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Let's Cut the small talk and talk PROFITS!


newby2vending

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I am very new. So new that I just pulled the trigger on 50 Sheridan mint boxes and waiting for them to arrive. I have really taken to these forums and consider them a great source of information. The only thing I don't see, is what I want to know the most... PROFITS.

 

Is this a "Taboo" topic here?

 

I understand the many variables involved- location, time of year, shrinkage, etc. What I really want to know is- for those of you doing honor box systems (Sheridan cardboard or Acrylic, snack boxes, etc), what is your average profit per box, per month. That way, we can make better informed decisions and see what is ACTUALLY working.

 

That can answer real questions like, should I get the Acrylic boxes or are the cardboard ones getting the same profits per month? Are snack boxes more profitable?

 

Also, if anyone is doing the Sheridan boxes.. how many can you realistically handle? I am starting with 50, but I am in a very congested area and have NEVER seen them. I have a full-time career, but want to get as much as I can handle working 2-3 days per week.

 

Thanks guys in advance, sorry for being so direct, and hope all your honor boxes are full!

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well newbie I consider myself a newbie. I have only been doing this about a year and have purchased 350 boxes.  In that time I have had 20 stolen.  it only take me 16 hrs a week to service 327 locations. my profits .26 per box average a day... u can do the math.  I am forming an llc and am going to double my route in the next 1-2 months. .26 per box average is for 327 at this time, that is total net profit. small kicker is I do 327 boxes 1 week and prob half of that the next so I guess technically the profit is better.  The only thing that really worries me is that 2 years down the line will I lose so many locations that I will have a hard time relocating.  again have had 20 stolen and have probably had to relocate 20-30.  but I giving this a go full time now thinking that this is really easy work, great money and if 2-5-10 years this ends up failing the return on my investment will be great.  Good luck and would love to hear how other people do iun this business

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.26 Profit per box? Do you mean 26% profit. I know mine are around $10.00 per box. You can do 30 to 50 a day depending on how close they are. I also don't work 8 hours, I start about 9:00 and end around 3:00 to 4:00. You are going to spend another 2 to 3 hours counting money and mints, cleaning boxes and refilling them.

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I dont have anything in front of me but yes .26 a day profit per box for 327 boxes so $600 profit now that number really is higher i do 327 boxes one week and then only have to do 100-150 the next. Again not by my comp now but this week did $1400 in sales and spent $450 on candy gas and percentage on royalties. So this week profit was .40 a day per box. I go by that number because everything varies i have boxes some weeks that bring in $40 and some with nothing and the next week or month the $40 lication will have $10 and the one with nothing will have $20. I do 337 locations in. 2days and takes 16 hours 120 of my locations are in a 5 mile radius. I have 4 rotate boxes 3 of them with lolly other with candy. If all is well i can do a location in 60 seconds buy can take 10 if you talk a lot which is good... Locations for me that average $20 a week i will give them a gift card. Also was in full line vending 10 years ago and am lucky have a commercial coin countet so can count and roll $4-500 a week in 20 min

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You just have a different way of figuring your profits. Yesterday I just ran 10 boxes. Gross was $166.28. After shortages and mints it came out to $120.31. $120.31 divided by 10 stops comes to $12.03 profit per location. That does not figure in royalties or gas. Spent the rest of the day placing 10 new locations.

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You just have a different way of figuring your profits. Yesterday I just ran 10 boxes. Gross was $166.28. After shortages and mints it came out to $120.31. $120.31 divided by 10 stops comes to $12.03 profit per location. That does not figure in royalties or gas. Spent the rest of the day placing 10 new locations.

 

Hi Lake Cities,

 

Is the $12 profit for a week, 2 weeks, a month, etc?

 

Thanks for the info

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That's just for the day.  Sometimes more, sometimes less. I just ran 10 locations that day, had other things to do.

 

 

No, I mean how often are you checking your boxes to see that $12 average profit per box?   Weekly? Monthly?

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Appreciate the feedback. A few questions for clarification. When you guys say "profits", are you also factoring in the royalty and zip code fees, or simply the cost of mints- amount of money collected?

