Preserve Pricing Policy Help Please!

[OverWyreGrower]

OK, I'm doing my first craft fair tomorrow - I've got over 100 jars of jams, jellies, marmalades and curds to sell (about 15 varieties in all).

They are packaged in 8oz/225g hexagonal glass jars with gold lids, labelled up.

I'm really not sure how to price them though. It's difficult to work out what each one cost to make because a lot of the fruit was free, and I've mostly been making them through the year (jars work out at about 40p each). I've seen posh jams sell in farm shops and deli's etc for upwards of £2 (slightly larger jars though).

So - what should I charge for them? I was thinking £1.50 each - or is this underpricing? Should I go for a round £2, and do a small offer like "3 jars, £5 each)?

Help!!

[Ananke]

I'm really not sure but I was recently at a conference where there was a homemade jam/preserve table and they were selling at £3. I don't think they had sold even one by the end of the day.

You could try starting at £2 and 3 for £5 and maybe reduce the price if they are not selling.

[VirginVegGrower]

£1.99 sounds less than £2 (even though it's marginal - psychology) and three for a fiver sounds good. Are you making anything though at that? Time, ingredients, fuel...
Don't forget to have a jar of 1p coins though if you sell at £1.99!
Oh and good luck selling...still thinking of your Plum and Cardamom mmmmm

[Two_Sheds]

You've got to take into account ALL your costs: fuel, petrol, printer ink, lecky, rent (if you pay for a pitch) as well as the obvious jars & sugar

Then, you've got to put your price somewhere between good supermarket stuff & The Finest stuff - think of your market. People in an affluent town will pay more than in a poor town, but the product must look worth it.

Remember you can always mark down, but it's very difficult to put your prices up

[OverWyreGrower]

Erg... I have no idea... I would always make lots of jam etc and usually use it for presents/swaps/barters etc, rather than selling it. I would always have bought the jars etc anyway regardless of me doing the craft fair or not!

I suppose that there is no petrol cost, as the craft fair is at my place of work, where I would be going anyway if I wasn't selling; but I honestly couldn't even tell you about electric cost etc, as I've been making these since February!

[Two_Sheds]

^ If you're not going into business, don't fret too much.

Just don't underprice yourself

Prince Charles's jam is £3, Waitrose ordinary is 84p

[veggiechicken]

My local market jam & pickle maker sells his 12oz jars for £2.50 (I think) so 8oz probably about £2. Yours sound very attractive in the hexagonal jars and you could pretty them up with a bit of ribbon around the neck and a gift tag so that they would look like ready made gifts for Christmas!

[Mikey]

What i would suggest OWG, is if you want to get the most for them forego a jar of each and have some fresh crunchy baguette or alternative and allow people to sample it. This is definitely the best way of selling produce at a craft fair. I think £2 would be fine, if you let them have a free sample.

Our local school had a christmas fair and people were there selling all kinds of stuff in random jars, they weren't shifting as they were not displayed well. Some photos of whats in them helps, providence innit.

[Florence Fennel]

I'd plump for the £1.99 and see how it goes. As the others have said, you can always drop your prices if the customers don't seem keen. Good Luck.

[veggiechicken]

I agree with Mikey. My local jam man (Dai the Jam) has taster pots and breadsticks for dipping in for customers to sample them. Seems to work well!

[VirginVegGrower]

^ If you're not going into business, don't fret too much.

Just don't underprice yourself

Prince Charles's jam is £3, Waitrose ordinary is 84p

And £2 is inbetween - think this is probably your marker. If you were thinking of £1.50 and they don't sell at £2 or £1.99 then mark down a couple if hours from the end as TS Says.

[SarzWix]

Mine at that size were priced at £1.50 at the school Christmas Fair, most of them sold I would take posters/price-lists for both £1.50 or £1.75 and for £2.00 and see what others are charging/ if you get away with the higher price. If not, you have the option to change the prices quickly and easily

Oh, and bread/brioche/crackers are a great idea for tester pots, don't forget some plastic knives/teaspoons

Good luck

[vicky]

I do a produce market and we all sell at £2 per jar (price fixing as no one wants to undercut the Church's stall!)

[Two_Sheds]

^ that's a cartel isn't it?

[taff]

i did 1.20 for what I called little jars, which were basically anything smaller than a le parfait-ish size, then 2.00 for large ones.
I also had some wooden wine boxes to change the heights of things, and used one of the boxes I took them in covered with cloth for more height changes, and organised them in groups of 3 or five, and didn't put absolutely everything out, just replenished as i went. Definitely let people taste it, but save on the bread, get a handful of wooden ofrks or plastic spoons, and let them try like that.
Same here for the fruit, all of it was foraged or grown, I paid for sugar, electric etc. The jars came from freecycle and were covered with bits of old linen etc, with labels designed, printed and stuck on by me.
If you paid for the jars, add in the price per unit of those too.

and don't forget, have somewhere to put them all of the stuff you dont sell - the second craft fair i was supposed ot do was cancelled so I have tens of jars left, they'll go for christmas presents, but still.....]