know how many taps you have and how much syrup you make per season. It is very easy for most smaller producers to sell everything they make to family and friends but that all changes when you make 5000-50,000 gallons of syrup per season. Setting up a small backyard operation can be very costly ( dollar per tap ) and that is why those producers need to sell for $45.00-$65.00 per gallon. To take much less then that would be to make no profit at all and I understand their situation. What make's money for the big boy's is volume of product made. To say that someone's syrup is poor quality without ever trying it shows a lack of intelligence on your part.

Spud

[twofer]

Out of the sugarhouse we are:

Gallon - $45
Half Gallon - $25
Quart - $14
Pint - $8
Half Pint - $5

[Tweegs]

We are getting:

$53/gallon
$27/half gallon
$15/quart
$9/pint

Gallons in glass, the rest in plastic.


We also bottle in smaller glass (Lg maple leaf, sm leaf, cabins, ovals etc.).
The price is based on the syrup price per mL (derived from the pint price), plus bottle, plus foil, label, and any other accoutrements, plus an additional charge for packaging smaller quantities.

These items are usually bought by customers to give as gifts, plus they make for great eye candy to lure potential customers to the sale area.

[metalhead62]

hey spud perhaps u missed it last time around or u were not on the board yet i type at about 5 or 6 words per min so that piece as is took me about a half an hour to write so if it takes u an extra 2 min to read it sry dont bother but let me make this very clear YOU CAN SHOVE YOUR(UR)DRUG COMMENT YOU(U)KNOW WHERE as u know nothing of me or mine metalhead is a term for steelhead(fishing) which has nothing to do with ur reference so ur lack of intelligence is showing also

[spud]

hey spud perhaps u missed it last time around or u were not on the board yet i type at about 5 or 6 words per min so that piece as is took me about a half an hour to write so if it takes u an extra 2 min to read it sry dont bother but let me make this very clear YOU CAN SHOVE YOUR(UR)DRUG COMMENT YOU(U)KNOW WHERE as u know nothing of me or mine metalhead is a term for steelhead(fishing) which has nothing to do with ur reference so ur lack of intelligence is showing also

I am sorry for offending you Metalhead. It was all in good fun. I just did not understand in full what you wrote.

Spud

[metalhead62]

SPUD apology accepted; i know that my typing is not easy to read which is y i dont reply to alot of post while i am not an educated man i am not a stupid one either my point being if one always sells at a couple dollers over bulk price then the man buying bulk will have to lower his price cause his customers r saying hey i can get it overhere for 20 dollars less so the 500 dollars made on the 200 gallons of syrup thad sold so cheap could cause the price of bulk syrup to drop now if all the producers drop their prices to compete with thad there will be no bulk buyer or the bulk price will drop even more where that ends who knows

[vtmaplemaker]

wow I must have touched a nurve.... Spud, I am a hobby producer with 700 taps, and yes it does cost more to produce syrup on the small scale, But I do hate to rain on your perade, I was a big producer and I also know what it costs there as well... With bulk price at a average of $2.60 a lb and as high as $4.25 a lb and a drum containing 610 lb of surup (thats a 55 gal big boy not a peany little 15 gal hobby drum) that drum will bring $1580 devided by the gallon that works out to $28.73 a gallon (at perfect density)... On top of that add in you propane or elec for you bottler, the price of your container, the increase in your product liability insurance (and yes there is a difference between selling bulk and selling retail) or maybe I should not know that being a back yard producer that I am... all of this does not even include the labor it takes, or the extra equipment to bottle for retail... Thebn there is the othere thing to look at, if you are selling for 35 a gal, and your bulk buyer is buying from you and trying to compete with that retail price, you are klilling yourself and everyone else... what happens when the bulk supplier has to drop to $38 a gal and will only pay $1.70 a lb? now I guess that was a great choice to sell so cheap, and I am sure all the big, and small producers will thank that person. Heck I guess syrup will be cheaper for a year or two for everyone when no one can afford to produce it?


oh and by the way, I mite not know what I am talking about, but arn't you calling the kettle black not knowing what my operation has ever been???

