JP,
I agree. Some of those concerns were pointed out in the other thread I made this morning concerning this.
When I see honey selling cheaper than what I know it took most to produce, red flags do go off.
As a example of public perception, look at these two situations.
Honey seller # one, is a vegetable seller with a nice setup at the market. He sells his honey for a friend, and has the honey located at the end of the table, but where all can see.
Honey seller #2, sets up a full length 8 foot table. It is packed with various bottles of honey. It has many bottles of different sizes and types. He also sells it for about 1 dollar more than the guy down the aisle.
I've talked to sellers in the first category. And I have been that #2 seller.
Reality is, seller #1, although selling many thousands of dollars in produce, averages 5 bottles on a Saturday morning. Seller #2, although his honey is priced higher, sells (as I have done) on average over 300 dollars worth of honey.
Yes, more were attracted to the honey table, in comparison to the honey bottles next to the produce. But the honey stand, is part of the marketing plan. Having someone be able to talk about it, explain it, and answer questions about bees, all make sales. But it also is the perception of the buyers. They perceive the honey stand as THE place to buy honey, and will pay a higher price.
Here is another example....
I go to flea markets on a regular basis. I see those once or twice a year setups where they are cleaning out the garage, etc. And some of these places, there is always a few bags of cucumbers, maybe the very overgrown squash, and some backyard grown tomatoes that the wife thinks it would be good to sell. Maybe it's just me (but I know it's not since I ask many people such things) but I still find myself buying produce from the vegetable stand where they are actually in the business of selling produce. Even though the cucumbers are cheaper at the family setup next to the bags of baby clothes, and unwanted toys, I still for some unknown reason buy from the veggie stand down the aisle.
People see low prices, something less than what they should be buying it at, and people do have all kinds of perceptions. It's crazy if you think about it...