BobTHJ Posted November 19, 2011 Share Posted November 19, 2011 I serviced 15 honor boxes today (though I only have data for 14 as I forgot to record one). Here's the results (diff is the theft percentage, Cycle is the number of days since I last serviced that location). These are some of my slower locations. This route is in a city about an hour's drive from my hometown. I ran it last week but didn't have enough boxes ready when I left so I skipped all the slower locations and came back to get them today. #1 - Government Office (box is in employee break room) IDDateIncomeExpectedDiffCOGSTax / Comm.ProfitItems SoldCycleItems/Day44611/18/2011$10.56$13.5021.78%$5.02$0.77$4.7618.0000220.818181 #2 - Mental Health Office (box in employee break room) NOTE: This was my first time to service this account. I placed it two weeks ago. IDDateIncomeExpectedDiffCOGSTax / Comm.ProfitItems SoldCycleItems/Day44711/18/2011$5.26$6.7522.07%$3.44$0.39$1.449.0000150.600000 #3 - Gravel Pit (box is in staffed office and is available to the truck drivers that come and go. The box here is placed inside a wooden box with plexiglass lid to keep the mice out. I have a few accounts with these type of protective boxes.) IDDateIncomeExpectedDiffCOGSTax / Comm.ProfitItems SoldCycleItems/Day44811/18/2011$9.15$14.2535.79%$6.09$0.41$2.6619.0000151.266666 #4 - HVAC company (box is in their shop area - available only to employees. They pay any shortage at this account - though it appears I overcharged them by a quarter as one got stuck in the coinbox.) IDDateIncomeExpectedDiffCOGSTax / Comm.ProfitItems SoldCycleItems/Day44911/18/2011$18.25$18.00-1.39%$8.71$0.81$8.7324.0000310.774193 #5 - Telecommunications Office (box is in a locked office/storage building used by employees that come and go making service calls) IDDateIncomeExpectedDiffCOGSTax / Comm.ProfitItems SoldCycleItems/Day45011/18/2011$31.25$37.5016.67%$22.96$1.39$6.9050.0000311.612903 #6 - Government machine shop (box 1 of 2. Boxes in adjacent shop buildings in a large facility) IDDateIncomeExpectedDiffCOGSTax / Comm.ProfitItems SoldCycleItems/Day45111/18/2011$8.50$8.25-3.03%$3.96$0.38$4.1611.0000150.733333 #7 - Government machine shop (box 2 of 2) IDDateIncomeExpectedDiffCOGSTax / Comm.ProfitItems SoldCycleItems/Day45211/18/2011$11.50$12.759.80%$7.99$0.51$3.0017.0000310.548387 #8 - Electric Company (box in employee break room) IDDateIncomeExpectedDiffCOGSTax / Comm.ProfitItems SoldCycleItems/Day45311/18/2011$18.36$23.2521.03%$8.58$0.82$8.9731.0000152.066666 #9 - Government Office (box in employee break room) left a shortage note IDDateIncomeExpectedDiffCOGSTax / Comm.ProfitItems SoldCycleItems/Day45411/18/2011$26.72$39.7532.78%$21.41$1.19$4.1353.0000311.709677 #10 - Government Office (box in storeroom) IDDateIncomeExpectedDiffCOGSTax / Comm.ProfitItems SoldCycleItems/Day45511/18/2011$6.16$7.5017.87%$4.71$0.27$1.1710.0000310.322580 #11 - Government Office (in publicly accessible break room) NOTE: The prior owner had a few cases of severe theft here when homeless would take shelter in the courthouse and stumble upon the snack box. IDDateIncomeExpectedDiffCOGSTax / Comm.ProfitItems SoldCycleItems/Day45611/18/2011$15.58$16.505.58%$9.17$0.69$5.7222.0000221.000000 #12 - Mental Health Office (in employee breakroom) IDDateIncomeExpectedDiffCOGSTax / Comm.ProfitItems SoldCycleItems/Day45711/18/2011$18.64$24.7524.69%$12.73$0.83$5.0933.0000221.500000 #13 - Auto Body Shop (in employee breakroom) left a shortage note IDDateIncomeExpectedDiffCOGSTax / Comm.ProfitItems SoldCycleItems/Day45811/18/2011$7.50$13.5044.44%$6.96$0.33$0.2118.0000220.818181 #14 - Post Office (in employee break room) left a shortage note IDDateIncomeExpectedDiffCOGSTax / Comm.ProfitItems SoldCycleItems/Day46011/18/2011$24.27$36.0032.58%$17.04$1.78$5.4548.0000222.181818 For comparison, here's some service data on some of my faster-moving accounts: #1 - Plumbing Supply Company (box sits on retail counter for customer and employee use in monitored room) IDDateIncomeExpectedDiffCOGSTax / Comm.ProfitItems SoldCycleItems/Day35711/08/2011$27.59$29.255.68%$12.48$1.96$13.1539.0000113.54545424110/28/2011$23.55$28.5017.37%$15.24$1.67$6.6338.000084.750000 #2 - Paint Supply Company (box sits in publicly accessible break area) IDDateIncomeExpectedDiffCOGSTax / Comm.ProfitItems SoldCycleItems/Day35611/08/2011$18.25$22.5018.89%$9.07$1.30$7.8830.0000112.72727223710/28/2011$24.25$27.0010.19%$14.42$1.72$8.1136.000084.500000 #3 - Screw manufacturing plant (box is in employee break room) left a note on the Nov 3 service which explains the overage on the following service. IDDateIncomeExpectedDiffCOGSTax / Comm.ProfitItems SoldCycleItems/Day39511/11/2011$32.97$24.00-37.38%$13.36$1.46$18.1432.000084.00000029111/03/2011$19.05$45.7558.36%$25.57$0.85($7.37)61.0000163.812500 And, just for fun - here's a list of products and their sales ratio (number of items sold / number of items available) - this is an aggregate number across all my honor-box services to date: Zingers 25.00 32 0.781250 Chocolate Donuts 22.00 29 0.758620 Grandma's Peanut Butter 14.00 19 0.736842 Potato Skins 25.00 39 0.641025 Sugar Donuts 21.00 33 0.636363 Baby Ruth 37.00 59 0.627118 Grandma's Brownie 10.00 16 0.625000 Big Texas 18.00 30 0.600000 Grandma's Oatmeal Raisin 11.00 19 0.578947 Munchies 22.00 38 0.578947 Butterfinger 71.00 125 0.568000 Austin Vanilla Cremes 9.00 16 0.562500 Blueberry Muffins 9.00 16 0.562500 M&M Peanut 131.00 234 0.559829 Snickers 179.00 320 0.559375 Grandma's Choclate Chip 10.00 18 0.555555 Cherry Cheese Danish 20.00 36 0.555555 Snyder's Mini Pretzels 18.00 34 0.529411 Oreo 64.00 122 0.524590 Pistachios 11.00 21 0.523809 Cheetos 82.00 157 0.522292 Twix 65.00 125 0.520000 Gardettos 33.00 64 0.515625 Sun Chips: Cheddar 13.00 26 0.500000 3 Musketeers 15.00 30 0.500000 M&M Peanut Butter 38.00 77 0.493506 Fritos 29.00 59 0.491525 Payday 8.00 17 0.470588 Rice Krispy Treat 16.00 34 0.470588 BBQ Lays 22.00 47 0.468085 Milky Way 50.00 107 0.467289 100 Grand 7.00 15 0.466666 Snickers Almond 13.00 28 0.464285 Skittles Tropical 10.00 22 0.454545 Pop-Tarts (Strawberry) 37.00 82 0.451219 Hershey's Almond 22.00 49 0.448979 Salted Nutroll 81.00 184 0.440217 Raspberry Shortbread 7.00 16 0.437500 Beef & Cheese 75.00 172 0.436046 Heath 23.00 53 0.433962 Honey Bun 29.00 68 0.426470 Chex Mix: Original 27.00 64 0.421875 Doritos: Nacho Cheese 27.00 64 0.421875 Doritos: Cool Ranch 10.00 24 0.416666 Ritz Bitz (Cheese) 30.00 74 0.405405 Recees 65.00 161 0.403726 Lays 48.00 119 0.403361 Hershey's 26.00 65 0.400000 Famous Amos 31.00 78 0.397435 Cheez-It 38.00 96 0.395833 Nature Valley: Oats & Dark Chocolate 11.00 28 0.392857 Double Barrel Salami 92.00 237 0.388185 Almond Joy 38.00 98 0.387755 Chili Cheese Fritos 22.00 57 0.385964 M&M Cookies 27.00 70 0.385714 Kit Kat 42.00 109 0.385321 Mr. Goodbar 32.00 85 0.376470 Sun Chips: Original 6.00 16 0.375000 Pop-Tarts (Brown Sugar) 12.00 33 0.363636 Austin Lemon Ohs 6.00 17 0.352941 Fig Newton 13.00 38 0.342105 Hershey's Cookies & Cream 6.00 18 0.333333 Crackerjacks 7.00 21 0.333333 Fudge Stix 14.00 43 0.325581 Crunch 10.00 32 0.312500 Fruity Snacks: Cherry 6.00 20 0.300000 Starburst 36.00 122 0.295081 Cereal Bars: Strawberry Crisp 7.00 25 0.280000 Handi-Snacks 71.00 257 0.276264 Salted Peanuts 60.00 222 0.270270 Austin Choco Cremes 5.00 19 0.263157 Toasted Peanut Butter 74.00 282 0.262411 M&M Plain 65.00 249 0.261044 Starburst: Flavor Morph 4.00 16 0.250000 Sweet & Salty Trail Mix 79.00 330 0.239393 Skittles Wild Berry 10.00 42 0.238095 Winterfresh 5.00 21 0.238095 Austin Cheese Crackers 73.00 315 0.231746 Austin Cheese & Peanut Butter 56.00 251 0.223107 Nature Valley: Almond 19.00 86 0.220930 Big Red 8.00 40 0.200000 Apple Juice 3.00 15 0.200000 Nature Valley: Peanut Butter 18.00 92 0.195652 Nature Valley: Fruit & Nut 16.00 82 0.195121 Nature Valley: Peanut 8.00 41 0.195121 Spearmint 4.00 21 0.190476 Skittles Sour 11.00 58 0.189655 Nature Valley: Pecan Crunch 10.00 56 0.178571 Starburst: Tropical 7.00 40 0.175000 Slim Jim 15.00 87 0.172413 Nature Valley: Roasted Almond 9.00 55 0.163636 Cereal Bars: Apple Crisp 4.00 26 0.153846 Act II Popcorn 5.00 33 0.151515 Skittles Blenders 17.00 113 0.150442 Skittles 26.00 177 0.146892 M&M Pretzel 13.00 90 0.144444 Fiber One Oats & Chocolate 13.00 93 0.139784 Nature Valley: Oats & Honey 15.00 125 0.120000 Air Heads: Watermelon 2.00 20 0.100000 Doublemint 2.00 21 0.095238 Air Heads: White Mystery 2.00 21 0.095238 Air Heads: Pink Lemonade 2.00 21 0.095238 Chewy Granola: Peanut Butter 3.00 33 0.090909 Chewy Granola: Chocolate Chip 3.00 37 0.081081 Chewy Granola: Smores 2.00 26 0.076923 Cereal Bars: Mixed Berry Crisp 2.00 28 0.071428 Sunflower Seeds 1.00 20 0.050000 Air Heads: Orange 1.00 21 0.047619 Juicy Fruit 1.00 21 0.047619 Air Heads: Cherry 0.00 25 0.000000 Air Heads: Blue Raspberry 0.00 25 0.000000 Drat - that was all pasted in with neatly formatted HTML tables. The forums stripped out the formatting. Sorry for the tough read! