# Farmers-Market Marketplace — Product Planning Meeting

**Date:** July 16, 2026  
**Time:** 10:00–11:00 a.m. ET  
**Location:** Zoom  
**Facilitator:** Maya Chen  
**Note-taker:** Daniel Ortiz

## Attendees

- Maya Chen — Product Manager
- Daniel Ortiz — Marketplace Operations
- Priya Shah — Engineering Lead
- Lucas Martin — UX Designer
- Hannah Brooks — Vendor Success
- Sam Wilson — Customer Support
- Elena Rossi — Marketing
- Jordan Lee — Finance

## Agenda

1. Review vendor and shopper feedback from the spring pilot
2. Confirm marketplace scope for the September launch
3. Define order cutoff, pickup, and cancellation policies
4. Review vendor onboarding and verification
5. Assign launch-readiness action items

## Discussion Notes

- Shoppers liked seeing products from multiple farms in one place but were confused about whether orders could be collected from a single pickup point.
- Vendors requested simpler inventory controls, especially for products sold by weight or available in limited quantities.
- The pilot's same-day ordering option caused fulfillment issues when vendors had already packed for market.
- Customer Support received several questions about substitutions, missed pickups, and refunds for damaged produce.
- Operations recommended launching with scheduled market pickup only. Delivery would add routing, insurance, and cold-chain requirements that the team cannot support before September.
- Finance proposed a 10% marketplace commission. Vendors would absorb payment-processing fees during the pilot, but this should be reassessed after three months.
- Marketing plans to recruit vendors through market managers and local agricultural associations rather than broad paid advertising.

## Decisions

- The initial launch will support preorder and pickup at participating farmers markets; home delivery and shipping are out of scope.
- Each vendor will manage its own inventory and fulfillment, but shoppers may use one cart and make one payment across multiple vendors.
- Orders will close at 6:00 p.m. two days before each market.
- Vendors must confirm inventory by 9:00 a.m. the following day. Unavailable items will be automatically refunded.
- Vendors may offer substitutions only when the shopper has opted in during checkout.
- Shoppers may cancel for a full refund before the order cutoff. Cancellations after the cutoff will not be refunded unless the vendor cannot fulfill the order.
- Missed-pickup orders will not be refunded by default. Vendors may donate or retain unclaimed goods after the market closes.
- The marketplace commission will be 10% for the first three months after launch.
- Vendor onboarding will require identity verification, proof of applicable permits or insurance, banking details, and acceptance of marketplace policies.
- The September launch target remains unchanged, with a limited rollout at three markets and approximately 20 vendors.

## Action Items

- **Priya:** Confirm the technical approach for multi-vendor checkout and payout splitting by July 24.
- **Lucas:** Update checkout designs to show pickup location, order cutoff, substitution preferences, and vendor-specific fulfillment details by July 28.
- **Hannah:** Draft the vendor onboarding checklist and collect permit requirements for each launch market by July 23.
- **Daniel:** Finalize the pickup, cancellation, refund, and missed-pickup operating procedures by July 30.
- **Sam:** Create customer-support macros for substitutions, damaged goods, unavailable items, cancellations, and missed pickups by August 5.
- **Elena:** Prepare the vendor recruitment email and launch-market promotional plan by July 31.
- **Jordan:** Model commission revenue and payment-processing costs for 20, 50, and 100 active vendors by July 27.
- **Maya:** Share the revised launch scope and policy summary with market managers for feedback by July 22.

## Open Questions

- Should vendors be allowed to set minimum order values?
- How should variable-weight products be priced and adjusted after packing?
- Who is responsible for resolving disputes when a shopper buys from multiple vendors in one order?
- Should missed-pickup exceptions be offered for severe weather or market closures?

## Next Meeting

**Date:** July 30, 2026  
**Focus:** Launch-readiness review and resolution of open policy questions