[FMC] Debate Challenge: farmers market presales

[Stacy Miller]

The following was posted on another list, but I couldn't resist posting here
because the author offers a challenge to readers to engage in a pro/con
debate about making premarket sales. See the highlighted text below. I've
heard of other such pre-market sales systems, but am curious to know how our
list subscribers feel about this.  Do any vendors out there currently run a
pre-market sale option for customers, via a web site, e-mail, phone, or
verbal agreement?  Do you require customers to prepay? As a former vendor, I
certainly did this for those loyal customers who could never get to market
early enough to get the products that were sure to sell out quickly.
But because I did not have a pre-pay system set up, there were inevitable
(but infrequent) lost sales when someone forgets that they had aked me to
set aside $30 worth of chantrelle mushrooms.  Can pre-sell web site products
offer a potential fix to that problem, or does it alienate the 'cash and
carry' regulars who might see a pre-order set aside and wonder why they
can't buy it?

I'm grateful to Simon for posing the question and eager to see if there are
any opinions out there.

Stacy

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Simon Huntley <info at smallfarmcentral.com>
Date: Sun, Apr 13, 2008 at 9:14 PM
Subject: [COMFOOD:] Helping farmers with farmer's market presales
To: comfood at elist.tufts.edu


Hey everyone -- I know farmers are busy readying the fields and planting,
but since I know a lot of you participate in and support farmer's markets, I
thought I would pass this along to the group.

Small Farm Central is offering a stand-alone service that helps farmers
pre-sell goods to farmer's market customers online. This is a stream-lined
and inexpensive way for farmers to get started with online sales and I think
will really increase customer loyalty and experience. Farmers can get
started for the 2008 market season at a cost of $185 for a full solution.

This includes inventory control, credit card processing (optional), and
reporting that makes the picking and packing for individual orders an easy
task.

There is more detailed information here:
http://smallfarmcentral.com/market-preorders

Feel free to pass this along to market managers or anyone else who might be
interested in the concept. It'd be great if a pro/con discussion sprung up
on the list about pre-selling farmer's market produce.

-- 
-Simon Huntley
Lead Developer. Small Farm Central, LLC
Websites and ecommerce for direct-marketing farmers
http://www.smallfarmcentral.com
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-- 
-------------------------------------
Stacy M. Miller
Executive Secretary
Farmers Market Coalition
stacy at farmersmarketcoalition.org
304-685-2669
www.farmersmarketcoalition.org

Farmers markets are good for everyone. Join us to make them even better.
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