Produce Prices

brooksville · May 4, 2015

How do you guys compete and price against the vendor or vendors who obviously did not grow their produce? They seem to be so much cheaper than what I think is a fair price for our produce.

Is the consumer knowledgeable enough to know the difference in produce that was raised in a medium sized garden vs produce that was raised commercially?

We have a great mix of tomatoes, potatoes, squash and peppers. My wife also makes granola and jam. Additionally, we live in a semi rural area, where farming is the major economic engine.

We sold $75.00 worth of potatoes and granola this past Saturday at the market. It was our first time we were proud.

Thanks for any advice,

John

ScottinAtlanta · May 4, 2015

As a consumer, not a vendor, I rely on signage to know the difference. Grown locally, location of farm, pictures of farm - they all appeal to me. Some guy standing beside generic cardboard boxes full of very red tomatoes of similar size and shape is obviously a refugee from the wholesale market.

Salsacharley · May 4, 2015

I sell at a market where I discovered one vendor is buying commercial produce and selling it as if he grows it. Since this market has very clear rules that vendors must grow their own produce I am tempted to complain to the market manager, but haven't yet because I don't have actual proof. I might request that the market manager inspect his "farm" to see what he's got growing. We all had to sign an agreement that we will allow an inspection of our growing operations. Perhaps you have a similar requirement where you sell....?

brooksville · May 4, 2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by Salsacharley

I sell at a market where I discovered one vendor is buying commercial produce and selling it as if he grows it. Since this market has very clear rules that vendors must grow their own produce I am tempted to complain to the market manager, but haven't yet because I don't have actual proof. I might request that the market manager inspect his "farm" to see what he's got growing. We all had to sign an agreement that we will allow an inspection of our growing operations. Perhaps you have a similar requirement where you sell....?

No, we don't. They encourage GYO, but are trying to grow the market. We don't even have to pay to participate. My goal is to sell what we bring, but to make it worth our while at the same time. I am not for giving away our bounty, although I would like to remain competitive.

John

brooksville · May 4, 2015

Also, do you guys separate the different varieties when selling or sell by weight?

I am thinking about grouping by size. Something like 1 lb and up 2 for 5. Medium size 3 for 5 and cherries 6 dollars a pint.

joseph · May 4, 2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by brooksville

Also, do you guys separate the different varieties when selling or sell by weight?

I am thinking about grouping by size. Something like 1 lb and up 2 for 5. Medium size 3 for 5 and cherries 6 dollars a pint.

I don't sell by weight, because of onerous regulations in this area regarding scales... We are a growers only market.

My tomatoes are field run. Whatever happened to go into the crates however they happened to be picked. I do not name my varieties, other than saying they are "Joseph's Tomatoes, which I have bred specifically to thrive on my farm, and in Cache Valley."

However cherry tomatoes are picked separately into pint baskets which sell for $2 plus or minus depending on how early or late in the season it is. They might be all one variety per basket, or mixed varieties depending on how they came off the plants.

Woo Hoo!!! I'll have ripe tomatoes to take to the opening day of the farmer's market! Maybe 3 or 4 around golf ball sized. Perhaps I should auction off one per hour...

BigVanVader · May 4, 2015

My advice would be to charge what its worth. If you have organic, healthy, pretty, and local produce and can be at the market every week then charge more. If you just want to offload your extra then take what you can get or see if any large farms would want to buy your stuff at a lower rate to resell. Either way you can make a little cash and meet alot of cool people. Good luck!

Wi-sunflower · May 5, 2015

With all the controversy about various chemicals, if you are organic, certified or not, be sure to put up a sign and you should be able to charge somewhat more than the average. at my main market the "certified organic" growers often charge close to twice as much as the rest of us.

Also at many of the markets I've ever sold at "newbies" often get less traffic unless you have something different. Often customers have their favorite vendors and it takes a while for someone new to get established.