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogcow Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 Put code bbcode around it too preserve format or can u attach excel sheet Curious to read this but can't make heads or tails of it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobTHJ Posted November 20, 2011 Author Share Posted November 20, 2011 Here, this is easier. Just click the link: Service Data. Each line corresponds to one of the stops listed above in the same order. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogcow Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 Here, this is easier. Just click the link: Service Data. Each line corresponds to one of the stops listed above in the same order. computing the cogs based on the way you are doing it must be really time consuming for the amt of stops you have. I go by an average % for the whole box and just kind of get a "feel" for the specifics at each location. for the size of route you have i figure you would spending a ton of time computing it exactly. Have ytou decided on any criteria for dropping locations yet? I looked at cum. averages over time when deciding. regards Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobTHJ Posted November 21, 2011 Author Share Posted November 21, 2011 The COGS calculations are all handled automatically by my tracking system. When I purchase product I input the qty and price. I'll fill about 10 boxes at a time and the system deducts the contents from inventory and tracks them in that box. Then after servicing a box I quickly go down a checklist of the items in that box and indicate what is remaining. From there the system can determine what sold and the COGS. It also gives me data as to what items are preferred by that stop and recommends which box to deliver to them on the next visit based upon which of the available boxes has the most items they want. It took a while at first but now I've got it down to about 5 mins to fill, 5 mins to deliver, and 5 mins to count money and check in post-delivery - so total time investment of 15mins or less per stop (not counting driving time). I haven't yet pulled any low-performing boxes. I'm probably more likely to pull boxes due to high theft than low usage. Once each stop has a few services worth of data my system calculates the delivery frequency based upon the average amount of time it will take the location to consume 50% of the snack box. So, the low-usage stops will get pushed to 45-60 days (or longer) between services thus making them profitable to retain (assuming they aren't too far out of the way - there are a few I may cull due to the extra driving time required). I am in the process of adding shelf-life tracking to my system so that accounts with longer service cycles won't get boxes with items that will likely expire before the next service unless there is a good chance they will sell. For accounts that seem to struggle with theft and won't respond to the shortage notes I considered adding a "If the box isn't short you get a free box of donuts!" card to see if that could salvage them. However, anything that still isn't generating enough profit to cover fuel costs and time will get the axe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogcow Posted November 22, 2011 Share Posted November 22, 2011 The COGS calculations are all handled automatically by my tracking system. When I purchase product I input the qty and price. I'll fill about 10 boxes at a time and the system deducts the contents from inventory and tracks them in that box. Then after servicing a box I quickly go down a checklist of the items in that box and indicate what is