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cardboard v. acrylic - PLEASE HELP qwik!


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Hi - I am a newbie in Ohio. I am wanting to get into the honor snack business. I have a super successful run in sales, but my job required lots of overnight travel (I am soooo sick of that)). Why I say this - I believe I have what it takes - super hard work ethic, and I believe I can place boxes myself as easy as anyone else can.

I want to order some boxes from Sheridan like yesterday. I can't really find any thread on topic for my questions specific so here I go. Guys (And gals) I so appreciate if you can answer each question and give me your thoughts. And quick....want to do this and get it going. God Bless all of you!

Questions:

 See pictures below so you know exactly which boxes I want to order. In case pictures don't show they are on the Sheridan website called  "Acrylic Charity Display" and "Mint Charity Display" and they have the pink ribbons. (I know it sounds corny but I am really excited that I can make money and help a cause - no I am not going to make the charity (or myself) rich - but it's more money they will have in their pockets and I view it as "win-win".

 

1. Does anyone have either of these boxes USED for sale or does anyone know where to get some used?  Ready to buy today. Can pay via paypal or whatever. Please let me know what you have and pricing if you have.

2. Which box has the lower theft of the boxes themselves? I can see the acrylic boxes being very tempting to steal - people see the cash. I can see the cardboard boxes being tempting to steal. The obvious difference is acrylic is approximately 4 times the cost.

 

3. Life span of box? How often do acrylics seem to fall apart (ie. from a fall, from seams coming apart, etc)? How long does the cardboard last till it is not usable?

4. I do know the acrylic will hold approximately 100 pieces of "fun size" snickers, m and m's etc. Will the cardboard hold about the same? If not how much will the cardboard hold of mints or fun size candies??

5. You guys who locate your own boxes.....If I start at 11 am and pound it, in a dense area (Cleveland and suburbs) and remember I have nice sales skills...no shyness here, but not a slick phony sales guy either....I speak from the heart and people see it  (And I am also clean cut) how many boxes do you think can be located if I am really hustling by say 5 pm, going door to door?

6. As far as transporting the boxes......I have a van. The acrylic boxes when prefilled fit very nice in big candy boxes and fit well in a van. The cardboard boxes if I prefill them and put them in the big candy boxes......will the contents of the individual cardboard honor boxes spill out in the car?

7. For every hundred boxes place in a years time how many of acrylic will get stolen? How many of cardboard do you think will be stolen per 100?

8. Which box has more pilfering of the actual candy?

9. Which box is easier to place? how much easier??

10. If you were me - based on what I told you - high work ethic, good sales skills - which type of these 2 boxes would you start with or would you use another type?

 

Please see pictures below - I hope they will post. I really appreciate your time everyone. I hope to repay the favor!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

honor - cardboard.jpg

honor - acrylic.jpg

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1. Chances of finding used boxes isn't very likely. I've ordered 50 of the cardboard boxes from Sheridan and paid right around $300 for everything including shipping.

2. Personally I think they both perform about the same, so I figure why pay the extra for acrylic. Some people prefer the acrylic boxes for their own reasons. It comes down to what you want to do. 

3. Depends on location. I've had some last 1 service cycle, others still look mint condition after a few months. That would be one of the benefits of the acrylic over the cardboard.

4. I can hold about 120 of so mints in my cardboard boxes. That's it filled to the brim, but only at locations that sell very well. 

6. I fill as I go, but I no longer count each individual mint going in. I just eyeball it and keep good record on collections and his much I spend on mints. 

7-8. They're going to be the same. If someone is going to steal it, they don't care what it looks like. A thief is concerned with the money and they know it's there with both. Same with non-payers. If they are purposely not paying, a plastic box won't make them want to pay. 

10. I prefer the cardboard. They're much cheaper and will perform just fine, making your money back much quicker.

 

What part of Ohio are you in? I'm going to guess Cleveland by your reference.

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Cleveland - to start East side.

Thank you so very much for your comments Quikvend!! I really appreciate your insight.

If I can ask a couple more questions:

1) do you place your own boxes and how long does it take you to say place 10?

2) What part of Ohio do you work?

3) how many boxes in a year time out of 50 would you say actually get stolen?

 

I appreciate if you can answer. I also appreciate if anyone else has any input it would be great. Maybe I am stressing too much over the theft of boxes deal??

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Nice, I have a bulk route in Cleveland. I live in Cincinnati and have a bulk, full line and honor box route here as well. I've had locators place all of mine so far, but I'll be getting extra free time soon, so I'll start trying to place my own. I would imagine that you could place 10 fairly quickly if you have the sales background and target the right kind of places. I started with 100 boxes, I've lost 6-7 due to being damaged or stolen. I started honor boxes back in February. 

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I have both acrylic and cardboard. I think the acrylic do better but it may be because I place them in my better locations. I have a little over 100 boxes out right now. I've been doing this for a little over 3 years and I probably lose 3 or 4 boxes a year. The dollars are a lot easier to straighten out from the acrylic boxes. The cardboard boxes have a smaller slot and they really wad them up to get them in. I hate counting the money from the cardboard boxes.

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I really am naive. I would think i would love to count money people gave me no matter what - lol. I do see ur point. Slows u down i guess and less profit in the end. Still....folded money is not the worst thing im the workd - lol

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Typo above. Not the worst thing in the world. Very seriously - makes someone really appreciate our great country when people in other countries hope to get a bowl of rice to eat today, and we gripe about folded money.  But again - i do see your point and perspective. Thank you for responding.  I am getting ready to order later today. 

Hoping for a few more people to provide answers on my questions.  

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1 hour ago, hope4honor said:

I see ur point. Thank you. Definitely would not have thought of that on my own. Does the bank refuse crumbled money??

As long as you straighten the bills out and band them in $100 wraps, you should be fine.  I wouldn't hand them a wad of crumbled bills though...lol.  They would definitely have a problem with that.

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Most banks will only accept rolled coins. Won't be a big issue while you're smaller, but once you start needing to roll hundreds-thousands of dollars in coin, it is unrealistic and you'll need to find a bank that accepts bagged coins. 

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8 hours ago, hope4honor said:

I see ur point. Thank you. Definitely would not have thought of that on my own. Does the bank refuse crumbled money??

I band mine up and leave in money bag over night, helps to straighten them out. I have taken them to bank right after putting band on them and they gave me a dirty look. I have a coin counter and my bank doesn't want them rolled. I just take them in bag and they drop them in their counter. I did have to change banks a couple of years ago because of the coins.

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23 minutes ago, Lake Cities Vending said:

I band mine up and leave in money bag over night, helps to straighten them out. I have taken them to bank right after putting band on them and they gave me a dirty look. I have a coin counter and my bank doesn't want them rolled. I just take them in bag and they drop them in their counter. I did have to change banks a couple of years ago because of the coins.

I searched and searched for a bank that would take bags, but all the ones I tried would only take rolled. I did eventually find a few that had coin machines, which worked out well until a few months ago. Last month I found a bank that takes the sealed plastic bags of coin. I'm thinking it will save me a few days a month with the time savings. 

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6 hours ago, hope4honor said:

do the counter counters jam a lot? if you do NOt use a coin counter will bank charge you to deposit coins?? Please advise

I use the counter for my own records.  They bank we use fortunately doesn't charge a fee.  We had to switch from Wells Fargo though because they took out their machine a few months ago.  The coin counter I use doesn't jam much.  Got on eBay at recommendation of quickvend

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