Thanks for the good laugh and have fun selling your syrup at $35 a gallon...

[Monster Maples]

$45, $25, $14, $8, $5 Anything less than that, amish prices in this area. And that stuff I wouldnt put in my mouth. Had a guy call last night wanting 24 gal and said he pays the amish 38 a gal. Told him to go buy it then. Were not comparing apples to apples. Luckily around here most of the producers charge within a couple dollars of each other. Except the amish. And they cant sell much of their stuff. i just tell them to go take a look at where it is made and the equipment it is made on.

[maple2]

what happens if we have a poor season and bulk syrup prices spike to $4 lb? you have already sold all your syrup at $35. when you need syrup at christmas, and have to pay $45 for bulk, do you increase your retail to $60? i think its too early in the season to be selling discount syrup

[danno]

Wow, pretty hot thread. My prices have remained the same for the past few years - $48 (gal), $26, $16, $8, $5 (8 oz.)

That being said, I would not bust Thad and Spud on their prices - geographic region and amount produced have to play a huge factor in your pricing If you are as big as those guys and going to retail all your syrup at $50/gallon, you gotta have one heck of a huge retail market.

I only make 200-300 gal a year and still sell 2/3rds of my syrup wholesale. I love the woods work and sugarhouse, but am not crazy about bottling or retailing - that's just me. If I sell to stores, I still have to bottle and cut price, so I prefer to sell barrels at wholesale. I'd love to sell 100% of my syrup as cream, but just don't have that kind of business. If those guys can make more than wholesale by selling at low retail, that's their business and certainly does NOT indicate inferior product.

[spud]

[QUOTE=danno;183429]Wow, pretty hot thread. My prices have remained the same for the past few years - $48 (gal), $26, $16, $8, $5 (8 oz.)

That being said, I would not bust Thad and Spud on their prices - geographic region and amount produced have to play a huge factor in your pricing If you are as big as those guys and going to retail all your syrup at $50/gallon, you gotta have one heck of a huge retail market.

Danno,

I could not have said it better. I think the problem some others are having is that it bothers them to see larger producers under cut their prices. So instead of just accepting it they try to discredit the big operations quality. It's time to man up little boy's.

Spud

[Dill]

I'm not disputing quality. Just profit margin. So if bulk is 30, and your paying 2.50 for the jug. Are you taking into account, propane, storage and most importantly your time into account for that "extra" 2.50? The VT maple school, in bellows falls had a seminar on just this. At what rate are you better off selling at bulk or retail.

[bison1973]

I'm assuming this is a retail price discussion? If you're selling some wholesale to stores like I do you can't sell for $45 to $60 a gallon.

[Monster Maples]

. It's time to man up little boy's?

Statements like that aren't neccesary. It is called the Wal Mart effect, and I guess you are ok with that as well. Just run it so the small guys can't survive?

[spud]

I love Wal Mart because it saves people money. I have used Wal Mart in past post to make my point. I have always supported small producers and love to hear them getting their higher prices ( I have said this also in past post). Smaller producers only make up a very small amount of the overall syrup production. There will alway be people willing to pay a higher price ( family, friends, coworker's and so on ) so the small producer will be just fine. My problem is a handful of small producers that try to suggest that syrup that is sold for less then $45.00 a gallon must be poor quality syrup. I think people that say that are thinking to high of themselves and are not being honest with themselves. The real reason they bash people selling for less is because they feel it might affect their sales. This is the same reason why some bash Wal Mart. I never hear big producers bashing the quality of the small producers because the small producers are no threat to them.

