brr9270
Hanover, VA
February 20, 2008
10:54 AM | I have just read through some previous posts on this matter, but was looking for some more current information. I received our farmer's market application this week in the mail. Ours fees have changed dramatically this year and was wondering how close to the norm this was.
Last year we paid our application fee and then $100 per booth for the year. That made our fees $200+, because we used 2 spaces. This year they want an application fee and then 4% of our sales as a weekly fee. They want us to report weekly how much our sales were and then by the following week pay the 4%.
We were quite surprised by this change, and if there is a growth with the market this year, we can see us paying in upwards of $800-900 in fees. This is a huge jump in market fees. Then if we have more than one space we must pay the additional $100 for that space as well. I really want to do that market, but feel we have been put in an unreasonable situation. This works out for the vendors that only come 3 or 4 times a year, but really urks me. We show up every week, and work hard, and I first off don't feel they have the right to know how much we sell in a $ amount, and second I don't feel they have the right to charge a percentage. I feel it should be a flat fee or a percentage with a cap. If I am totally wrong, and this goes on everywhere, and charging a percentage is common, please let me know. I was just interested in what the common practice is around. This is a smaller rural market with 25 or so vendors. They do advertise, and this year they picked up more insurance. I feel that is the culprit of the fee change and the need for more money. |