Thankfully my dad is a landscape designer and installer, so he buys 100s of thousands of dollars in plants per year without even thinking, and many things I grow. So, landscapers are always a good source.
I'm really glad you haven't had a lot of no shows. So many times I will have back and forth conversations with people, asking questions, setting times etc, then NOTHING. No show, no responses, just gone.
This is so true folks, and it will drive you crazy!!!!! I try to get people to give me a time that they will be here for a pick-up, 60% no call, no show. Just last night "I will be there at 5:00" I write them at 8:00 and they say "Sorry, I couldn't make it" This happens over and over and over.... I would never do this to somebody.
And it **almost**never happens to me selling plants. I've gotten it figured out pretty well, I think... I had to. People were driving me crazy. I don't understand why SO MANY people say "i'll take it," but really have no intention of doing so.
I do a backyard plant sale. I give them an appt time we both agree on-and say they won't be held after that-they're back on the open market if they miss their appt. i have very little noshows-and they will call if they are delayed . Works for me.
It's taken some learning, but I really never have no shows. I always tell them, "let me know when you're coming to make sure I'm home." That way, I'm not sitting around, and they don't show up and me not be either. Works very, very well.
As always - great tips. Lots of people are “interested” but the trick is to get them to hit the “Buy Now” button. That worked well for eBay. One way to get ppl to commit to purchasing is by giving them a deal. Ok….”if you show up tomorrow at 13:00 & purchase 25 plants, I’ll give you “free of charge” an extra 5. Etc. ppl like deals (real or not).
Thank you so much for this information! This is the one part of the whole nursery business project that scares me - how to market and sell the plants. Your video makes it seem doable. Thanks again and again! 🙏🏻
I'd meet them somewhere like in a parking lot that has cameras. I did craigslist for about 8 years and fortunately most people I had over to buy were decent but there were a few fruitcakes I wish didn't know where I lived. I had one guy steal my tire inflator right off my garage wall. Another guy was a pastor, he walked right past me and where the item was to look around my back yard. The frosting on the cake was this but job skinny slimy looking dude with a weird voice. I ended that sale by telling him to leave. After that I met buyers in the local grocery store parking lot, cameras everywhere. Keeps everybody honest. Worked out good and no more fruitcakes coming to my house scoping the place out.
I have gotten to where I just don't have any problems with weirdos or no shows. I communicate such that they know to check with me before they come to make sure I'm home, and I give my address then. That way, I know they're coming, AND, they know I'm home. Plant buyers are just different. When they say they are coming to buy a plant, they always show up, and often leave with many plants instead of just the 1 or 2 they thought they were coming for.
@@savvydirtfarmer Happy to hear that about your customers. I'm thinking of doing a hobby type propagation thing, not a business or actual nursery. We have to have a licence here to act as a nursery or have a 200sq ft or larger greenhouse or hoop house which I don't plan to have. It says nothing about a hobby. I like your video on the 10x10 area. Probably do that and sell a few here and there.
Hello mate. Very poignant information I sell on FB marketplace and freeads here in the UK. I reckon I get forty percent of no shows and wasters. I used to do bootsales but gave them up due to the amount of wasters. Some people are very interested in what I grow and breed but there are always more wasters . I also do the local auctions forty miles away. I may not get as much as I want but in general I end up pleased with the outcome. Thanks for sharing your videos etc mate. All the best Joe 👍
@@savvydirtfarmer That's exactly right. Now I have hundreds of plants from propagating. I'm not worried about selling them, but more about getting them potted. I do a couple of hours each day.
Thanks for sharing what works so well for you. I badly wish I could do the same thing, but our town forbids us to have customers come to our home (a residential lot in town). So we have to haul our plants elsewhere to sell, which is quite a pain. We doing our first plant sale tomorrow, and I've been advertising on Facebook Marketplace and buy/sell groups. Also boosting a post about our sale. Really curious how it will turn out, as we hauled 412 plants this afternoon to our sales location. We only have about 500 square feet for our nursery, so we're trying to focus on smaller plants. As for selling quantities of plants, we might experiment with ground covers. Small, deep plugs are easier to plant than quart or gallon pots. And cheaper for gardeners wanting to cover a lot of area. And they often turn out pretty profitable per square foot in the nursery. We'll see.