remaining. From there the system can determine what sold and the COGS. It also gives me data as to what items are preferred by that stop and recommends which box to deliver to them on the next visit based upon which of the available boxes has the most items they want. It took a while at first but now I've got it down to about 5 mins to fill, 5 mins to deliver, and 5 mins to count money and check in post-delivery - so total time investment of 15mins or less per stop (not counting driving time). i tried doing it that way i set up a similar system in excel but frankly re-inventorying the items was a giant pain in the butt to me. Its easier for me to say $20 cash and 3 items left and not care much about what they are, and just go by avg cogs. You might say this doesnt give me a great idea of my profit but my highest cogs is only 50% and i only put about 4 of those items (candy) in any box of 32 items, so if anything it skews a bit higher than it really is. looking at it weighted or median cogs would probably be better now that i think about it. After 2 months i pretty much got the feel for what sells and what doesn't. If you can do it in 5mins thats awesome, I found it too much work. Especially if I had 100+ to do. I haven't yet pulled any low-performing boxes. I'm probably more likely to pull boxes due to high theft than low usage. Once each stop has a few services worth of data my system calculates the delivery frequency based upon the average amount of time it will take the location to consume 50% of the snack box. can you post the cumulative for the data above, id be interested to see it. So, the low-usage stops will get pushed to 45-60 days (or longer) between services thus making them profitable to retain (assuming they aren't too far out of the way - there are a few I may cull due to the extra driving time required). I am in the process of adding shelf-life tracking to my system so that accounts with longer service cycles won't get boxes with items that will likely expire before the next service unless there is a good chance they will sell. id be interested to know if you can find enough things that last 60 days or longer (!) to fill a box up with. i tried wise chips when i started i found nobody bough them, ever, not 1 bag. they would not even STEAL them. ymmv of course. For accounts that seem to struggle with theft and won't respond to the shortage notes I considered adding a "If the box isn't short you get a free box of donuts!" card to see if that could salvage them. However, anything that still isn't generating enough profit to cover fuel costs and time will get the axe. you're probably better off bribing someone at the office (manager) to keep an eye on it. they are already getting stuff for free (by stealing it) so i dont know if offering the employees free food makes sense as an incentive. i have tried a lot of things to turn locations around for the most part ive just got the attitude to pull anything that doesnt respond to 3 warnings in a row and relocate it . as im sure you've seen honor boxes are the easiest thing in the world to locate anyway so to me an honor box location with over 20% theft consistantly is worth nothing. Luckily i have not found theft to be a significant problem more than low volume so id be interested again on your findings about a long dated product mix. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobTHJ Posted November 22, 2011 Author Share Posted November 22, 2011 Apart from the dozen or so accounts I've placed myself the ones I purchased have all been in place for some time (20+ years in some cases) - so I don't have any accounts at the moment that consistently have high theft (though a fair number alternate high and low theft services as a result of shortage notes). As I start getting data from the accounts I've placed myself I'm sure I'll have to pull some for theft. There's no point in spending my time and money to give people free snacks Chips and pastries are the only items I stock with 90 days or less of shelf-life. I try to be careful when purchasing at Sam's to only buy these when I can get close to 90 days on them. The big sellers of course are candy bars - and these never last long enough to