 

Honorbox99... I am a little confused by your numbers of $0.26 per box/ per day statement. Are you saying that in a given day you make $85.02 and during a  year of 365 days, you are making $0.26 x 327 locations x 365 days = $31,032.20?  If so, that only equates to $7.91* per box per month. Something is off about your math. 

 

*  31,032.20/ 12 months / 327 locations

 

Karwood.. appreciate your numbers. It does seem you did not take into account the $.50 royalty per box and the $5.00 per month zip code agreement. Did/do you?

 

Here is what I am looking at-

 

After running some numbers, I want to have 100 boxes placed during the first year. The yearly operating costs would be:

 

Initial 120 box costs (with shipping/royalty agreement/zip code agreement)- $531.60 boxes, $54 royalty, $40 shipping, $5 zip code agreement) = $630.60

58 boxes of 175 count mints= $695.54  (that would fill the 100 boxes with 100 mints 1 time)

12 months royalty and zip code agreement fees= $708.

 

 

Break even point before purchasing more mints first year = $2,034.14. 

 

Is it realistic to expect $14 per box per month if I am in a high density, middle to upper middle class area? If so, it would take about 6 weeks to break even. After that, profit would be strictly cost of mints - money collected.

 

Thoughts?

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Vend-trak is a great way to keep track of profits,expenses and what not. It's also amazing to keep track of your service schedule.

I use viamente (now workwave) for planning my route (also awesome). That was off topic, but hopefully helpful if youre jist starting.

If you're charging 3/$1, and have about 100 mints in there, figure at 100% payment, there should be $33 in there.

If a box of Yorks cost you $13, yur cost for a box of 175 count Yorks comes out to about 7.4 cents per mint, meaning you have about $7.4 worth of product in the box.

You can do it a few ways.

You can count every single mint,and do the math to figure your profits, or, you can exchange a box, take a estimate and say "OK, looKS like I have $13 in payment, and about 50 mints left."

Personally,that's how I do it. Not the most scientific way, but it keeps me moving at a frantic pace when I'm running my route.

Adjust your service time so you can get back to the location with it being as close to empty as possible (this is where vend track is amazing). I like to show up and make each stop as profitable as possible.

Sorry for the long winded explanation and off topic stuff. Simple simple answer is :

You have $7 in product, anything over that is profit.

I know you are looking for a "average" number, but that's really up to you. You can run 50-100 stops and have a $18-27 a month average, or cherry pick your route and build with only big dollar spots that are $50-120 a month locations and just 10-20 of them. It all depends on what you want, and how much time you have to do it :-).

As for how much can one guy handle? Hmmm.. lots of factors there too. I am pretty sure I'll be able to do 300 or so, and I work full time, 6-7 days a week on swing shift.

Good luck on getting things going!

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Yes that is the correct profit... the problem with my numbers maybe that this is a hobby right now.  i started keeping track of my sales and expenses back in july i did not have 327 at that time, but if i did and those numbers were accurate i would still be happy.  That is because after you calculate the sales then take into account taxes gas candy royalties coffee etc I am making $42.62 an hr profit.  after 12 yrs of running a business and making an ok living I am leaving to do this full time.  Leaving any job to start your own business is a risk, but in my situation I am ready to do that.  In reality what I have now 327 boxes can be done every other week in 2 days.  With my wife getting involved I will be getting 350 more boxes with her locating 200 of them in the #2 most populated city and will have a locator locate $150 in the #1.  I hope in 4-6 weeks that would be done.  after that is done and get a feel for the route I am hoping that what I am currently doing now I will do 2 days one week and the new route 2-3 days the next week.  so hypothecialy I would double my current profits and only work 16-25hrs a week.  after I am confortable with that, and anything can happen we know it could be better could be worse.  add another 100-150 boxes for another daily route.  Now I see posts on here and some of them boggle my mind and maybe my posts do the same for you, but in general i live in a state that traffic isnt bad and mostbusiness are in a very condensed area, so I can easily do 200 boxes in a 8 hr day.  My only worry in this would be what will my business be like in 2 yrs. I have done this for 1 and have had 20 stolen, and probably have had to relocate 30-40. you get kicked out businesses go out of business, many factors wil;l i be able to keep relocating what i have lost. my peace of mind is I started with 50 boxes and am about to go near 700 in a yr.  this isnt full line vending i didnt need a loan or to put my life savings starting this. and if this for some reason were to fail i would be above the profit line because i did that 8 months ago.  All that would drive me nuts is having to cut 700 boxes in half and return them so i dont have to pay the royalties.. It makes me feel good what i have contributed, and to make money for my family.  I wish you andf all luck and am sure i will reply to posts in the future

