Farmer's Market Report - selling fresh cut herbs?

[curly_kate]

I am looking for advice on pricing of my fruits and veggies at a local farmer's market in my area (Batesville, for those of you in SE IN). It is my first time selling at a farmer's market, and I'm at a loss as to how to price. If I was thinking ahead, I would have made note of what things cost last year, but I didn't. The market is in a small, but more affluent town surrounded by rural area. I know it's a VERY general description, but if anyone has some tips on how to start figuring it out, that would be awesome!

 

[digitS']

Kate, go to the produce department at the soopermarket and do NOT price below them. (If you have plants - check out the garden center for pricing.)

Realize that there are some specials. You can look at their flyer and try to hit the STANDARD price for the item. You can offer 1 or 2 specials, too. Don't try to undercut the soopermarket - they are doing things on an industrial scale. You might as well stay home.

Yes, there might be someone at the market "dumping" a load of something or other. He or she should not have been allowed to sell there. Someone just bringing in seconds isn't going to do the market one bit of good. If he is buying & selling from the produce wholesalers and has the same produce as the soopermarkets, he isn't even doing the customers any good.

I don't think you can make a habit of selling at a farmers' market if it is just for fun. Yes, it IS fun but it also takes a lot of work to get down there with a load of produce. I see folks every year who do it as a lark. They don't last but a few marketdays and you won't see them next season.

Steve

 

[curly_kate]

I was actually thinking about checking out the supermarket prices, like you suggested, but it didn't seem very...scientific or something. Glad to know I'm on the right track! I have wanted to do a farmer's market for a loooong time, and I'm so excited to get started. I really would love to make some money doing what I really love to do (ie, garden), so this is what I hope is a first step in the right direction.

 

[Detlor Poultry]

I was actually thinking about checking out the supermarket prices, like you suggested, but it didn't seem very...scientific or something. Glad to know I'm on the right track! I have wanted to do a farmer's market for a loooong time, and I'm so excited to get started. I really would love to make some money doing what I really love to do (ie, garden), so this is what I hope is a first step in the right direction.

It certainly is. I agree with Steve: Don't underprice what you're selling. People enjoy paying a dollar more or so for food that is neither Genetically Defiled or sprayed with Rat poison. We sell extras at a fair/market type thing (not sure what to call it), and I offer birds there, too. It's fun. And remember: Would you rather have fun, or lots of money?

Also, see my signature.

 

[curly_kate]

In ideal world, I'd have lots of fun AND lots of money!

DP - I recently discovered Rachel Peden's writing. She was an Indiana "farmwife," who wrote really charming and thoughtful reflections about nature and farm living. I highly recommend "Rural Free" and "The Land, the People" if you can find them.

 

[Smiles Jr.]

Hi Kate. The Batesville farmer's market is a very well run operation. You will find great people in charge there. And they watch carefully that there are no "non-local" outsiders selling there. I would like to see them move the market about 1.5 blocks east to Depot St. between the Romweber buildings. It's a nice tree lined street with grassy areas along the sidewalks for vendor booths. Also lots of shade for the vendors. Also the Romweber marketplace would attract more customers for the farmer's market (and visa versa). Romweber has plenty of parking as well.

 

[curly_kate]

Thanks Smiles! That's good to know!

 

[curly_kate]

So I sold at the farmer's market for the first time today. Had a lot of fun, and made some money. It has fewer vendors than I expected, but I suspect it will pick up once the season progresses. Vendors aren't required to be there every week, so some might start later. The one thing I realized right away was that my seedlings were majorly overpriced for the competition there! It was frustrating because there was a lady there selling heirloom tomatoes for .75 for about a pint sized pot! That's wayyy less than even Lowe's sells theirs. But I quickly cut my prices down, and managed to sell quite a few. It would be nice to be able to make a bigger profit, but I don't really have any costs to cover except potting mix, since I reused my containers from last year. DH was selling his home-roasted coffee, and people seemed to really enjoy that. All in all, it was fun, and I'm looking forward to going back next week.

 

[lesa]

Excellent! That sounds like a very successful and fun, first time. Good luck next week! Do you have anything you could dig up from your garden? I could do a farmers market, with oregano and horseradish!

 

[ninnymary]

Curly-kate, if the same lady is there next week, do you think you two could get together and agree on selling at a higher price than 75 cents? Seems to me that if you both sold at say $1.50 or $2, you would both make a better profit.

Hope she isn't there next week and you're the only one selling plants!

Mary