worry about expiration. I also stock meat snacks (double barrel, slim jim), austin crackers, cookies (grandma's, oreos, famous amos, newtons), granola bars (nature valley, fiber one, quaker), trail mixes (kars), and 5-stick gum packs (since I'm buying these for the gum racks in my snack machines). Most of these have shelf-lives of 6 months or more. Because I'm tracking all this data via my system I should be able to rotate boxes with nearly expired product into locations that prefer to eat those products - without having to spend large amounts of time checking dates and moving things around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobTHJ Posted November 23, 2011 Author Share Posted November 23, 2011 Here's a cumulative total on all the honor box services I've done so far (not counting the initial service where I placed the box full of product). Some of my accounts I have visited twice or more since purchasing this business, some I have not yet even serviced: Period Box_Services Sold Offered Sales_Rate Income Expected Theft Theft_Percent COGS Profit ------------ ------------ --------------------------------------- ----------- --------------------------------------- --------------------- --------------------------------------- --------------------------------------- --------------------------------------- --------------------------------------- --------------------------------------- All Time 102 3382.00 9711 0.348264 2004.94 2536.5000 531.5600 0.2095643603390498719 1204.362900 800.577100 So, my pre-tax profit thus far has been about 31% of gross sales (COGS is 48% and theft is 21%). I'll post more data as I have time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogcow Posted November 24, 2011 Share Posted November 24, 2011 Can u post some screenshots of ur software im curious how its setup so u can do the inv. So fast Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobTHJ Posted December 5, 2011 Author Share Posted December 5, 2011 Can u post some screenshots of ur software im curious how its setup so u can do the inv. So fast Sorry for the delay. Here's a screenshot showing the check-in list. After taking a minute to straighten up the box I just tab down the list and enter the number of each item remaining in the box. It really doesn't take long unless there are a lot of items left in the box. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treadmill Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 Sorry for the delay. Here's a screenshot showing the check-in list. After taking a minute to straighten up the box I just tab down the list and enter the number of each item remaining in the box. It really doesn't take long unless there are a lot of items left in the box. Bob how about an update. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobTHJ Posted January 12, 2012 Author Share Posted January 12, 2012 Here's my all-time and last 30 days totals (note the past 30 days was 30-40% slower than normal due to the holidays). Theft keeps dropping (the previous owner was experiencing 20% theft) but I'm not sure what exactly I'm doing to cause that (other than being friendly with the customers). Period Box_Services Sold Offered Sales_Rate Income Expected Theft Theft_Percent COGS Profit ------------ ------------ --------------------------------------- ----------- --------------------------------------- --------------------- --------------------------------------- --------------------------------------- --------------------------------------- --------------------------------------- --------------------------------------- All Time 299 10714.00 28779 0.372285 6692.09 8035.5000 1343.4100 0.1671843693609607368 3899.015600 2793.074400 Last 30 Days 91 3752.00 8816 0.425589 2427.98 2814.0000 386.0200 0.1371783937455579247 1358.868500 1069.111500 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coinvestor Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 Bob, it looks like your software is calculating the "theft percentage" off of the "expected" income and not the actual income. Your theft % dropped because your income dropped below the "expected" level. Its actually right at 20% (20.07%). JD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobTHJ Posted January 12, 2012 Author Share Posted January 12, 2012 Bob, it looks like your software is calculating the "theft percentage" off of the "expected" income and not the actual income. Your theft % dropped because your income dropped below the "expected" level. Its actually right at 20% (20.07%). JD I'm pretty sure it is calculating correctly. Expected is how much money should have been in the box (based on the number of items eaten). Theft is how much was missing and Income is how much was there. Theft + Income = Expected. So, Theft is 13.7% of Expected. The other 86.3% is gross income. