markvend

Yes, I hear you about the “different world”…that’s for sure. I really really miss it even though i’m grossing way way more with what i’m doing now. Those early years really rocked. Thankful for a good 20 year run.

I happened to get on the forum today after a several-year’s absence. SSVEND, you’re the ONLY person I find on here I remember. It was also shocked at the surprisingly low number of posts compared to the early days. It seems there is much less interest just like I thought. I was in Bulk Vending from 2003 until the end of 2022 and bought around 3500 machines. I bought and sold some routes along the way but basically ran 2000-2700 machines by 2006 forward. We survived the 2006-2008 Great Recession and a multitude of price increases Even Covid as bad as it was we came out better than expected but with some major adjustments. Thankfully I bought a small coffee shop where I live that my son started running. It turned into a big operation the last 6 years with 5 locations and a roastery which started pulling me out of vending. I was able to sell my routes between 3 people at a fraction of what I paid but was happy because I had gotten 20 years of good cash flow from them. Even since I’ve sold product prices have continued to climb and even getting gum has been hard as many have mentioned (I could still buy at Sams in Arkansas when I quit). What was working for me at the end was a few things (which is harder I know now) was: -moving away from MMs and Reese’s -beefing up toys and going to .75/$1 on racks Bought mechs off Ebay for my beavers -Extended routes service cycles -Created sub routes where i could service my moneymakers at 2-3 months and left my low producer (mainly gumballs) for 9mo to a year just to milk out whatever return i could on that 20 year old asset. We actually had a surprising percentage of machines that never moved for the 20 years and were actually on location nearly 30 years from when the previous owner first placed them . By doing these things (especially the route extensions) I able to vend “when I could” after putting out fires from the profitable coffee business. This was while still running almost 2k machines across a 400 mile wide route I did see a small uptick in “lost” machines due to businesses closing, but they were acceptable losses for where i was at Most people were very understanding as to why i couldn’t come every 3 months anymore Im sharing this to maybe bring a little encouragement in an increasingly discouraging environment. I have loved vending and miss it greatly along with the many friends and acquaintances i had over the years. For those with enough machines I do think it could be nice “gravy money” if you kept the best locations and cut your time down to a minimum. If i stayed in it i was going to definitely take my best MMP locations and upgrade candy mechs to .50 at select locations because I had some high rollers but low profit. Best of luck to everyone.

I order from TJKing.com. Around $50 for the large box and shipping is lower than a lot of places.

Rnew, I don't have a solution for you but think it's because the gumballs are slightly smaller than they used to be. I have the same problem occasionally (not every time) even with perfect alignment. The solution is going to a smaller gumball wheel from beaver but the cost to retrofit machines is enormous for me.

No, sorry. I don't have but 6 sticker/tattoo machines and just call them up when Im ready to order. I do plan on increasing the number of these machines and buying a dozen more in the near future.

I used to be horrible at operating my tattoo/sticker machines when I first started. One sight that really helped is VSI vending out of California. I always go with one of their top sellers and my sales increased dramatically. http://www.vendingsupply.com/topsellers.aspx

G-Vending, What is their price on the 30lb box?

Jax, congratulation on the big 10 years. You're right - time flies by when you're doing this job. It won't be long for me either til the big 10.

Havending, I can't remember, what is the price break, 50 boxes?

Its true, the blue box is much better. 2 of the 4 Sams took forever to get the new ones, but all the Sams in my area have the blue boxes now. One date I checked was about 6 months after it was made.

I know we've talked a little about this in the last few months, but has anyone continued to notice the better quality of the Sam's Gum? Even though some of the boxes are 6 months old I have been buying lately, they are definitely fresher than a year ago. I am considering doing some test runs on "Fruit Stand" gum from Oak Leaf. Anyone had good result with this? I have a competitor who seems to be doing very well to me with it, and I am considering taking a town or county and replacing it for a year with fruitstand to do some comparisons. Thanks, Mark

Has anyone tried the 2nd generation Fuzzy Face Mustaches from A&A yet? I know they are still pretty new, but I really like the display. They have been uncommonly good sellers for me everywhere (the old ones). I'll definitely order some of the new but would love to hear feedback from anyone who has used them in comparison to the old mix. Thanks in advance, Mark

Darryl, I like the way you answered this question. Well said! It seems the fuzzy face mustaches I can't sell enough of. I've kept them as a regular item because of the good profit margins.

Wow, man, you're really lucky! I've put my machines together backward several times and especially with the Reeses, it drains it dry in no time. Glad you've got a good location. Mark

That's from a very large area I run, and a machine stolen here and there across the whole area. I did have one 5-way rack stlolen for the first time in those numbers. Yes I have them in some bad areas but can't really tell there much difference in those areas. I'm setting at about 1% which is lower than other years. One thing that's helped is getting on recovering machines Asap when a business closes. Stolen machines are a part of doing business, but you still have to use wisdom when locating. I inherited most of my accts when I bought the entire company. Mark