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I went to Flatline!


PerformaVending

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On Friday, August 17th, 2012 I went to Appleton Wisconsin to visit the Flatline Corporations HQ for a feature in the works on Reliable-Vendor.com. That's why you all got a much needed reprieve from my constant lurking.

This is one experience I think every vendor should have- wherever you are, plan a trip to see a manufacturer or supplier- it's a very cool experience. For a small vendor like me, it's strange to walk into a building, meet someone for the first time, and immediately discuss vending. It's very cool when someone face to face immediately knows what things like "COGS", "leader Items", "Live Displays" and so on all mean without any hesitation. If you don't have any vendors to talk shop with where you are, suppliers are a good place to do this, especially if you're like me who's to broke to fly to Vegas for the next convention.

Next, it's cool to actually see product. Flatline has a wall of their sticker and capsule displays in boxes, and I went with Mike down the line and looked at all sorts of interesting things. Being able to see all the cool stuff in person really beats the online catalog- again, something you have to experience to really appreciate.

Finally, saving on shipping- I got several boxes of HEAVY 2" caps, and I didn't pay a cent of shipping. In this business, every penny helps, and if you happen to be in the neighborhood of a manufacturer/supplier, it might be worth a stop.

In summation, the Flatline team are terrific people who run a great operation. I see why they were so highly recommended before. All their products are designed in-house, and quality is superb. I regret I don't have any sticker machines to stock with their flat products- which were again, masterfully done. All of it's well-priced, and though their selection is a fraction of what others carry, their lineup carries plenty for a small(er) toy vendor to work with. If you ever need stickers or capsules, I recommend Flatline highly. All in all, I really gained a lot from the trip, and if you haven't been to a supplier/manufacturer in person, it's something you should try for. Add it to your bucket list or something.

For those of you wondering, Flatline did not pay me to write this. Just figured I'd let you all know why I disappeared for awhile.

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Why not post about it here instead of shamelessly using this site to advertise? Ever heard of integrity?

I don't believe he meant it as a shameless advertisement. If you go to RV we're a article site for vendors, not a forum. Different concept, different beast and we heavily promote TVF throught RV as the best vendor forum out there. Plus pretty sure his post counts as posting about it here :)

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On Friday, August 17th, 2012 I went to Appleton Wisconsin to visit the Flatline Corporations HQ for a feature in the works on Reliable-Vendor.com. That's why you all got a much needed reprieve from my constant lurking.

This is one experience I think every vendor should have- wherever you are, plan a trip to see a manufacturer or supplier- it's a very cool experience. For a small vendor like me, it's strange to walk into a building, meet someone for the first time, and immediately discuss vending. It's very cool when someone face to face immediately knows what things like "COGS", "leader Items", "Live Displays" and so on all mean without any hesitation. If you don't have any vendors to talk shop with where you are, suppliers are a good place to do this, especially if you're like me who's to broke to fly to Vegas for the next convention.

Next, it's cool to actually see product. Flatline has a wall of their sticker and capsule displays in boxes, and I went with Mike down the line and looked at all sorts of interesting things. Being able to see all the cool stuff in person really beats the online catalog- again, something you have to experience to really appreciate.

Finally, saving on shipping- I got several boxes of HEAVY 2" caps, and I didn't pay a cent of shipping. In this business, every penny helps, and if you happen to be in the neighborhood of a manufacturer/supplier, it might be worth a stop.

In summation, the Flatline team are terrific people who run a great operation. I see why they were so highly recommended before. All their products are designed in-house, and quality is superb. I regret I don't have any sticker machines to stock with their flat products- which were again, masterfully done. All of it's well-priced, and though their selection is a fraction of what others carry, their lineup carries plenty for a small(er) toy vendor to work with. If you ever need stickers or capsules, I recommend Flatline highly. All in all, I really gained a lot from the trip, and if you haven't been to a supplier/manufacturer in person, it's something you should try for. Add it to your bucket list or something.

For those of you wondering, Flatline did not pay me to write this. Just figured I'd let you all know why I disappeared for awhile.

To further clarify, from the advertising policy:

Advertising Policy

As of March 1, 2012, we will no longer be soliciting or accepting paid advertisements. We will, however, begin to allow members who would like to advertise their vending related product or service the opportunity to do so in the following ways, free of charge. All we ask in exchange for providing you free ad space is that you adhere to a few rules.

  • 1. Your Profile. You can customize your profile page to advertise your business as much as you'd like. You are able to upload a custom background and even display YouTube videos advertising your business.

  • 2. Signature. You can advertise your business in your signature with text or graphic. Please limit your signature to a respectful size. Signatures that are too large or otherwise distracting will be removed.

Traffic leaching or "poaching" is also a violation of TVF policy:

SPAM

A message to spammers - we have NO TOLERANCE for SPAM. Post a spam message and your account and all associated posts will immediately be deleted. No second chances. You won't get away with Spamming VENDiscuss.com, so don't bother wasting your time. No link abuse, traffic leaching, advertising, ADULT content or nudity will be tolerated!

To me this means directing traffic to a website that you own, control or provide content to.

I don't believe he meant it as a shameless advertisement. If you go to RV we're a article site for vendors, not a forum. Different concept, different beast and we heavily promote TVF throught RV as the best vendor forum out there. Plus pretty sure his post counts as posting about it here :)

Agreed, very different, I have no problem with what you are doing at RV, just with directing people from TVF to there. I don't believe that harm was intended, thus no sanctions have been applied. PM to follow.

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My apologies for my infraction of the advertising policy. That was not my intention.

Following my visit I was rather enamored, and posted this to encourage others to visit their nearby suppliers. Clearly I have chosen the wrong format, wording, etc. I can apologize, but that won't fix things, and I apologize to all those that my post has harmed.

It is at the moderators discretion to remove this post.

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I was just wondering, When I make a post and I link as a reply to say a person asking a question like "what coffee do you use? and I reply "I found this great coffee at Amazon that works flawlessly in the Saeco200 at http://www.amazon.co...ils_o00_s00_i00

Did I violate policy by using a outside link to a product that is not a vending related product or service?

I find it is easier to link rather than spelling out the description. I just want to make sure that I do not cause any issues or a accidental mis-step violation of policy. I could copy and paste the long description from Amazon's site, but it seems that by giving someone a link when asked and no others are selling, vending or manufacturing a product like coffee beans. It seems it would be helpful and not competitive to other operator or vendors by linking a non vending service unlike say "I use this supplier for 2 inch capsules" http://www.capsuledudette.com Any recommendations about links?

Greatdane

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