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You just have a different way of figuring your profits. Yesterday I just ran 10 boxes. Gross was $166.28. After shortages and mints it came out to $120.31. $120.31 divided by 10 stops comes to $12.03 profit per location. That does not figure in royalties or gas. Spent the rest of the day placing 10 new locations.

When you say royalties do you mean the charity donation of around a buck a month or is there some form of payment that has to be paid direct to the honor box provider. The word royalties threw me off. I know what it is but normally associated With a franchise

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I am very new. So new that I just pulled the trigger on 50 Sheridan mint boxes and waiting for them to arrive. I have really taken to these forums and consider them a great source of information. The only thing I don't see, is what I want to know the most... PROFITS.

 

Is this a "Taboo" topic here?

 

I understand the many variables involved- location, time of year, shrinkage, etc. What I really want to know is- for those of you doing honor box systems (Sheridan cardboard or Acrylic, snack boxes, etc), what is your average profit per box, per month. That way, we can make better informed decisions and see what is ACTUALLY working.

 

That can answer real questions like, should I get the Acrylic boxes or are the cardboard ones getting the same profits per month? Are snack boxes more profitable?

 

Also, if anyone is doing the Sheridan boxes.. how many can you realistically handle? I am starting with 50, but I am in a very congested area and have NEVER seen them. I have a full-time career, but want to get as much as I can handle working 2-3 days per week.

 

Thanks guys in advance, sorry for being so direct, and hope all your honor boxes are full!

Newby, there is nothing magical about acrylic over cardboard. It has everything to do with the program you are in, how you present yourself, the way the box appears to the general public, and of course what you are selling out of the box and how much you are charging for the candy. There is a misconception that I'm seeing a lot of people on this forum have that somehow the acrylic looks much more professional than the cardboard and that's why they think it outperforms the cardboard. 

 

My average profit is $22.50 per box, per month and I think most importantly, my business doesn't cascade on me the way that it does with other charity vendors who are going through a different program and using a different box.

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Yes that is the correct profit... the problem with my numbers maybe that this is a hobby right now. i started keeping track of my sales and expenses back in july i did not have 327 at that time, but if i did and those numbers were accurate i would still be happy. That is because after you calculate the sales then take into account taxes gas candy royalties coffee etc I am making $42.62 an hr profit. after 12 yrs of running a business and making an ok living I am leaving to do this full time. Leaving any job to start your own business is a risk, but in my situation I am ready to do that. In reality what I have now 327 boxes can be done every other week in 2 days. With my wife getting involved I will be getting 350 more boxes with her locating 200 of them in the #2 most populated city and will have a locator locate $150 in the #1. I hope in 4-6 weeks that would be done. after that is done and get a feel for the route I am hoping that what I am currently doing now I will do 2 days one week and the new route 2-3 days the next week. so hypothecialy I would double my current profits and only work 16-25hrs a week. after I am confortable with that, and anything can happen we know it could be better could be worse. add another 100-150 boxes for another daily route. Now I see posts on here and some of them boggle my mind and maybe my posts do the same for you, but in general i live in a state that traffic isnt bad and mostbusiness are in a very condensed area, so I can easily do 200 boxes in a 8 hr day. My only worry in this would be what will my business be like in 2 yrs. I have done this for 1 and have had 20 stolen, and probably have had to relocate 30-40. you get kicked out businesses go out of business, many factors wil;l i be able to keep relocating what i have lost. my peace of mind is I started with 50 boxes and am about to go near 700 in a yr. this isnt full line vending i didnt need a loan or to put my life savings starting this. and if this for some reason were to fail i would be above the profit line because i did that 8 months ago. All that would drive me nuts is having to cut 700 boxes in half and return them so i dont have to pay the royalties.. It makes me feel good what i have contributed, and to make money for my family. I wish you andf all luck and am sure i will reply to posts in the future

