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Encanto Farms Nursery > Topics > Shocked at price of fresh figs online
 
 


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saramc

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Posted Reply with quote  #1 

Okay, I am in serious want of fresh figs...so went to check out the FIGLADY site.  And for four pounds of fresh figs including shipping, it was just over $60.  Don't think so.    It is just horrible that you can't find these things unless you grow them or know someone who does.   Anyone else know of a fairly decently priced source???   Should NOT have this problem next year if all goes well.
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Caneyscud

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Posted Reply with quote  #2 
Fresh Market and Trader Joes and Kroger has been having them.  Fresh Market regularly - picked up some black mission yesterday.  Trader Joes has had Kadota.  Some say Whole Paycheck had them - but I guess the delivery truck didn't get to Nashville. Also some of the Middle Eastern Markets have had them.
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saramc

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Posted Reply with quote  #3 
No Trader Joes here YET...have been to 3 Kroger nada...I don't even know if there is a Fresh Market here.  Will look in yellow pages.

SCORE...called Fresh Market...there is one 15 minutes from me... they have Black Mission and Brown Turkey in stock.  Guess where I am going tomorrow??
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TucsonKen

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Posted Reply with quote  #4 
Let's hope they're good--and cheap!
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Ken
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The_celt

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Posted Reply with quote  #5 
She only has brown turkey any way
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saramc

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Posted Reply with quote  #6 

Who only has Brown Turkey?   Fig Lady currently has Kadota and Black Mission available.
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~Sara~
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rafed

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Posted Reply with quote  #7 
But I just saved a ton of money by switching to Geico.

All jokes aside,

Sara, This is only my opinion but I don't think buying fresh figs online whould be a great idea. First of all they have a very short shelf life and 2nd, they would need to be transported in a climate controlled unit ( reefer trailer ).

Figs can be very expensive because they are seasonel. It is the transporting that makes it so expensive too.

Think about it, if they have less than five day shelf life and you need to transport them  from California to the East coast you just lost three days there. I say three days based on the assumption that the truck is team operated and not single driver like myself. You might get lucky and get a couple more days to them  but this is due to the fact that they were picked way before they were ripe.

Now which is the lesser of the two Evils?

From time to time they are transported by plane believe it or not but this only costs you more.

Not saying don't do it. But I would be better off going to the market and buy some dried figs, they should help with the fix.

Good luck.
FrozenJoe

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Posted Reply with quote  #8 
LOL.  I just saved a bunch of money by investing in the stock market.  Oh wait... no I didn't.
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saramc

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Posted Reply with quote  #9 

Don't worry I am not buying them online, even though they do overnight shipping so they would be here the next day, BUT I do not want them that badly to what equals $15 a pound.  I found my Fresh Market, so I will go check those out.
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~Sara~
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The_celt

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Posted Reply with quote  #10 
Sorry got figlady and k&w farms mixed up.
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nypd5229

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Posted Reply with quote  #11 
Rafed- Reefer trailer? HMM.. What have u been really transporting all these yrs? LOL

The problem with figs and travel are many to me. They do not taste good even  the next day after picking. They spoil easy. Their taste changes even with slight temperature fluctuations from outside temperatures.

I couldn't resist some last year at the store since they were cheap. Boy they even tasted cheap! Bleck!

There is no substitute for straight off the tree.
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Dominick
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Posted Reply with quote  #12 
For $15 a pound, I'd rather buy fresh pignoli cookies ( Italian Almond cookies with Pine nuts).
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Dominick
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Posted Reply with quote  #13 
Sara,
Forgot about the overnight shipping. Duhhh.

Dom,
Get your mind out of the gutter. LOL
nypd5229

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Posted Reply with quote  #14 
One of partners in the NYPD was named Reefer. You can't make this stuff up. Bad name to have as a cop! LOL
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Dominick
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Posted Reply with quote  #15 
Bet he was picked on.
Caneyscud

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Posted Reply with quote  #16 
Sara,

I hope you bought the Black Mission.  Bunches better than the Brown Turkey they had!.  and at 3.99 per package - not too bad of a price!
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svanessa

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Posted Reply with quote  #17 
Saw some fresh Mission at my local Stater Bros grocery store yesterday...nasty looking dried up tiny little things. I passed.
Sue
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Sue
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saramc

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Posted Reply with quote  #18 

The Black Mission were quite tasty....I have eaten them all.  I bought some BT, just so I could see what they were like. Most were watery and flat, got a few that were sweet and rich, but only a few.  Going back tomorrow to see if there are any Black Mission in stock.  


