I've given up hope with honor boxes. Am I wrong here?

[thevendingbutler1]

I'd just like to share my experiences with my honor box business thus far and I would really appreciate feedback from anyone wants to throw in their 2 cents.

I started my honor box business about 6 months ago. Inside of that time I have located well over 200 locations only to see those numbers fall dramatically. Like building a sand castle on a beach right before a thunderstorm, what starts off as something that looks impressive, very quickly diminishes into a pile of mush.

I know that you MUST keep relocating with honor boxes if you're going to be in the business, and I have accepted that. However I'm beginning to see that this is starting to create a larger picture here that (at least for me) is showing me that all this is impractical.

In order to have a good (workable) honor box location you must have a good group of people who aren't going to rip you off. I try to cover for that loss by charging $1.00 for all my items. I've seen that in the white collar sector, while the theft rate is generally very low, so is the amount that you can sell. So the white collar sector is basically a waste of time. In the blue collar sector you sell much more and perhaps many locations start out extremely well with little to no theft. However as time moves on, the bad element of people begin to come out and start ripping you off. Whether it's new hires to that business (because the turnover rate in the blue collar sector is much higher than the white collar sector) or just simply that the bad element of people were just "waiting in the weeds" so-to-speak, eventually these accounts start to increase with theft. I have tried CONSISTENTLY AND PERSISTENTLY to leave notes on the boxes and spoken with the managers/owners. I also speak with the employees and try and connect with them on a personal, friendly level. While this may curb theft in the short term, eventually it quits working too. At that point I'm either forced to remove my box or the manager/owner tells me to.

Now I know that with honor boxes you MUST keep relocating your boxes. However what I'm beginning to see is that all this starts to burn up a whole lot of real estate. As you have to keep trying to get more and more locations, it starts becoming impractical because of the time and expenses it takes to travel farther and farther away from home. The new accounts eventually almost all fall apart in the long run leaving you with nothing but a few scattered accounts here and there that aren't enough to generate much of an income for you.

While I believe that most people don't intentionally rip off honor boxes, the reason why I believe they don't work is because our society is packed full of gutless, spineless cowards who won't stand up for their convictions. If this were the 1920's,30's or 40's it would be a different story and this would be a really good business. However I guess you can see how if our society is willing to just roll over to a bunch of government thugs, political hacks and Wall Street con-men then it's just going to be reflected on a lesser scale in things like the honor box business.

Does anyone have any different view points here? Am I wrong about any of this? Your input would be greatly appreciated.

[Donovon]

Idk how much my two cents is worth. I pretty new at the snack box business.. My thoughts on this.. Is that with u only being in the business for only 6 month and you had about 200 location.. Would be the expansion of your business, was pretty quick and would be expected to have a lot of junk location. I would expect over half would be duds..

Quantity is easy to build up to. Quality takes time.. And a lot of fine tuning..

If your finding it hard to find location. Might want to look into finding a locator that doesn't charge an arm and a leg maybe college student or someone retired to help u locate.. A fresh face in the same area get fresh accounts.. And like that one country song.. Got to know when to hold them, know when to fold them.. My advise don't give up.. Look at the locations that are working for u and go after those type.. There are others experience people here than me for sure, so I'm sure they will have some more input....

[thevendingbutler1]

When you factor in the time and money it costs to service these accounts, along with the fact that far more than half of these accounts (around 85% over just a 6 month period of time) will have to be pulled because of theft or very little product turnover, it just doesn't add up. All it takes is for one bad apple or a couple of bad apples to show up where you have your honor box and spoil it for everyone else. In our culture today, VERY FEW people in any given environment will ever stand up to someone that is doing something to hurt the community. Like a bunch of cowards they just "don't want to get involved". I'm also not just referring to a situation where someone (physically) stands up to someone else because there are certainly other ways to stand up to someone without getting into a physical altercation with them. Honor is something that comes from the heart and is a constant state of being. It's the way that you are whether there are other people around you or you're all by you're all by yourself. It's not something you do to gain approval from others. The honor box business doesn't work because this is almost a completely dishonorable society and culture that we live in.

[Rick]

How much theft are you seeing before you pull the account? In this business you're almost breaking even with a 2:1 theft/paid product rate. What theft rate were you gnereally at when you pulled the accounts?