TO START OUT: Exactly how would you advise I research to decide how many to propagate + pot up? You've given extremely valuable tips on how to sell. But, what are my 1st 5 steps?
First 5 steps? That's quite a question. I answer that with pretty good clarity in my videos. Stay for a while and watch and you'll get most of your questions answered.
Due to an illness, I can't work a regular job, so I'm thinking about starting this type of business at home, but I don't know where to start buying plants to sell.
start internet searching wholesale nurseries in your area and wholesale nurseries online. You never know when you'll find a supplier that can change your life forever. It takes some looking.
Ugh, trying to sell on Facebook is a nightmare. They don't read the listing, they click the is this available even though you tell them not to. They tell you a time then don't show up. I had the same problem selling strawberry plants.
I use and have used lever, thumb, and the brass valve (whatever it's called). They're all good, brass is least favorite, but the wand performs the same with all of them.
Darn, I was hoping for something other than internet. FB seems like the worst of all the bad online markets....Is there any advantage over using eBay ?
Ebay is internet, yes?? You can definitely sell via Ebay, but that's a whole different business model than I use. YOu can do great with it! For a local nursery, seeking to sell plants in your own community, nothing is better than Facebook.
Really? What variables are involved besides marketplace? Peppers. Your price. Your ad. Your approach. Could be something besides marketplace... that's too easy a cop-out when others are absolutely killing it there.
Have you ever had someone respond to your FB ad asking where you meet? I usually tell them I have a nursery full of plants, they don't fit in my truck but they're welcome to come look. Do you have a different/better answer?
No. Because in my ad, I always say, "must pick up from my driveway," or from my nursery, now. If people aren't willing to come to me, I'll sell them to the next person who will. Rarely happens if you spell out the terms up front.
No. Because in my ad, I always say, "must pick up from my driveway," or from my nursery, now. If people aren't willing to come to me, I'll sell them to the next person who will. Rarely happens if you spell out the terms up front.
Kinda like saying “how much can I sell my car for?” Need more info. What size? What do they sell for in your market? How do they look? How many do you have? Are they in demand?
@@savvydirtfarmer I'm not sure but I have a full entire row of huge Hugh bushes maybe 5000 jasmine flowers but this place told me to bring it n by the bucket full that's really all I know I did see some where they the jasmine oil Is going for 5000 it goes in a lot of stuff
@@savvydirtfarmer Thank you! I found it on anotherone of your videos as well as what % shadecloth you use. You have me inspired. Just need to put the work in now.
Can you drive a car to the gas station and back home without a license? Same question. Yes you can. No one will know. It won't matter. But, you're doing it illegally. I had my nursery certificate before I ever sold my first plant.
@@savvydirtfarmer Okay, I'm glad I watched some of your videos, because a couple years ago I was doing a community yard sale and put out a few of my propagated plants with some other household gadgets I wanted to sell and I didn't know then that I needed a special certificate for selling plants but I had a strange feeling about selling the plants that way and I didn't actually sell anything, I was lucky I didn't get caught.
In my state, nursery plants are governed by the dept of agriculture under the same laws as farming...so, if I grow the product (plants) no sales tax is required. If I am buying and flipping plants, tax is required. I don't do any of that at all. I grow everything.
In Texas there is no sales tax on annual edibles. My plants are about 1/3 tomatoes, 1/3 peppers & 1/3 herbs. I sell mainly at farmers market on Saturdays. Grow mostly from seed from online seed company's. Have to have nursery license from state. About $100.00
Thankfully my dad is a landscape designer and installer, so he buys 100s of thousands of dollars in plants per year without even thinking, and many things I grow. So, landscapers are always a good source.
They do stop by here from time to time.
Please give your dad my info??? lol!
