My solution was to take a free classified ad in the local paper requesting cheap or free jars. If thats no available to you, try craigslist. I always get good feedback. On a side note, I have found it cheaper to buy veggies and most fruits commercially canned. I mainly stick to meats, butter, and the like. Good luck.

 

It may be cheaper to buy commercial (and I still do to) but remember that most of GMO and sometimes contain preservatives and traces of pesticides that I believe are harmful in long term use. Additionally the vegetables grown in large scale operations often have less nutrients than those grown in gardens. Nevertheless, I still buy some store bought canned veggies as I have not reached the point of being able to grow enough.

There are some re-usable canning lids. I never have used them but some people swear by them. That might reduce the price in the long run to compete with the store bought (I don't know just guessing).

 

if you put in a $800 or larger order you can order directly from ball and get a pallet of jars of your size choices

 

http://www.freundcontainer.com/canning-jars-ball-kerr-glass-jars/p/vCJ600/

Has pricing and how many jars you get in a pallet. Not sure if there are any other places that do it. I've never done it before.

The prices seemed to me to be a little higher than buying them at Wal-mart.

 

I did some canning and concluded that it's really only worthwhile if you have free or super cheap product to can. and yes there is a quality factor, plus the satisfaction.
it will take years to make the canning pay (canner, jars, lids).

 

I did some canning and concluded that it's really only worthwhile if you have free or super cheap product to can. and yes there is a quality factor, plus the satisfaction.
it will take years to make the canning pay (canner, jars, lids).

We pressure can all our meat, bought on sale in bulk at half price. Post SHTF and there are no stores, or electricity, you'll want to know how to preserve any meat you kill. We keep about 120 pounds of chicken, beef, ham & turkey on the food shelves in the basement.

Don't wait for an emergency to begin gathering supplies and learning to pressure can.

 

did a major food shopping w/ dw last weekend and was thinking about buying more jars we do can some but the price for cheapo walmart ones was twice as high as a can of vegs on sale so i said f it and bought canned goods from winco at 48 cents pro and con is with mason jars i can reuse them but bang for buck a 48 cent can of corn that will last ten +years seemed more economical to me .any thoughts one way or another is appreciated .we have several pressuer cookers and no how but the price of jars and lids
have doubeled with in the last few years

OK, I have a thought - Basic English 101.

"No child left behind" . . . yeah, that works.

 

wiskey tango foxtrot?posted in here with people that know to find out there opinons , if i am reading this right your bagging on me for my spelling ,yes my dw and i know HOW to can but cost seems higher than buying CANS sorry if i am reading this wrong please set me striaght i am sorry i didnt go to higher learning and get my phd like you did i was to busy out learning.

 

I've been checking prices at the grocery stores of their canning supplies. They have moved them from an end cap to an out of the way location and discounted some of the items.

I'm checking them every time I go in waiting for them to cut the price in half. Then they will be about what I paid for them 5 years ago.

I haven't had any luck getting them free or low cost from thrift stores. Goodwill had them marked at $2 for just the jar, no lid or ring!

 

Same price at my Goodwill! I called the girl over and said this was TWICE as much as a brand new store jar.....she just shrugged her shoulders and said they set the price in the back room.

 

Nine bucks and change for wide mouth quarts,lids and bands (one case) at Wally's last night. And yes, they were Ball brand. I just get into the habit of picking up a case whenever I'm out and see them under 10 bucks.

 

I'm lucky, I'm around a lot of Amish and Mennonites. Some of the local markets to them have them cheaper than Walmart. Being around the Amish also might be why I never see them at yard sales or flea markets. A number of the farm stands have signs up asking for empty jars, I think they pay about 10-25 cents each.

What I hate is that pints are just a little less than quarts. My frugal nature wants to buy all quarts, but then realizes that is a lot of food for something like chicken.

 

What I hate is that pints are just a little less than quarts. My frugal nature wants to buy all quarts, but then realizes that is a lot of food for something like chicken.

I recently did 14 quarts of onions. Every time I've made a meal that needed onions, I didn't want to use one of those jars because there was much more onion than I needed. I should have done them in pints or even in 1/2 pints.

 

I can get a dozen 1qt balls jars with new lids here for $8.00. The half gallon Ball jars are $12.00 for 6 @ the farm store.

 

Ace Hardware stores charge $10.99 per case of 6 64 ounce (1/2 gallon) wide mouth Mason jars with lids and bands.

If you order online it's $11.99 for the same, but I found that should the jars be ordered from directly inside the store, it's a dollar cheaper.

Tomkat

 

Our Meijers had buy 2 cases get one free a few weeks ago. 3 dozen WM qts for 18.00+tax, 14.00 for 36 WM pints.

 

It does make me say "Ouch" when I buy mason jars, but the thought of trying to find them POST-SHTF makes me actually shudder!!! There is not an unlimited supply NOW when only a few folks are canning, now just imagine the whole world wanting to start canning and there's ... what... 2-20 cases cases on most shelves these days??? Yeah, I'll beat that rush whenever I can.

I'm buying them on sale when I can, but I'm still purchasing them as needed and jealously guarding what I have accumulated. Hopefully, as people wind down their normal fall canning, more will come available to buy used. I plan on putting up WANTED ads on local bulletin boards.

Have never had any luck with buying them in bulk from thrift stores, craigslist, etc...

Canning lids will be a major barter item, so I consider them a good investment. Check at the dollar stores and different places; they can usually be found for around $1/box

Tattler lids are a bigger initial investment, but they are reusable, and from what I've read, once you become used to using them, they are pretty reliable.