Spud

[metalhead62]

quality is totally not my issue price is: 5000 dollar start up cost is nothing and i dont consider that in pricing in that as a hobby i go buy a quad snowmoble a hotrod what ever i have at least that into it with no chance of making anything off of that but im not going to do a bunch of work on them and sell below MARKET value because i can i believe i can sell lower than most cause i have no overhead but wont because i do others or myself no good if i do so and bring prices down it would not be fair to them or myself at 5 dollars a gallon i have not seen or heard of a system in the industry that can bottle syrup for that price including bottles fuel and labor so the only explanation i can come up with is to drive the price down which could be a tool to drive out the small producers that r trying to make some money at it instead of just a hobby and eliminate the competion he is NOT doing it for the money mabye just the thought that prices r to high dont know y but it is not the money my thing right now is i go collect 400 agllons sap take it in and some one boils it for me 20 dollars in gas i have 10 gallons in syrup which i can then work for my boiling fee or pay half the syrup so i could sell it for 20dollars a gallon and still make money

[maple2]

at last years farmers market i ran a special on pints.big sign. ALL PINTS $10. i got questions like "whats wrong with it" and "is it old?" and "is it 2nds?" oddly enough, we sold NO pints, that day, but alot of $20 qts. earlier in the forum, i stated that some people may think there is something wrong with cheap syrup.this was from my own experiance. didnt mean to imply that $35gal syrup was any way inferor

[Monster Maples]

I love Wal Mart because it saves people money. I have used Wal Mart in past post to make my point. I have always supported small producers and love to hear them getting their higher prices ( I have said this also in past post). Smaller producers only make up a very small amount of the overall syrup production. There will alway be people willing to pay a higher price ( family, friends, coworker's and so on ) so the small producer will be just fine. My problem is a handful of small producers that try to suggest that syrup that is sold for less then $45.00 a gallon must be poor quality syrup. I think people that say that are thinking to high of themselves and are not being honest with themselves. The real reason they bash people selling for less is because they feel it might affect their sales. This is the same reason why some bash Wal Mart. I never hear big producers bashing the quality of the small producers because the small producers are no threat to them.

Spud
Wal Mart saves people money? Correct, but for every action there is a reaction. More corporations moving over seas to make a cheaper product to sell for less. That is a whole different subject matter though. Maybe what you haven't taken into consideration is this. If a big producer under cuts my price of 10 dollars a gallon, that means I make less money. People will go where it is cheaper with out a doubt. Just maybe the small producer is charging fair market price to use that extra money to expand every year. Not all of us haul our sap to a producer to boil it for us. Maybe the small producers have spent the money on evaporators, filter press, ro, tubing, vac pumps, releasers, etc. Maybe they have doubled their tap counts every year trying to get to their desired tap count little by little. When they get under cut, yeah they do feel offended because it can affect their profit margin to expand. Maybe this is why a bigger producer will undercut, to keep the small guy from getting bigger. I don't discredit anyones quality of syrup if they indeed make a good product. I have no problem giving credit where credit is due. I will not retail my syrup to 1980 prices with the amount of time and cost of fuel to run pumps and maintinence every year. It does affect the small producers sales, and it also can very much hurt the market as well. It is my feeling, and after talking with several people, the market can support the higher prices. Especially with all the positives that are coming from the health benefits of maple syrup and the growing demand. People that make comments like some of yours in my opinion are thinking too high of themselves and are very arrogant. I have not seen people bash people on this site the way that you do by the remarks that you make. In my opinion it is uncalled for and I am talking in reference to ( It's time to man up little boys, Just say no to drugs Metal head) I mean really, most of us have the same motives here and that is to make a quality product to offer, we may just go about different ways to get to the goals we wish to acheive.

[spud]

