Pyrodude Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 For a newbie question, how long should the gumballs stay fresh in a machine? I bought a box of 850 Dubble Bubble at Sams in April with 4/2012 stamped on the box and a code letter of "D". I am assuming then that this is "made in April" gum. In the end of April, I loaded 1/2 the box into a machine at my work that I am using as my "test" machine. (The machine is in an unheated/uncooled warehouse) A few days ago a couple of employees were complaining that the gum was hard. I tried out a piece and although they were not rocks, the gumball was definitely crunchy and took some jaw-power to get the process moving - nothing like the fresh stuff. I tried a piece from the remainder of the box that I had stored in ziplocs and it wasnt crunchy but was a bit tough. Are these typical results from this gum? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dperry Posted June 3, 2011 Share Posted June 3, 2011 It's typical for Double Bubble bought from Sams. I don't ever by it anymore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sherlock Posted June 3, 2011 Share Posted June 3, 2011 It's typical for Double Bubble bought from Sams. I don't ever by it anymore. I agree. I still buy mine from Sam's. But I'm not overly satisfied with the consistency of the product's shelf life through them. Despite mfr date on the box - some boxes through Sam's just seem to last longer than others. Where do you buy yours Darryl? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dperry Posted June 3, 2011 Share Posted June 3, 2011 Where do you buy yours Darryl? I usually buy mine from A&A. I get some Oak Leaf Fruit Stand and NERDs gum when I buy my toy capsules. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sherlock Posted June 3, 2011 Share Posted June 3, 2011 I usually buy mine from A&A. I get some Oak Leaf Fruit Stand and NERDs gum when I buy my toy capsules. Cool -- Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jax Snacks Posted June 4, 2011 Share Posted June 4, 2011 For a newbie question, how long should the gumballs stay fresh in a machine? I bought a box of 850 Dubble Bubble at Sams in April with 4/2012 stamped on the box and a code letter of "D". I am assuming then that this is "made in April" gum. In the end of April, Wow dude, that gum is really old! Concord claims a 2 year life (which is bull). So your gum was made April 2010 and is over 1 year old! Ouch! I only buy gum that is less than 4 months old. Right now, I have a box stamped B141 (1st four digits). Meaning B-14-1 or Feb 14, 2011 "born on" date. The date above says Feb 2013 (for the so called 2 year life). We have five Sam clubs in this area and I do have to shop around for fresh gum. Some are still trying to dump some Nov 2010 gum and I will have no part of that! As far as freshness, I figure 6 to 9 month max for Concord. It's best to taste test slow moving gum locations to make sure it's still fresh. And keep that gum out of extreme temperatures. I never let it sit in the van or storage shed in Winter or Summer. Believe it or not, we do get some freezing weather here and my gum went stale real fast just sitting in the van over night for many cold nights. Excessive heat will cause it fade and crack as well. I had many rants over the years about Dubble Bubble's poor quality. But once Quill discontinued gumballs, I eventually went back to Concord - the lesser of 3 evils IMO. Shipping is way to high for the other two and I am not big enough to buy a pallet. Make no mistake, if you buy Concord, then you must manage the freshness issue ALL THE TIME! Don't buy old gum and taste test each location at least every other cycle. And don't over fill - which some vendors like to do to make the globe look nice, but is very dangerous with Concord. And also be careful recycling gum from slow or closed locations - always taste test when removing gum for deployment in another location. There is no perfect gumball scenario for us little guys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pyrodude Posted June 4, 2011 Author Share Posted June 4, 2011 Wow dude, that gum is really old! Concord claims a 2 year life (which is bull). So your gum was made April 2010 and is over 1 year old! Ouch! I only buy gum that is less than 4 months old. Right now, I have a box stamped B141 (1st four digits). Meaning B-14-1 or Feb 14, 2011 "born on" date. The date above says Feb 2013 (for the so called 2 year life). We have five Sam clubs in this area and I do have to shop around for fresh gum. Some are still trying to dump some Nov 2010 gum and I will have no part of that! AARGH! I thought I had fresh, made in April 2011 gum but was merely a year off!! No wonder the stuff is ready to shatter fillings. I have a number of Sams around also so I will probably check them out to see whats freshest and stick with Dubble Bubble for the time being. Thanks for the explanation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrGranger Posted June 5, 2011 Share Posted June 5, 2011 I usually buy mine from A&A. I get some Oak Leaf Fruit Stand and NERDs gum when I buy my toy capsules. I get a lot of comments when I use Oak Leaf Really Cherry! Gum. It's flavor lasts a long, long time. Is the Fruit Stand similar? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dperry Posted June 6, 2011 Share Posted June 6, 2011 I get a lot of comments when I use Oak Leaf Really Cherry! Gum. It's flavor lasts a long, long time. Is the Fruit Stand similar? Dunno, never used the cherry by itself. I do know that the wicked watermelon is part of the fruit stand mix, so maybe the cherry is also part of the fruit stand mix. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jax Snacks Posted June 7, 2011 Share Posted June 7, 2011 I don't trust A&A or TJ KIng when it comes to gum freshness either. I received some stale gum from them in the past. You just don't know the environment they are storing the product in or how long it may be sitting in less than ideal conditions. So if I can't get the gum factory direct, I don't want it from another 3rd party. I can taste test the gum and return gum immediately at Sam's if it is bad. Still not the best situation. But unless I buy a pallet from Oak Leaf or Ford, Sam is my only practical option right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dperry Posted June 7, 2011 Share Posted June 7, 2011 I don't trust A&A or TJ KIng when it comes to gum freshness either. Does any knowledgeable vendor really ever buy anything from tjking? They are just a reseller like all the rest. They just have better prices than all the rest, but still higher than the source. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jax Snacks Posted June 7, 2011 Share Posted June 7, 2011 Sometimes TJ KIng has a "sale" which essentially lowers their price to what A&A would charge. Maybe some vendors in Chicago use them since they would save on shipping and the higher product cost would still be worth it to those in that local area. Otherwise A&A and Cardinal are probably a better price choice in other states. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timberframe50 Posted June 7, 2011 Share Posted June 7, 2011 I use TJKing for a wide varity of stuff. Yes they are a reseller but no shipping cost, and I can make the trip on my lunch hour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havending Posted June 7, 2011 Share Posted June 7, 2011 If you can pick up than tj king may be ok for a few items. But over all most items will still be cheaper ordering direct esp with large orders. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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