[thevendingbutler1]

My theft rate was over 50% at these places. That was after talking with the managers and leaving notes. Sometimes the theft rate would fall in between these cycles to say 25% but then it would be back over 50%...Here is an example of a typical account as far as PAYMENT RATE went: 91%, 86%, 85%, 61% (left a note and spoke with the manager with that cycle), 83%, 79%, 50% (left another note) 49%, (left another note and talked with the manager at which point she advised me to pull the box).

This whole concept really just doesn't work as a full time business venture. I think it will work for someone who wants to do this as a part time business (perhaps a stay-at-home mom) because then someone can concentrate on providing higher customer service by doing things like customize all the boxes and not use a planagram. They could also keep tabs on the boxes a whole lot better. However this business does not work as a business that will generate a full time income. It may have at one time but nowadays it doesn't work anymore.

Anyone willing to prove me wrong here? Is there any person reading this who currently does honor box vending ONLY, working full time and is successful at it?

[Rick]

Sorry to hear that TVB, What type of snack boxes do you use and are you interested in selling any of them? I'm in the market for used boxes.

[thevendingbutler1]

I have both the wood grain boxes from www.vending-business-information.com as well as the smaller white boxes from cameronpackaging.com. I haven't quit the honor box business yet but I'm wanting to phase it out and go into the lawn care business because it is something that's a REAL business that will make far more money and will be something that's stable. This week I'm going to be pulling a whole lot of honor box locations because either the people there are ripping me off or there is very little turnover. I imagine I'll have somewhere around 50 locations left (and I won't be surprised if those locations start falling apart very soon thereafter).

I'm hopefully going to be able to sell my honor box business (with however many locations are left over). I'm not going to advertise it as a full time business venture because it isn't. It CAN BE a good part-time business for someone who wants to make a little spare money on the side. Hopefully I'll be able to sell it and transition into the lawn care business.

Anyway as to your question about selling my boxes to you. I'm going to try and sell this business here locally. If I can't or if I can only sell part of it I might sell the boxes to you at a discount. I don't know where you live but if you wanted to do this you would have to come to Knoxville, TN and pick them up. I have 50 wood grain boxes with my company stickers on them as well as slits that have been cut in the top right corners of the boxes because I used to put menus in there. I also have a total of about 250-300 of the cameronpackaging boxes that have stickers on them too. Also I have slightly less box shippers for all these boxes too. This is all a total investment of about $2,500.

[Donovon]

Lawn care?? Ok.... Ya if u dont think vending is a real job then ya, id back out my self as well.. I can say for myself i pull real money every month, that pays real bills.. Its to bad you didnt find this site earlier.. Could of save you 2,500. Imo i think 6 month is to short to gauge a business worth. And feel that most big mistakes are made in that period. Idk how much research you did on snackboxs? But if you just found this site it couldnt of been much.. Except maybe through a biz op type deal.. If that the case i can see why your success rate it so low.. Before i bought my first box or my frist machine there were hours even days of research, to ensure i started on the right foot... I new from the beginning that in this business.. You can neaver stop moving forward... And you can neaver give up... Even in lawn care... What happens when the customer doesnt pay.? What happens when its winter and all ur summer accounts dry up?? Same boat differnt business... I find people such as urself on ebay all the time selling there stuff.. If i were in you shoes, id step back... And rethink it... For example for every five people i hire. 3 wont make it the frist 90 days 1 will make it 6 months and maybe and thats a big maybe one will stay for long term.. Apply that to the snackbox.. You get 10 loactions in a week.. 5 are duds, 3 make it 90day 1 makes it 6 months and maybe and once again thats a big maybe 1 will be a long term account.. Like i said before im new to these. But as i been locating boxs.. Ive seen snackboxs out there.. Ive ask the business how long they have been there and in most cases they been there for years.. Ive seen 2 box accounts.. I dont think the operator of those boxs are loosing money..

For me its a 100 location.. I will be there in the next few month.. But i know how it goes like i explain earlier.. It will be a year or more to have a 100 quality loctions.. You can look at like this... You have to weed out your garden,To get the best fruit.. Hope it works out for u..

[dogcow]

sorry that u arent havign much luck. i can assure you people have very big honor box routes

here in fl and other places dennis on this site has had a large honor box business (he sells the woodgrain boxes on

his website) seminole snacks in nj, and some folks ive met here in fl with boxes, packers, route drivers,etc..

yes u can make a full time income.

do you live in a small town or somewhere that has low population density? that is definately a problem. also relocating

them eats up a lot of time , i agree with that. maybe i just have had very good luck, i dont know. most of my accounts

are in retail stores or light industrial (blue collar accts) ,i dont see the kind of turn over you are saying but honestly

im not sure what kind of accts u have , 200 is quite an accomplishment in that time. if you are convinced to get out of

the honor box business sell your route dont pull ithe boxes. at least you will get some parting money.

good luck in lawn care, that can be a real ball buster.