You put in you post ( for every action there is a reaction ). This Thread has gotten crazy because of ignorant comments like (anyone selling syrup for less then $45.00 a gallon is making poor quality syrup) or the comment ( anyone selling syrup for $35.00 a gallon is not making any profit). It's these dumb statements that I feel need to be addressed or someone might start thinking there true. Both these statements have been proving to be false not just by me but other producers also. I will agree with you that some of my statements are a bit arrogant but it is really just arrogant humor. You are 100% wrong to say that the market can support the higher prices though. About 95% of all syrup made is sold bulk at $30.00 a gallon. If all those producers demanded $45.00 a gallon bulk price then the syrup in the stores would be $80.00 a gallon and it would not sell for that in today economy. With jobs being lost and people losing their homes I don't think they are going to pay that high of a price. Wal Mart is not hurting American company's at all. What's hurting America is to many government regulations causing company's to move over sea's where they can make the same QUALITY product just for far less money. The other thing that is hurting American jobs is the Union's. Demanding more money and more benefits when (most) of them are lazy. The people oversea's have a much better attitude towards their jobs then ( Most) American's do. A survey taking not long ago say's that 90% of all Americans hate their jobs and wish they could quit. People that hate their jobs usually do very poor work. You know things are going bad when 30-40 year olds are playing video games and there kids are waiting for their turn. I do have a question for all Trader's though and I hope you will give a yes or no. Am I wrong to say what I say or do you agree with me. Thank you.

Spud

[Dill]

I did not say you can not make a profit selling retail at 35 gallon because I assume your turning a profit at the 30 for the bulk. What I did say is your losing money selling retail at 35 if your selling bulk at 30. You simply are not adding in enough margin to cover the extra costs.

[Monster Maples]

Well most producers selling bulk or wholesale realize it is just that, wholesale. This thread was in no way in my opinion disputing any of the bulk or wholesale prices. It was the retail market. I sell bulk, and I don't dispute those prices set forth in any way. I know that I am selling wholesale. I base my retail price on the bulk/ wholesale price. It's marketing. I sell to stores as well, it is a little for my time to put in jugs, cost of jug, and what the bulk price is. Do customers get a little better deal to come and get it at the sugarhouse, absolutely. I will agree with you on some points that you have made, more so the fact america has gotten lazy. Or they think they are too good to get dirty. Or wanting to sit at a computer versus getting out and hustling. We are in this industry together and we need to have each others back whether big or small to continue on the path it is going.

[West Mountain Maple]

You "Big Boys" may make alot of syrup, but must have very little understanding of market value, and no respect for your fellows in this great industry we are part of. I don't care where you are, Retail Market Value of syrup is NOT $35 a gallon, and by offering it RETAIL at the price you are dragging the industry backwards. No one is jealous of you being able you to undercut retail price and make profit, it is just obviously foolish, greedy, and just plain not necessary to do so. And all of this nonsense doesnt even make that much more money for you guys, why not just sell all your syrup bulk where there is unlimited demand, and your not screwing the little guys who do actually depend on the retail values that have been built up over the past decades that you are trying roll back to. We are all on the same team here, and have to stick together on retail prices to keep them going in the right direction, UP, not down.

[Cake O' Maple]

i believe i can sell lower than most cause i have no overhead but wont because i do others or myself no good if i do so and bring prices down it would not be fair to them or myself

This is true in more fields than syrup.

[Cake O' Maple]

About 95% of all syrup made is sold bulk at $30.00 a gallon.
Spud

Where are you getting your statistic?

[Thompson's Tree Farm]

Where are you getting your statstic?

Or the $30 bulk price. The current 2.60/lb on the top 2 grades would be closer to $29 and when you add in the lower grades the average price would be quite a bit below that. Now if we are talking marketing grade B in a jug at $35, the profits as compared to bulk look much better.

[spud]

There are some who get paid I higher rate for their syrup based on four conditions. If you have your own stainless barrels you get more money. If you are a larger producer then you get the larger producer rate which is a bit more. If you are Organic you get a bit more. If your syrup is Vermont syrup you get a bit more. With that said last year the prices were $2.85 LB =$31.35 Gallon for Fancy. Dark Amber was $2.80 LB = $30.80 Gallon. Grade B was $2.50 LB = $27.50 Gallon. To answer the other question (where do I get my stats?) I read a lot from Maple News, Cornell, Proctor and other Maple research sites. Based on information on some of these sites it is clear that Franklin County Vermont is the largest producer in the State and the country. My 5000 taps is a little back yard operation compared to the neighbor's. Because of this even the thought of selling canned syrup for $45.00 a gallon is crazy in the area. I know in other parts of the country it would be much easier to get $45.00-$65.00 a gallon and I think it's exciting to hear they do. I am also very happy for them and wish them the best.

