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I am interested to see what others are getting for their syrup. I am struggling with how much to charge for retail and wholesale. Especially on a wholesale level due to the serious hard work and not wanting to part with the product and working for practically free (seeing as im doing that now, even after charging) So lets see what the market says?
Sapper Im sorry to break it to you but if your thinking of charging what you have in it your not going to sell any. All you can do is be competitive with the price and hope people will pay a little more because you made it. I felt better giving it away than selling it at a loss....................WHAT ya its true
Check some other threads there was a discussion on this the past few days.
There is such a wide arrange of pricing out there. Alot depends on competition, wealth of the community, location, and of course if you are not competing with the omish lol. I seem to get good pricing but I live in a tourist area and it sells well. Do a quick search on previous post. I do believe Haynes by far made the best return on his investment this year compared to most. That is no joke either, he did not tap and did not have a loss lol. I think he had some secret maple society tell him to stay home and not waste his time or money. Sure wish they would have called me too.
I have not changed my prices from last year. With that said, I changed the wholesale discount I offer. I give 20%off for wholesalers like our general store. I also have extended this to family. Last year I sold most of my product at wholesale and feel like I made nothing.... This year I dropped the disocount to 10% after I saw they were making more on a quart of syrup than I was! They went to someone else who I presume offers them 20% off!
Bottom line is do what your market allows, it ain't charity!
yeah it kinda one of those things that will take time to get your money back. you have to be competative with your prices.
From a consumer stand point and from a business stand point, who am I gonna buy from yes the little guy over big companies that produce items in china even if it is a little more but I will also try to get the best bang for the buck. If I go to a farmers market to buy syrup one guy has it for $18 a quart and another for $24 a quart what am I gonna do (besides go make my own) its easy $18.
and as far as family well. I will give up a few pints for holidays and b-days but after that hey your right its still a business after all and it cost me money to make it!!!
It's all about marketing, and picking your target market. most if not all of my customers insist that I package mine in glass mason jars. They are a very eclectic bunch and many say their kids will not eat the "other stuff" that they bought from a grocery store in a plastic jug. Now, a majority of my customers see me every year boiling syrup at my kids school and I usually pretty much sell out there in one day every year. They are very happy to pay my prices which I set yearly at 2.50 over what the grocery stores sell it for. They kind of equate it with buying cider from a local orchard versus frozen concentrate apple juice at shaws...sold out this year at the school and took orders for about 8 gallons for next year....not bad for a bad year..
My experience has been that retailers around here are content with a 27 to 30% mark-up. I do all the work and they still make a decent profit. I haven't had much experience with farmers markets or craft shows and such, but I will sell for a price that is easy to make change for and in even dollar increments. Somewhere in between wholesale and retail.
My original post was trying to see what the market prices were for all of you other producers. I would be a fool to think I was going to get my return on investment in one year. If that was the case i would have quit ten thousand plus dollars ago. And that was after spending the first ten thou. Bluntly speaking what are you getting for a quart, pint and half pint or nipp. I had a guy who wanted a gal for $40. I told him to go to the store. Keep in mind Im in NH. We need our syrup 66.9%. That takes a little longer then the 66%. To me thats worth more. The majority of the public have no clue about that though. They think syrup is syrup. Most have a clue about color or grade but not the sugar content.
Which leads me to another question. How does it affect me when bulking syrup. Do I boil to 66%? Does Bascom measure it when you bring it up? I usually leave my buckets and come back for them. I should have asked. I realize its done by weight. So 66.9% is going to be heavier per gal. So is that how you make up the differential. It seems to me that 66% having more water would be easier to make, therefore be more profitable due to the time, wood, etc. How does that work?
Maple Grove in St.Johnsbury will test on the spot for grade and density before they accept it. I would assume Bascoms or McClures in Littleton (if they still buy syrup) do the same.
I personally and ethically couldn't try to pull a "fast one like that" its just not me!!! to each his own. this year was my investment year. and I didn't make as much syrup as I wanted to this year just because of the weather shutting me down. but thats just the way it goes. and I put in 10k+ last year I won't even be close to that this I plan on setting a budget of $2000 and sticking to it.
And my pricing structure is as follows. now this is what I see at the farmers markets...not supermarkets, and general stores and stuff. those are for passers through, tourists and people that think its better because it costs more.
1/2 gal $32
quart $18
pint $10
1/2 pint $7
3.4oz $4
500ml glass leaf $14
250 ml glass leaf $10
100 ml glass leaf $6
Glass is obviously more expensive...because its glass. And I don't have any wholesale buyers yet but that would have to start at 10% discount and nagotiate from there.