Jump to content

For those of you with acrylic boxes selling York Patties........


Recommended Posts

For any of you who are selling York Patties out of acrylic honor boxes with the charity stickers, I have a question for you..................In selling the same product over and over again (York Patties), have you seen any drop in your sales volume as if people are getting tired of eating the same thing? If so, how much of a drop have you seen?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't have them in honor boxes, but I sell peppermint patties and Hershey's Nuggets out of specialty machines.  The sales are fairly consistent.  One is in a tavern, along with a candy machine of mine, the other, a truck stop with a couple other machines of mine.  Each one does around $20/month in sales, but the best part is that the product is pretty cheap!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I sell them. I have noticed a drop off due to the summer months. This is not happening in all of my locations, just the ones where business has slowed down for the summer. I expect things to go back to normal when school gets back in session.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

How much of a drop have you seen?

Have you ever considered just selling regular size or king size candy bars out of them?

I've seen about a 25% drop in sales this past month. Not too concerned about this right now because everybody is still on vacation or buying the kids clothes for school. As towards the candy bars, 1 word of caution: if you thought you had a shrinkage problem with the mints then go ahead and try the candy bars and you will go broke.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Treadmill - I think you have a good point there about increased shrinkage if you switch to candy bars. However, I believe that if you sold only 1 type of candy bar all the time, after a while the thieves would cut their stealing way back or just outright stop stealing. After you've had 20 Snickers bars, they no longer taste as good. I think people steal what there is a scarcity of and when something is available to them in abundance, their stealing either cuts way back or is eliminated. 

 

I also personally believe that most of the stealing comes from someone on the inside vs people on the outside. I think maybe employees or children of someone who works there or perhaps an unscrupulous manager. Those people are there a whole lot more than anyone else and if you keep "feeding them" Snickers bars, as they're stealing them from you, eventually they'll start tasting as good as broccoli does to them.

 

That may not work in all locations because I think some locations may have so much foot traffic or a certain type of foot traffic from the outside and the box therefore might not be as well protected. Anyway that's just my opinion.   

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's your business model you are shaping entrepreneur90, so do as you see fit.

You could go with assumptions and personal beliefs like those you listed in post #6 or you can go with the tried-and-true real-life EXPERIENCE of people like Treadmill.

 

There is a wrong way to go about setting up your vending business.

Ignoring the advice of experienced vendors is one of them.

I know because I would have made plenty of start-up errors had it not been for the kind advice of others around here.

 

There are a few things wrong with your assumptions and beliefs.

But, rather than point them out, I'll just leave my advice to this: Experience is a hard teacher. It's best when you learn from the mistakes of others rather than committing your own.

 

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Treadmill - I think you have a good point there about increased shrinkage if you switch to candy bars. However, I believe that if you sold only 1 type of candy bar all the time, after a while the thieves would cut their stealing way back or just outright stop stealing. After you've had 20 Snickers bars, they no longer taste as good. I think people steal what there is a scarcity of and when something is available to them in abundance, their stealing either cuts way back or is eliminated. 

 

I also personally believe that most of the stealing comes from someone on the inside vs people on the outside. I think maybe employees or children of someone who works there or perhaps an unscrupulous manager. Those people are there a whole lot more than anyone else and if you keep "feeding them" Snickers bars, as they're stealing them from you, eventually they'll start tasting as good as broccoli does to them.

 

That may not work in all locations because I think some locations may have so much foot traffic or a certain type of foot traffic from the outside and the box therefore might not be as well protected. Anyway that's just my opinion.   

Something to remember, Mint boxes use a charity, and most of my locations are Restaurants and don't want candy bars on the counter. I use bite size candy in non restaurant locations and my loss is double my Yorks. I'm in process of changing all candy to yorks. I am testing Tootsie Roll Flavor Rolls with good success, too early to tell for sure. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sherlock, I'm not saying that I'm right and others with real-life experience are wrong. I don't know yet if my ideas about this will work but I think theories are worth testing. Without theories and testing theories, no progress is ever made in anything. My theory for this comes from some things that I learned in psychology and social science classes that I took in college and also from a book called "Freakonomics" which discusses the honor box business (the member Dogcow posted that entire section of that book on another post.) Maybe that stuff is meaningless to this, but my personal opinion is that this has everything to do with social science and that there are ways to get that to work much more in your favor. I think Harvending has it right in that he's testing out things for himself to find what the best ways are for him to run his business. Out of curiosity Sherlock, and I promise I won't rebut what you have to say, but why do you think my "assumptions and beliefs" are wrong?

Harvending - Is the bite size candy that you use DIFFERENT assorted miniature candy bars or is it the SAME miniature candy bar and how long have you been selling them in your boxes for?

