How should I value storage food for resale?

[arakboss]

I have some #10 cans of various dehydrated food I purchased new in 2008. I would like to sell these cans but I am not sure what to price them at. What would be a fair deprication rate per year for dehydrated food in still sealed cans? We cracked open a couple of the fruit cans and the fruit was in great shape.

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[The Heretic]

1) Who is the manufacturer? Who it is makes a difference - e.g., Mountain House will go for more than any other.

2) How long does the manufacturer estimate the storage time to be?

Divide the original cost by number of years that the manufacturer estimates the food is good for, then multiply that by the years left that the food is good for, and that is a place to start.

 

[41mag]

Don't know....12 down on a 30? shelf life? Food bank donation?

 

[Old Noob]

Don't know....12 down on a 30? shelf life? Food bank donation?

+1 I was going to say that the food is good for 20-30 years.

 

[Geardo]

They will go for a premium right now.

 

[MannyGlocks]

TL,

Not disputing, but wonder why they'd go for a premium now?

 

[titsonritz]

Personally I'd hang on to it, the way things are going it might come in real handy.

 

[HB of CJ]

Different point of view. Actual value vs perceived value. It MIGHT sell well right now but what is it actually worth? Ten, (10) year old canned goods? I for one would pay very little or just take it as a gift. Others will disagree.

An example. Visit the regional big food banks and see what they let stuff sell for. Might be amazed how cheap certain timed out good may go for. Food banks have a liability they must honor? How about just keeping it yourself?

 

[titsonritz]

Different point of view. Actual value vs perceived value. It MIGHT sell well right now but what is it actually worth? Ten, (10) year old canned goods? I for one would pay very little or just take it as a gift. Others will disagree.

An example. Visit the regional big food banks and see what they let stuff sell for. Might be amazed how cheap certain timed out good may go for. Food banks have a liability they must honor? How about just keeping it yourself?

Canned food and canned dehydrated food are two very different things. Dehydrated food can have a shelf life of 30 years or more depending on what it is and with how it is stored.

Shelf life of Freeze Dried and Dehydrated Food - Food Assets

 

[Camelfilter]

TL,

Not disputing, but wonder why they'd go for a premium now?

Supply vs demand.

Demand currently can't keep up with supply.

Check online etailers, should one have an interest. A quickie look at Mountain House website shows there current in stock ready to ship inventory as abysmal. They are one of, if not the biggest suppliers.

Edit, adding:

OP if they are ones you & yours will eat (and enjoy), then keep them. Either fold them into your everyday to cut down on monthly grocery expenses, or hold them for future "rainy days".

Sell the ones you all don't enjoy, or don't think you will.

That's what I did with ours. Bought a large case lot (pick-up truck load). Kept what we like, sold off less likely to enjoy. Sold off at fair pricing, more than what I paid at the time, but well under market.

The units I sold off paid for the large amount remaining which we like & use on occasion, as well as "put back" for harder times.

We don't have a need, nor want (unless some super crazy good deal).

 

[Member 52301]

I would donate the GOOD food to a needy person that you personally know or to a Food Bank, Shelter, Veteran's group, etc.

If you think that something is not good or safe to eat - throw it away.

Don't store or buy food that you do not like to eat.

Always ROTATE your food on a regular basis and IF you think that you can't eat something FAST enough or on a regular basis - donate it to someone who WILL use it and eat it in a timely manner.

Do this with LONG TERM storage food, regular food in your pantry and freezer food too.

Cate

 

[Siglvr]

I have some #10 cans of various dehydrated food I purchased new in 2008. I would like to sell these cans but I am not sure what to price them at. What would be a fair deprication rate per year for dehydrated food in still sealed cans? We cracked open a couple of the fruit cans and the fruit was in great shape.

Mountain House is suppose to last for a MINIMUM of 30 years and it's in short supply these days. Given that slightly more than 1/3 of the time has gone, I'd likely look up what a price of current replacement is and offer it for sale at @1/3 off of that.(ie, if 1/3 of the time has past, then 1/3 of the price gets dropped)

Amazon has 6 cans of Mt House Beef Stroganoff for $299.85 + $14.95 shipping. If you had a case of the same and offered it for $197. plus shipping, it seems like that would be fair. (X.66 of current price)

However, I will note that pre-crisis cost for a can of this was less than the $49 they are offering it at these days. $26 was a common sale price. If you sold it for $26, it's possible you are selling it for your cost or perhaps even more yet still substantially undercutting current new price. It's unavailable for 2008's sale price today it appears. If someone complains that "Oh I could have bought it for $26 a can a few years ago", they question would be: "Well why didn't you, it's $49 a can now". I'd try and sell it locally and make a new prepper connection.