Carol

clkeiper · May 5, 2015

I also check the grocery store for their prices. I can't sell it for much more than them... except for potatoes. I only sell those as new potatoes by the quart. Colored bell peppers last year were selling for 1.50 each at save a lot... I didn't sell mine for that much, but make sure you talk to each person who walks past your table. make sure it is known that you grow what you have. Take pictures and laminate them, put them on a ring and leave them on your table for your customers to see. They LOVE to see what the garden or the plants look like and where the produce came from. We had a banner printed by a local printer that had produce on the sign and hung it on the back of the tent, " THIS MORNINGS PRODUCE"... I think it offended a few other sellers, but hey... it is what it is... I grew it and a lot of the produce, especially the strawberries and raspberries, beets and carrots with their tops, sweet corn, were picked that morning. Make a sign... "grown by us, picked by us"... anything to make it known to all who pass your table. "grown by the hard working hands attached to this farmer" ... anything to catch their attention.

joseph · May 5, 2015

The problem with comparing to grocery store prices, is that even though the produce might be the same species, in many cases it is not the same product. Take strawberries for example: During my strawberry season, grocery store prices are $2 per quart, but I sell strawberries for $4 per pint. That's 4 times the grocery store price. But it's a different product. I pick mine dead ripe on the morning of the market. They have to be eaten the same day. To use the cliche: My strawberries don't taste like cardboard.

But there are other products like storage onions which are approximately the same whether I grow them or they come from the store. For those items I rarely get even grocery store prices for them. I gotta move my product in a few hours. They have days to move theirs.

JohnJones · May 5, 2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by joseph

The problem with comparing to grocery store prices, is that even though the produce might be the same species, in many cases it is not the same product. Take strawberries for example: During my strawberry season, grocery store prices are $2 per quart, but I sell strawberries for $4 per pint. That's 8 times the grocery store price. But it's a different product. I pick mine dead ripe on the morning of the market. They have to be eaten the same day. To use the cliche: My strawberries don't taste like cardboard.

But there are other products like storage onions which are approximately the same whether I grow them or they come from the store. For those items I rarely get even grocery store prices for them. I gotta move my product in a few hours. They have days to move theirs.

Math Police Joseph...

Your strawberries are 4 times the grocery price. Still a great price for you and worth every dollar I'm sure.

Cole_Robbie · May 5, 2015

Flavor keeps them coming back. Sometimes a free sample is necessary. Cherry tomatoes lend themselves well to sampling. I have given away slicer size tomatoes before, when customers were skeptical that they tasted good. They always come back and buy more; often the other customers will hear their compliments and buy because of that themselves.

Speaking of "onerous regulations," health codes over cut up samples of anything tend to be strict. But handing a person an uncut tomato does not trigger the rules for samples.

The best way I have found to compete with the other vendors is simply to avoid competing. Sell something different. It's the same with selling plants or the actual tomatoes. I let the other vendors have the customers who want $1.50 six-packs of Celebrity; I sell dwarfs and heirlooms. Later in the summer, the other vendors will show up with truckloads of what I call 'red baseballs.' I don't. If I even sell any big red tomatoes at all, they will be labeled as the rare heirlooms that they are.

By the way, if you don't spray at all, customers love a sign that says "pesticide-free."

joseph · May 5, 2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by JohnJones

Math Police Joseph...

Your strawberries are 4 times the grocery price. Still a great price for you and worth every dollar I'm sure.

JohnJones: Thanks! Now I don't feel like I am gouging people.... That's always bothered me before. I'm really only half as bad as I thought I was....

They sell out the first 15 minutes of market most days, which means that I am not asking enough for them.

I often put a sign on my table that says something like "No -cides applied in 8 years."

heirloomtomaguy · May 5, 2015

I dont sell at farmers markets but what i have noticed when i go is people tend to flock to the grown without chemical pesticide or chemical fertilizer signs. People want to know that the food you are selling is actually grown by you. When i buy i always ask the "farmer" questions only he would know if he actually is the one growing the produce. I also like to listen to the other people buying to find out what interests them. Most people here like the free range, spray free, sustainable, etc. signs posted all cute like. Free samples also help alot. Here my kids get about a dozen free strawberries every time we go. Also presentation for me is key and goes along way. I never even glance at a table that looks like they dumped the produce out onto the table. Just a few of my observations.

Starlight · May 5, 2015

I came home this weekend with bunches of small heads of cabbage. There was an elderly lady in a wheelchair and her hubby and they had a crate of these small cabbages they grew.

