Metro Posted February 26, 2012 Share Posted February 26, 2012 Hi. I am considering some honor boxes. I am currently a bulk vendor looking to expand my options and offerings to potential locations. I am located in NY. I used to have a full-line business many years ago but now that I am re-entering the field I am thinking that it is worth it to use honor boxes and take the risk on stoen products vs the capital outlay and maintenance of large full-line machines. I would appreciate any advice on this matter. I have read numerous posts in this forum. Are honor boxes still viable in this climate> How have you done with them> what price point would you suggest> In my state, everything over $1 requires remittance of sales tax. so I would lose8%, but it seems that .75 is too little for chocolate products (for example) that can cost .55. do you make it up on the chips> I would appreciate any and all guidance on this matter. Thanks. (by the way, please excuse my use of the > sign in pace of the qusiton mark. My dog just removed the key and stashed it somewhere!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Mike Posted February 26, 2012 Share Posted February 26, 2012 Hi. I am considering some honor boxes. I am currently a bulk vendor looking to expand my options and offerings to potential locations. I am located in NY. I used to have a full-line business many years ago but now that I am re-entering the field I am thinking that it is worth it to use honor boxes and take the risk on stoen products vs the capital outlay and maintenance of large full-line machines. I would appreciate any advice on this matter. I have read numerous posts in this forum. Are honor boxes still viable in this climate> How have you done with them> what price point would you suggest> In my state, everything over $1 requires remittance of sales tax. so I would lose8%, but it seems that .75 is too little for chocolate products (for example) that can cost .55. do you make it up on the chips> I would appreciate any and all guidance on this matter. Thanks. (by the way, please excuse my use of the > sign in pace of the qusiton mark. My dog just removed the key and stashed it somewhere!) Someone with more experience can reply to this but Ill give you my rookie opinion. Honor boxes are something we do and will continue to expand with.. The ones we have have suffered little or no shrinkage. We are placing some larger accounts this coming week and will be switching suppliers to get Larger Single Serve chips. After we do this we are switching our honor boxes to "Everything is a 1.00" boxes. For smaller items like crackers and cheaper granola bars we are going to tape two together. Ill let you know how that goes. In IA there is no sales tax on food. "candy" is taxable unless it has flour in it so pretty much everything except candy bars(7%) is tax free. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogcow Posted February 26, 2012 Share Posted February 26, 2012 i do everything at a $1 boxes, it works well for me, if its not making you any money just drop by and pick them up. you only risk a few dollars in product. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Mike Posted February 26, 2012 Share Posted February 26, 2012 i do everything at a $1 boxes, it works well for me, if its not making you any money just drop by and pick them up. you only risk a few dollars in product. Do you do 2 for 1.00 on the cheaper items or avoid them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogcow Posted February 27, 2012 Share Posted February 27, 2012 Do you do 2 for 1.00 on the cheaper items or avoid them? No everything is $1 even lance crackers I do 1oz chips. Ppl buy them I explain that there will be a little shortage and the price on chips and crackers makess up for missing candy. Most ppl understand this I've never had complaints Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dennis23 Posted February 27, 2012 Share Posted February 27, 2012 Someone with more experience can reply to this but Ill give you my rookie opinion. Honor boxes are something we do and will continue to expand with.. The ones we have have suffered little or no shrinkage. We are placing some larger accounts this coming week and will be switching suppliers to get Larger Single Serve chips. After we do this we are switching our honor boxes to "Everything is a 1.00" boxes. For smaller items like crackers and cheaper granola bars we are going to tape two together. Ill let you know how that goes. In IA there is no sales tax on food. "candy" is taxable unless it has flour in it so pretty much everything except candy bars(7%) is tax free. Mike Hi Mike, I also live in Iowa and two years ago this April I was audited by the state. The auditor quoted other parts of the law that would say the flour claim is void. He said I owed the state several thousand dollars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Mike Posted February 27, 2012 Share Posted February 27, 2012 Exempt Examples, not considered candy The following are not considered candy, and the sales of them are not subject to tax, unless taxable as prepared food. jams, jellies, preserves, or syrups frostings and other decorating ingredients