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  • From: "Simon Huntley" <simon.huntley AT gmail.com>
  • To: market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [Market-farming] Farmer's Market Pre-orders
  • Date: Sat, 20 Jan 2007 15:19:50 -0500

I'm currently gathering some requirements for a 'store' system to be added to a small-farm web development software system, and I was wondering if the group had any ideas on something I've been tossing around in my head for a few days.

This store software would be able to handle four different kinds of sales:
-regular value-added shipping type orders - these are your jams or pickles or whatever you are able to ship. This handles the obvious store type settings that many farmers already have on their sites. This might also include CSA share sales or anything else you can think of.
-farmer's market pre-orders (this is the one I have the most questions about)
-CSA 'Extras' - Many CSA farms will sell extra items that they do not produce, but are locally and sustainably grown and add some extras to the shares. This software would help make that process easier.
-Restaurant sales

These would each be separate stores that run independently of each other on a website and they would all run through one credit card system as each customer checks out. The customer would also have the option of paying for the items they order when they pick it up for you (if it is not a shipping order) if the farmer sets it up to allow them to do that.

OK, so one sort of controversial or new ideas is the idea of Farmer's market pre-order sales, and I mostly want to ask you about that.

Would you be interested in someone being able to visit your website, seeing what you have available to sell as pre-order produce and then order the box of food that they want, pay for it by credit card online, and then pick the food up at the market on the day chosen. Here are my potential issues and how I intend to solve them:
---keeping the site updated: you will be able to set amounts and types of produce as 'recurring', for example a vegetable grower might say he or she can pre-sell 50 heads of lettuce at each farmers market, but that expires in 30 days when they expect to run out of produce. This is obviously one of the biggest hurdles of this type of system, but with a little flexibility from the software, the farmer, and the customer I think it can be overcome.
---logistics. You would be able to print out an aggregated list of what you have to pick for your pre-sales at the beginning of each market day along with the individual invoices.
---connection. Do you feel you would lose a connection to your customer? I think it could go both ways, but you are increasing the connection of the customer with your farm by having them buy a lot of their produce from you. Also, this is linked with a database-driven website, which will drive the customer to see what varieties of crops you have, recipes for each crop, and all the other information that your site offers.
---money. In a system like this, you will not have your own merchant credit card account, it will be run through a central account and you will be paid out in measured intervals. There will also be a percentage fee taken out of sales to pay the credit card company and to pay for the software. What is an acceptable percentage?

Does this detract from something else you do like CSA or your ideals of a market in general?

I don't think a system like this currently exists and certainly not intertwined with a larger web development project. I think it may be a good way to sell produce before you ever arrive at the market (no more wilting in the sun!) and to increase customer loyalty. I'm interested to hear where the group thinks that there are trouble spots for the farmer's market pre-orders and the rest of the store software, though I haven't gone into as much detail for the rest of the store.

I'll be glad to get your input.
--
Simon Huntley
http://www.smallfarmcentral.com


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