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  • From: Leslie Moyer <unschooler AT lrec.org>
  • To: Market Farming <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Market-farming] Market killers - top 10 list
  • Date: Thu, 14 Jul 2011 11:44:39 -0500

Pick fights with every community group in town--chamber of commerce, downtown
merchants assn, City Council, etc., and blame them for every problem you
have.

Aspire to be an outlet for "backyard growers to get rid of a little extra
produce" instead of a legitimate market for farmers trying to make a decent
living wage. Your market board should be made up exclusively of these same
backyard growers (or non-growers), too.

Along with your #9--crappy signage is a must. (No signage is even better, of
course.)

Leslie Moyer
unschooler AT lrec.org
www.ShadyGroveNaturalFarm.com



On Jul 14, 2011, at 10:49 AM, Jack Moffitt wrote:

> Have you any nominees?
>
> Top ten methods of killing a farmers market
> by Jack Moffitt
> A loose collection of unique methods to kill your farmers market:
> (No particular order)
>
>
> 1. Allow re-sellers to flood your market with cheap, often imported,
> factory produce, so your local producers quit in disgust. (Dallas
> Farmers Market perfected this technique by completely remaking itself
> as a cheap imported furniture outlet, some years ago.)
>
>
> 2. Divide your potential customer and vendor bases as much as possible
> with requirements that all produce be 'organic' or 'naturally grown'.
> This will get rid of half of your potential vendors and irritate half
> of your customers.
>
>
> 3. Be sure and flood your market area with crap sellers. Customers
> just love wading past a sea of pot-holders and trinkets mumbling
> 'no-thanks' on their way to buy their veggies. Notice how your
> favorite grocery store put the toy aisle in the produce section? Me
> either.
>
>
> 4. Become the community salvation organization and flood your
> potential customer parking areas with cars of those who came to get
> the free bag, hat or t-shirt, then leave (but not before your regular
> customers have circled the block twice and gave up on this week's
> market).
>
>
> 5. A three-parter: A.) Lots of loud music ; B.) get that music as
> close as possible to the shoppers and vendors; and C.) select music
> that is offensive to most in attendance.
>
> 6. Just when you hit a successful stride and have made your market
> part of the life of the vendors and customers, close the market for a
> 'season', a few months or whatever interval suits you and will cause
> the most losses to your goodwill.
>
> 7. Move the market site. Screw those customers, they oughta get a Magellan.
>
> 8. Poison the potential vendor base with a strong dose of unexplained
> rejections, rejections based on the divisions developed under premise
> #2 above, etc. There is nothing like a strong cadre of ill-will
> ambassadors to insure other vendors don't want to do business at your
> market.
>
>
> 9. Don't advertise. It costs money, and you wouldn't want to impose on
> the vendor averaging $12 per market selling that green stuff nobody
> can identify, by charging a reasonable fee to cover advertising. After
> all you might disrupt killer tactic # 7 's gains.
>
> 10. Repeat 1-9 as needed.
>
> Jack Moffitt - market manager and vendor - Tex Mex border
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