For example for every five people i hire. 3 wont make it the frist 90 days 1 will make it 6 months and maybe and thats a big maybe one will stay for long term.. Apply that to the snackbox.. You get 10 loactions in a week.. 5 are duds, 3 make it 90day 1 makes it 6 months and maybe and once again thats a big maybe 1 will be a long term account.. Like i said before im new to these. But as i been locating boxs.. Ive seen snackboxs out there.. Ive ask the business how long they have been there and in most cases they been there for years.. Ive seen 2 box accounts.. I dont think the operator of those boxs are loosing money..

For me its a 100 location.. I will be there in the next few month.. But i know how it goes like i explain earlier.. It will be a year or more to have a 100 quality loctions.. You can look at like this... You have to weed out your garden,To get the best fruit.. Hope it works out for u..

i agree with all this it has been my experience too

[thevendingbutler1]

I agree that what I need to do is sell the business and I think I can make a profit on it. I have just 2 questions for you all:

1) How much is an honor box business worth?

2)What way do you all think is the best way for me to sell it? I've got a company logo, business shirts, around 350 honor boxes w/ box shippers plus a lot of product that is still ready to be put on location.

[dogcow]

I agree that what I need to do is sell the business and I think I can make a profit on it. I have just 2 questions for you all:

1) How much is an honor box business worth?

2)What way do you all think is the best way for me to sell it? I've got a company logo, business shirts, around 350 honor boxes w/ box shippers plus a lot of product that is still ready to be put on location.

id put an ad on craigslist...as for its worth i havent got a clue

[thevendingbutler1]

This is for Donovon,

it doesn't have anything to do with "just working harder" and "not quitting" as far as the honor box business goes. If the numbers don't add up then you just end up working yourself to death with little to show for it. One of the greatest keys to being successful in business involves using your mind to see if something is actually worth doing or not and then basing your decisions on what the facts are. I believe in heart and willpower and I know that I have a tremendous amount of those qualities, but I'm also going to use my common sense to decide if whatever I'm doing is something that I can put heart and willpower into and have it succeed. There's never any point in killing yourself for nothing. How long have you been in this business btw and have you been running an honor box (only) business yourself?

I know I've asked this before but does ANYONE in here who is reading this currently run an honor box (only) business as a permanent, established career? If so, please tell me about it.

[Donovon]

I didnt mention anything about you, not being a hard worker or a quiter. I was trying to make the point of i dont think there was enough reseach and planning, before you started.. If you had, i dont think you would be in this situation as deep as you are... I met no disrepect to you... Just hit a chored when you said its not a real business..

I feel that, if you dont build knowledge frist? How can u have a soild foundation for success... There's just no way... You can work yourself to death. Without the right tools and support systems.. You will just be spinning gears... Making mistake after mistake untill your out of business... Or some just make one big one. Like investing a ton of money into something, only to be belly up in six months...

I know you ask twice about, does anyone do this full time and are successful... That would have been a great question to ask before you got started.. Once again im not trying to be mean.. I just dont candy coat.

You ask me how long ive been doing this.. And am i snackbox only.. Ive been doing this since jan 11th... But started learning about vending a few month before that.. Almost made the big mistake and bought into a biz-op.. Research save me.. And my money..

My main love is bulk vending.. Toys,stickers,tattoo. And have added snackboxs to fill the gaps in my route.... In a year or two i hope to be getting into toy cranes... But for now its just the two types.. Ive had my ups and down... From poor preformer to machine getting stolen...

But im not in dept or am i losing money in the vending business... 25 location todate... Each location gets better and better... Going From thiftstore to grocerystore.... U Can read all my post... And how im doing.. Iam full time vendor.. But i did take a pay cut for now..

There are other area on this forum of other types of vending. Might want to take a look at.. Bulk vending is pretty solid.. With long term accounts... Little start up.... I do hope you can turn your business around... Your in the right place just ask question.....