Treadmill - I think there's definitely that certain percentage of the population who when given the opportunity, will steal anything and not even think twice about it. I also think that most people, depending on the circumstances, will resort to unscrupulous behavior if they see others profiting from it, though I think that can vary widely depending on the situation. Personally, and I could be all wrong about this, but I think the answer to making really good money in the honor box business is to find methods to reduce theft. Since there is no way you can ever stop anyone from stealing from your honor boxes, I think the next best way is to make what you're selling not appealing to them as something to steal anymore. The first job that I ever had was working in a donut shop. When I first started I thought it was great because they gave the employees free donuts. They did that for a reason though because it wasn't very long after eating so many of them that I got tired of them altogether and wasn't until many years later that I ever had another one again.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sherlock, I'm not saying that I'm right and others with real-life experience are wrong. I don't know yet if my ideas about this will work but I think theories are worth testing. Without theories and testing theories, no progress is ever made in anything. My theory for this comes from some things that I learned in psychology and social science classes that I took in college and also from a book called "Freakonomics" which discusses the honor box business (the member Dogcow posted that entire section of that book on another post.) Maybe that stuff is meaningless to this, but my personal opinion is that this has everything to do with social science and that there are ways to get that to work much more in your favor. I think Harvending has it right in that he's testing out things for himself to find what the best ways are for him to run his business. Out of curiosity Sherlock, and I promise I won't rebut what you have to say, but why do you think my "assumptions and beliefs" are wrong?

Harvending - Is the bite size candy that you use DIFFERENT assorted miniature candy bars or is it the SAME miniature candy bar and how long have you been selling them in your boxes for?

Treadmill - I think there's definitely that certain percentage of the population who when given the opportunity, will steal anything and not even think twice about it. I also think that most people, depending on the circumstances, will resort to unscrupulous behavior if they see others profiting from it, though I think that can vary widely depending on the situation. Personally, and I could be all wrong about this, but I think the answer to making really good money in the honor box business is to find methods to reduce theft. Since there is no way you can ever stop anyone from stealing from your honor boxes, I think the next best way is to make what you're selling not appealing to them as something to steal anymore. The first job that I ever had was working in a donut shop. When I first started I thought it was great because they gave the employees free donuts. They did that for a reason though because it wasn't very long after eating so many of them that I got tired of them altogether and wasn't until many years later that I ever had another one again.

I use the assorted Minis from Sams. I would use straight flavors but they are too expensive. I do believe a thief will never get tired of being a THIEF, but that is part of the game. How much money are you willing to lose to test this?  When you lose a mint you lose 7 cent, when you lose a candy bar you lose 55 cent. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

In starting out, I'm willing to do this in selected locations that I have. Those are all locations where I feel that the boxes are more closely monitored and where I haven't had problems with theft previously (selling York mints.). 

 

As far as money goes I'm willing to put in between $30-50 per location to cover any losses. I'm thinking of selling the same regular sized candy bar (that I get at Sam's for around .55 cents) for $1.25 each in some locations and $1.50 in others. I think that will give me a good profit margin to cover losses and I think it's a fair price considering that regular sized candy bars are being sold at Office Depot and Staples in my area for $1.39 plus tax.

 

A few recurring thoughts about this just keep coming to me:

 

1) IF the stealing from the inside is eliminated or virtually eliminated then that means that basically only some of the store's customers will be stealing from me. I (think) that the product that I will be selling this way in a given store front would have to be relative to all other products being sold in that particular store front. Therefore in doing this if I get ripped off so much that I have to stop doing this in all of those locations then I think it would have to mean that no store could be in business because there would be so much rampant stealing going on that no store could ever stay in business because there would be too much stealing going on.. Maybe I'm all wrong about this but it just seems logical to me to conclude that.  

 

2) With one of my locations where I've never had issues with theft before, if I introduce this new product into that location and I suddenly start seeing a continued string of theft problems there, I personally would think that  someone(s) on the inside have taken a liking to the product that I'm selling and are stealing from me. I just find it illogical to think that with you simply switching from York mints to assorted candy bars would somehow cause the public in general to go from being honest on average to ripping you off, but that's just my opinion. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ok where do I start. To put it in a nutshell I've had locations with low shrinkage and high shrinkage. It doesn't matter what type of neighborhood (low, middle or high class) it will happen and it will continue to happen. I've been doing this for a year now and things have stayed the same with shrinkage, it's just part of the game. When I get a new location I can tell what kind of location it wiil be on the very first service cycle that is done. If it has a high shrinkage then it probably will be pulled the next service cycle because things will not change. I've seen it happen way too often and I keep very good records (when I service I count every mint that is left as well as the money and I list it on a 4x6 index card with the date of service and I can tell you by looking at the numbers if that location is worth keeping). I'm not saying candy bars would not work but I will not take the risk of losing that kind of money (I can see 2 or 3 young kids walking in and each one taking a handful each of candy bars and walking out) but I think they would need to be policed and that is where the owner of said business says "I don't have the time to watch your candy box for you, leave it at your own risk"..

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Treadmill - With those places that you can see are stealing from you do you think it's the people on the inside who are stealing from you or do you think it's that particular location's customers who are stealing from you?

