Nate9303 Posted June 15, 2012 Share Posted June 15, 2012 I'm only familiar with bulk candy vending. All the stuff I've read is about bulk candy. So, I hear everyone on here talking about toys. What's the deal. What are the things I need to know about toy vending? What are the pros and cons? Why is one (toy or candy) better or worse than the others. Thanks again for the information. You guys are awesome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PerformaVending Posted June 15, 2012 Share Posted June 15, 2012 It's a number of things, and I've just gotten into toys in the last month, so I'll try and shed some light on the situation. For starters, product control is much easier with toys- 1 vend per quarter, so you don't have any vend inaccuracies like in candy, where you can vend between 5-12 depending on your settings. Toys don't go bad (usually, though sticky things melt pretty good) while candy can spoil. People are willing to pay the higher price-points for the toys, which equals more money for you. Options are as varied as candy- there are so many products, ranging from bouncy balls to 4" capsules that there will always be something worth vending at almost any given location. Suppliers are always creating and improving their lines to supply us with toys that sell- so then they make money. A lot of R&D goes into that. On top of that, I believe toy vendors get more repeat vends. If a kid buys one bouncy ball and doesn't get the one they wanted, sometimes they buy another. You won't get that repeat service with candy very often. Now, the downsides. As dperry has said, capsules and toys take up A LOT of space. More than you think anyway. Before I got into toys, I had one big metal shelving unit for all my stock- chocolate on top and then bags of candy all the way down. Now I have 3 shelving units and some hooks from the ceiling for some unopened bags of capsules. Next, machines- capsule machines are almost always more expensive than candy machines. I can pick up a Vendstar pretty much any day of the week, but to find used toy machines is harder to do, and much more expensive. Because fewer vendors make it all the way up to toys than candy operators, the used market is much smaller, at least in my area. Next, weight. Candy bags don't weigh very much, but if you get into capsules, or bouncy balls you'll find that these weigh a LOT more, and your storage will have to compensate for this too. Finally, locating toy machines can be more difficult than candy machines, as fewer spots warrant them. You can't very well put a 2" cap machine full of "Sponge Bob Yo-Yo's" in a corporate break-room, and some stores just don't have the "kid" clientele needed to make it work. In the end, I'm moving my business towards toys though. Toys make more money, don't spoil, and don't have too many issues regarding machines. If I were you, try it out for yourself in small scale. Get a used single head, fill it with some popular capsule items, snap a 50 cent mechanism in there, and see what happens for you. Maybe you like it, and maybe it's not for you- but at least then you'll know for yourself. And that single could always be turned back to gumballs, so you're not even wasting a machine. Whatever you do, good luck Nate! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onecent@atime Posted June 15, 2012 Share Posted June 15, 2012 Candy and toys are personal preference you can bomb in any area, a rack can do 100.00's a month or 39 a month and have the same equipment. Its foot traffic. upgrade your candy locations to racks as they justify it. if you see a great foot traffic local with space make an offer if they say yes then buy used but nice equipment and slap it in, but remember this is an investment not reverse atm. Also I have triples that make more than my racks you know why, FOOT TRAFFIC + 0.00 commission on charity & cheaper equipment. At the end of the day Remember its location location location Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Action Vending Posted June 15, 2012 Share Posted June 15, 2012 I have a good mix of both on my locations. like at chinese, mexican or any restaraunt i like to keep candy and gumballs in at least one head on the rack because adults and kids both like candy and guballs and we all know how much kids love capsules. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VendingAngel Posted August 29, 2013 Share Posted August 29, 2013 Quick question, for the singlehead toy machines mentioned above..which brand do u recommend? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orsd Posted August 29, 2013 Share Posted August 29, 2013 Oak, aa global, eagle, northwestern Maybe beaver if you need the looks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sherlock Posted August 29, 2013 Share Posted August 29, 2013 Oak, aa global, eagle, northwestern Maybe beaver if you need the looks I second those brands. In fact, those are the brands I recommend no matter what you're vending; candy, gum, flat, and 1" or 2" toys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VendingAngel Posted August 30, 2013 Share Posted August 30, 2013 Thanks guys, it looks like if a machine vends gumballs it can also vend 1 inch capsules..is this true? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shepherdsflock Posted August 30, 2013 Share Posted August 30, 2013 Next, weight. Candy bags don't weigh very much, but if you get into capsules, or bouncy balls you'll find that these weigh a LOT more, and your storage will have to compensate for this too. I would disagree with this statement. Candy is MUCH heavier by volume than capsuled toys. Three bags of Skittles weighs about 10-11 lbs. Three bags of toys weighs maybe 2-3 lbs. Bouncy balls, on the other hand, are very heavy; I'll agree with you on that. That's why I don't sell them. For the small-ish volume that my route sells, the shipping cost on bouncy balls is crazy. Anything short of a pallet load of them makes the shipping cost unattractive compared with regular capsuled toys or flat items. And I would never need an entire pallet load. I buy most of my toys 4 or 5 bags at a time, and at that volume bouncy balls actually end up costing more to ship than the wholesale cost that I pay the supplier to buy them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orsd Posted August 30, 2013 Share Posted August 30, 2013 most major mfg's machines that are set up for 850 count (1inch) gum should work with capsules, with one tiny mod remove the circle thing at the bottom of the product storage area that has the springs on it, which exposes the dispensing wheel, a round thing with 3 holes in it. remove that. there will be a little pacman like thing there. remove it, reassemble, and your done. if it doesnt have the pacman thing then its already set up for capsules. keep the pacman thing if you took it out. if you get a capsule machine that you wanna do gum or bouncy balls out of, or if you want to go back, then you can use the one you took out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hillbilly Posted August 31, 2013 Share Posted August 31, 2013 Thanks guys, it looks like if a machine vends gumballs it can also vend 1 inch capsules..is this true? Yes. but you you probably will have to change the wheel and brush, and maybe take the riser out. most major mfg's machines that are set up for 850 count (1inch) gum should work with capsules, with one tiny mod remove the circle thing at the bottom of the product storage area that has the springs on it, which exposes the dispensing wheel, a round thing with 3 holes in it. remove that. there will be a little pacman like thing there. remove it, reassemble, and your done. if it doesnt have the pacman thing then its already set up for capsules. keep the pacman thing if you took it out. if you get a capsule machine that you wanna do gum or bouncy balls out of, or if you want to go back, then you can use the one you took out. Your statement says "most" so you are technically correct. but.... if you vend capsules from a rocket wheel in a Northwestern or A&A PN95 you will have problems. You can vend gumballs from the capsule wheel with a riser, but not vice versa. Also, the springs on the capsule brush are soft and the rocket wheel are stiff. This alone will cause you to have broken caps or open caps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orsd Posted August 31, 2013 Share Posted August 31, 2013 correction my instructions only works if it has a standard 1 in gum/cap wheel i had not considered the possibility of a rocket wheel thanks for pointing that out, hillbilly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havending Posted September 1, 2013 Share Posted September 1, 2013 correction my instructions only works if it has a standard 1 in gum/cap wheel i had not considered the possibility of a rocket wheel thanks for pointing that out, hillbilly We only use rocket wheels for 1080 ct. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pjvend Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 Toys and GumBalls. GumBalls and Toys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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