Spud

[maple flats]

Hey Maple Flats,

Why would you say that anyone selling for $35.00 a gallon is losing money. Does this mean all producers selling bulk make no profit? What about me selling sap for 65% of bulk price? The competition does not force me to sell at any price. I sell at that price because that is the going rate. If a guy sells bulk for $30.00 and then chooses to fill a few gallon jugs and sell them for $35.00 he is going to make some more money. A gallon jug cost about $2.50 so that means he is still making $2.50 over bulk price. It may have been better for you to say that YOU would lose money if YOU sold for $35.00 a gallon not everyone else.

Spud
I say that because you have taken the time to package the syrup, bought the jug, added the label and used more fuel in the process. If you want to sell at such a cheap price you'd be better off just bulk packing and selling that. Why do you think you can get $2.60 or so a #? They resell it at a higher price and make money. Why did Bruce Bascom build a new HUGE facility, because he makes money, and that makes him more. Why would you go to the extra time and effort to end up with less in your pocket than if you sold it all bulk.
In the past few years I have been near the top of the local price structure and still sold lots of product. I did however lower my prices last year and this because I'd rather sell retail than haul it to a bulk buyer. I may, if this season ends good (which is now in question with the weather forecast) I will be selling some bulk for the first time in 3 seasons. Last year was my most ever and I sold no bulk, but this year with what could be 50% or more above last year, I may need to bulk sell some.
While I do sell some gal and half gal sizes, my biggest seller is qts and at $15/qt I get $60/gal. In bulk I'd get about $28. To me $60 is better. My added costs are jugs, propane (off a bulk tank) for the canner and the time to pack it. That is worth the extra expense. If I was selling at $35/gal I'd need to think real hard about why I was not just selling bulk and be finished until next season.

[Thompson's Tree Farm]

Spud,
I had 50 SS Barinox barrels of syrup to sell last year, not Vt but where the buyers come when there isn't enough Vt syrup. Nobody offered me a scale premium or own my own barrels premium. I looked for such things and nobody bit so I got the 2.70 and 2.60. How much syrup do I have to have to get such premiums?

[spud]

Spud,
I had 50 SS Barinox barrels of syrup to sell last year, not Vt but where the buyers come when there isn't enough Vt syrup. Nobody offered me a scale premium or own my own barrels premium. I looked for such things and nobody bit so I got the 2.70 and 2.60. How much syrup do I have to have to get such premiums?

That is a good question and I do not have the answer to it. I do know that the person I sell sap to got $2.85 LB last year. I also talked to the person that buy's his syrup and he also told me about the four things that gets you the higher price. Although he did not mention how many gallons of syrup one must make to be considered a big producer and get the higher rate. The guy that buy's my sap makes over 250 barrels a year.

Spud

[Revi]

We are going to sell what little we have for $7 for a half pint and $13 for a pint this year. $25 a quart, but that's in two pint bottles. We don't have much to sell though.

[Greenwich Maple Man]

I have not read this entire thread. However, I will say that I have never met a producer who thinks that you aren't losing money when selling bulk. Yes there is a small amount of extra work but on average the bulk seller is losing half as oppesed to retailing it. Not saying there is a thing wrong with selling in bulk , myself I do both but there is a better profit when selling in a smaller size such as pints or quarts.

[syruplover99]

gallon 50 half gallon 28 quart 14 and pint 9

[Revi]

We need to sell syrup at a price that will cover our expenses at least. The profit margin is pretty slim, so we only sell retail. Last year we squeaked out a tiny profit, but this year it looks grim. I predict that there won't be much syrup for sale, so the price will go up a bit. Up in Canada they still have syrup from last year, but down here in the US I'll bet most of what we had from last years bumper crop has been sold. Since the yield was so poor this season and a lot of syrup is sold already there won't be much left by next year.