[thevendingbutler1]

Donovon,

What I meant by it not being a "real business" is that it is not capable of standing alone by itself to provide a real full time income for anyone. You can't just do honor boxes and expect that to make a living for you in today's society. You don't just do honor boxes, like you said, you also do bulk candy vending and you can combine them together to fill in the gaps in your route. An honor box is a much lower cost on investment and if it doesn't work you can ask if you can put one of your machines in there in its place.

I actually did do plenty of researching on this subject before I started with this business. I studied business guides and talked with some people who told me they at one time were doing this as a full time living. I studied everything I could study about the honor box business which btw doesn't have a whole lot of information pertaining to it. That should tell everyone something here. While I don't think that any of these people that I studied from have been lying to me, it has not matched my own experience that I have had in doing this on my own. Perhaps they were doing this in a different time and place than I've been doing it. I also truly believe that our culture is becoming a lot more coarse. There's a whole lot more fear in our society today and most people don't stand up for their values anymore. This is reflected on a smaller scale in the honor box business.

Now I have no interest, as far as vending goes, in doing anything other than honor boxes. I guess that makes me different here. I believe that my honor box business COULD launch into a full scale multi-million dollar vending business enterprise if I also included Coke/Pepsi machines, bulk candy and full line snack machines. I have no interest in doing that though because I know that I would not be happy that way.

[decaturjack]

This place has 2,500 honor boxes:

http://mobile.vendingmarketwatch.com/article/10346480/untapped-revenue-market-honor-boxes

[thevendingbutler1]

Thank you Alabama. I actually went on a business trip to visit that guy in Remington, IN. He's a good man and a very helpful person. However, if you ask him (and I did myself) there are some things that he will tell you about the honor box business: 1) He's got all kinds of people stealing from him. 2) His REAL cash cows are his Coke/Pepsi machines and full line vending machines 3) according to him, the FUTURE OF VENDING IS ALL IN THE MACHINES. I actually tried duplicating exactly what he does as far as his honor box business goes and I can tell you (at least from my own experience) that the numbers just don't add up at all. I also don't think that that could be because of a supposed difference among the people up there versus the people where I am because as the old expression goes "people are people wherever you go". I came away from the whole experience of visiting that guy (and after everything that's been said and done since then) truly believing that he makes very little next to nothing (or maybe just an outright loss) through his honor boxes. My own numbers are most certainly proving that to me. I think that he makes real good money with his vending machines but like I said, that's not what I want to do. This is for anyone who is reading this: DO NOT BELIEVE OR ALLOW ANYONE ELSE TO CAUSE YOU TO BELIEVE THAT YOU CAN MAKE A FULL TIME LIVING WITH HONOR BOXES. THAT IS NOT TRUE IN TODAY'S WORLD AND I HAVE MY OWN EXPERIENCE TO PROVE THAT.

[Donovon]

So he told you all those negitives..... And you still jump in this deep in the snack box business? How come u think it can be a part time job, but not a fulltime.. How did you build your locations up.. How long did it take you... And whats your cog's... Did you know about tvf before you started or did you just find this site.. ... I really am sorry its not working out for u... And hope the best in the future for you..

[Rick]

Thank you Alabama. I actually went on a business trip to visit that guy in Remington, IN. He's a good man and a very helpful person. However, if you ask him (and I did myself) there are some things that he will tell you about the honor box business: 1) He's got all kinds of people stealing from him. 2) His REAL cash cows are his Coke/Pepsi machines and full line vending machines 3) according to him, the FUTURE OF VENDING IS ALL IN THE MACHINES. I actually tried duplicating exactly what he does as far as his honor box business goes and I can tell you (at least from my own experience) that the numbers just don't add up at all. I also don't think that that could be because of a supposed difference among the people up there versus the people where I am because as the old expression goes "people are people wherever you go". I came away from the whole experience of visiting that guy (and after everything that's been said and done since then) truly believing that he makes very little next to nothing (or maybe just an outright loss) through his honor boxes. My own numbers are most certainly proving that to me. I think that he makes real good money with his vending machines but like I said, that's not what I want to do. This is for anyone who is reading this: DO NOT BELIEVE OR ALLOW ANYONE ELSE TO CAUSE YOU TO BELIEVE THAT YOU CAN MAKE A FULL TIME LIVING WITH HONOR BOXES. THAT IS NOT TRUE IN TODAY'S WORLD AND I HAVE MY OWN EXPERIENCE TO PROVE THAT.

