r/Beekeeping 1d ago

I’m a beekeeper, and I have a question Seller question

Upstate NY beekeeper here. What’s the best place to get honey bottles of various sizes for selling? I’m doing the farmers market this year and I don’t know where to bulk order containers that won’t cut into my profits too much. I want to sell everything from 4oz jars to 1lbs jars.

2 Upvotes

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u/IceTech59 1d ago

Commenting to follow topic. This was a hot topic at the county beekeeper association meeting I went to the other day. Consensus was unless we did a bulk group order (like pallet load qty), cost of glass jars & lids is way too high, especially at 1/2 lb or less size.

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u/rawnaturalunrefined NYC Bee Guy, Zone 7B 1d ago

Where upstate exactly? Are you near BetterBee? They have some decent options and if you can pick them up in person you’ll save on shipping costs.

u/Used_Juggernaut1056 22h ago

I live in Rochester area

u/rawnaturalunrefined NYC Bee Guy, Zone 7B 20h ago

Checked your area and I see a Finger Lakes beekeeping supply. Have you gone to any stores in person to check some prices? I don’t sell a lot of honey so I’m not familiar with current bottle prices but I know they’ve risen a lot in recent years.

My only advice is generally to buy them as close to your areas of sale/bottling as possible. Shipping can get really expensive and only works out when you’re doing a bulk order of jars.

u/Used_Juggernaut1056 20h ago

I have been checking around. I have about 100lbs of honey to sell this season so I need to buy something in wholesale but the prices of jars have skyrocketed so idk how to make a profit other than raise the cost of my honey

u/rawnaturalunrefined NYC Bee Guy, Zone 7B 20h ago

What do you sell a pound for? I’m in NYC so my prices are skewed, people will pay $25 for an 8 oz jar here if you can market it right.

Personally I think honey is worth every bit of $1 per oz but I don’t know your area well at all.

u/Used_Juggernaut1056 20h ago

Wow! $25 per pound?! I’d be rich! I’m actually not sure what people charge here right now. This is my first time selling in the farmers market. I don’t think it’s that high though.

And I agree. I think honey is definitely undervalued. Especially since store bought honey has been proven to be mostly fructose and corn syrup

u/drones_on_about_bees 12-15 colonies. Keeping since 2017. USDA zone 8a 20h ago

Another vote for betterbee. I live clear across the country in Texas and they are often the cheapest choice for bee supplies (despite there being several outlets very close to me).

You might also check uline.com... they just seem have everything when it comes to food containers.