Tired of your books not quite adding up?

Try as you might, can you never seem to profit as much as you should, selling your delicious homegrown or farmed produce?

Solving this problem could be as simple as a new pair of scales.


Yes, you read that correctly.


Failing to purchase a pair of decent scales, able to accurately weigh from the smallest fruits to the biggest vegetables, could be costing you money.


Don’t worry - we’re here with some top tips for picking out the right scale for the job, depending on your circumstances.


After that, you can go ahead and check out the top 3 produce scales for 2021, right here, and guarantee you’re weighing with the best.

Successful Scales - What Should You Be Looking For?

First Things First - Check State Regulations

When you’re going to be selling at a farmer’s market, it’s the law in many states that your produce scale has to be NTEP (National Type Evaluation Program) certified.

This is, of course, to stop shoppers from being scammed or overcharged.

It might sound like a lot of hassle, but it’s easy to find out if a scale is certified right here on their website.

Plus, your product meeting the requirements set out by the NTEP guidelines is only a good thing.

In order to pass their rigorous lab testing, each scale must pass the tests designed by folks at the National Conference of Weights and Measures. This ensures your scales will be as accurate as possible (provided they have been correctly calibrated!) at every single use. therefore means that not only will the customer be charged correctly, but you as the seller will be paid exactly what you are owed for your goods.

Size Matters

When it comes to producing scales, anyway!

Whether you sell lemons or melons, the scale you pick needs to have enough capacity to handle however many a customer could want to buy.

Think about it - do your customers normally pick up one punnet of strawberries, or are they more likely to buy five pumpkins?

Do you stock little things like herbs and seasonings, or larger offerings, like meat and cheese?

Assess your selling situation and figure out what size of scale will suit the needs of you and potential shoppers.

Do bear in mind that the future could bring new opportunities for you! Just because you only sell smaller produce now, doesn’t mean you won’t be growing giants later.

Future-proof your stand at the farmer’s market by buying larger in advance. You know what they say - go big or go home!

Automatic Pricing

Whether or not you want to depend on your scale for this is up to you, but it can save you a whole lot of time messing around on a calculator.

Some produce scales come with an inbuilt price calculator, which presents a price based on your input (e.g how much you charge per pound) via a little LED screen.

Not only does this dramatically reduce the margin of error, but it also means you can keep your eye out for shoplifters or serve the next customer instead of wasting your day doing mental math!

Plus, when the answer comes from a machine, a customer is way less likely to hassle you for overcharging them.

They might accuse you of using a scammer’s scale, but you can just point them towards your NTEP certification logo and that will be the end of that!

When they’re relying on your calculations, it’s possible one quick finger slip could add an extra zero to their price, and cause shoppers to mistrust you.

All it takes is one little mistake, so protect yourself and free up your hands with a scale that calculates for you!

How Accurate Are We Talking?

Some scales will weigh to the millionth decimal point, where others are only capable of round numbers.

We all know that everybody likes to get what they pay for. If you promise someone 2.75lb of apples, they want to see that 2.75lb weighed out in front of them.

Not only will this keep your customers happy, but it saves you money and earns you more profits in the long run. How? Simple!

The more accurate a scale is, the less wastage you’ll have, and the less chance there is for a customer to end up with way more than they paid for.

Everyone’s happy, and your books stay balanced, period.