Is that a typo, or are you really averaging a stop roughly every 2.4 minutes? That's pretty impressive!! Most days I have a 2-5 minute circle of the block looking for a parking spot, or 3-5 minute walk each way due to no parking. I should start using my electric bike and a trailer... traffic is the biggest killer where I am

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Is that a typo, or are you really averaging a stop roughly every 2.4 minutes? That's pretty impressive!! Most days I have a 2-5 minute circle of the block looking for a parking spot, or 3-5 minute walk each way due to no parking. I should start using my electric bike and a trailer... traffic is the biggest killer where I am

bbeckl, if you're locating business to business and doing this at every single location, one after the next then this is very do-able. The idea is to compact your route as tight as possible.

 

May I ask, do you do your own locating?

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No someone else does the locating for me by phone

b

 

No someone else does the locating for me by phone

bbeckl, if you get out there and start doing your own locating you will soon see how incredibly easy it is to do. All it takes is having a little confidence in yourself which I'm sure you already have anyway. When you have someone else do this for you, especially if they're doing this over the phone, it causes your route to become scattered about instead of having it tight and compacted. The 2 most important commodities of this business are time and space. It is critical that you be able to service as many places as you can inside of as little amount of time as possible because that's how you build your revenue stream.

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Newby, there is nothing magical about acrylic over cardboard. It has everything to do with the program you are in, how you present yourself, the way the box appears to the general public, and of course what you are selling out of the box and how much you are charging for the candy. There is a misconception that I'm seeing a lot of people on this forum have that somehow the acrylic looks much more professional than the cardboard and that's why they think it outperforms the cardboard. 

 

My average profit is $22.50 per box, per month and I think most importantly, my business doesn't cascade on me the way that it does with other charity vendors who are going through a different program and using a different box.

So what are you saying here honorboxcoach?  What is your charity program/box and why is it better?  Please explain

GingerVend

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Appreciate the feedback. A few questions for clarification. When you guys say "profits", are you also factoring in the royalty and zip code fees, or simply the cost of mints- amount of money collected?

 

Honorbox99... I am a little confused by your numbers of $0.26 per box/ per day statement. Are you saying that in a given day you make $85.02 and during a  year of 365 days, you are making $0.26 x 327 locations x 365 days = $31,032.20?  If so, that only equates to $7.91* per box per month. Something is off about your math. 

 

*  31,032.20/ 12 months / 327 locations

 

Karwood.. appreciate your numbers. It does seem you did not take into account the $.50 royalty per box and the $5.00 per month zip code agreement. Did/do you?

 

Here is what I am looking at-

 

After running some numbers, I want to have 100 boxes placed during the first year. The yearly operating costs would be:

 

Initial 120 box costs (with shipping/royalty agreement/zip code agreement)- $531.60 boxes, $54 royalty, $40 shipping, $5 zip code agreement) = $630.60

58 boxes of 175 count mints= $695.54  (that would fill the 100 boxes with 100 mints 1 time)

12 months royalty and zip code agreement fees= $708.

 

 

Break even point before purchasing more mints first year = $2,034.14. 

 

Is it realistic to expect $14 per box per month if I am in a high density, middle to upper middle class area? If so, it would take about 6 weeks to break even. After that, profit would be strictly cost of mints - money collected.

 

Thoughts?

What is a zip code agreement?  Never heard of that before.

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Zip code agreement is where you control a certain zip code. That company will not locate for another vendor in the zip code and if they have any requests for boxes in that zip code, they will refer them to you.

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That's a really good point. I have a few places that are well over $80 a month, but I have to go to them once a week.Sometimes that puts me miles out of my way to make one stop for $20-30.

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Zip code agreement is where you control a certain zip code. That company will not locate for another vendor in the zip code and if they have any requests for boxes in that zip code, they will refer them to you.

Did the zip code agreement with them for two years. Not once was I ever contacted by anyone wanting boxes which I find amazing. Sheridan would charge me one month then not the next, then again the month after that. They finally stopped charging me altogether last year and I never questioned it because I don't think they truly enforce the zip code agreement. If they did enforce it I think they would have reached out to me to keep the $5.00 monthly gravy train rolling.

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