To make buying the jars a little less painful, I try to realistically assess the cost:

1st time - it adds .80 cents
2nd time - it adds .40 cents
3rd time - it adds .20 cents
4th time and beyond - they're FREE! :thumb:

With canned veggies:

1st time - it costs .48 - .99
2nd time - it costs .48 - .99
3rd time - it costs .48 - .99

Like many others, I don't can vegetables and fruits unless they're free; it's just too easy and cheap to buy them already processed.

Meats ??? Heck yeah I'll buy them on sale and can them!!!! :thumb: 's UP all the way baby! :

 

Make friends with the recycling guy. Mine left me a few cases of jars, boxes and all, I'd mentioned if he came across any I'd recycle them better than the scrap heap. Spaghetti sauce jars work good too. Check recycle ind if you have access.

 

It will be an investment up front, but they'll be put in use for a lifetime. I went with offering 10 to 25 cents a jar on craigslist, which is where I got more than half of my collection. I also got Tattlers, which are awesome. They have a lifetime guarantee so I expect them to last.


Overall, I come out ahead cost wise. I'm canning in season when they are cheapest or on sale. It may not always beat tin can prices, but it's cheaper than the prices for fresh produce year round that I used to pay. Getting seconds/thirds at the farmers market will save you too. I have a small space, but I grow as much as I can and the cost of that is just my seeds and sweat.

 

Sometimes you can find free ones on Craigslist. There's also numerous Freecycle pages on Facebook for different towns and cities that you can sometimes get lucky asking for canning jars.

My best score was from the local senior center. I'd gone down there to ask about empty #10 cans to use around my baby veggie plants and got to talking to some of the older ladies. When they found out I canned, three offered me all of their old canning stuff. I got close to 9 dozen pint size jars alone from that. They didn't want any money for it, were just happy to see a 'youngster' who knew how to do it.

 

I will get jars anyway possible, we buy them new, have them given to us by those who know we can alot, ect. One other thing I do that has payed off big the last year is scavange. I run a delivery route in a VERY rural area, there are many abandonded and falling down houses way out in the boonies, I'll stop and rummage around for a minute or two. I've managed to aquire 5 or 6 dozen assorted jars in the last year doing this, bring them home and wash them out, they're ready to use.

I have many jars that are 20+ years old and have been used 10-12 times, I'd say thats a pretty good ROI.

 

We used to do that a lot too. (the ex and myself) Kind of exciting not knowing if you are going to get shot at or dog bit! Sometimes I would carry my camera and pretend we were just photgraphers looking for good pics.

Those old homesteads make for great metal-detecting in the yards too.

 

Check out Lowes online. Ball jars and lids, assorted sizes are about half price.

 

Yes, there is an ivestment cost when you first buy the jars. However, keep in mind that unless a jar gets cracked or broken, you will be able to KEEP using them, year after year. This is where the true payoff comes. I've gotten free canning jars from my local "Freecycle" group. I just needed to get some additional rings and lids. I also buy honey in quart-size canning jars from a local beekeeper. If it's in a Ball or Kerr jar, I keep the jar. Otherwise, I give the jar back to the beekeper.

Stay away from WalMart's "Mainstay" brand canning jars....these are cheapo made-in-China jars using THINNER glass, and easier to break, especially in a pressure canner. Stick with the Ball or Kerr jars, or the "Golden Harvest" jars (made in USA by Anchor glass Co., so they're OK, too). Yes they're a little pricier but they are made with the thicker glass, and are more durable than the others.

 

Stay away from WalMart's "Mainstay" brand canning jars....these are cheapo made-in-China jars using THINNER glass, and easier to break, especially in a pressure canner.

I used three cases of WM. no breaks, no problems.
I did mostly squash/tomato and green beans so maybe longer-duration stuff is a problem.

 

Garage Sales, Yard Sales, Flea Markets, Estate Auctions are good sources but remember to buy new lids.

 

I always smile a bit on the folks who are so concerned with ROI. Just like with solar, what will your investment be worth if SHTF? Yes, if nothing happens and everything continues the same there are cheaper ways. If SHTF happens and continues long enough your stocked canned goods will run out. What then?

 

Lowe's has jars on sale half price till January, you have to order them and they will ship to your store free.

 

Lowe's has jars on sale half price till January, you have to order them and they will ship to your store free.

 

How do you go about doing that online? All it's telling me is they are currently unavailable.

 

Not sure what you are paying for jars but at the walmart we use Ball qts are 75 cents/ea and the walmart brand are 63 cents/ea and Ball pints are 66 cents/ea and the walmart brand are 49 cents/ea.

We mainly use the Ball jars, but have a few of the Walmart brand but do not pressure can with these. We also use some Ball lids but for the most part we are using Tattler reusable lids. Yes, initial startup cost are high, but if you are growing your own fruits and vegitables then payback is relatively quick.

The cost of seed for this past years garden was rough sixty dollars After eating what we could fresh we put up over 300 jars of vegitables. We also put roughly 275 pounds of vegitables in cold storage. This does not count what we left to go to seed for next years garden. We are hopefully we will have no seed cost in the next few years.

 

Sounds like a good deal a lowes,

 

Does anyone know of a good place to get cheap canning jars in the UK? I want to take a load over with me to Bulgaria, as I know I'll prob have trouble finding them over there and will pay top whack for them.

Cheers

 

You may want to talk to Daisy, she lives in Bulgaria::

http://www.survivalistboards.com/member.php?u=29338

 

I was not able to get Lowe's to ship them, even weeks ago when the half-off sale first started. They told me stock was limited to what was in the stores, and my local stores were sold out back in September. I ended up ordering from K-Mart thanks to a post here on the forum in the daily deals thread. The cost ended up being about 60 cents for a jar with lid and ring - good deal for me!