[chevypower]

We sold most of ours bulk this year. We are selling some retail at $42 for a gallon, $22 half gallon, and $14 for quarts. If it sells well we'll retail more next year.

[Michael Greer]

I had only four gallons to sell this year and got $50 per gallon here in Potsdam. The Food Co-op sells for $38 per half...

[sugaringman85]

i'm gonna stick to the same prices as the last 3 years. 50/gal 28/half gal 15/quart 10/pint 6/h. pint. not selling any at bulk prices any more. last year was my best year ever with just over 550 gallons and sold it all before the season started again. with just under 300 this year i'm gonna probably end up buying syrup to cover my customers till next season. I understand the bulk market for a lot of the big guys. I also know that if you are willing to spend a little extra time and effort you can make a lot more per gallon than bulk sales. if you don't like dealing with people, bulk sales are your best options. if you can deal with people there is a lot of money to be made!

[michiganfarmer2]

I just bumped my retail prices up. $48 per gallon, $18 per quart, $10.50 per pint

[RustyBuckets]

How do you guys cover cost at those prices? I also dont understand the drastic differences between your guys quarts and gallons. At the gallon rates I am seeing I wouldnt even offer them.

[ClarkFarmMapleSyrup]

I am selling at $48/gal $28/half-gal $16/quart $9/pint $5/half-pint
Never had anyone sayanything about they price being high, because if they are buying syrup , I probably actually know them, and theyve seen what it takes to make syrup.
I only have about 1.25gal left to sell, the rest is all sold from this season. Made 10gal.

[Bruce L]

We stayed at the same price as last year,not a gas company that we can gouge because of a poor year--$55.00 for 4 liter,$30.00 for 2 ,$20.00 for 1,$10.00 for 1/2 liter,which are probably all close to U.S gallon,1/2 gallon etc.

[jmayerl]

We stayed at the same price as last year,not a gas company that we can gouge because of a poor year--$55.00 for 4 liter,$30.00 for 2 ,$20.00 for 1,$10.00 for 1/2 liter,which are probably all close to U.S gallon,1/2 gallon etc.

I guess I don't totally understand socalizim......... But here in the United States, we have open markets. The market prices are set by supply and demand, not the government. When supply is low and demand is high(such as this year) prices rise.

Feel free to charge whatever you wish but don't criticize others that may charge more than you.

[sugaringman85]

How do you guys cover cost at those prices? I also dont understand the drastic differences between your guys quarts and gallons. At the gallon rates I am seeing I wouldnt even offer them.

just curious, if you don't see how we can cover costs at the prices we are running....what are your prices that are so amazing and cover your costs. I'm pretty sure there was an "misunderstanding" like this in this thread about 2 pages ago. It all depends on your situation and what you are spending.

[RustyBuckets]

just curious, if you don't see how we can cover costs at the prices we are running....what are your prices that are so amazing and cover your costs. I'm pretty sure there was an "misunderstanding" like this in this thread about 2 pages ago. It all depends on your situation and what you are spending.
The big price breaks I see you guys posting makes no sense to me is all Im saying. It takes the same amount of energy and labor to make every ounce of syrup. Why do such a hard discount for a gallon quantity? For example you are selling half pints for 6 dollars which is 96 dollars a gallon but yet you sell your gallons for almost half that price at 56 dollars. I sell at 68 dollars a gallon and it is broken down equally by other sizes. I sell every drop and never had it questioned.

[sugaringman85]

i think it all depends on what you believe is a fair price, and what your costs are. I have run the numbers time and time again based on buying syrup at a bulk price and making sure there is money made after all expenses and time. that is how i figure out my numbers. it works for me and if you can sell syrup at that price. more power to ya. there is a lot less work involved with making gallons that half pints or 50ml glass containers. thats why the prices are different.