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coinvestor Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 Okay. I get it. I was thinking expected sales was like a forcasted number. Your right. Jd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caserri Posted January 21, 2012 Share Posted January 21, 2012 Fascinating Bob. I really enjoy reading your reports. Keep them coming! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poplady1 Posted January 21, 2012 Share Posted January 21, 2012 Can u post some screenshots of ur software im curious how its setup so u can do the inv. So fast Since Sue has started her route I have suggested on the slow selling boxes that she adjust the columns to have room for bigger items. If they have a break-room with a microwave, she asks if they are interested in lunchables including popcorn, noodles in a cup and other larger items beef stew, chili, etc. Each of those items have a price sticker right on that item. That way she isn't sitting on a bunch of stuff with dates. Bob thanks so much for your information. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denis Posted January 22, 2012 Share Posted January 22, 2012 BobTHJ, Now that you have been at the honor box business for a bit what do you think? I have been researching and I am trying to decide whether to enter the business in my area. I am glad you posted your reports to give me a better idea of the numbers. To be honest, the profit looks a bit low for my liking. I originally believed I could make a solid $5-$10 per week per box but from your numbers it looks like a struggle to make $5 in two weeks. No offense meant of course, I just thought the per box profit would be higher. My decision would come down to the time to profit ratio. If I start doing honor boxes, it would be part-time so I was hoping to get the most money out of the time I spend possible. Any wisdom you can share from your time in this business would be appreciated. Dogcow: Anything you can share would be appreciated also as you are the other expert in honor boxes from what I have seen. Denis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dennis23 Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 Hello, Just wanted to say I truly enjoyed reading your post. Very informative. Dennis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobTHJ Posted January 23, 2012 Author Share Posted January 23, 2012 Here's my top 20 accounts ranked according to net profit per day. As you can see some are honor boxes and do $0.75 - $1.00 a day in net profit. For a variety of reasons (primarily recent slow holiday sales) these numbers are lower than average. I estimate I spend 15 minutes per box to fill, service, and inventory each time I service it and my top-performing boxes need refilled roughly every two weeks that's $45 - $60 / hour profit: LocationName Make Key_Serial Daily_Net ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------- Rocky Mountain Steel RC 800 NULL 2.988815 Carville's Auto Mart (Old) FSI 3141 1.727731 NULL Seaga Two-Tier Machine 1.576202 MA Concrete Honor Box 1.140161 ABC Industries, Inc. VM-470 III 1.061508 Elmer's Glass Honor Box 0.928450 Speedy's RC 800 NULL 0.905835 Delta Pawn Honor Box 0.764179 Carville's Auto Mart (New) RC 800 NULL 0.754267 Simpson Brothers Garage Honor Box 0.743873 Daughty Steel RC 800 0.718923 Winnelson Honor Box 0.681686 Power Equipment Honor Box 0.675974 Berry's Garage Honor Box 0.653435 Hartman Brothers Honor Box 0.646634 Hightower Supply Honor Box 0.621416 Orchard Mesa Vets Honor Box 0.615567 Recla Metal Honor Box NULL 0.612852 