Provided the Buyer-of-6 would use a dozen in a month, IMO the only rational reasons for buying 6 at a time at a higher price are:
Storage space, either in fridge, on the counter, or in a cooler; or
Their regular prep (e.g., poaching) requires the freshest possible eggs.
There are innumerable irrational reasons.
Where I live, eggs must come from “free range” hens. Everyone was dreading a huge price increase when the law took effect, but the increase never came. The prices I see for eggs of various producers varies considerably, with house-branded hovering around $3.50/doz for Large A-grade. It’s been a LONG time since I saw a pale, anemic yolk.
I probably have the most expensive eggs here. I live in Hawaii, and have 16 layers of various breeds in my back yard…and have to feed those girls. Since my wife retired she has become a “crazy chicken lady” that you read about, with her own favorites, daily egg count and selective breeding program. I dont even want to know how much it ends up costing per dozen eggs. All that said, I eat some pretty fresh good looking eggs every day. Our neighbor gets supplied as well as he has to put up with our one rooster who greets the day every morning with his crowing. .
I would be happy to rise early (to avoid being irritated by that cock’s crow) if my neighbor had a rooster and laying hens AND shared eggs with me.
2 or 3 fresh eggs a week and i would be golden!
5 would be even better!
I usually shop at HEB and get excellent Central Market brand eggs, but last week I picked up eggs at the “other” chain grocer. Their house brand organic eggs had thinner shells and pale anemic yolks. It was a sad flashback to when most eggs sold by chain grocers were that way, or so I heard. My mother bought auraucana eggs from the back of the car of the clerk at the Medina Grocery.
I think it’s the middle men squeezing here in Canada, not the egg producers/egg farmers. I can’t speak for the States. The price is set by what the market will bear, not by what the egg producers is being paid per egg.
It’s usually the middle men (in Canada), and the grocery store. Grocery store margins are high.
In 2023, when the price of eggs in Canada was somewhere between $4 and $10/ dozen, egg producers were making somewhere between $2.00 and $2.19 CAD per dozen (not taking into account cages, size or colour).
If I find 2024 information or current information for Canada, I’ll post it.
Brown eggs, multicoloured eggs, and white eggs usually cost the same amount where I live. Sometimes, one type is on sale. I don’t think the local producers make more or less, where I live, based on shell colour.
The price by the producer is set out weekly in Canada. Each province has different prices per producer, and the prices are set by size and other criteria.
