Our farm went to pricing every tree a couple of years ago and it was not only a great way manage inventory, but also helped communicate to our customers how much their tree will cost. When customers ask us how much per foot we are charging, we have to tell them "our pricing system is to manage inventory." They might get a 6 foot tree for the same price as a 12 foot tree. Supply and demand. Our customers can still find somewhere on our farm a $25 tree if they want! Thanks for your videos, they are so very helpful!
Great info. We just have a flat price for any tree but have discussed per foot or tagging every year. I think the overhead is always one of the sticking points. Understanding what others are doing and how they do it is super helpful. Very appreciative for all the info you share!
I have been doing this for a while now, but always enjoy talking to the old pro’s like Glen Thornton. Always Something new to learn. Happy to share it with other Christmas tree farmers. We can all grow together.
We have 15 acres but most of that is woods and only a couple are Christmas trees. Our mature trees are all Douglas, but we have struggled the past couple of years with them. This year I planted all Canaan firs. We’ve always priced a flat price for all trees.
I started selling trees on a retail lot where we charged $1.00 per foot which was very expensive compared to the larger competitor that was selling trees for $3.00 per tree. The pricing you suggest seems reasonable adjusted for inflation from my time - for retail. For U-cut that seems a bit high since you are selling something that will only gain value the next year. On a retail lot we had a product that was worthless on December 25 and we had to put it through a chipper.
I watched a lot of your videos and on one you talked about the shovel you used on your farm specifically for planting the seedlings. Can you say where you purchased and or brand of shovel you would recommend? Thank you.
I have mentioned two different shovels. For soft soil that you will just stick the shovel in pivot to create opening and plant I use a standard tree planting spade that can be found at most garden stores. If I am going to need to dig a small hole to plant my favorite shovel is a 4 inch wide trenching shovel found in most hardware stores.
Wish I am had a definitive answer to your question. I know a lot of nurseries sell other types of trees in pots for a good price. Bare root fruit trees are worth quite a bit after a few years. I like Christmas trees though.
I am on vacation for the next few days. When I get home I plan to post most of the conversation about Christmas trees. I was with him 5 hours. Sometimes off topic. I will get to reasonable length.
I like the idea of pricing each tree, but how do you keep the customers from switching the tags. We price per foot $14 for all species, $17 per foot for 12' and above natural nobles 10 22' trees went out last weekend, we sell about 75 per year.
In my experience there has not been much evidence of switching tags. It could happen, but when a big beautiful tree comes in and has a low price tag you l ow something is up. Wow you move some big trees. Did you intend for them to get to that height or they just didn’t sell at first so the grew tall?
Our farm went to pricing every tree a couple of years ago and it was not only a great way manage inventory, but also helped communicate to our customers how much their tree will cost. When customers ask us how much per foot we are charging, we have to tell them "our pricing system is to manage inventory." They might get a 6 foot tree for the same price as a 12 foot tree. Supply and demand. Our customers can still find somewhere on our farm a $25 tree if they want! Thanks for your videos, they are so very helpful!
Thanks for your thoughts. I can see the value of managing inventory in the individual tagging for sure.
Great info. We just have a flat price for any tree but have discussed per foot or tagging every year. I think the overhead is always one of the sticking points. Understanding what others are doing and how they do it is super helpful. Very appreciative for all the info you share!
I have been doing this for a while now, but always enjoy talking to the old pro’s like Glen Thornton. Always Something new to learn. Happy to share it with other Christmas tree farmers. We can all grow together.
We have 15 acres but most of that is woods and only a couple are Christmas trees. Our mature trees are all Douglas, but we have struggled the past couple of years with them. This year I planted all Canaan firs. We’ve always priced a flat price for all trees.
I started selling trees on a retail lot where we charged $1.00 per foot which was very expensive compared to the larger competitor that was selling trees for $3.00 per tree. The pricing you suggest seems reasonable adjusted for inflation from my time - for retail. For U-cut that seems a bit high since you are selling something that will only gain value the next year. On a retail lot we had a product that was worthless on December 25 and we had to put it through a chipper.
I watched a lot of your videos and on one you talked about the shovel you used on your farm specifically for planting the seedlings. Can you say where you purchased and or brand of shovel you would recommend?
Thank you.
I have mentioned two different shovels. For soft soil that you will just stick the shovel in pivot to create opening and plant I use a standard tree planting spade that can be found at most garden stores. If I am going to need to dig a small hole to plant my favorite shovel is a 4 inch wide trenching shovel found in most hardware stores.
Okay, thanks for responding.
Are Xmas trees the most profitable tree to plant
Wish I am had a definitive answer to your question. I know a lot of nurseries sell other types of trees in pots for a good price. Bare root fruit trees are worth quite a bit after a few years. I like Christmas trees though.
Well, I wanna hear the rest of what he had to say!
I am on vacation for the next few days. When I get home I plan to post most of the conversation about Christmas trees. I was with him 5 hours. Sometimes off topic. I will get to reasonable length.
I like the idea of pricing each tree, but how do you keep the customers from switching the tags. We price per foot $14 for all species, $17 per foot for 12' and above natural nobles 10 22' trees went out last weekend, we sell about 75 per year.
In my experience there has not been much evidence of switching tags. It could happen, but when a big beautiful tree comes in and has a low price tag you l ow something is up. Wow you move some big trees. Did you intend for them to get to that height or they just didn’t sell at first so the grew tall?
Christmas tree month by month work to do farm