Selling your self grown palms

[Palmdude129]

Just out of curiosity to all the fellow palm lovers/growers/sellers what is the best way to sell your palms. Local nurseries, online, or garage sales? I have hundreds of palm seedlings I have been growing just for fun (Royals, Kings, Montgomerys) and my goal is to sell them in 5 years. How much profit have you sellers made? I’m new to the sellers market so I’m looking for advice and stories. I been a long time palm lover but not seller. Thanks!

[PalmatierMeg]

In many places in Florida during Season local garden clubs or tourist venues like Edison-Ford Estates host plant sales where local plant vendors can offer their wares. You can also check into local farmers' markets to sell plants. Expect to pay a fee to rent a spot and perhaps a % of your sales and to provide your own shade canopy and stands. Opportunities really dry up over the summer.

I found yard and garage sales to be time wasters. People going to garage sales are looking for bargains on used stuff, not live plants and most of them don't have disposable income to buy palms. Commercial nurseries generally have contracts with plant wholesalers and are not looking to haggle with back yard growers. They will expect you to be licensed and insured. And they won't pay anything close to retail prices you expect to earn - more like pennies on the dollar.

Some people sell their plants on Craig's List but that scares me to death and I won't have anything to do with it - selling or buying. Too many sinister people do their stalking there.

Will you make money? I don't know. The times I sold plants in local garden club sales I made two or three hundred dollars while committing 8 hours of my time on a Sat. That didn't include choosing plants, loading them onto a trailer, travel, unloading/setting up, breaking down and reloading in the late afternoon, travel home. Another fact: most people going to such plant sales are looking for bargains too. They go gaga over aroids, orchids, fairy gardens, desert roses and pretty flowers. Palms? Not so much unless you are lucky enough to encounter that rare gardener: the palm collector. For him you have to offer something distinctive, not the usual suspects and refugees from BB garden centers.

I sell palms and seeds on eBay ever since 2010. I fund my own palm purchases through my Paypal account. Am I getting rich? Uh, no. I pay eBay/Paypal approx. 15% of gross sales, including shipping. You can go eBay too but you will have to muster the courage to ship plants all over the continental US. It's not hard to pack/ship plants if you do it carefully but for some baffling reason, people turn to quivering jelly at the concept of shipping. You can't be like that and expect to succeed.

Bottom line, if you are careful you can make some extra money selling your plants. And if you need that money to pay bills go for it. Will you be able to retire early on the funds? No.

 

[Palmdude129]

I have noticed at Lowe’s, Walmart, Home Depot and the local nurseries the palms go like hot cakes. Spending $100+ on a mid sized palm is normal on any given weekend for people, especially in the spring/summer. I figured there has to be a way for a smaller vendor/gardener to get a piece of the that pie too! 

[jimmyt]

@PalmatierMeg   
Well said!  From someone with experience!

[Steve Mac]

Hey Dude,  if you are actually active in a plant group, society Org etc. you can sell a lot of plants for a long time.  But if you just want to sell a lot of plants in the short term go to the markets and make them cheap. 

If you want to have a long term business you need to make contacts and friends, and give something back to the community that you are hoping to make money from. 

[Palmdude129]

Sounds good. Appreciate the input 

[PalmatierMeg]

Chain store garden centers get their plants from large wholesale plant nurseries. In FL one of the largest is Costa Farms. I suspect garden center managers do not have the authority or inclination to accept material from back yard gardeners looking to unload excess plants and you should know that staff of the garden center don't have access to money or the ability to issue checks to pay you. That's business economics 101.

If you truly want to interest chain stores in your stuff, you will have to start a nursery, incorporate, buy licenses, permits, etc., hire staff, arrange inspections yadda yadda. The nursery business is a hard way to make a living or, rather, attempt to survive. You don't go into it on a whim.

[Palmdude129]

Cool deal. Thanks much!