Based on the descriptions you provided, the choice is a slam dunk. I would go for the second market. Yes you will have competition but it's not competition alone that matters. It seems that there is a potential for profit there that you won't see at the first market. Trying to compete with wholesalers to support a customer base that doesn't care about local food is a losing battle. I have observed the following:

1. Where there are multiple growers occupying a niche, eventually, they pull in enough customers to support all growers in that niche. Besides, organic isn't really an unusual niche in the same sense as say, growing super-hot peppers. The market for the latter is limited, but there is no limit for the former.

At my market, you can throw a stick in any direction and hit someone who sells beets or carrots. They all do well because of the enormous demand for root vegetables at my market.

2. Some customers shop at multiple stalls, even buying the same product. I don't understand why they do this but I am glad they do. Perhaps they understand the importance of supporting the market as a whole.

3. Some customers favor certain stalls. In the beginning, this factor works against you. After a few years, when you have your own customer base, it will work in your favor.

4. Revisiting my point that organic is a very broad, very common niche, you can create a niche within a niche by specializing in certain vegetables and thus set yourself apart.

This post was edited by Slimy_Okra on Sun, Nov 30, 14 at 18:55

Can you grow something different then what they grow? I would definitely go with the second market. Our friend sells at a beach market. Some people sell the same things. He sells 4" herbs and veggies and eggs. One man sells raw milk for $6.00 a half gallon. It was a busy market. Even houseplants might do well in a younger market. Hanging baskets would go well to those who live in a dorm or apt.

I agree with Okra that the second market is likely your best choice. If you stay at the first you will constantly be banging your head against the wall dealing with ignorant customers, and not selling all your produce. At the second market you still may not sell all your produce (in the beginning) but you will enjoy the company of customers and vendors that appreciate what you do and why you do it. In time, as said above, you'll get your own following and hopefully not worry so much about the competition.

3 years ago I dropped my second weekly market which was a small local market here in Oregon City in favor of a more "liberal" market in Portland. I never regret the choice and continue to watch my booth grow as sales increase, while my farmer friend that stayed at the small one continues to gripe about it.

-Mark

In would kill to get into a market outside of Ann arbor. it will be well worth the drive as you should do MUCH better and will not have to beat your head against a wall trying to educate people who do not care.

I just finished a year doing the kind of market you have been going to. They allow resellers, the customer base is badly educated and doesn't care if the food is local much less Organic but the market is 5 minutes from the farm. I averaged $110 a week there, rarely sold out and had a lot of sub $100 days. I used to go to a market in a college town about 45 minutes away and easily did 5x to 6x the sales at that market due to the fact the customer base was very well educated, couldn't swing a cat without hitting several Ph.D's at that market. And Ann Arbor is far better than the market I left. If only I were in central Michigan...

Thank you all for the advice. I am definitely going to be going to the larger market that is in a better location. I was really on the fence, but now I think that I will pull the trigger and go to the new one. Thank you all for your comments and suggestions.

-Alex

I agree, changing markets is probably in your best interest. It is a very hard decision to make, but if you are serious about this business, then you need to sell where you can make money.

I know I felt the same way about leaving my hometown market to go to the bigger town 45 minutes away. I was already going to that town on Wednesdays too. I was staying in my hometown on Saturdays. 1.5 years ago, sales were flat and going down. Something had to change. I started to go to the Saturday Market in the bigger town and my wife sold in our hometown. We would split up our produce 60%-40%. Now it is 3/4 to 1/4 or even less than that. She is barely selling out and I am almost selling out too. She adds some income and keeps the little market going. My hopes are my kids can run the small booth and take some of the responsibility off my wife. I know they can do it (they have been doing it with her there), it is just getting them excited about it.

Jay

jrslick, why don't you have your kids sell at the same market on the other end of it. I saw that done at Super Flea in Melbourne and they all made good money.

Multiple stands at the same market are not good business IMO. Eventually the customers will see this as a trick on their intelligence and avoid your stands. I'd concentrate on advertising and building your single stand to the point where all of your children will be needed to handle the sales.

Alex, the 2nd market is the winner for various reasons but the real clincher is that it is a producer-only market. You will always be dissappointed by sudden influxes in produce that competes with your own but when there are resellers at a market you can't even predict when that will occur.

Getting 5 kids out of bed, ready and loaded up on Saturday mornings, then getting all the produce loaded and having any space for the kids to ride is really hard when we have lots of produce. The biggest problem with my hometown market was the increase of youth sports activities, mainly soccer, football and flag football. My small town is around 3,000 people and when most of the young families participate in these activities and travel to the surrounding communities, it really killed the Saturday market. Then you figure in Grandma and Grandpa going to these, aunts and uncles and others, there isn't many people left in town.

We are going to continue with our markets the way we have been doing them this year. 2 weekday markets, and 2 Saturday markets (one will be from mid May-August).

I don't think many people knew it was their kids running the stand. One end of the market had several produce vendors. I only knew because I was a vendor and I shopped at both stands. They sold different things.

I think the two-stand idea is also helpful in large markets where there is a clear stratification in customer density across the market, for whatever reason. Some markets are this way.

I am worried that if I go to the larger market that I will lose my niche as a small organic grower and not be able to compete with the other small growers.

Ever wonder why every city has "dealer's row" ... a couple of miles of car dealers, side by side? It helps comparison shopping and increases sales for all of them.

Same with the larger market - you will be one of many organic growers, but will have far larger numbers of people looking for what you are selling. it's a 'watering hole" and you benefit from the others.

Keep your competitive edge by working on being the FIRST with something popular, or by offering less common items.

One area to explore would be things used by "ethnic" chefs ... check out the international student population and cater to their recipes and let it be know that you will do it. ASK them what they can't find - locate their Facebook page and ask what things they want to cook with they can't find grown locally.

Often it's not something exotic and hard to grow, it's just not being grown.

I always shopped at the market that offered a free sample of one of their products. A genuine smile, saying a sincere Good Morning and paying attention to your customers is key. I'm always amazed through the years the vendors that ignore their customers until they ask a question or are ready to pay. I mad e good friends with a few of the vendors. They were always happy to see me. I usually got a bargain or something free. Maybe something edible that had a blemish on it for free or something you had excess of. There is a Korean produce market where I used to live and if you spent more then $3.00 you got one or two tomatoes free or maybe a small cucumber. People flocked there in droves. It was hard to find a parking spot most days.

Couldn't have said it better zackey. At farmers markets it's not just about selling the customer a product, it's about selling them an experience too.