CalicoKat Posted January 7, 2011 Share Posted January 7, 2011 Does anyone sell at Farmer's Markets? Please share your wisdom from your experience in this area. Exploring selling blackberries (in season), honey, eggs, felted mittens & slippers, and garden produce in season. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susie in SWVA Posted January 7, 2011 Share Posted January 7, 2011 My daughter sells flowers (spring, summer, fall) and boxwood wreaths (fall, winter), seedling, produce, eggs and canned goods at the Abingdon (VA) Farmers Market. http://www.localharvest.org/blaithin-blair-flower-farm-M22745 She has been doing this 4-5 years and does quite well. (I also add a few baked goods at certain times of the years. Laws vary quite a bit by state. What would you like to know? Susie in SWVA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Audrey Posted January 7, 2011 Share Posted January 7, 2011 The things you listed will likely sell well. I suggest selling the honey in smaller containers. Large containers don't sell well, IME. People just can't wrap their brains around how to use a large quantity of honey. A lot of your success may be contingent on real estate -- as in location, location, location. If you are stuck in a corner or an out of the way part of the market, you won't get the passing trade, and if you don't get traffic, you won't get sales. Scout out your competition at other markets ahead of time, so you know a reasonable ballpark for your prices. Be forewarned that you might get undercut a lot. Don't take it personally. Some vendors are just a bit jerky that way. Charge what you think is fair given your time, effort and product, but don't overestimate your product either. A little homework ahead of time will give you a better understanding of what your local area will bear price-wise. You may want to check to make sure that eggs are allowed in your area without a certificate. Some areas regulate the sale of raw foods, like eggs. Some do not. Make sure of this well before you go to the market. If you are inspected, they can shut down your whole booth, not just the offending products. Usually, the farmer's market will have a list of regulations or guidelines that govern what can and cannot be sold at the market. Ask for this well ahead of time and then read it thoroughly so you don't end up making innocent, but costly mistakes. For handicrafts, it seems that unique items sell well. If there are 10 other vendors selling felted mittens and slippers, you are going to have to work harder to make yours seem the most appealing. Lots of craft vendors have sales tricks they use to set themselves apart -- like thematic items or catering to specialty niches. I really enjoy my time at Farmer's Markets. It's great to meet other producers and most are supportive and generous. Good luck with your new venture! :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susie in SWVA Posted January 7, 2011 Share Posted January 7, 2011 I agree with the smaller containers for honey, but please have a few large ones! I got tired of buying pints of honey (I use it for baking, etc.). My husband found someone who sold it by the 1/2 gallon. I got two! Susie in SWVA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lllll Posted January 7, 2011 Share Posted January 7, 2011 (edited) .. Edited December 29, 2012 by ksva Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6packofun Posted January 7, 2011 Share Posted January 7, 2011 LOL That's funny. What an interesting idea, though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susie in SWVA Posted January 7, 2011 Share Posted January 7, 2011 Any kind of berries go very quickly at our market. The early bird catches the worm! 7am Susie in SWVA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CalicoKat Posted January 7, 2011 Author Share Posted January 7, 2011 My daughter sells flowers (spring, summer, fall) and boxwood wreaths (fall, winter), seedling, produce, eggs and canned goods at the Abingdon (VA) Farmers Market. http://www.localharvest.org/blaithin-blair-flower-farm-M22745 She has been doing this 4-5 years and does quite well. (I also add a few baked goods at certain times of the years. Laws vary quite a bit by state. What would you like to know? Susie in SWVA I'm not really sure what to ask. Just that when we move there will be an opportunity for us to jump in and start selling. My dad's a bee keeper, they've got miles of black berry bushes, the eggs are currently being sold through craigslist.com but I was thinking a subscription co-op, I knit & felt. There are two markets in their town at two different locations. One is by the local "whole foods" type store. The other is by the local grocery store. They happen alternate weekends at the different locations. I've been to both as a new consumer. Do I need to get a license to sell or do I just show up? