how to determine pricing?

[mustangsaguaro]

For those of you who sell and ship fertile eggs as well as sell chicks local how do you determine the price you will sell for?

How do you determine what you will sell a dozen eggs for to someone? I have seen eggs anywhere from $45 on up to $70 for Ameraucana eggs.

For the chicks you might consider culls or rejects that you would sell what is your determining factor for price? Right now I have about 2 dozen eggs in the incubator. I don\'t plan on keeping everything as my husband would literally kill me.

Also, as the chicks get older what would one consider age wise (how many weeks?) a started bird and how much do you usually sell started birds for? I know the price would go up for already started birds vs. day olds. But what kind of a price difference is there? Do you raise your price by the week as they get older. Say .25 or .50 per week?

Just curious for those of you that have been doing it awhile. I want to be fair on pricing but yet not overcharge someone as well.

Thanks

[OldChurchEggery]

I\'ve never sold Ameraucanas before, but I have sold other breeds I raise. I sell unsexed day-old Australorps for $3.50 each. I increase the price by dollar when they hit 10 days, and then between .50 and a dollar a week until they are four weeks old, which is usually the point at which I can tell whether they\'re definitely male or female. I gave a range because if someone wants a big group, I cut them a break. At 4 weeks the males go off to the meat pen or get given away whenever someone wants a few pullets and I convince them to take a cockerel, too. I either eat the remainders or sell them for $4 each to the lady down the road so she can resell to her customers coming for goats and sheep. I charge more for the pullets at 4 weeks- 7 dollars each. Then the price goes up every other week. I look around on craigslist to see what other folks are selling their birds for as a comparison. Australorps are pretty common, so people aren\'t willing to pay more than $10 a pullet at 16 weeks. I guess you\'d have to factor in what you paid for your stock, too.

[John]

sell chicks local how do you determine the price you will sell for?

Since they are my culls and I\'m selling them as backyard/barnyard chickens and looking at what others are asking for chicks on Craig\'s List I sell very cheap.  The brooder space is valuable since a new hatch in coming each week and I need the chicks to be gone by then.  I generally say $2 each with a 10 chick minimum or $1 each if you take them all...or best offer.  As they get older the price either stays the same or I keep lowering it until someone decides they just can\'t pass up such a good deal.
When TSC was afraid of the chicken flu they didn\'t sell chicks for year or so.  Now they do again and when they clear them out they sell them for much less than a buck each...it is hard to compete with that.
Any money I get for the culls is great and more then I would get if I disposed of them.

[dak]

I was getting $2/ chick on craigslist til the feedstores recently got their chicks in.  These were the cull Blacks from my Lav split x split breeding.  Now with numbers accumulating and hatching continuing, someone is going to get some very cheap chicks at the swap this weekend.

I know some breeders cull at hatch, but I haven\'t been able to bring myself to that.

[Birdcrazy]

I usually take my culls to a local sale barn. Same story as most of you. After comission, they may bring $1.50- $2.00 for 5-6 wk old birds.  Once in awhile maybe up to $6.00. One time I took 2 LF adult cocks thinking, well there will be $2 birds. I got my check and they each brought $14 each. You never know. But that is not the norm! Usually I just shake my head and say \"Well, at least they aren\'t eating my $15 a bag feed anymore! Then I go out to the coops and admire the ones I kept.
Boy do they look nice. They better, cause ther\'e still eating my $15 a bag feed.

[HarryS]

Well after being haunted by my culls that went to auction they will all be put down now even the day old chicks.  I have already started to cull the older birds the old fashion way.  I do not want to see these culls to come back into the breeding pool and a lot of them will be used and the offsprings sold as SQ IMO.   Especially the black split lavenders of all the breeds I have I see people using them as pure bred but they are not.  

[Mike Gilbert]

Kudos to you Harry, for doing the right thing.  Even if they are labeled as culls, someone is inevitably going to drag your name in the mud because they are not A-1 stock.

[vanalpaca]

For those of you who sell and ship fertile eggs as well as sell chicks local how do you determine the price you will sell for?

How do you determine what you will sell a dozen eggs for to someone? I have seen eggs anywhere from $45 on up to $70 for Ameraucana eggs.

When buying hatching eggs last year, they started at $10-$15 PLUS $10-$15 for shipping cost. So now the price is about $30 to get in that dozen eggs. So specify if price includes shipping and how many eggs at that shipped cost.

Consider mailing shells or stating what color number on the color chart your eggs are if customer is looking for BLUE eggs. A lot of disappointment out there because of shell color.

Third consideration is the quality of the birds that you are selling eggs from for hatching, include parent pictures and show results. For higher quality birds, people are willing to pay more for hatching eggs.

Currently on BYC auction, Blue Wheaton eggs from a certain seller are going for $80-$250 per dozen as they are being advertised and photo is of REALLY BLUE eggs. I have shells from them and they are pale mint green....

If you want to further the breed and establish good customers, and work with them to help cull their birds, then choose a reasonable price. Folks have LOTS of problems hatching them out, depending on their skills, packaging, and the PO.

[Mike Gilbert]

\"Currently on BYC auction, Blue Wheaton eggs from a certain seller are going for $80-$250 per dozen as they are being advertised and photo is of REALLY BLUE eggs. I have shells from them and they are pale mint green.... \"

Was it P.T. Barnum that said, \"A sucker is born every minute?\"
The circus atmosphere surrounding egg color is what turned me off easter eggers, and is beginning to do the same with Ameraucanas.  Taking advantage of stupidity is not my idea of character.

[John]

Bonnie,

Welcome to the club and forum.

[vanalpaca]

I figure as a new ameraucana breeder it is my job to dispel the EE/Ameraucana misunderstanding where I can and enlighten the unknowing buyer on \'green egg/blue egg/ 13 brown genes\' .......

I was really surprised about the misrepresentation on the egg photos to what the buyer got and they were happy to send me the \'robin egg blue\' shells that were all true green.

I could wear them on my sleeve today, and I would NOT get pinched green.....

One reason I am here with those of you that have worked so hard on making the Ameraucana, at least I will get a bird far closer to standard and I can hatch out and work toward my own blue eggs....

And thanks John!!

[Beth C]

\"Currently on BYC auction, Blue Wheaton eggs from a certain seller are going for $80-$250 per dozen as they are being advertised and photo is of REALLY BLUE eggs. I have shells from them and they are pale mint green.... \"

Was it P.T. Barnum that said, \"A sucker is born every minute?\"
The circus atmosphere surrounding egg color is what turned me off easter eggers, and is beginning to do the same with Ameraucanas.  Taking advantage of stupidity is not my idea of character.

Well said. Years ago I ask a horse dealer what a particular animal was worth and he replied, \"Whatever a fool will pay.\" No truer words were ever spoken.

Personally, I sell my eggs for $15/dozen picked up & $35/dozen shipped (which includes packing material & postage). And if they ask what color the eggs are I tell them I\'m sold out...

[John]

And if they ask what color the eggs are I tell them I\'m sold out...

Your posts always seem to bring a smile to my face.

[bantamhill]

Beth:

I love it! Great response.

Michael

[HappyMtn]

I sell hatching eggs for $24 a dozen, but I always send extras, and they are from my breeders. All my cull Ams live with the marans to make olive eggers.
I probably give more away than I actually sell though.
 
I am not selling any more lavender eggs without splits being included. I sold about 4 dozen straight lav last year, and I would probably regret it except that they went to responsible people that aren\'t going to exploit them.  

As for egg color- I had somebody actually cancel an order because I was honest and said the lav eggs are more on the blue-green side.  Oh well- his loss!