Eggs at the gate -OT

[Penners]

Rubber bands fine. Hand-tied raffia (if you can be bothered) better. I hope you'll charge for the recipe cards - 50p perhaps?

Don't get stressed about the eggs. And frankly, if I were you, I wouldn't get into an advance-payment/reservation situation. Sooner or later you'll get something wrong, or there'll be some sort of misunderstanding, and you risk a cross customer. I should just say sweetly that you'll put more eggs out as soon as the hens oblige, so people should keep watching. If you're planning to buy more hens, then you can tell them that the factory is being enlarged very soon!

 

[CatherineB]

I think Penners may be right on this one - maybe a polite note to say the hens are working on back orders, and that while these will be honoured you won't be able to take any more orders after that! You don't want to be buying eggs, they want yours, not Waitrose's.

 

[Penners]

I think Penners may be right on this one

Are you implying that Penners isn't always right on everything? :shock:

 

[JoceAndChris]

Penners is always right about everything, of course!
Thanks for the great advice - much appreciated. No more money in advance then, it makes it all too awkward.

Three new hens arrived yesterday: French Copper Black Marans. They've settled wonderfully quickly and are laying already - eggs look like the ones at the bottom of this page:
http://www.dogriverbantams.com/aboutus.html

 

[Penners]

Lovely! You can't possibly sell those at £1 for 6! Push the price up now, and blame the world demand for copper!

Well that's what our local plumbing supplies shop's been doing every week...

 

[JoceAndChris]

:lol:
I'll keep a close eye on the supermarket prices and when they come up from £1 will increase to £1.20.

 

[Moo]

Plead an increase in costs (organic food, etc) and charge 'em a premium.
You're in business now, Joce.

 

[Penners]

Well said, Moo.

Joce, one of the principle skills in business is balancing price and demand. If your price is low (which yours is) and you can't meet the demand, then that price is TOO low.

Obviously your price must reflect your costs, plus a margin. But above that the pricing becomes "market related". That is, it should be low enough to attract sufficient customers to buy all of your produce, but high enough to avoid the product selling faster than it can be produced.

You have too many customers and not enough eggs. Sneak the price up, bit by bit, as quickly as you reasonably can.

Patronising lecture over. :wink:

PS: Don't let yourself be terrorised by supermarket loss-leaders. If Sainsburys are selling 6 free-range eggs for a £1, that's well below what most other supermarkets are charging, and will certainly be a temporary loss-leader. In fact, I can't find that price on their website.

Online research today: Tesco large free-range: £1.68. Asda ditto: £1.68. Sainsburys ditto: £1.68 (coincidence, eh? :evil: )

 

[JoceAndChris]

Loved the business lesson. I've blundered, and have a lot to learn.

 

[Penners]

See my added PS above.

 

[JoceAndChris]

Thank you for your added PS, and bless you for looking on Sainsbury's website. The Grantham Sainsburys often has local produce very cheaply, for example large bunches of local daffodils are now 99p. The Gladioli from Spalding are also 99p in late August, and there are all manner of offers on cabbages etc. The company currently selling their eggs at £1 are this lot near Lincoln
http://www.thehappyegg.co.uk/all-about-our-eggs.html
However a walker yesterday told me she found it horrifying eggs could be 2 weeks old in the supermarket, and mine are also mahogany, pale blue and white so they have to be worth more. As you say, the fact I can't produce enough is indication of that. I think people also get to feel fond of animals they walk by daily.

 

[LadyArowana]

However a walker yesterday told me she found it horrifying eggs could be 2 weeks old in the supermarket, and mine are also mahogany, pale blue and white so they have to be worth more. As you say, the fact I can't produce enough is indication of that. I think people also get to feel fond of animals they walk by daily.

Pretty eggs should definatley be worth more, and being able to see the beautiful hens also a bonus. I am easily swayed by such marketing though, I have a sweater from NZ that came with a little note saying the wool was from a sheep called Lucy...... and you can imagine how much I don't need a sweater, even a nice one!!!

 

[Penners]

a walker yesterday told me she found it horrifying eggs could be 2 weeks old in the supermarket

Actually, I believe they can sell eggs as 'fresh' up to 28 days after the laying date. But old eggs may be the least of your customer's problems: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1370448/Fresh-baked-supermarket-bread-rolls-frozen-YEAR-old.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

But of course you have everything going for your produce: truly fresh; special breeds; multi-coloured eggs; properly fed, visible hens.

 

[JoceAndChris]

Thanks Mr P and LadyA. I'm pleased with the product, even though one is bantam size. Lady A, I'd have had to have that jumper too!

Absolutely disgusting about the "fresh" bread - note to self, must buy bread-maker ASAP.

 

[Penners]

That's an irresistible product, Joce! Well done!

Next you should consider buying one of those barrier tape systems that they use in post offices and airports, in order to manage queues. :wink:

 

[AMc]

Seems to me that if you've just started, now is the time to make any any big adjustments in price.
It's quite reasonable to say you were just selling your surplus, but they're popular and if you need more chickens then they need to pay for their feed in eggs.
If people are buying them because they're lovely then they won't mind an extra 50p, if they're buying them because they're cheap then they'll let you know! It's alway possible to vary the price downwards according to your surplus but harder to meet supply at break even prices.

I would warn against gradually increasing your prices as you may gradually lose your customers leaving you with too many eggs and more hens than you want.

I had a window cleaner once who started at £7 to clean a bay and 3 other front windows - which I thought was robbery to start with but had no ladder. He then jacked his price by 50p every other time he came taking care not to ring the bell until he'd finished. When he got £10.50 I chased him down the road, paid him and I told him to stop coming at all. He told me he had to keep raising his prices because people kept cancelling - he couldn't see that one was the result of the other.

 

[worms]

note to self, must buy bread-maker ASAP.

Thought you already had a Rayburn?

 

[jocelyn plummer]

I find the breadmaker very useful on the dough only programme then cook in Esse. A large sliced loaf in our local bakery is £1.65 , their eggs from a local supplier are £1.20, but we can get free range eggs a little further away ( about 2 miles) at 90p a half dozen.

 

[worms]

I find the breadmaker very useful on the dough only programme then cook in Esse.

Ok, I've never used a breadmaker, so have to accept that it may have advantages. But the stove provides great heat for proving dough and will take four loafs at one go. So armed with nothing more technical than a big bowl, four tins and a pair of hands, you are sorted! Four loaves - eat one, freeze three and you are covered for a couple of weeks.

Instead of the breadmaker, I'd invest the funds in the flame gun. You'll save more time on the weeds than you spend on the breadmaking!

 

[skier-hughes]

We bought my Mom a bread maker a few years ago. The bread is very nice.
We've just employed a bread maker............ the rolls were extremely nice, the chickens loved the bread More luck next week now she's getting used to our oven :wink:
What's this make 4 frezze three sorted for a couple of weeks........ 4 loaves might just do me a week