HOW MANY POUNDS PER GALLON? PRICE PER POUND?

[chux]

I sell 1# jars for $8. I also sell 2-oz. honey bears for $2. Most folks don't mind paying $8 for a good local product. Consider how much you invest in keeping bees and bottling honey. For the hobbyist, or smaller scale sideliner, selling at less than $8 per pound is probably barely going to get even. Especially if you suffer big losses next year and have to build your stock again. On a smaller scale, you can offer the costomer a closer "relationship" with the product. You can tell them where the honey probably came from, and when. You can inform them of your processing, or the lack of over-processing. You can assure them that they are not getting sugar syrup "honey." The smaller scale beek should be able to sell their premium product at a premium price. If you are under-selling, in the end you may be hurting yourself and other local beeks. When big losses come, you have less money to reinvest in the business. When that happens, where will people get local honey? It won't bee there.

I'll share what I've been told along the way. I'm up to about 30 hives this year. My goal should be to run out of honey next year just as I'm getting ready to extract. If I hit next spring's extraction, and I still have a lot of honey in stock, my prices are too high. If I run out well before next extraction, then prices are too low.

I understand this rule doesn't apply to smaller operations, because you don't have the stock. But still, how long does it take to sell what you do have? What are other local beeks selling for? Are they giving it away? Last year I spoke with a local beek who has been keeping bees for many years. They had not raised their prices in several years, and were selling too cheaply. They were spending a lot of money on the bees, and needed to raise prices to keep up. I encouraged them to raise prices a bit, and they did. It has worked out well for them.     

[GSF]

$8 a pint & $15 a quart. Some folks around here complain about it being too high. The last person who sold honey around here was selling it for $12 a quart. That was a couple of years ago and folks ain't forgot it. Like chux said you can be hurting other beeks & yourself by selling it too low. Not to worry I tell them, it'll sell. Folks in the city, especially with the FD and PD, will jump on it in a heart beat. Like I tell folks, I'll feed it back to the bees and sell the bees. Ain't no money in honey - the money's in the bees.

[Michael Bush]

> The last person who sold honey around here was selling it for $12 a quart. That was a couple of years ago and folks ain't forgot it.

Tell them to go find that person and buy it for $12 a quart.  Of course they can't find them now...  I think we do no one any favors including ourselves when we sell it too cheap.  That "$12 a quart" guy didn't do any other honey producers any favors...

[zinvest91]

it is about 8.3 you can find more information here :

http://howmanypoundsinagallon.com/

[sc-bee]

Dang....somebody drug an old one up....2006. What happened to Brian Bray, a great poster. He was putting together a book a while back, right?

[BeeMaster2]

I'm selling my honey for $11 a pint. I only got about 15 gallons. Could not afford to sell it for much less. I am almost out, down to the last case of pints.
Jim

[Jim134]

It seems like a lot of people are getting fluid ounces mixed up with weighing ounces.   
I do know in all states of New England you need weight of honey on the label in pounds and in grams....
I am pretty sure this is a federal law.




                     BEE HAPPY Jim 134 

[BeeMaster2]

it is about 8.3 you can find more information here :

http://howmanypoundsinagallon.com/

This article is referring to the weight of water not honey. As mentioned, honey is about 12 pounds per US gallon.
By volume, sugar and water weigh the same.
When you add sugar to water the sugar molecules inter mix between the water molecules and do not displace them. This is why honey is 1 1/2 times the weight of water.
Jim