 

[Siglvr]

TL, Not disputing, but wonder why they'd go for a premium now?

As Camelfilter notes, supply and demand. Specifically, what's happening to cause the supply/demand curve to crash is that almost all packing plants are having closures or reductions in work output due to Covid Virus. People are anticipating shortages and stocking up. The major meat packing plants closures in the midwest have been the subject of multiple discourse on NW Firearms for many months, but all large plants no matter if meat, vegetables or fruit are having many of the same travails.

 

[blinded]

Like titsonritz said, dehydrated is not the same as freeze dried, and does not have the same long term storage value as freeze dried (I.e. mountain house). However, some people aren't going to figure that out.
But personally, if I were considering buying a 'used' long term storage product, first thing I'd look at is expiration date. If it was within a couple years any long term value is basically gone; I wouldn't buy it unless it were a worthwhile amount less than I could buy canned or dehydrated food from Costco. If it were, I may eagerly look into it. Chances are it would last somewhat longer than the date.
If the date were 3-5 years out, then it has some longer term value, and I would probably pay a bit more than something equivalent at Costco.
But, in my mind, since I don't know how the food was stored/ handled all those years, I couldn't help but mark it down a bit in quality, cause i just don't know. So basically for me if it were a pretty good deal I'd look into it, but if it were a so so deal I probably wouldn't bother with it. But then again I'm not hurting for food storage, and others may be.
But really it comes down to expiration date, and supply and demand. But it's not like people can't go buy food atm
but I also bet that the packaging would drive the 'value' up for some people, and you could sell it to the right? person for more than i would pay for it.
Is some of it meat products, or is it all plant products?

 

[andreys21]

I say its at least worth what YOU paid for it in the current enviorment. No reason to take a loss on it right now.

 

[arakboss]

Like titsonritz said, dehydrated is not the same as freeze dried, and does not have the same long term storage value as freeze dried (I.e. mountain house). However, some people aren't going to figure that out.
But personally, if I were considering buying a 'used' long term storage product, first thing I'd look at is expiration date. If it was within a couple years any long term value is basically gone; I wouldn't buy it unless it were a worthwhile amount less than I could buy canned or dehydrated food from Costco. If it were, I may eagerly look into it. Chances are it would last somewhat longer than the date.
If the date were 3-5 years out, then it has some longer term value, and I would probably pay a bit more than something equivalent at Costco.
But, in my mind, since I don't know how the food was stored/ handled all those years, I couldn't help but mark it down a bit in quality, cause i just don't know. So basically for me if it were a pretty good deal I'd look into it, but if it were a so so deal I probably wouldn't bother with it. But then again I'm not hurting for food storage, and others may be.
But really it comes down to expiration date, and supply and demand. But it's not like people can't go buy food atm
but I also bet that the packaging would drive the 'value' up for some people, and you could sell it to the right? person for more than i would pay for it.
Is some of it meat products, or is it all plant products?

No meat, mostly veggies and fruit. We bought them to use as flavor enhancers. For our main source of calories we had lots of rice, pasta, beans, flours, baking mixes etc. For protein we had canned meats. These were all products we used in our normal diet and would replace as we got low on something.

We were mostly worried about the big quake and only had a month or so of food stored at any one time.


There is only 12 cans left and they are Honeyville Brand. I'm going to take the advice from @The Heretic to roughly calculate an asking price.

I don't worry about things like quakes now that I learned the government is here to help.

Thanks for your input.

 

[Siglvr]

......I don't worry about things like quakes now that I learned the government is here to help.

... just spit softened ice cream all over the monitor. Whoahhhhhhhhh now. Are you sayin I don't need 20,000 rounds of 5.56, a years worth of freeze dryed food and all of the other horse leavings I've collected.

Wish you'd said something earlier, but who knew. Well, guess you can count me out as a potential customer then....