counter sales?

[John Burton]

This is my first year selling syrup ,and i was wondering .when you sell syrup through a store do you usually sell it to them or just give a percentage of the retail to them?

[Kim]

John,
We sell at three area stores - two are on a consignment basis and one buys by the case. We have wholesale pricing for all three which is 10-30% less than our internet/sugarhouse pricing (depending on the item), and they set their own prices. Consignment is obviously more labor intensive (stopping in to check inventory, tracking what has sold, etc.) - but the small country stores tend to be more receptive to it and they are stores we shop in anyway, so it's not that big of a deal and it's a good source of steady sales.
Hope that helps.
Kim

[maplehound]

I sell most of mine out the door and at farm markets. The markets arn't open year round so they buy on consignment. i give them 10% off my out the door price. Then they set there own price. It works good for both since they don't have to carry inventory over the winter. I do the same for bulk food stores on pricing but they ussually buy it outright.

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

Last year I made up a nice postcard size brochure on heavyweight white glossy paper to help with marketing and to give info on how maple syurp is made. This year I designed a really nice full page color brochure with a 4x6 color photo on the top half with the 3 sizes of syrup we offer. On the bottom half, I give the prices and sizes of each container along with a large paragraph explaining how maple syrup is made and how much sap it takes to make each gallon. I just print it out on plain white paper and it looks great. All it will cost you is a little ink and some time.

I will be glad to email it to any and all if you will send me your email address. It is in Microsoft word format, so nearly everyone can open it! Just send me a private message and I will email it to you! :D

[sweetwoodmaple]

I made business cards from the precut card stock with perforations (buy at Walmart, etc). I put the usual business card stuff on the front and squeezed prices of basic items and a few pictures on the back.

Turned out fairly well and is compact and inexpensive. These days, anything to point them to a web site for more information helps since almost everyone is online and web space is cheap.

Just another idea! :)

Brian

[mapleman3]

Amen to that... websites work wonders!!

[DirtPoor]

Crusing maple web sites and found one were the farm posts a journal of their tapping from each year. www.mainemaplekitchen.com