I'm really glad you haven't had a lot of no shows. So many times I will have back and forth conversations with people, asking questions, setting times etc, then NOTHING. No show, no responses, just gone.
This is so true folks, and it will drive you crazy!!!!! I try to get people to give me a time that they will be here for a pick-up, 60% no call, no show. Just last night "I will be there at 5:00" I write them at 8:00 and they say "Sorry, I couldn't make it" This happens over and over and over.... I would never do this to somebody.
And it **almost**never happens to me selling plants. I've gotten it figured out pretty well, I think... I had to. People were driving me crazy. I don't understand why SO MANY people say "i'll take it," but really have no intention of doing so.
I offer FREE $50 spay coupons for dogs/cats and people STILL don't show up at the vet.
This is why I don't think I'd even bother to try FB again....Might as well stick w/eBay, I get enough headaches there.
I do a backyard plant sale. I give them an appt time we both agree on-and say they won't be held after that-they're back on the open market if they miss their appt. i have very little noshows-and they will call if they are delayed . Works for me.
It's taken some learning, but I really never have no shows. I always tell them, "let me know when you're coming to make sure I'm home." That way, I'm not sitting around, and they don't show up and me not be either. Works very, very well.
Being in zone 4, I considered moving to zone 5 just to grow those darn green giant arborvitaes lol! Love your channel!!
Thank you for this. This was the #1 question I had.
Hoa seems like hell owners associations
If I had an H-O-A, I would L-E-A-V-E.
LOL I bought just ONE Green Giant...to use for cuttings. :)
1 is better than none!
As always - great tips. Lots of people are “interested” but the trick is to get them to hit the “Buy Now” button. That worked well for eBay. One way to get ppl to commit to purchasing is by giving them a deal. Ok….”if you show up tomorrow at 13:00 & purchase 25 plants, I’ll give you “free of charge” an extra 5. Etc. ppl like deals (real or not).
Probably a good idea.. I haven't needed to try it yet though... will keep in mind though.
Thank you so much for this information! This is the one part of the whole nursery business project that scares me - how to market and sell the plants. Your video makes it seem doable. Thanks again and again! 🙏🏻
Grow beautiful, healthy plants... take great pictures of them and post them for sale at a fair price. People will come and buy them.
I'd meet them somewhere like in a parking lot that has cameras. I did craigslist for about 8 years and fortunately most people I had over to buy were decent but there were a few fruitcakes I wish didn't know where I lived. I had one guy steal my tire inflator right off my garage wall. Another guy was a pastor, he walked right past me and where the item was to look around my back yard. The frosting on the cake was this but job skinny slimy looking dude with a weird voice. I ended that sale by telling him to leave. After that I met buyers in the local grocery store parking lot, cameras everywhere. Keeps everybody honest. Worked out good and no more fruitcakes coming to my house scoping the place out.
I have gotten to where I just don't have any problems with weirdos or no shows. I communicate such that they know to check with me before they come to make sure I'm home, and I give my address then. That way, I know they're coming, AND, they know I'm home. Plant buyers are just different. When they say they are coming to buy a plant, they always show up, and often leave with many plants instead of just the 1 or 2 they thought they were coming for.
@@savvydirtfarmer Happy to hear that about your customers. I'm thinking of doing a hobby type propagation thing, not a business or actual nursery. We have to have a licence here to act as a nursery or have a 200sq ft or larger greenhouse or hoop house which I don't plan to have. It says nothing about a hobby. I like your video on the 10x10 area. Probably do that and sell a few here and there.
Hello mate. Very poignant information
I sell on FB marketplace and freeads here in the UK. I reckon I get forty percent of no shows and wasters. I used to do bootsales but gave them up due to the amount of wasters. Some people are very interested in what I grow and breed but there are always more wasters . I also do the local auctions forty miles away. I may not get as much as I want but in general I end up pleased with the outcome. Thanks for sharing your videos etc mate. All the best Joe 👍
thanks, mate!
