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  • From: "cheselka AT theriver.com" <cheselka AT theriver.com>
  • To: market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [Market-farming] Use of Words (was: Two Questions)
  • Date: Thu, 30 Dec 2004 21:49:55 -0500


Regarding lettuce pricing:

Oh, very very complex arithmetic, Allan. Patent pending, to be sure! :)

Since I have literally NO competition (except from the one supermarket in
town and everyone buying from me HATES the supermarket veggies), I can
pretty much set whatever price I want. Pretty complex, eh?

Seriously though, I set my prices on what I think is reasonable and what
I'd consider a "good deal" if I were buying it myself. A small lettuce
I'll sell for $1 or $1.25. "Small" being about the size of your
outstretched hand. A medium lettuce I'll sell for $1.50, which would be
about 50% larger than a small. A large or xlarge lettuce I'll sell for
$1.75 or $2. These can get quite large (I've yet to figure out how to stop
the plants from growing -- imagine me, bent over my lettuce, hands folded,
pleading with them to "slow down, you're getting too big for Saturday" --
ha ha!). Some of the 'Red Sails' lettuce I sold last fall were about 18
inches in diameter and weighed over a pound!

Usually the supermarket has their lettuce for between $0.99 and $1.49
during the summer and fall, so I am being fairly competative with them. No
doubt I could charge quite a bit more and my customers would be happy to
pay, but I personally consider bumping up prices just because it's "local"
or "organically grown" to be taking advantage of people. About a year ago
on this list I participated in a discussion about this, and as I recall the
general consensus was that some of us consider it ok to bump up prices, and
some of us don't. I'm content in letting growers set their own prices in
any way they want as long as they let me set mine. The intelligent
consumer will decide in the end, and it's not always for the lowest price
(which, IMO, is an unimportant factor).

G'night.

Matt Cheselka
Cosmic Lettuce

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