Are you suggesting this guy makes next to little or nothing off of 2,500 honor boxes? I find that extremely hard to believe. Besides, the article itself that decaturjack cited says the guy makes roughly the same amount off of his honor boxes as he does the full-line vending. So what you're saying and what the article is saying don't match up.

[thevendingbutler1]

Rick, do not ever believe everything you hear or read about in the media. I read that exact same article too before I went and visited the guy. I actually had that article in my hand when I talked with him and he said no, he made a whole lot more money from his machines. Then I came back home and (like I said before) did everything he does. The numbers JUST DO NOT ADD UP. Now I believe this is going to be the way it will be across the board everywhere because it's just the way that people are. This is a study of people at large and any sociologist will tell you that things like this are just as much universal as physics is universal. Maybe one day things will somehow change in our culture and this will suddenly be a good business but right now, like I've been saying, this is not something that will stand by itself as a living. Personally I believe that this guy actually LOSES money from his honor boxes because the theft rate is so incredibly high.

What you can expect to see with your honor box business is this: If you want to keep this as a part-time income then you will probably be O.K. That means though that you will have to devote a whole lot more time to checking up on your boxes and doing things like customizing all of your boxes exactly the way your customers want them to be. However, as soon as you start wanting to pick up production with this business (getting more accounts) it means that you will have less time to service the existing customers that you already have. When you start doing this you can absolutely expect that your theft rate will increase. This will increase beyond your profit line and eventually you won't have any choice but to pull the box. Now some people might tell you that "you have to keep relocating your boxes". However there's a MAJOR FUNDAMENTAL PROBLEM with this: As you have been going through trying to pick up new accounts, people in the areas where you've already been are developing a negative connection with honor boxes - they just don't work. This is especially true among business owners and managers. They're the ones who ultimately make the decisions about your boxes. Therefore what you have to do is keep burning up real estate behind you and traveling farther and farther away from home in which to try and get new accounts. The VAST MAJORITY of those aren't going to work. Taking into account how much you have to pay with gas prices, food costs, insurance, state licenses, etc. it makes all of this absolutely impractical.

I'll tell you what I think you should do though. Don't believe me and don't believe anything else you've heard or read about online. This guy in Remington, IN is a real nice guy and a very helpful person. I would be willing to guess that if you went to his website, emailed him and asked him if you could come and visit with him, he would be willing to do that for you. THOUGH KEEP IN MIND THAT I CAN'T SPEAK FOR HIM. Then after you visit with him, try going back to wherever you live and duplicating exactly what he does. I would be willing to bet anything that that business (if you did what he does and only did honor boxes) would fall flat on its golpher.

Now I do think that honor boxes are an excellent platform to launch into other areas of vending and then grow any vending business into perhaps a multi-million dollar a year business. However if this is what you want to do, you will soon find yourself living to work. This guy told me that he works over 100 hours a week. I'm not going to live that way. That's not what I want. There are other business you can do where your real hours worked equals far more profit for yourself and you don't have to kill yourself in doing it. Lawn care is one of them provided that you do it the right way.

[thevendingbutler1]

One more thing I want to say here is there are people who have websites (and I'm not going to list names here) who imply on their website that you can run an honor box business as a full time living. The reason why I am on here saying this is because in my own personal experience I have found this to be absolutely untrue. Maybe these people did this in a different time and place then when I've been doing it. I have no way of knowing what went on with all that because I wasn't there. All I know is what I've observed through my own experience. The reason why I am saying all this is because I DO NOT WANT OTHER PEOPLE TO MAKE THE SAME MISTAKES I'VE MADE AND WASTE THEIR HARD EARNED MONEY AND THEIR TIME THINKING THAT SOMETHING LIKE THIS IS GOING TO BE SOMETHING THAT THEY CAN DO FOR A LIVING. IT ISN'T. HOPEFULLY ANYONE READING THIS WILL HEED MY WARNING AND NOT GET BURNED. I ALSO HAVE HAVE NOTHING TO GAIN HERE BY SAYING THIS OTHER THAN TO TRY AND WARN OTHERS ABOUT WHAT I'VE ALREADY BEEN THROUGH.