I know for a fact it is the customer that is taking and not paying. When the owner behind the counter tells you that they watch a customer in full site of owner come up to box on counter and take without giving. Then owner proceeds to ask customer to put in money for candy and they say to owner "I didn't take any candy".when they knew they did. I blame this type of activity on our government. This mentality that what is yours is mine also so I don't have to pay for it. Also the free handouts the gov. gives.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yeah I certainly agree with you treadmill about the government. Especially when it comes to the federal government. Not every person with the feds are like that but I'd say an enormous amount of them are and then that bleeds off into mainstream culture. Wall Street is definitely to blame for that also. I don't think there's any way I'd ever want to live in Washington D.C or New York City.

 

As far as the bad locations go, do you pull them right away when a situation like you just mentioned (with the woman lying to the owner) happens or do you try and stick it out a couple cycles longer to see what happens next?

 

If it's the customers who are stealing from you then how do you have a good location? Further explained, anyone can walk into any store front, restaurant, etc where you have one of your boxes and rip you off. Is it at that point when you pull the box? It just seems to me that eventually, based on the law of averages and the way the culture is, that that's going to happen at every one of your locations.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Usually I let it go for another few cycles. As long as I am making money with that location and not a loser it will stay there even for a few bucks. Everybody has a limit that they adhere to and mine is no different. If the locations is a loser it gets pulled usualy on the third cycle after it's located because usually there is no hope for that location.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hey treadmill, I just sent you a message......In your opinion what do you think makes all the difference between a good location and a bad location? You said it's the customers who steal so how do you think the customers could be any different between one place of business and the next?

 

 

I'm just searching for patterns here to help me place my boxes in better locations.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think customers are a constant, not a variable and act accordingly under natural laws observed by the social sciences. What I mean by that is, I'd be willing to stake my life that the customers in general with this particular type of business are like a resonating frequency and once you find that certain frequency (the natural law that governs their behavior in general) and tap into that, you could make some very serious cash.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

LOL............I'm sure that last comment I left, at least with most people, sounded like I was way the hell "off the map" :). It's all good though because what I'm doing right now with my acrylic honor box business has exceeded even my own expectations. Within the next several months I'll be posting my own report, giving my own findings and giving a certain method of how to make an absolute killing with this business.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

LOL............I'm sure that last comment I left, at least with most people, sounded like I was way the hell "off the map" :). It's all good though because what I'm doing right now with my acrylic honor box business has exceeded even my own expectations. Within the next several months I'll be posting my own report, giving my own findings and giving a certain method of how to make an absolute killing with this business.  

 

On your OP a little over a week ago you sounded unsure about what product to sell in your boxes.

But, today you are already exceeding your expectations?

How long have you been honor box vending?

And why wait "several months" to post your own report and share your methods if you are already doing so well?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On your OP a little over a week ago you sounded unsure about what product to sell in your boxes.

But, today you are already exceeding your expectations?

How long have you been honor box vending?

And why wait "several months" to post your own report and share your methods if you are already doing so well?

Lots of smoke

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That's right Sherlock, they are already exceeding my own expectations and that's while applying many different concepts that I think you tried to claim previously were wrong. :)

That's after a month of servicing them also. I said I would report on my findings within several months because when I do, I want to be able to back up my claims so that all aspects of this business are covered, as well as provide a highly effective method for others to use also. One of the aspects of this business that I need to be able to substantiate is that my methods will be able to stand up over the test of time.Otherwise I personally feel that what I would say right now would lack credibility without having been rigorously tested. That's the only way to apply scientific method.

Sherlock, I feel that you have been very critical of me in my efforts to "step outside of the box" in order to find a vastly improved method for running this business. I know that at times I may have asked some seemingly silly questions, but as silly as they may have seemed, they were asked for a reason and that reason was all about perfecting the method. I'm also beginning to think that based of some things you've said that you're the type of person who can't stand ANY TYPE of unconventional thought from anyone and spend a lot of your time trying to police others to conform to convention. Unless an online forum is about the sharing of new ideas then I really can't see what the purpose would be other than to have trivial, meaningless communication between the members and a place for people to glad hand and kiss golpher to each other and themselves. Fortunately, for me, I have not found all of the members on TVF to be that way. Otherwise I wouldn't be wasting my time in here.

I'm about to prove within the next several months that a FAR BETTER method for the acrylic honor box business is not found in convention but is found in outside the box thinking. I'll be showing how this business has very little or anything to do with "vending" (whatever that means) and has EVERYTHING to do with the social sciences. Stay tuned.......

Harvending - To me, MONEY talks and B.S. walks. So if I back that up with some serious $$CASH$$, FAR MORE than what you make, where would the B.S. about "Lots of smoke" be coming from??

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Oh yeah, one last thing there Harvending. I know I said this in the message I sent you but I'll say it here also.......................Locating with acrylic honor boxes while using the charity sticker HAS GOT TO BE THE EASIEST THING IN THE WORLD TO DO. 

 

Therefore, how come you have to hire a locator (and pay them at least $20 per location) to do it for you? 

 

As far as I'm concerned, no one should be doing this if they can't locate. It's like trying to be a scuba diver without knowing how to swim. 

 

How much have you paid overall for your locating fees? I find it HIGHLY DOUBTFUL that you have even made a profit yet because of this.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...