Thank you very much for this valuable information 🎊 🎉
Glad it was helpful!
Video idea. Show what plants and numbers you keep for next season. Prepping for that.. or do you sell completely out and start fresh??
Great video Craig! Solid advice and very helpful.
thanks! glad it helped
Blessings! Amazing videos!
Thanks for sharing!!! Very encouraging for someone just starting out!!
Glad it was helpful!
Great video. Thank you. (You did do market research!)
I remember that video of when you bought the green giants. I'm glad you did well. I was a little worried that you'd have a hard time selling them.
YOu never know unless you try, right?
@@savvydirtfarmer That's exactly right. Now I have hundreds of plants from propagating. I'm not worried about selling them, but more about getting them potted. I do a couple of hours each day.
Thanks for sharing what works so well for you. I badly wish I could do the same thing, but our town forbids us to have customers come to our home (a residential lot in town). So we have to haul our plants elsewhere to sell, which is quite a pain. We doing our first plant sale tomorrow, and I've been advertising on Facebook Marketplace and buy/sell groups. Also boosting a post about our sale. Really curious how it will turn out, as we hauled 412 plants this afternoon to our sales location.
We only have about 500 square feet for our nursery, so we're trying to focus on smaller plants. As for selling quantities of plants, we might experiment with ground covers. Small, deep plugs are easier to plant than quart or gallon pots. And cheaper for gardeners wanting to cover a lot of area. And they often turn out pretty profitable per square foot in the nursery. We'll see.
Good luck. Let us know how it turns out.
Sold over $1,100 of plants today!
Good advice!
Fantastic information - thankyou!
TO START OUT: Exactly how would you advise I research to decide how many to propagate + pot up?
You've given extremely valuable tips on how to sell.
But, what are my 1st 5 steps?
First 5 steps? That's quite a question. I answer that with pretty good clarity in my videos. Stay for a while and watch and you'll get most of your questions answered.
God bless I can't quite get the full name up your what type of tree is it
Due to an illness, I can't work a regular job, so I'm thinking about starting this type of business at home, but I don't know where to start buying plants to sell.
start internet searching wholesale nurseries in your area and wholesale nurseries online. You never know when you'll find a supplier that can change your life forever. It takes some looking.
Home Town !! ❤
Would it be helpful to have a yardstick to show how tall they are in the picture or is it necessary.
My ad says they’re approximately 20” tall; I do sometimes use a yardstick, bucket, or something else in my pics to show scale.
Yes, it is available. Would you like to schedule a pick-up for today or tomorrow?
Ugh, trying to sell on Facebook is a nightmare. They don't read the listing, they click the is this available even though you tell them not to. They tell you a time then don't show up. I had the same problem selling strawberry plants.
It can be, for sure.
Great video as always!!
Thanks again!
The link to the irrigation wand is for lever activated. Is that what you use?
I use and have used lever, thumb, and the brass valve (whatever it's called). They're all good, brass is least favorite, but the wand performs the same with all of them.
Thanks for sharing this 💯❣️
Did you have to get any licensing/certifications in order to sell these? How do you go about that?
Good question. I address it here...ua-cam.com/video/daR6yaa9SfU/v-deo.html
Do you start your own arborvitae through propagation or do you buy them wholesale that size?
I buy them and propagate them. I haven't been able to propagate the numbers I need... yet. But, working on it.
Can you recommend a good wholesale place for me? I’m in Northeast Arkansas.
Darn, I was hoping for something other than internet.
FB seems like the worst of all the bad online markets....Is there any advantage over using eBay ?
Ebay is internet, yes?? You can definitely sell via Ebay, but that's a whole different business model than I use. YOu can do great with it! For a local nursery, seeking to sell plants in your own community, nothing is better than Facebook.
Smash the LIKE button, guys and gals. 🙂
Thanks for sharing
Thanks for watching!
This year I posted cherry bomb hot peppers and posted it on market place and sold a big zero . Marketplace sucks .
