Should You Bargain at a Farmers’ Market?

Published on Monday, July 21, 2008, by CHOW Video Team / Edit Post

Should You Bargain at a Farmers’ Market?

Author Amelia Saltsman wrote the book on farmers’ markets; she’s a reliable source for market etiquette.

CHOW Tips are the shared wisdom of our community. If you’ve figured out some piece of food, drink, or cooking wisdom that you’d like to share on video (and you can be in San Francisco), email Meredith Arthur and tell us what you’ve got in mind.

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POST A COMMENT |10 Comments

COMMENT

  • Huh. While I agree that haggling can often be tactless in the Farmer's Market atmosphere, why is it not OK to ask for a better price if someone in the next stall has them beat? Not all farmers are going to be able to map the supply-demand curve with 100% accuracy all the time.

  • The same fruit at the farmers' market shouldn't necessarily be cheaper just because you're buying direct. Remember that when a farmer sells it to a distributor, the distributor and the retailer pay for the transportation and overhead of retailing (display space, checkers, etc.), and they have economies of scale.

    If a farmer takes it to a farmers market, s/he has the additional cost of...+READ

    The same fruit at the farmers' market shouldn't necessarily be cheaper just because you're buying direct. Remember that when a farmer sells it to a distributor, the distributor and the retailer pay for the transportation and overhead of retailing (display space, checkers, etc.), and they have economies of scale.

    If a farmer takes it to a farmers market, s/he has the additional cost of transporting the goods to market, market fees, booth equipment, and either their time and labor or money out of pocket to pay to staff the booth. It's a full day to pack a truck, drive a couple of hours (or more), unpack the truck, sell, repack the truck and drive back to the farm.-COLLAPSE

  • As a consumer, of course you have a right to seek out the best price for what you want to buy. The supermarket give their fruit a price point at which they think it will sell. So does the farmer at the farmer's market. People are often willing to pay a bit more for their food at the FM because (as I do) they enjoy being able to put the money directly into the hands of the person who worked so...+READ

    As a consumer, of course you have a right to seek out the best price for what you want to buy. The supermarket give their fruit a price point at which they think it will sell. So does the farmer at the farmer's market. People are often willing to pay a bit more for their food at the FM because (as I do) they enjoy being able to put the money directly into the hands of the person who worked so hard to bring these things to you. You're only being gouged if there is a shortage of apples, and suddenly they are $10/lb.-COLLAPSE

  • The supermarkets by me are regional and they strive to obtain items as locally as possible. I can find apples grown in the next town over at my chain grocer. I also see this farmer at the local farmer's market selling the same fruit for a slightly higher price than in the store.... should I NOT haggle? Is it not my right as a consumer, especially in these times, to seek out and or ask for a...+READ

    The supermarkets by me are regional and they strive to obtain items as locally as possible. I can find apples grown in the next town over at my chain grocer. I also see this farmer at the local farmer's market selling the same fruit for a slightly higher price than in the store.... should I NOT haggle? Is it not my right as a consumer, especially in these times, to seek out and or ask for a better price? Just because you are at a farmer's market does not mean you have to be gouged.-COLLAPSE

  • We respect the farmers at the market, but have also benefitted from running out of cash (never deliberately). If the total ended up slightly more than what we had, they usually smile and tell us not to worry about it. That said, on the following week (or whenever the next visit is), that stand is likely our first stop.

  • The vendor I most often visit at the crappy pseudo-farmer's market near me often cuts me a deal. Generally speaking, once you buy more than $20 worth of stuff they start rounding down to the nearest $5, for example. But I'd never ask, I just wait for him to offer.

  • This is why it's always great to go to the farmer's market around closing time -- I've had a lot of vendors offer me great deals with what they had left and wanted to get rid of.

  • I don't think there's anything wrong with asking for a "volume discount" -- insisting on it would be rude, though. When I bought a whole box of nectarines from my favorite stone fruit grower she gave me a small discount (10 percent, IIRC). I didn't ask, though -- it was apparently standard.

    Otherwise, remember that farmers work long and hard; just getting to the farmers market is a major deal...+READ

    I don't think there's anything wrong with asking for a "volume discount" -- insisting on it would be rude, though. When I bought a whole box of nectarines from my favorite stone fruit grower she gave me a small discount (10 percent, IIRC). I didn't ask, though -- it was apparently standard.

    Otherwise, remember that farmers work long and hard; just getting to the farmers market is a major deal for many of them, involving getting up at or before the crack of dawn to be there for you. And for the most part farmers aren't getting rich. Don't nickle and dime them!-COLLAPSE

  • I don't want to split hairs, but is there a difference between asking if the price goes down if you buy a larger quantity (which I would consider mild bargaining) and haggling, which is making an offer, and then several counter offiers to the vendor's answer? I might do the first, if I am buying a larger quantity, and I don't think I'd be self-conscious about it, but I do think the second is...+READ

    I don't want to split hairs, but is there a difference between asking if the price goes down if you buy a larger quantity (which I would consider mild bargaining) and haggling, which is making an offer, and then several counter offiers to the vendor's answer? I might do the first, if I am buying a larger quantity, and I don't think I'd be self-conscious about it, but I do think the second is tacky.-COLLAPSE

  • I agree with Amelia ... its NOT a garage sale! Your decision to buy or not should be just the same as if you were in your regular grocery store -- if you think its too expensive, just pass it by or buy it somewhere else. When you buy in a farmer's market you're getting a chance to actually meet the person who grew your produce, and THAT is worth a few cents more per pound (at least to me!)