help with retail pricing for 2014

[highlandcattle]

I have read all the posts about retail and wholesale pricing. A lot of this is very confusing. I need real numbers please. Are you figuring by the ounce? Specifics please.

[jrmaple]

It greatly depends where you are located, I'm located in CT where retail prices are much higher than NH and VT; my price list for plastic containers is pint: $10, quart: $19, half gallon: $35: and for glass containers, 8 oz: $6, 12 oz: $8. But that being said, prices vary from location, demand, market, etc. Best of luck.

[KevinS]

while here most people are now happy to hand me a twenty for a qt. but they have seen me carrying 8 or ten gallon of sap at a time to the truck and climbing up in it and pouring into barrels. they also know I often end up then boiling all night. So they see at least a little of the work that goes into it.
The made local and natural and non Corn syrup is just now beginning to factor into the equation, here in the rural middle of corn country. For many years that was fine with even non farmers since it is how their neighbors make a living. but by and large more and more people are wanting to avoid it. So I think the market has only begun to be tapped for maple here in the heartland

[jmayerl]

Highland-tell us more about your business, do you sell 5 gallons per year or do you sell 2000 gallons per year it makes a big difference sometimes.

[NTBugtraq]

Highland,

FWIW, I live on a major highway that takes Torontoians to their cottages...so I have a good spot to sell to people who have made maple syrup in their childhood, but no desire to make it now themselves. I put my sign up 4 days ago, and have sold a Litre ever day since. Nobody has argued at my C$22.50/L price. In fact, I think I may increase it to C$25/L. My buyers have bought for themselves, so imagine if they started buying as gifts for their friends in the "big city". I have a very small sample to draw on, but I've had a 70 yr-old couple, a Mother with 3 small kids, and 3 twenty-somethings...all have told the same basic story, and none have said anything about the price. In my mind, the most important thing is that none have asked about grade, colour, or "quality". What I have sold is 70.5 brix, dark, but not burnt...very maplely.

There's no doubt that jmayerl makes a point, quantity matters. I'm a small farm gate operation. Every one of my buyers have said they wanted to buy from "someone who made it"...so I wonder what would happen if I sold at a farmer's market...probably not as good sales I think.

Anyway, I have not harvested anything near what I think I should be able to get from my trees, and so I am hoping that over the next week, maybe two, I get what I expected. If that happens, I probably won't up my price. But if I get far less, I haven't seen anything from my few buyers that suggests I cannot charge more if the season does suck. Every one of my buyers have been really interested in the process, and showing them my sugar shack and explaining how it works has been a fun experience for them. I might be being really naive, but I have to say they're happy with it.

Gl with your sales.

Cheers,
Russ

[Sugarmaker]

Highland,
We set the gallon price for retail first. That is set on what others are doing in the area. We have not to far away Ohio retailer at 63 per gallon. we have others close to us at $45 per gallon. We have ours set at $55.
Then take that number and multiply by .60 to get the price for half (we use $33 for a half) Then take 33 x .60 (we use $20 for quart) and so on.
Seems to work for us. We put a lot of work into this. We are selling good syrup with flavor.
I think the price is going to go up next year at our sugarhouse. Maybe in the $60 per gallon range???
Regards,
Chris

[GeneralStark]

This year I am looking at going with the following:

Gal.: 50
.5 gal.: 30
Quart: 20
Pint: 10
.5 Pint: 7

May go up a bit for the Farmer's Market depending upon other vendors there.

[Revi]

We are a half pint producer so we don't bottle in larger than a pint. We sell half pints for $7 and pints for $13, and if someone wants two pints then the quart price is $25.

[Revi]

I figured out that we bought 200 jugs which cost us $250, and we're burning about a cord of wood to make 10 gallons. Wood is worth about $250 a cord now, so that works out to about $37.00 per gallon just in wood and plastic. That is without consideration of any of the equipment, gasoline and manpower needed to make the syrup. We're getting wood cheaper than that, but the wood we are burning this year could be sold for that amount. We love sugaring, but maybe want to get back a little of what we put into it.

[maple flats]

When I first started I added the cost of the container and did all sorts of calculations. I now just start at the gal price and work down similar to how sugarmaker does it, but our gal price is $52.00 and we go similar for half gal at $27.00 (we sell 2 and pack in a medium flat rate USPS box) because we tell them that the gal jug costs more to ship than 2 halves, then qts are $17.00 and pints 10.00, half pts. are $6.00 but I'm not buying any more jugs of this size, they sell too slowly. I pack some glass but it is far higher priced, I calculate the price per oz for the nearest size jug and pro rate, then add the difference in container cost and round to the next higher whole $ amount. With my gal and half gal prices so close I sell more halves when shipping, except for my customers who buy in multiples of 4 gal case lots, but I sell more gal size at the sugarhouse and to my retail resellers.

[red maples]

according to the North American maple producers manual the prices by percentage should be as follows

Gallon 100% $52
1/2 gal 60% $31.20
qt 35% $18.20
pint 20% $10.40
1/2 pint 15% $ 7.80

but you would round those up or down your choice I would recommend up. it also depends on your area never ever go lower than the other guy no mater what. people will think why is his syrup so cheap??? must be bad. you can also change the prices to suit your area as well.

For me I don't do gallons but I would charge
gal $54
1/2 gal $34
quart $19
pint $11
1/2 pint $7

As far as wholesale its whatever you can work out a deal with whom youre selling it to. I try to stay at 10 to 15% of my retail prices I haven't had anyone try to haggle it down from there because they know they can get syrup anytime and there is no minimum order. I will also take say 5% percentage off for bigger than normal orders as well as long as they pay by cash or check. not by charge then I have to pay the fee too. Some say you should go for 20% that's fine if I am moving say 10 gallons of syrup but for an order of $100 to $200 its not economical in my opinion.

[Revi]

We sell everyting retail, and what doesn't sell we use in other products or sell on the coast. It's good to have another outlet for your syrup besides where you live, because there are a lot of people making syrup in maple country, but the retail buyers in Maine show up on the coast in the summer.