First thing I asked even before price was were they treated with chems. When she said no, than I asked price. I bought 8 heads. Couldn't pass up helping out these elderly farmers. Than I passed em all out to other market vendor friends as no way am I gonna eat that many. I'll be eating cabbage and buttered noodles for day, but that ok.

Joseph... That a good price on your berries. They selling fresh picked here that homegrown for 4 bucks a pint basket. When the food is fresh, homegrown and no chems, folks generally don't mind paying extra.

The thing I hate to see and it happens quite a bit down here is some vendors go to the wholesale market and buy boxes of stuff, bring it out to sale. You have no idea how old it is or how it been stored. The vendor will sell a bit here and there, but generally has a bunch left over and will bring that same fruits and veggies back out the next week and sometimes the next several weeks even. Yuck.

Who knows where all that produce has sat. We have one vendor who goes down to Fl and comes back with a super huge trailer loaded to overflowing straight neck squash and zucchini. He gives folks a plastic bag and they can fill all they want for three bucks a bag and he will keep bringing that same trailer out til the veggies all gone. He goes around different markets and during week when he not at market he just parks the trailer in his yard and lets the stuff sit there. Gross. He'll come the following week and you can see the molds starting on the fruits.

May 4, 2015	#1
brooksville Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2014 Location: South Georgia Zone 8a Posts: 179	Produce Prices How do you guys compete and price against the vendor or vendors who obviously did not grow their produce? They seem to be so much cheaper than what I think is a fair price for our produce. Is the consumer knowledgeable enough to know the difference in produce that was raised in a medium sized garden vs produce that was raised commercially? We have a great mix of tomatoes, potatoes, squash and peppers. My wife also makes granola and jam. Additionally, we live in a semi rural area, where farming is the major economic engine. We sold $75.00 worth of potatoes and granola this past Saturday at the market. It was our first time we were proud. Thanks for any advice, John

May 5, 2015	#9
clkeiper Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: ohio Posts: 4,350	I also check the grocery store for their prices. I can't sell it for much more than them... except for potatoes. I only sell those as new potatoes by the quart. Colored bell peppers last year were selling for 1.50 each at save a lot... I didn't sell mine for that much, but make sure you talk to each person who walks past your table. make sure it is known that you grow what you have. Take pictures and laminate them, put them on a ring and leave them on your table for your customers to see. They LOVE to see what the garden or the plants look like and where the produce came from. We had a banner printed by a local printer that had produce on the sign and hung it on the back of the tent, " THIS MORNINGS PRODUCE"... I think it offended a few other sellers, but hey... it is what it is... I grew it and a lot of the produce, especially the strawberries and raspberries, beets and carrots with their tops, sweet corn, were picked that morning. Make a sign... "grown by us, picked by us"... anything to make it known to all who pass your table. "grown by the hard working hands attached to this farmer" ... anything to catch their attention. __________________ carolyn k

May 5, 2015	#10
joseph Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2013 Location: Cache Valley, N/E of The Great Salt Lake Posts: 1,244	The problem with comparing to grocery store prices, is that even though the produce might be the same species, in many cases it is not the same product. Take strawberries for example: During my strawberry season, grocery store prices are $2 per quart, but I sell strawberries for $4 per pint. That's 4 times the grocery store price. But it's a different product. I pick mine dead ripe on the morning of the market. They have to be eaten the same day. To use the cliche: My strawberries don't taste like cardboard. But there are other products like storage onions which are approximately the same whether I grow them or they come from the store. For those items I rarely get even grocery store prices for them. I gotta move my product in a few hours. They have days to move theirs. Last edited by joseph; May 5, 2015 at 01:24 PM.

May 5, 2015	#14
heirloomtomaguy Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2013 Location: glendora ca Posts: 2,560	I dont sell at farmers markets but what i have noticed when i go is people tend to flock to the grown without chemical pesticide or chemical fertilizer signs. People want to know that the food you are selling is actually grown by you. When i buy i always ask the "farmer" questions only he would know if he actually is the one growing the produce. I also like to listen to the other people buying to find out what interests them. Most people here like the free range, spray free, sustainable, etc. signs posted all cute like. Free samples also help alot. Here my kids get about a dozen free strawberries every time we go. Also presentation for me is key and goes along way. I never even glance at a table that looks like they dumped the produce out onto the table. Just a few of my observations. __________________ “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it."