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chuckchuck

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Posted Reply with quote  #19 
I still don't have any fruit producing plants, but one of my co-worker happens to like gardening quite a bit and happened to have two Black Mission trees in his backyard. I happened to strike a conversation and next day I got 30 or so figs from his trees.

Now I really want my trees to get going.
Caneyscud

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Posted Reply with quote  #20 
chuckchuck

That's a common, fundamental perspective of the forum member here!  You are fitting right in!
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FigsGalore

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Posted Reply with quote  #21 
Hello!

I'm new here. I was Googling the price of figs in supermarkets, but am having a hard time finding current information. I know Costco had figs last year and I think they were $6.00 per dozen, but I could be off a little.

I have four fig trees and am thinking about selling some from home, but i don't know what a fair price is. I'm not sure of the varieties (we have both purple and green), but they are delicious. I eat them right off the trees, or jam or dry them.

I live in Southern California and could use some advice on prices.

Thanks!!
figqueen13

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Posted Reply with quote  #22 
I would imagine any food that is considered "gourmet" and organic will fetch top dollars at the market. My chestnuts were selling for $6.99 a pound at local market last year. Elizabeth.
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FigsGalore

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Posted Reply with quote  #23 
Wow. I thought maybe .50 each or $5.00 a dozen, but then thought about the variation in sizes. Yes, they're organic; I never put any chemicals on the trees.
FigsGalore

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Posted Reply with quote  #24 
Good advice. Thanks Alan! I have always just given them away, but thought I could still do that AND make a little money, too. :)
rcantor

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Posted Reply with quote  #25 
You should check your farmer's markets.  Everything's more expensive in CA.  Welcome to the forum.
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SEGeo

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Posted Reply with quote  #26 
I can't wait for two more years and will have plenty of fresh figs coming off the trees. 

I have bought very few figs as this area does have some u-pick orchards and once you tell them you grow figs it pull up a bowl and chat time :) 
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Chris Fairchild
Virginia Beach, Va.
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***I assume all my figs carry FMV***

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Posted Reply with quote  #27 
dang.. $1 a fig. it's like growing money on a tree. 
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Pete
Durham, NC
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"don't talk to me about naval tradition. It's nothing but rum, sodomy and the lash." - sir winston churchill
"the problem with socialism is that eventually you run out of other people's money." - the baroness thatcher

***** all my figs have FMV/FMD, in case you're wondering. *****
***** and... i don't sell things. what little i have will be posted here in winter for first come first serve base to be shared. no, i'm not a socialist...*****
FigsGalore

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Posted Reply with quote  #28 
I think I will check out our local farmers' market...good idea. I don't think I could charge a dollar for a fig...just seems wrong. Things ARE expensive here, but still.

Thanks for the welcome!

I guess it IS money growing on trees. :)
OttawanZ5

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Posted Reply with quote  #29 
Here in Ottawa, figs imported from California and sometimes from Chile, go from $1.00 to $1.40 a piece. I resisted to buy any this year hoping to have breba soon. I was not disappointed because brebas here started ripening a week ago (almost 2 weeks behind schedule this year because of cold late spring).
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armando93223

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Posted Reply with quote  #30 
Shipping the fruit, could get a little messy, Next year I should have a good amount of New Improved Brown Turkey Figs, the skin is tougher and
should hold up well if shipped.........It gets pretty Hot here and they do ripen up pretty sweet, to me they have more of a caramel flavor than Missions....
One fruit stand locally sells Missions and Kadotas at 2 dollars a pound........another sells them for 4 dollars a pound........in the city of Fresno
they go for 2.50 to 3 dollars a pound............Yes, Nationally, Figs are like Gold......another thing is they are in our fruit stands for only about
2 weeks and most people here have never eaten a fig.

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HarveyC

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Posted Reply with quote  #31 
Figs in California are highly productive and I believe the high cost of mail order figs is due to (1) high cost for overnight shipping, (2) cost of handling/packing highly perishable crop, (3) relatively small size of orders, (4) profit demanded for labor intensive sales.

The figlady directs to this outfit which probably charges a fee for directing orders: http://www.fromthefarm.com/out-season/fruit/figs/black-mission-figs-0  $35 for a 4 pound order is not overly expensive but then shipping adds quite a lot.

