How the largest wholesale market in Moscow works.
I don't really like markets. I do not like to haggle and I prefer supermarkets. There you can safely walk to look at the products and choose without any rush.
But fresh berries and fruits in supermarkets are not very good. I try to go to the market for seasonal fruits. I have a small market next to my house, but there sellers break prices by 2 or even 3 times.
So I decided to go to the wholesale market in Moscow. Fortunately, the ride is only 20 minutes.
Even at the entrance, it is clear that they sell here not in kilograms, but in boxes, and sometimes in whole pallets and trucks.
I went on the day before the weekend and got into a pandemonium of merchants who sought to buy fresh goods and deliver them to local markets in the nearest cities of the Moscow region.
At first there are shops with retail, they are very expensive, but you can buy from a kilogram. The prices of such traders are at least 2 times higher than wholesale prices.
I go a little deeper, here they sell at wholesale prices. Small wholesale starts from the box. The more boxes you take, the cheaper it will be.
Trade is going briskly, so the sellers smoke, “on the spot.” And nobody seems to have heard about the mask mode here. The number of masked sellers tends to zero.
They dine and count the proceeds directly at the workplace, but if you are interested in the product, they will put the food aside and begin to help you with the choice.
Most sellers have fruits and berries lying around. Something is on pallets, and what does not fit is placed right on the floor.
By the way, I do not advise buying from such traders. They have 1-2 boxes left and they will constantly reduce the price in order to sell the last, that which has already lay in the air and managed to deteriorate.
I once bought a box of kiwi from these for only 100 rubles. Out of a whole box of usable items, there were only 5 pieces.
Some sellers, in order to better draw attention to the product, write cool price tags. Not always literate, but funny.
The prices on the market are very different, but if you buy in bulk, it is several times more profitable than in stores or on local markets. It is here that all sellers are purchased for further resale.
I am not an experienced buyer in this market, but the best prices, in my opinion, are from sellers who trade with trucks. They pay the least for rent, which means they can afford lower prices.
But I do not advise you to take goods from the shop window. It stands in the sun and looks beautiful, but fresh air and sun will shorten its shelf life. Better to ask to take the box out of the truck.
Where do you prefer to buy fresh fruits and berries?