dried fruits marshmallows, marshmallow cream breakfast cereals prepared fruit in a sugar or similar base ice cream, popsicles, or other frozen desserts covered with chocolate or similar covering caramel or other candy-coated apples or other fruit candy-coated popcorn cakes and cookies candy containing flour, unless the flour is added only to exclude its sale from tax granola bars crackers marzipan unsweetened coconut This is what we have been using as our guide. A Snickers bar is taxable but a Keebler Jumbo Fudge Stick isn't. The fudge stick contains flour. When in doubt we go to Walmart and buy one. I figure they have a handle on it. We also set a taxable row in our snack machines for only taxable items(gum,candy bars,chuckles,etc) It makes it easy to get the clear-able row total for the week to pay sales tax on. You sure you shouldn't get a 2nd opinion with an appeal? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lakevending Posted February 27, 2012 Share Posted February 27, 2012 I price everything at $1 and I've never had any complaints about it. I'm adding meat snacks this week and it's the tiny slim jims so I am taping 2 of them together, but that's the only exception. Ohio is weird for tax laws (although what state doesn't have it's own oddities). Ignoring drinks here which have their own crazy set of regulations, food is non-taxable in any dollar amount as long as it's "to go". You only get taxed for food bought and consumed in the same location. That's why they always ask you at a fast food place here if the order is "to go". If they buy a candy bar and sit down at a table next to the machine to eat it it's taxable. If they go somewhere else to eat it, even in the same building, then it's not taxable. If it's only stuff over $1 that gets taxed I would set everything at $1 and tape/rubberband pairs of things together that you don't feel is fair to charge that much for. But keep it simple and set everything at one price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mission vending Posted February 28, 2012 Share Posted February 28, 2012 When in doubt we go to Walmart and buy one. I figure they have a handle on it. LOL, I did the exact same thing years ago when I was starting out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pyrodude Posted February 28, 2012 Share Posted February 28, 2012 In my state, everything over $1 requires remittance of sales tax. so I would lose8%, but it seems that .75 is too little for chocolate products (for example) that can cost .55. If you have to pay tax on $1 items, how hard would it be to sell items for 99 cents? You could leave a small cup of pennies for change and charge 99 cents and eliminate the tax issue. Just a thought... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poplady1 Posted March 11, 2012 Share Posted March 11, 2012 Exempt Examples, not considered candy The following are not considered candy, and the sales of them are not subject to tax, unless taxable as prepared food. jams, jellies, preserves, or syrups frostings and other decorating ingredients dried fruits marshmallows, marshmallow cream breakfast cereals prepared fruit in a sugar or similar base ice cream, popsicles, or other frozen desserts covered with chocolate or similar covering caramel or other candy-coated apples or other fruit candy-coated popcorn cakes and cookies candy containing flour, unless the flour is added only to exclude its sale from tax granola bars crackers marzipan unsweetened coconut This is what we have been using as our guide. A Snickers bar is taxable but a Keebler Jumbo Fudge Stick isn't. The fudge stick contains flour. When in doubt we go to Walmart and buy one. I figure they have a handle on it. We also set a taxable row in our snack machines for only taxable items(gum,candy bars,chuckles,etc) It makes it easy to get the clear-able row total for the week to pay sales tax on. You sure you shouldn't get a 2nd opinion with an appeal? Exempt Examples, not considered candy The following are not considered candy, and the sales of them are not subject to tax, unless taxable as prepared food. jams, jellies, preserves, or syrups frostings and other decorating ingredients dried fruits marshmallows, marshmallow cream breakfast cereals prepared fruit in a sugar or similar base ice cream, popsicles, or other frozen desserts covered with chocolate or similar covering caramel or other candy-coated apples or other fruit candy-coated popcorn cakes and cookies candy containing flour, unless the flour is added only to exclude its sale from tax granola bars crackers marzipan unsweetened coconut This is what we have been using as our guide. A Snickers bar is taxable but a Keebler Jumbo Fudge Stick isn't. The fudge stick contains flour. When in doubt we go to Walmart and buy one. I figure they have a handle on it. We also set a taxable row in our snack machines for only taxable items(gum,candy bars,chuckles,etc) It makes it easy to get the clear-able row total for the week to pay sales tax on. You sure you shouldn't get a 2nd opinion with an appeal? I like that Walmart test. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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