I hope to do some experimental shipments to a few friends/customers using foam egg cartons and Priority Mail, hoping packages will arrive in 2 days and figs will still be in good shape.  I may look into using something to inhibit mold.
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Harvey - Correia Farms
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paully22

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Posted Reply with quote  #32 
A few blocks from my house, figs are going for $3/lb. No deliveries.
thearabicstudent

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Posted Reply with quote  #33 
At Wegman's and Giant in MD you can get 9 figs for $4 right now.  This is really the reason I started to grow my own.  A fig tree that produces hundreds of figs is really economical.
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bullet08

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Posted Reply with quote  #34 

ok.. i just need a million figs and i can retire..
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Pete
Durham, NC
Zone 7b

"don't talk to me about naval tradition. It's nothing but rum, sodomy and the lash." - sir winston churchill
"the problem with socialism is that eventually you run out of other people's money." - the baroness thatcher

***** all my figs have FMV/FMD, in case you're wondering. *****
***** and... i don't sell things. what little i have will be posted here in winter for first come first serve base to be shared. no, i'm not a socialist...*****
jimmychao

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Posted Reply with quote  #35 
There is reason why many fruits are hard to find in the market.
The problem is short shelf-life.
Fig happens to be one of them.
If I run a fig business, there are so many to consider:
1. capital investment of land, equipment, and fig trees (one time cost, should be calculate in like 5-8%APR in current market)
2. recurring cost of tax, fertilizer, water, electric, etc. (fixed cost)
2. labor & packaging material and shipping.
3. unpredictable weather, pest etc. can reduce production by 40-80%.
4. short shelf-life, maybe 30-50% will end up in trash if not sell in 1 day.
5. short harvest season, maybe 3-4 month a year.
6. in peak production season, the price will drop, not profit. when price is high off-season, you have nothing much to sell.
7. credit card charge take another 5% off, and once there is a dispute. The profit is negative.

Add all these together, it's really hard to make profit from a business point-of-view. For hobby, if you can sell a few pounds of figs per tree, it just enough to support the hobby. 
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stefpix

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Posted Reply with quote  #36 
I was a few days in SF. Figs at the Wholefoods there were really pricey. I thought being Black Mission locally grown in CA they would be cheaper than in NY. At Fairway in Red Hook Brooklyn I saw kadota figs 50 cent each and they did not even look good.


Last year I went to Milan on July 4th. Figs at the street market were 3 euros for 1 Kg (2+ lbs) and were imported from Puglia that is a 12 hour drive or more away. I assume that in August / Sept figs in in Italy would be a bit cheaper.

I am always astounded how much fruit and produce costs in the USA whle junk and processed food can be unrealistically cheap. 
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Posted Reply with quote  #37 
FigsGalore

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Posted Reply with quote  #38 
I have to agree with you, Stefano. You would think that it would be the opposite with processed food, but the manufactures are set up to run quantity that way, not quality. The fresh stuff is always more expensive.

Candy
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Posted Reply with quote  #39 
Stefano,

Part of the bigger problem in this country is cost of good food vs junk food. 
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Chris Fairchild
Virginia Beach, Va.
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Graduate Student - Engineering and GeoScience
***I assume all my figs carry FMV***

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stefpix

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Posted Reply with quote  #40 
still why does Wholefoods charges the same price ($6.99) for a tiny tray of black mission figs in San Francisco as they do in NY when those are grown locally in California?
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stefano
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Posted Reply with quote  #41 
Trader Joes in Southern, CA is selling large Kadota and Black Mission figs for $3.79 a pound. Quality is average and sweet, good enough to go through a 1 lb box in 1 sitting. I just went through 1 lb about 30 min ago, all figs except one (which I ended up trashing, was hard as a rock) were pretty much ripe with acceptable to good sweetness.
greenfig

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Posted Reply with quote  #42 
nullzero,
check the local Craigslist for pick-your-own-figs ads, the price is more like $1 per pound and you can get the best figs from a tree yourself!
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nullzero

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Posted Reply with quote  #43 
Greenfig,

I would but the TJs is 1 min walk from work lol.
Dieseler

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Posted Reply with quote  #44 
Hmm makes me think with the price of figs and in the height of season in our yard when that time comes and eating so many figs thats a lot of money going in and out the ole body.
and
I get them all to myself mostly !
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