What should I charge?

[bobm]

Just some food for thought : When one sells value added home made products such as pies, cakes or canned goods ... you better have a seperate errors and omissions / liability insurance policy in addition to your home owner's insurance policy in today's litigation times !!! The policy often costs more ( depending on what you are selling) than what you can sell these for. .. ie, NO profit and more likely you worked very hard with blood , swet and tears to give it away. Similar thing happend to my wife... she sold prize winning at the fairs home made items at a city sponsored sales events for years and made a nice profit. Enter a law suit against another participant and the city required a insurance policy from every partricipant which cost an arm and a leg. So she no longer sold anything any more.

 

[journey11]

If I had the time, I would consider selling pies. That would be profitable this time of year. I am nearly famous for my apple pie and I'm sure I could make the jump to pumpkin. I'm afraid I don't have time for what that would involve though. I'm not sure either, but what they require your kitchen to be approved by the health dept, licensing, and all that hassle. But it does occur to me now that I know a lady who sells baked goods at the farmer's market and actually does it as a business. And I also have seen a sign in front of a house a few miles down the road from me where a lady sells pumpkin rolls this time of year. Perhaps they might be interested in buying my candyroasters. They could make use of the large volume of squash easily. So thanks for spurring that idea. Otherwise, I think I'll list them in the Trader's Guide. I see people selling bushels of sweet corn, potatoes, apples, etc. in there all the time.

@Hal , thanks, that was what I was hoping!

@TheSeedObsesser , I will weigh a small one and I will also cook one up to see if it's good and I'll let you know. This is the recipe I've been wanting to try the cushaws in...Cinnamon Baked Cushaw. Sounds decadent, no? I'm afraid to make it without some company to help us eat it. Probably 20,000 calories in the whole dish! LOL

 

[baymule]

@journey11 Texas has a cottage bakery law, so looked up West Virginia, and sure enough, there is a cottage bakery law! I have to say though, that Texas is a lot more lenient and much more definitive on what you can and can't do. Here's a link

http://homebasedbaking.com/tag/wv-cottage-food-law

 

[journey11]

@journey11 Texas has a cottage bakery law, so looked up West Virginia, and sure enough, there is a cottage bakery law! I have to say though, that Texas is a lot more lenient and much more definitive on what you can and can't do. Here's a link

http://homebasedbaking.com/tag/wv-cottage-food-law

Thank you, Bay, for that info! I may need it someday. I've thought of selling jams, salsa... Not any time soon though. Too much on my plate for now.

The lady down the road is flying under the radar, it seems.

I know you have to have a business license and pay some fee (not sure how much) for a spot at the farmer's market, then there are income taxes and all. I've heard some folks say that selling at the farmer's market here is sometimes not profitable. We really don't have the level of interest here that other places have. Most folks have space to grow their own gardens and I figure that has a lot to do with it. I'm in the extension office pretty often, so I'll be sure to ask them for more info next time I'm there.

 

[digitS']

In this corner of the country, if you have farm income, cooperative extension will help you with producing "value added" products.

I know a guy who worked as a baker, decided to try his hand at growing a big garden and selling at a farmers' market. A year or two of that and he was ready to go back to baking full time . He was sent off to the land grant university for a class and started his own bakery, still selling at the markets. It worked well enuf that his wife quit her long time job.

Steve

 

[Jared77]

I'd contact the lady down the road and see if she's interested in what you have.

She might know of someone who's interested in them. Anybody at your church interested in them? Or interested in a pie?

What if you prepped them, portioned them into what you need for a pie, froze them and sold the portions? Put out the word you have them for sale. If I could buy enough for say 2 pies for the holidays I'd be already giving you my money. Beats having to figure out what to do with filling for 6 or 8 pies if I bought a whole squash. That has a broader appeal to folks I'd think. You keep what you want and sell the rest.

Plus you might make more money overall by selling the smaller portions to more folks. Selling say 10, 3 dollar portions is better than selling 3, 5 dollar squash.

 

[Nyboy]

A man on my street sets up a folding table at end of driveway with a honor box. He sells his extra vegtable starts this way. He said he has never been short changed.

 

[ninnymary]

Journey, could you perhaps just sell to friends and family? That way you may not have to make as many?

I would definitely buy good homemade pies from a friend or someone I trusted.

Mary

 

[Rhodie Ranch]

Calif is very strict about selling home made goods. You can try but you'll get caught by the local health dept. You must make your items in a certified kitchen, have them microbio tested periodically and all. Not worth it.

I have a sellers permit for my soaps and lotions. I sell at craft fairs and via my website and Facebook. I have to report income once a year and pay the state sales tax, to the best of my ability and recollection.

 

[baymule]

In Texas, you can sell from your home or farmers market and make up to $50,000 in sales before having to get certified and all that stuff.