[sirsapsalot]

The big price breaks I see you guys posting makes no sense to me is all Im saying. It takes the same amount of energy and labor to make every ounce of syrup. Why do such a hard discount for a gallon quantity? For example you are selling half pints for 6 dollars which is 96 dollars a gallon but yet you sell your gallons for almost half that price at 56 dollars. I sell at 68 dollars a gallon and it is broken down equally by other sizes. I sell every drop and never had it questioned.

I have been wondering that myself to me bottling is the easiest part of the whole process so why discount it at the last stage, did we already forget how much work we did to get that far ?

[farmall h]

Michiganfarmer2, my prices are exact to yours. Rusty Buckets...how much syrup are you selling anyway? If you price too high you'll never get rid of it!

[jmayerl]

Ok I get it now. What many of your are failing to see is that everyone who sells smaller containers for a higher per ounce price than say a gallon jug are following very simple yet well established marketing tactics. There are many reasons for this, the biggest being that most people would rather spend a few dollars to try something out or to have a short term(weeks-months supply) rather than spend say $60 for a few years supply of syrup. Look at it this way, 95% of people will buy a pound or 2 of ground burger for a meal or 2 of hamburgers at 4.49 a pound. 5% will buy 1/4 beef because it is $2 a pound and will last them for the whole year.

If all of this is still to complicated for anyone to figure out then just go to the grocery store and look at anything that is sold in multiple size containers and then figure out the price per ounce and it will always be more the smaller the container gets.

I don't remember my exact breakdown off the top of my head but i had a business marketing friend figure it out for me and it works great. PM me and I will remember to look it up.

[RustyBuckets]

Michiganfarmer2, my prices are exact to yours. Rusty Buckets...how much syrup are you selling anyway? If you price too high you'll never get rid of it!
Like I said I sell out every year well over 100 gallons of syrup and by fall Im taking new orders for spring I cant fill. Hamburger is not a specialty item or luxury item. Thinking any other way is leaving money on the table. Like I said before as well why offer gallons so cheap if you can sell quarts and pints and hit your profit margins faster. Marketing a luxury item by price seems awful silly to me. Market it by your product not pricing. Theres a huge mentality that lingers with all people and Im sure you heard people say it a thousand times. You pay or what you get. Not saying my product is better but in a consumer mentality it might seem that way to them.

[jmayerl]

Hey rusty, I searched all your posts and cant seem to find what you charge for your syrup........

I sell about 8% of my retail syrup in gallons for $49, and like many other people I have a very comfortable profit at that price. If you can't make money at that then perhaps you are very inefficient in your production.

Maple syrup is not a specialty or luxury item anywhere around here. At any grocery store in Wisconsin you can find 3-5 different syrup makers on the shelves selling for 15-18 per quart. You could also stop at any dairy farm(i can think of 20) within 15 mins of my house and buy a quart in a mason jar for $10(i wouldnt do that thou).

[sirsapsalot]

You guys must all do this for fun and have REAL jobs to cover the REAL expenses. I wouldn't sell a drop of syrup for less than 60.00 a gallon. I used to be dairy farmer i sold the cows when milk went to 9.00 and my corn was worth 4.00 a bu. It was stupid to feed 4.00 corn to cows and loose REAL money on the milk. I make syrup for fun and money, its WAY too much work to use REAL money to cover the cost of equipment, insurance, taxes and labor so if i had to sell it for less that 60.00 i think i would find something better to do with my time.

[RustyBuckets]

Syrup is a specialty and luxury item, it is not a necessity to have or own. Just because you see it all over the local grocery does not make it anything but. I posted my price in this very thread. I am not in-efficient by any means. I just refuse to take a loss on my hard work. I am willing to bet you that if you actually broke down every penny you spent on equipment, wood or oil, the time money and materials to get your wood, filters, jugs, cleaning supplies, electricity, your time, labor, taxes,insurance and the dozen other things Im missing of the top of my head you will see there is few making any decent profit if any at all at the prices Im am seeing unless you are selling in mass quantities and have thousands of taps. Now if you are just a hobby guy trying to break even thats a different story but then again why would you not want to make a couple extra bucks because your syrup is worth it.