Really? What variables are involved besides marketplace? Peppers. Your price. Your ad. Your approach. Could be something besides marketplace... that's too easy a cop-out when others are absolutely killing it there.
How much do you sell your 20 inch Green Giants for? I get $8 and wondering if I have them under priced.
I priced mine this year at $7 and sold all I had at that price.
Good info
thanks for watching!
Have you ever had someone respond to your FB ad asking where you meet? I usually tell them I have a nursery full of plants, they don't fit in my truck but they're welcome to come look. Do you have a different/better answer?
No. Because in my ad, I always say, "must pick up from my driveway," or from my nursery, now. If people aren't willing to come to me, I'll sell them to the next person who will. Rarely happens if you spell out the terms up front.
No. Because in my ad, I always say, "must pick up from my driveway," or from my nursery, now. If people aren't willing to come to me, I'll sell them to the next person who will. Rarely happens if you spell out the terms up front.
How much can I sell my jasmine bushes for or is there a better way to make more money out of the jasmine bushes
Kinda like saying “how much can I sell my car for?” Need more info. What size? What do they sell for in your market? How do they look? How many do you have? Are they in demand?
@@savvydirtfarmer I'm not sure but I have a full entire row of huge Hugh bushes maybe 5000 jasmine flowers but this place told me to bring it n by the bucket full that's really all I know I did see some where they the jasmine oil Is going for 5000 it goes in a lot of stuff
Did you have to take a floral designer course and test to get your nursery license.
Apparently not... I don't even know what that is.
What kind of fabric is that on the ground?
It is called woven ground cloth (or cover)
@@savvydirtfarmer Thank you! I found it on anotherone of your videos as well as what % shadecloth you use. You have me inspired. Just need to put the work in now.
@@1888CHAD8881 do it!
Do you need to have a nursery license to sell this way?
yes
Are you paying for your Facebook marketplace ads to be shown to more people? Or are you just using the free ads?
Free. I have used paid for them before, but seem to do fine just posting to FB marketplace and local buy/sell groups.
Do I still need a nursery certificate for selling plants from Facebook marketplace?
Can you drive a car to the gas station and back home without a license? Same question. Yes you can. No one will know. It won't matter. But, you're doing it illegally. I had my nursery certificate before I ever sold my first plant.
@@savvydirtfarmer Okay, I'm glad I watched some of your videos, because a couple years ago I was doing a community yard sale and put out a few of my propagated plants with some other household gadgets I wanted to sell and I didn't know then that I needed a special certificate for selling plants but I had a strange feeling about selling the plants that way and I didn't actually sell anything, I was lucky I didn't get caught.
Essentially an ad for fb. Which I do not support or use.
I hope they compensated you for promoting them.
Newspaper is dead. FB needs no promotion. If I want to sell plants… I have to advertise where the most eyeballs are.
@@savvydirtfarmer good luck.
Do they pay online? Or is it a cash in person deal
This video refers to in person purchases.
What plant did people buy all the time
Anything that blooms. Anything that is healthy and nice looking. Evergreens, edibles, etc.
What do you do about sales tax?
In my state, nursery plants are governed by the dept of agriculture under the same laws as farming...so, if I grow the product (plants) no sales tax is required. If I am buying and flipping plants, tax is required. I don't do any of that at all. I grow everything.
@@savvydirtfarmer Thanks for the quick response.
In Texas there is no sales tax on annual edibles. My plants are about 1/3 tomatoes, 1/3 peppers & 1/3 herbs. I sell mainly at farmers market on Saturdays. Grow mostly from seed from online seed company's. Have to have nursery license from state. About $100.00
what area of the country are you in?
NW Alabama
@@savvydirtfarmer SW Georgia here so warmer here just a bit I am guessing. thanks for all your sharing
Why not reply to these wishey-washey people with: I have received a lot of replys, the selection will be best the sooner you can arrive.???
You can do that… probably also effective.
Ask to meet them close to your home but NEVER give out your address!
Depends on the person, where you live, and other factors. Your "NEVER" response indicates a lot of fear. I'm not doing that.