May 4, 2015	#2
ScottinAtlanta Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Atlanta, Georgia Posts: 2,593	As a consumer, not a vendor, I rely on signage to know the difference. Grown locally, location of farm, pictures of farm - they all appeal to me. Some guy standing beside generic cardboard boxes full of very red tomatoes of similar size and shape is obviously a refugee from the wholesale market.

May 4, 2015	#3
Salsacharley Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2013 Location: New Mexico Posts: 2,052	I sell at a market where I discovered one vendor is buying commercial produce and selling it as if he grows it. Since this market has very clear rules that vendors must grow their own produce I am tempted to complain to the market manager, but haven't yet because I don't have actual proof. I might request that the market manager inspect his "farm" to see what he's got growing. We all had to sign an agreement that we will allow an inspection of our growing operations. Perhaps you have a similar requirement where you sell....?

May 4, 2015	#7
BigVanVader Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2014 Location: Greenville, South Carolina Posts: 3,099	My advice would be to charge what its worth. If you have organic, healthy, pretty, and local produce and can be at the market every week then charge more. If you just want to offload your extra then take what you can get or see if any large farms would want to buy your stuff at a lower rate to resell. Either way you can make a little cash and meet alot of cool people. Good luck!

May 5, 2015	#8
Wi-sunflower Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Wisconsin Posts: 2,591	With all the controversy about various chemicals, if you are organic, certified or not, be sure to put up a sign and you should be able to charge somewhat more than the average. at my main market the "certified organic" growers often charge close to twice as much as the rest of us. Also at many of the markets I've ever sold at "newbies" often get less traffic unless you have something different. Often customers have their favorite vendors and it takes a while for someone new to get established. Carol

May 5, 2015	#12
Cole_Robbie Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Illinois, zone 6 Posts: 8,407	Flavor keeps them coming back. Sometimes a free sample is necessary. Cherry tomatoes lend themselves well to sampling. I have given away slicer size tomatoes before, when customers were skeptical that they tasted good. They always come back and buy more; often the other customers will hear their compliments and buy because of that themselves. Speaking of "onerous regulations," health codes over cut up samples of anything tend to be strict. But handing a person an uncut tomato does not trigger the rules for samples. The best way I have found to compete with the other vendors is simply to avoid competing. Sell something different. It's the same with selling plants or the actual tomatoes. I let the other vendors have the customers who want $1.50 six-packs of Celebrity; I sell dwarfs and heirlooms. Later in the summer, the other vendors will show up with truckloads of what I call 'red baseballs.' I don't. If I even sell any big red tomatoes at all, they will be labeled as the rare heirlooms that they are. By the way, if you don't spray at all, customers love a sign that says "pesticide-free."

May 5, 2015	#15
Starlight Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2015 Location: AL Posts: 1,993	I came home this weekend with bunches of small heads of cabbage. There was an elderly lady in a wheelchair and her hubby and they had a crate of these small cabbages they grew. First thing I asked even before price was were they treated with chems. When she said no, than I asked price. I bought 8 heads. Couldn't pass up helping out these elderly farmers. Than I passed em all out to other market vendor friends as no way am I gonna eat that many. I'll be eating cabbage and buttered noodles for day, but that ok. Joseph... That a good price on your berries. They selling fresh picked here that homegrown for 4 bucks a pint basket. When the food is fresh, homegrown and no chems, folks generally don't mind paying extra. The thing I hate to see and it happens quite a bit down here is some vendors go to the wholesale market and buy boxes of stuff, bring it out to sale. You have no idea how old it is or how it been stored. The vendor will sell a bit here and there, but generally has a bunch left over and will bring that same fruits and veggies back out the next week and sometimes the next several weeks even. Yuck. Who knows where all that produce has sat. We have one vendor who goes down to Fl and comes back with a super huge trailer loaded to overflowing straight neck squash and zucchini. He gives folks a plastic bag and they can fill all they want for three bucks a bag and he will keep bringing that same trailer out til the veggies all gone. He goes around different markets and during week when he not at market he just parks the trailer in his yard and lets the stuff sit there. Gross. He'll come the following week and you can see the molds starting on the fruits.