BudLeiser Posted June 6, 2009 Share Posted June 6, 2009 A&A Sells some nice superballs and toys. But they also have some assortment mixes you can buy. I have not checked on pricing yet, lets just talk about sell-ability. Will people buy more from an assortment, perhaps to try and get what they want, perhaps they like being surprised. OR will they not buy from an assortment mix because the odds of getting what they want is low? Any other options, reasons, or things to consider? Discuss! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BorderJerry Posted June 6, 2009 Share Posted June 6, 2009 We always have used a 1" toy mix to help move leftover and slow product. We mix in a premium like metal locks...and recently started using a small, self vendible Rubik's cube from Toy N Joy as a premium. The self vend mix with balls and dice always add a lot of color to the mix, and help sales. We only vend the 32mm ball size...the 27mm ball is second to balloons as the cause of child choking accidents. And I should mention that we only have Oak's on our route for 1" machines, so I can't say what products will work in any machines other than Oak's. We only put 3 to 5 Rubik's cubes in each bag of 250 due to the cost. But they are square, and if there are too many in the mix you run the chance of bridging. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antoniocinisi Posted June 6, 2009 Share Posted June 6, 2009 As far as mixing goes,I have a 1 inch mix from a and a,I added everything left over or slow movers into the mix and it does well. now my 2 inch mystery mix seems to do poor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BudLeiser Posted June 6, 2009 Author Share Posted June 6, 2009 I appreciate your feedback. But how are your mixed sales compared to your other products? That's the real goal of this discussion, to find out if buying mixed is worthwhile, not just as a means to move left overs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antoniocinisi Posted June 6, 2009 Share Posted June 6, 2009 i will use 1 inch mystery mix again and not the 2 inch as it sells slow in the locations I have tried Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BorderJerry Posted June 6, 2009 Share Posted June 6, 2009 For our market (El Paso, Tx) sticky hands are almost always the best seller...as long as there is a loop on the end of the sticky. The mixes seem to hold there own, we have them in most locations. We are commercial vendors, with an average of about 8 machines per location (rack plus specialty like shoot n hoops). And we always let our customers (kids) tell us what is best in a vending version of 'law of the jungle'. When we service, whichever product has produced the fewest quarters gets removed from the location, and we put in something else. This is true for both the 1" and 2" racks. It is a very rare time when I can predict how a new toy mix is going to sell, when ordering new products almost always we will try a small batch and test it at a few of our crane locations (because we service those at least once a week). I am confident that the new 2" Zoo Mania Gold will be a very good seller, but only because the 1" version has been a great seller for the past 3 years...and because A&A's 2" version of their Monkey Madness was a surprise good seller for us (and for A&A, as they were wiped out of product very quickly). This level of confidence in a new product (2" zoo) I have only had 3 or 4 times in the past 10 years...In other words, you will drive yourself crazy trying to tell what will sell good. Of course, all of our nieces and nephews (and now we are starting on their kids) as soon as they hit the age of 5 get promoted to 'Vice President of Product Popularity'...as they will know a heck of a lot more than grumpy old me what is hot... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
West Coast Vend LLC Posted June 6, 2009 Share Posted June 6, 2009 I have to agree with all the members on this post. I do really well with mixing my own Mystery Mix of 1" caps. I use the remaining capsules of products that I am fading out. I also mix 1" balls, just to add color to the mix. I have never tried 2" mix and don't think I will. Zoo & Sea mania are selling like crazy. I am waiting for my order of 2" Zoo to come in. I have order 10 cases to start. I am only placing them in a couple of locations because I will run out fast if I spread them to thin. They sell like crazy in my accounts. I sold $503 dollars worth in one month in one store. My sales have more than doubled since I started selling them 4 months ago. I am also considering putting the Zoo plush in my cranes. A&A's 2" Monkey Madness sold out in one month and they are on back order. I am a big seller of Monkey'n Around so I knew I had a following for the 2" version. I was correct, they sold like great! Gary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nepavend Posted June 7, 2009 Share Posted June 7, 2009 one inch toy mixes are a staple for most toy vendors. As a result, most often this will be the top selling toy, as it is in my business. I usually only try special mixes or items of toys (Sticky, Hands, etc.) if the mix does at least decent. As for your question, I have also always mixed toys and balls mixed in with my mystery mix, and most cases balls are included in mixes bought from A&A or Actionmatic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BorderJerry Posted June 7, 2009 Share Posted June 7, 2009 Gary, Zoo Plush from One Stop Shop did great for us. And they should have the next batch (zoo 2 & Sea) out soon. They are also one of the few consolidators who will include some Disney in their Single 30% mix if you ask (no price increase). Brand's Gonzo was what a lot of commercial guys have been using for a 2" mix...but now you have to make sure that the batteries are glued inside all the electronics (like laser pointers - the big 'teaser' item that draws the sales). Jerry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dperry Posted June 8, 2009 Share Posted June 8, 2009 Right now, I sell a super ball mix, which is just a mix of different types of super balls. But I am not mixing super balls with toys just yet. I have one rack location with 4 1" toys. I am reluctant to put in a mix in one head with that many different products to sell. One of those heads will be superballs all by itself. I'm thinking I will do mixes where only have 1-2 1" heads at a location. I'm thinking of making my own 1" mix. I'm thinking of the self vend sports balls, some classic tattoos, some super balls and the small sticky mix. How do you think that will sell? I think that would be good because that would give me quite a bit of product; enough for several locations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BorderJerry Posted June 8, 2009 Share Posted June 8, 2009 In this crazy town stickies sell so well we have never added them to the 1" toy mix....but we do have some stretchy stuff now and then. Your idea about offering mixes to those stops with a small amount of machines is a good one, we do that too. And it is very hard to tell what will work where until you try it. Trying to develop a good mix is worth it because sooner or later you will be stuck with something that does not sell well and this (a mix) is about the only way to get rid of it. It is also a good idea to buy a hot glue gun and some glue sticks to be able to customize your own displays. We have been using the Awesome display from Toy N Joy and adding one of our metal locks, a dice cube and a couple of other items to the display...so we end up with a professional display that shows some of what is included in the mix. And the Awesome display is what Toy N Joy uses for their mix, so it also has the words "many other toys included"...which is good to have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BudLeiser Posted June 8, 2009 Author Share Posted June 8, 2009 Oh sigh.... I think my attempt at a clever title confused everyone. It's my own fault. I guess I'll start another thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dperry Posted June 8, 2009 Share Posted June 8, 2009 I can tell you that the 1 mix that I did buy, I got it from A&A and it did not sell well at all. But, I only sold it in one location and I ended up pulling that location for dismal sales. I can tell you that I was not terribly impressed with the products in the mix. They had many of the cheap plastic rings and small tiny ponytail hair scrunchies. Plus, I see that that mix is now about the same price as many of their other items. It is for that reason that I think that making your own mix is prolly better than buying somebody else's. Other places may sell better mixes tho. I do like this thread because I am interested in this topic. I will be changing up many locations on my next servicing where I will be either swapping out candy/gumballs to a 1" mix, or adding a second head with 1" mix. I will be able to tell on the next servicing after that if the mix increase sales or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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