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I live in Sweden, and almost every year I discover someone I work with or have friends in common with, who has a friend or relative in Italy, or Greece who farm
by Jolter 10mo ago
I live in Sweden, and almost every year I discover someone I work with or have friends in common with, who has a friend or relative in Italy, or Greece who farms oranges/olives/cheese or what have you. And this friend in Sweden is selling their produce by word of mouth.
So once a year at harvest, the relative has someone drives a truck full of olive oil 2000 kilometers north, and dozens of Swedes turn up at an appointed time on a Tuesday afternoon in a parking lot to pick up their order of six bottles of oil. The prices are no better than in the supermarket, but ostensibly you’d get a high quality product.
It’s a funny way to do business in 2025, completely without Internet infrastructure. Somehow, I don’t think it would work as a web shop.
- brightbeige 10mo agoThere is a lot of “paperwork” to do it as a web shop, if you know what I mean.
- Jolter 10mo agoI’m sure taxes are part of it, but keep in mind it’s a toll free union after all. They could easily do this above board and just declare the Italian VAT as they do selling to locals.
- brightbeige 10mo agoI think for food products there are more considerations, like labeling and traceability.
- ninalanyon 10mo agoIf the Greek farmer is selling in Greece then all that is already done.
- jaapz 10mo agoExactly, you'll have to declare VAT
- Zeebrommer 10mo agoI know it does for a small Dutch setup :) https://www.kalamatakarma.com/ https://www.kalamatakarma.com/ Marketing is still completely word of mouth afaik, but the webshop makes it easier for total strangers to tag along.