Via Growers & Grocers, this is interesting:
The Internet-based business, Greenleaf LLC, gets under way this summer. […] Greenleaf could be a virtual farmer’s market that never closes.
Local farmers will be able to post what they have to sell, such as fresh produce and meats.
Buyers will be able to browse through the offerings and make online purchases from the farmers.
Greenleaf will charge sellers a fee, perhaps 2% of a sale. Buyers will pay an annual subscription fee, that hasn’t been finalized, to use the service.
Buyers and sellers will be responsible for making their own arrangements for payments and deliveries. [Former Whole Foods employee Heather] Hilleren said she will stay out of the transactions as much as possible.
“It’s strictly between the buyer and the seller,” much like eBay, she said.
The whole story is worth reading. I wonder if this would work; while the eBay analogy is better for the press, this feels more like Etsy Foods to me. I love that.