Why does it bother you so much that some beekeepers sell more cheaply?
It doesn't.
I'm discussing this to actually HELP others realize what they are selling, what their worth is, and what they could make for their efforts. Even if it is just my individual view.
If NOT for the whole "Everyone keeps telling us we are selling to low" aspect, then it's just another beekeeper selling his goods at giveaway prices. But I like these opportunities to just not talk about "one" seller of honey, but discuss items that every reader from the forum can read, possibly use, and even learn from.
It's not about one side complaining about one side selling low. There is not too much to learn there. But if those beekeepers who sell low, learn anything from those "other" beekeepers, then maybe someone has something to gain. It is only natural, and from years of being in sales I have seen it many times, that some feel the only way they can sell a bottle of their honey is to be the lowest man on the totem poll. And that is not correct. Local raw honey, is considered a premium product by the buying community. The buyers going to that feedstore are shouting that to the owners.
Personally, I think many beekeepers devalue their trade, their profession, and their hobby. Some sell honey cheap, some provide free pollination, and most could not talk their way out of a paperbag if their life depended on it, even if asked the simplest question about bees.
For me, all my hives are rented out on year round contracts (which said could not be done), all my nucs and queens are sold (with twice as much business turned away that I could ever sell), and my honey shelf is always empty due to people coming back and price is not an issue. So your right, why does one store owner in Mississippi bother me...it doesn't. But maybe the thousands of people who will read these threads will learn something. Maybe they will look at things differently. Maybe they will ask a followup question. I do not always look at individuals or individual events. I look at the industry as a whole.
It does not take a whole lot to get into the bee industry from the sense anyone can sell honey. If one was to open a restaurant, I think you either are smart enough to save much money, have worked in the industry, or have some skilled knowledge on the matter, before you open those doors the first night. But for beekeepers, it's something many times not more than a hobby, with people who have no marketing skills, no management skills, who happen to have some honey for sale. These discussions are not about saying "Why respond? "Why do you care?" It's about possibly helping someone. Even if the discussions are debates, go off course, and have personal bias and emotion behind them.
Think about it....we produce less than half of the honey we consume in this country. And we can not even make enough nucs to make up for losses, meaning we are shipping in thousands of packages now. This industry can't even fund a bee lab without begging at the feet of congress when something like CCD hits. But why should others value beekeeping, when beekeepers themselves place little value on it.
I think the bee industry has great expansion opportunities. I think their are many ways we can help each other grow in beekeeping. One guy selling cheap honey means little. But discussions about what local raw honey means to the community, how farmers perceive beekeepers, and other things are all tied together. It may take a grassroots effort to build up the value of what beekeepers do, what we produce, and the value behind it.
Yes, it may be just a hobby to most. But for every 100 hobbyists, perhaps three or four turn it into a sideline. And one of them goes commercial. And we need every one of them. Discussions like this help others see all sides of the issue. What the potential could be, what some may be missing, etc. You do not seek out the unsuccessful, you seek out the successful.
Were discussing one beekeeper in Mississippi. But the real value potential, for those willing to ask it, is the input from those selling 8 dollar a pound jars (what kind of markets, what kind of marketing, etc) and those such as the guy selling 60,000 pounds from his honey house (How did you get started, how do you market, etc.)
Overall, for far too long, beekeeping was unknown to the general public. For too long, people did not realize the value we provide. And for too long, beekeepers themselves did little to change that. And it's time we change that. And discussion like this help, or could help, in so many ways. All started by someone complaining, and "caring" about some guy in Mississippi selling honey.
