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  • From: mckemie AT inetport.com
  • To: "Market Farming" <market-farming AT franklin.oit.unc.edu>
  • Subject: Re: Peddlers at Markets
  • Date: Sun, 11 Feb 2001 14:11:09 -0600


On Sun, Feb 11, 2001 at 12:43:22PM -0600, Del Williams wrote:
> It's me, but I assume that everyone is honest until proven otherwise.

An admirable attitude! But a market that uses it as a central premise,
is likely in for trouble.
>
> But when he asks me about the varieties I am going to grow next year I hedge
> and won't tell him. He will go right out and buy the seed and grow what you
> are growing. Big mistake for him last year. The chinese cabbage and pak
> choi didn't sell for either one of us.
>
> He asked me about my eggplant and I told him I didn't remember which variety
> I had ordered last year. Liar that I am. I just knew he was going to grow
> it and compete against me at the market. Yet, I love this guy. I helped
> him get into the market because he's just a really good grower with the
> entrepreneurial spirt. Killer entrepreneurial spirit.

I would judge that to be a minor matter. Here, we too have such minor
conflicts. Here, though, the re-seller threat has been a great
unifying factor. Let me tell you how this came about:

Starting in about 1981 there has been a wonderful market in Austin.
Re-selling had always been a problem because the market was organized
poorly; the legitimate farmers had no more say in rule making than
anyone else that showed up with something to sell. It spite of that,
the market grew and prospered. The general public perception was that
the market was populated with people selling their own stuff. The
newspaper did great (free) write-ups on us; full pages; pictures. We
had 50 to maybe 80 sellers at times. Many had sales of several
thousand dollars per session; those, however, were mostly the peddlers.
I, personally, am satisfied with about five hundred dollars in sales
for a major Saturday market. Eventually, in the late 1980s, things
started turning down hill. The number of peddlers increased while the
crowds did not. Gradually, the public perception changed; they
realized that the sellers were mostly not selling their own stuff. The
newspaper also apparently came to this realization; they quit giving us
big spreads. Much of the same stuff was available at supermarkets,
better cared for and cheaper. I, personally, quit attending this
market about 10 years ago when a full day of selling at the peak of
the season gave me $70. Sure, there were still farmers there selling
their own homegrown stuff, but as the crowds decreased and other
legitimate markets opened, they found it less and less profitable to
attend this once thriving market. By about 1995, this market was dead;
a few peddlers still show up and sell probably a few hundred dollars
between them.

The refugees from that market have worked for years developing other
legitimate area markets with mixed results. None have been as
successful overall as the dead market was in its heyday; but, the
farmers probably make more money. Our legitimate markets now generally
suffer from lack of promotion because our management is all volunteer.
Many times the markets suffer from lack of supply due to our rejection
of non-member grown stuff. We find we can never attract a large crowd
of customers until we get some tomatoes coming in. We mostly sell
under tents while the idle peddlers market sits in a permanent
government financed structure. I think though, our members are
happier and mellower not having to watch peddlers taking away sales.
I know I am.

--
Onward! Through the Fog!
Willie
http://austinfarm.org/homegrown




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