Help Center
Questions for Considering Online Sales Platforms for Farms Direct Marketing
With restaurants and some farmers markets shutting down, we know many of you need to find alternative sales channels for your products. Customers are also looking for new solutions to buy quality, organic food safely.
In March 2020, we hosted a webinar to discuss online sales platforms for direct marketing.
If you’re considering going this route, we have a list of suggested questions to ask when you are getting started with online sales:
- How long has your online sales platform been in use?
- How many farmers are you currently working with?
- What will it cost my farm to use your platform? What is your fee structure?
- I’m ready to start selling products right now. What does it take to get started? Is there a wait because of the current increase in demand for online sales platform services?
- How will your online sales platform integrate with my current website?
- What is the process for entering the products that I have to sell?
- How do I update my product list and pricing?
- Will I be able to set inventory limits so that I don’t oversell products?
- How does the customer interface work? Is your platform easy to use on a Smartphone?
- How do customers pay for products?
- Are credit and debit card fees charged to customers?
- Can customers pay by check or cash on delivery?
- Can customers pay with EBT?
- Is there a way for me to offer customers discounts, coupons, and promotions?
- How long does it take for customer payments to deposit into my farm’s bank account?
- How is sales tax handled on your platform?
- Is it possible to integrate your platform with my accounting software?
- Is it possible to create pack lists directly from your sales platform? How about labels?
- Does your platform offer any suggestions for delivery routes based on orders?
- What kind of IT support does your company provide?
- How is my farm’s sales data used and/or shared?
- What happens to my farm’s sales data if I stop using your platform?
- What other features does your platform offer that I should know about?
We’ve collected responses from a few online sales platforms to get you started, take a look below:
Please note that Oregon Tilth does not specifically endorse any of the products listed on this page or assert that this includes all available products, this resource is intended for informational purposes only.