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hillfarm Posted January 8, 2011 Share Posted January 8, 2011 (edited) Contact someone from the Extension Service in the county where the market is located. Ask them what rules apply to selling at their particular market. If they don't know, they should be able to provide you with the name of a contact person who would know the details. My local market, for example, has a rule about things having to be home grown, home made or hand made. However, there is a governmental requirement that all sellers have a vendors' license from the town. Berries sell well but have a very limited shelf life, so watch out for that. If you are allowed to sell baked goods, consider using up any unsold berries from this week by freezing them and making them into pie or muffins or whatever for next week. (The fancy term for this is "value adding" to your basic produce item ;)) In my experience, small to medium size containers sell best, and then perhaps you could have one sample larger one on the table with a note saying that large sizes are available upon request. Free samples are always a plus, so even if you are not selling muffins, you might consider making some up with your berries and offering a taste to potential customers so they will know how great the berries taste. Be sure to provide plenty of information about how your products are grown and produced. Some people are willing to pay more for a product that is chemical free, free range, etc., even if they can get the same thing from a questionable source at a lesser price. You can also post a sign about custom orders being welcome with your fiber items, but if they would be something that you would not be able to sell well otherwise (monogrammed, odd size, etc.) request at least enough deposit to cover the cost of your materials and specify the amount of time you will hold the finished products waiting for pick up. There are a few good books about farmers' market selling, but some of the tips I remember are: don't use a wildly colored table cloth or decorations that take away from your produce, place a box or bowl under your table cloth so that you can have items at different heights on your table, mark prices clearly, consider having a sign up sheet for email addresses so you can let customers know in advance when a special product is available, stand behind your table instead of sitting, keep the table as full as possible and frequently venture out in front to see how it looks from that side, keep extra boxes, bins, or bags out of sight to keep a neat appearance, consider bringing a light weight clothes drying rack upon which to display your fiber items which would be clipped on with cute clothespins, mark all sizes clearly and consider printing out a brief care guide to give at the point of purchase, and don't forget to ask customers if they are looking for something special - you might have just what they are looking for. Good luck with this! Edited January 8, 2011 by hillfarm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dobela Posted January 8, 2011 Share Posted January 8, 2011 The Farmer's Market in our town is under the umbrella of the Parks and Recreation department of the city government. It isn't difficult to sell there, but you must go thru a series of approvals and there are limits/guidelines as to what can be sold. WIC also provides vouchers for fresh foods and veggies here but you must go thru further approval to be able to accept them. You may consider finding a location away from the farmer's market to sell as well. Frieds of ours did it last year and made good money. They found a busy corner just outside the city limits, asked for permission to set up a stand under a metal carport that was being advertsed for sale, and went into business. They aren't doing it this year however. My friends only wanted to work 4 days a week and found that as the summer went on people became regular customers of the vendors that were open 6-7 days a week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milovany Posted January 8, 2011 Share Posted January 8, 2011 Does your local farmer's market have a website? You can get the contact info. and ask whoever's in charge. I requested a table last year with our market and was denied. I wanted to sell fresh ground flour (I have a grain mill) and they denied me because my grain comes from the next state over, not ours. It's a bit frustrating when there are hot dog and smoothie vendors using boxed/prepared foods that aren't all locally produced. All that to say some markets are stricter than others. If it's an official "Farmer's Market" (did you know that this term is trademarked, and to be able to call it a "Farmer's Market" a market has to join the official association? :glare:), it's going to have similar regulations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OrganicAnn Posted January 8, 2011 Share Posted January 8, 2011 (edited) If you are going to sell on a regular basis and not just doing a one-time trial, then you need to check your state laws for sales tax. Often they have specific ways to simplify it for farmer's markets. Also you need to check state laws for labeling food items. Some states have very specific requirements for labeling food (including honey). The secretary of state in your state will usually have information on their website regarding businesses. There are lots of books in the library regarding small businesses that have information on starting a business. I've even seen one book specifically about the business of selling at a farmers market, but it was several years old. I'm sure Amazon has some book on the subject. You may need a license to sale. That is probably from the county or city. Edited January 8, 2011 by OrganicAnn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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