[rdendy]

One more thing I want to say here is there are people who have websites (and I'm not going to list names here) who imply on their website that you can run an honor box business as a full time living. The reason why I am on here saying this is because in my own personal experience I have found this to be absolutely untrue. Maybe these people did this in a different time and place then when I've been doing it. I have no way of knowing what went on with all that because I wasn't there. All I know is what I've observed through my own experience. The reason why I am saying all this is because I DO NOT WANT OTHER PEOPLE TO MAKE THE SAME MISTAKES I'VE MADE AND WASTE THEIR HARD EARNED MONEY AND THEIR TIME THINKING THAT SOMETHING LIKE THIS IS GOING TO BE SOMETHING THAT THEY CAN DO FOR A LIVING. IT ISN'T. HOPEFULLY ANYONE READING THIS WILL HEED MY WARNING AND NOT GET BURNED. I ALSO HAVE HAVE NOTHING TO GAIN HERE BY SAYING THIS OTHER THAN TO TRY AND WARN OTHERS ABOUT WHAT I'VE ALREADY BEEN THROUGH.

First let me start by saying I am sorry you had such a bad experience and lost money. Now with that said you asked a question "I've given up hope with honor boxes. Am I wrong here?" Many people, including many current and successful honor box operators have responded to your question with a resounding "YES." To which you counter with the same argument "It can't be done because you can't do it!" At some point you have to take ownership of your own failure, others are obviously making money on this, maybe you didn't do enough research going in, maybe you located into the wrong places because it was easier to get into, maybe your COG was too high to cover the loss, it could be a whole laundry lists of reasons why you failed but at the end of the day it is true that others are succeeding and it is time for you to move on to your next venture. I am not saying this to be mean, I say this because your negative attitude is not positive to this community or it's goals of empowering vendors. Additionally you can't really grow from any experience good or bad, until you accept responsibility and examine ALL possible reasons for failure so you can apply it to your next endevour in the hopes of bringing more success. I wish you the best in Lawn Care and good luck!

[thevendingbutler1]

O.K. I'll admit that I failed with this business but there's a much larger picture here. That is that this business being run full time (unless it is combined with other types of vending) is a failure to begin with. You said that what I'm saying here is "negative" and "not positive" and that's too bad if it's not giving this particular forum "good vibes". However I think it's much more important to tell other people the truth and deal with reality than it is to tell them what they want to hear so they can then go out and waste their hard earned money in this economy. I think the way you've said that has the same tone that someone who is a used car salesman or is running a biz-op would respond. I wonder if you might have a business of selling honor boxes yourself.

You said that other people have responded with a "resounding YES" to me asking my question. If you scroll back up though and look at what I actually asked THERE ISN'T ONE PERSON YET WHO HAS TOLD ME THAT THEY CURRENTLY RUN AN HONOR BOX ONLY BUSINESS AS A FULL TIME PROFESSION.

[thevendingbutler1]

BTW rdendy from Alabama. Why would you choose that icon of a skull for your screen name? To me that reflects darkness and evil. What does that have to do with HONOR?

[rdendy]

BTW rdendy from Alabama. Why would you choose that icon of a skull for your screen name? To me that reflects darkness and evil. What does that have to do with HONOR?

My avatar is the logo for comic book character "The Punisher", I happen to be a fan. Nothing dark and evil about it.

I am not associated with any honor box sales business, I did purchase 50 candy honor boxes for a friend but that is my extent of connection to them. Yes I have been watching your conversation since the day it started and you prove my point my putting yourself in an un-winnable discussion. You say "it can't be done on honor boxes alone" and that you did the proper research before hand. So either you didn't do the research before hand, otherwise you would know it couldn't be done, or you did your research before hand and saw it could be done which invalidates your original statement. So which is it?

[Rick]

Personally, I like the banter back and forth because it causes me to really think about the business and what I'm getting myself into. In terms of a real life example, I do know this guy http://vendiscuss.net/index.php?/user/3494-dennis23/ had a successful route of 1,000 boxes that he slowly built over time. So there are examples out there of people doing honor boxes for a living. But VB, I think you touched upon the real advantage of honor boxes and that's that it seems to me they serve as a "foot in the door" to branching out to other types of vending - for example if a place is big enough to support full-line, if you already have an honor box there you would have the inside track at getting that account.

I think the thing to be taken away from this is that an honor box route is even more volitile than other forms of vending. That if you have a new 200 location route, you can't possible expect to sustain all of them long term. Maybe only 30-50 of those will sustain themselves. Still, 40 consistent producers represents a good chuck of money! In order for honor boxes to not be sustainable, one thing MUST be true; that eventually - no matter - what every location goes sour. I don't think I can agree with that.