Mr. Nonsense wrote:
> Why are farmers market always more expensive than the grocery store?
> I'm sure there must be good reasons for this. But I can think of three
> reasons why they should be cheaper:
>
> 1. They have no expensive advertising and marketing costs
>
> 2. They have no nationwide distribution costs, most of it is local.
>
> 3. They have no high overhead that is typical of large corporations.
> In other words they are not paying fat salaries/benefits to people to
> do monkey work.
>
> I could see they suffer from one disadvantage, no benefit from
> economies of scale. I think the key points listed above should more
> than make up for that.

My guesses:
1. It's their only income unless they can sell wholesale.

2. They have to pay for their space every week whether they sell
anything or not.

3. They have more spoilage than grocery stores which have the advantage
of refrigeration.

FWIW, I agree with you. Other than in California, Hawaii, and
Minneapolis (thanks, Barb!) I've never seen a farmer's market that can
compare in overall quality with a good specialty greengrocer. We also
stopped at a few wonderful roadside stands in New Zealand with an
incredible variety of fruit at great prices.

When in season I can get peaches, plums, and apricots for as little as
88 cents a pound from Sunflower or Sprouts (Henry's/Boney's chain). At
the farmer's market they are $2.99-3.99/lb, the same price as my
Albertson's.

The upside is that they occasionally sell things that aren't available
anywhere else.

gloria p