Brass Rail Vendstar Dave's #117 0.583520 Scott's Printing Honor Box 0.568593 Of course, these are my top-sellers. Many of my boxes have slower sales or higher rates of theft leading to lower net/day figures. However, I can still make a decent return on these by pushing out the time between services (so long as I am careful not to let the product expire). Find good accounts though and it's well worth it. 100 boxes @ $1.00/day net profit = $36,000 net per year. Time investment for servicing those (assuming service every two weeks) is 12.5 hours/week. Not bad if you ask me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denis Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 Thanks for the response. It is helpful to hear from people who are active in the honor box business. You use Dennis' big boxes (80-120 count)? I remember dogcow mentioning that a lot of his locations would not have the space if he used a big one. Any trouble placing boxes because of this? I noticed you have a lot of higher costing items (pastry/candy) and that they sell well. Was this personal choice or adapting to customer needs? I have been trying to keep COGS to a minimum in my plans to increase profit and Candy/Pastry/Cookie items make this hard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobTHJ Posted January 24, 2012 Author Share Posted January 24, 2012 Yes, my boxes hold an average of 100 items (actual count is typically in the range of 80 to 120 depending on product mix). I haven't experienced any trouble placing boxes due to their size. The boxes are approx 20 inches square - certainly much smaller than any vending machine. Candy bars and pastries are my highest COGS items. On the average they do sell MUCH better than lower cost items. I've set up my software to generate a fill list for each box based on what items that customer prefers best adjusted for my cost of the item. Therefore I try to pack the boxes with larger quantities of the lower-cost items while still providing some of the higher-cost items for the accounts that like them. I find I get quite a bit of backlash if I don't include enough candy bars in the boxes (I even had a couple places threaten to get rid of the box). I find that by leaving a little more time between services I sell more low-cost items (the candy bars sell out rather quickly and people are forced to switch to 2nd, 3rd, and 4th choices). My top lower-end sellers are Austin crackers & cookies, Oreos, salami sticks, trail mix, and salted peanuts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denis Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 I find that by leaving a little more time between services I sell more low-cost items (the candy bars sell out rather quickly and people are forced to switch to 2nd, 3rd, and 4th choices). My top lower-end sellers are Austin crackers & cookies, Oreos, salami sticks, trail mix, and salted peanuts. Great tip, thanks. I will keep that in mind for locations that like the higher-end snacks. Which salami sticks do you use? I can get the .28oz slim jims for a great price but they are tiny. I do not know whether customers would pay $1 even in a snack box for them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobTHJ Posted February 7, 2012 Author Share Posted February 7, 2012 Sorry - got busy and forgot to respond to your inquiry. Yes - I sell the .28oz slim jims for $0.75 without much trouble. Some places really like them and I can sell several dozen per service. In addition to the slim jims I also carry the Double Barrel salami sticks and O'Brien's Beef & Cheddar (both from Sam's Club). I also just started carrying the Oberto beef sticks to expand the variety of my meat snacks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denis Posted February 9, 2012 Share Posted February 9, 2012 Interesting. I might try to put some in. They are very small so I could fit in plenty. I was worried as even gas stations sell them for the printed $.30. I saw the Oberto at Sam's Club and was happy to see they stocked the beef jerky stick. It is fairly big and I definetly think it will sell for $1. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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