Agrarian = prepping gone upscale vogue (farmers, cow, oil, survivor)

[MissingAll4Seasons]

A little psychological reason why the "agrarian" label works on the upscale market better than "prepper" etc... because they are (or believe themselves to be) the "landholders" in the agrarian system. The "lords & ladies of the manor" in the old feudal/agrarian system used to play at agriculture and husbandry as well, while they had real laborers doing the actual work.

[lifelongMOgal]

Originally Posted by MissingAll4Seasons

A little psychological reason why the "agrarian" label works on the upscale market better than "prepper" etc... because they are (or believe themselves to be) the "landholders" in the agrarian system. The "lords & ladies of the manor" in the old feudal/agrarian system used to play at agriculture and husbandry as well, while they had real laborers doing the actual work.

Absolutely and thus what makes it an ingenious marketing ploy.

I can actually see a niche market for some in offering their practical expertise to WS in holding free classes (like the ones offered in cooking) for raising "estate chickens". Additional charge for setting up the coup, delivering a completer package of chickens, feed, waterers, etc... .

[MissingAll4Seasons]

LOL - I still think you'd lose most of them when you reached the "poo" chapter. Although, you might make a killing offering courses to train the hired help, or training them to hire the right help

(This reminds me so much of the movie "A Day Without a Mexican")

[lifelongMOgal]

Originally Posted by MissingAll4Seasons

LOL - I still think you'd lose most of them when you reached the "poo" chapter. Although, you might make a killing offering courses to train the hired help, or training them to hire the right help

(This reminds me so much of the movie "A Day Without a Mexican")

People hire lawn services and people to shovel the dog poop from their yards or walk their dogs, to maintain their pools. Why not hire someone to upkeep urban "estate chickens"?

*SIGH* once again an entreprenurial opportunity for which I presently lack the skills.

[Happy in Wyoming]

Originally Posted by lifelongMOgal

I can actually see a niche market for some in offering their practical expertise to WS in holding free classes (like the ones offered in cooking) for raising "estate chickens". Additional charge for setting up the coup, delivering a completer package of chickens, feed, waterers, etc... .

This is an excellent idea. People like a turnkey package. That's why franchises have been so popular. People like to learn from an expert and be able to ask questions of that expert. This is sensible. If you told me that you would set up my chickens, build the coop, teach me how to care for them, and stay there for a week with later visits available I'd be interested. I like to learn why as well as how so I'd do some reading both before and after your arrival. What's a reasonable price, a price that wouldn't drive people away? I'd say 12k would be fine, but add some ducks and a little pond and we could be much higher. Throw in some Duckweed to plant in the duck pond and a several goldfish and definitely some cute little frogs who could breed in the pond. I think I've about sold myself.

[MTSilvertip]

I would also choose Mac Muz hands down.

As to selling overpriced stuff to the affluent, why not? A quote attributed to PT Barnam, (although he denied it) was "There's a sucker born every minute".

There is a huge difference between spending money on quality well made supplies and tools, and spending money just to be "in".

Best example I can think of is the "Pet Rock" fad, or the Designer Coffee fad. A poor cup of coffee isn't made better by having a $6.00 price tag, but people are throwing huge sums of money away for it.

I don't have a problem targeting a niche market, and exploiting it for all it's worth, but trends are quick to rise, quick to fall so you have to get in, make your money and get out all the time looking for the new trend.

The folks that would fall for designer chicken coops built to look like large doll houses, or $60 garden trowels aren't the people worried about actually becoming self sufficent, they are just role playing.

Personally I don't care as long as they don't cause problems for anybody else, it is their money to use or waste as they see fit, and while throwing obcene amounts of money on baubles, they create jobs for the people exploiting the opportunity, and the people hired to install the latest "in" thing, and later on, another opportunity for those who clean it up and remove the parts so there is room for the next fad.
Some take it too far and destroy a lot of usable ground when they come in to places like Montana and buy up large plots of land, sub-divide it into "Hobby-farms" and "Ranchettes", then put up a "rustic" McMansion on it and ruin it for crop production, but they have the money and the right to do it, so everybody pays in the long run through higher taxes and reduced crop potential, but that is another story.

A Prepper knows how to support themselves through creating a scenario where what they produce supports them for either an extended period of time, or a lifetime.
A Survivalist knows how to exploit an opportunity to make use of circumstances as the present themselves.

It seems to me that both could feed off the clueless throwing money away in the newest trend.

So do what you can to better your circumstances by using your own knowledge and ability to sell your product or service to the clueless, and create resources to better your own long term position

It seems

[Nor'Eastah]

Build it yourself...buy it from me...order it though the mail...what difference does it make?

I build a lot of the stuff around here, like a porch for our generator, like a wood-framed tool shed, like, well, you know. But when it comes to things that are too technical for me, like building a Big Berkey (yeah, I know some people make 'em outta plastic buckets), or even that Kelly Kettle thing we just bought -- well, it's worth the money. I fully expect to build our chicken, duck, and turkey enclosures, plus put up the fencing around them, plus shovel out the end products (plus eat the fresh eggs and poultry, too!). But I can understand those who feel that, not having built anything before, they might worry that the coop they built wouldn't keep out predators very well. In that case, I would not hesitate to help a neighbor who needed such a building.

The bottom line is, not matter how you get it done, just get it done. If you have the money, buy it ready made (if you want to). If you don't, put together whatever works for you. I don't understand all the fuss over this. Everybody's different -- not right, not wrong. If more folks would volunteer to help those who can't manage a certain project, then these high-end scalpers wouldn't make a dime! Just imagine this sort of thing going on 100 years ago! (It didn't).

[SCGranny]

One of the best marketing schemes I participated in briefly was the cute "poo" animals for indoor fertilization of plants. WTH, I had the poo and the plaster molds from my ceramics shop, why not?

There's a sucker born every minute - and two to take advantage of him. If you can market your skills to the uninformed, WTH.

[lifelongMOgal]

Originally Posted by SCGranny

One of the best marketing schemes I participated in briefly was the cute "poo" animals for indoor fertilization of plants. WTH, I had the poo and the plaster molds from my ceramics shop, why not?

There's a sucker born every minute - and two to take advantage of him. If you can market your skills to the uninformed, WTH.

May be time to break those out again and sell to WS as agrarian fertilizer?

[Happy in Wyoming]

Originally Posted by SCGranny

One of the best marketing schemes I participated in briefly was the cute "poo" animals for indoor fertilization of plants. WTH, I had the poo and the plaster molds from my ceramics shop, why not?

Being a naturally curious chap I did a search but found nothing.

I did, however, find a couple of interesting items. The first is on origami. I'm not sure whether the paper made out of poo or toilet paper folding or the machine for folding toilet paper seems the strangest. I confess that I've never known anyone who puts a fancy fold in toilet paper. But I can see that once a person started doing this it would probably seem slovenly not to do so. The second link treats elephant poo and I thought it would be a good idea to provide some technical background as well.

Poo Paper: paper made from animal poop

Zoo offers gardeners first dibs at buying animal poo | Mail Online

Feces - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For the true survivalist there's some relevant information in the above.

So, SCGranny, enlighten us on the subject of "the cute 'poo' animals".

The real pirates are the sellers of dehydrated and freeze-dried foods, always a "shortage" but always on sale. The people who buy those deals are not some of the brightest and best.