[Jolter]

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.

[Zeebrommer]

I know it does for a small Dutch setup :) https://www.kalamatakarma.com/ Marketing is still completely word of mouth afaik, but the webshop makes it easier for total strangers to tag along.

[brightbeige]

There is a lot of “paperwork” to do it as a web shop, if you know what I mean.

[Jolter]

I’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]

I think for food products there are more considerations, like labeling and traceability.

[ninalanyon]

If the Greek farmer is selling in Greece then all that is already done.

[jaapz]

Exactly, you'll have to declare VAT