havending Posted May 30, 2012 Share Posted May 30, 2012 I was talking to one of my suppliers that I buy supplies for the Barber Cuts and cranes from and they were telling me that GA is really cracking down on the prize limits. GA has some really low prize limits for redemption and cranes and games like them I think the limit is 5.00. I was told that the state of GA is passing out hefty fines like candy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billnuts Posted May 30, 2012 Share Posted May 30, 2012 I have had someone tell me the same story about pennsivania areas could be, as the states get more or less broke they start looking for anone trying to make a living and make sure they cant make a dollar. NOBODY puts you out of business faster is the state or goverment... or a relative.. thats why thier is a cop on every light in michigan. giving out tickets like free water.. get a ticket... fight it all they want is the money no points etc. it depends on if GA has the manpower to enforce those laws... first they have to find the machine... then track the owner... then fine the owner and then prove it in court. most states are too broke to have enforcers or dont care, we will eventually have to add mercy capsule vendors to all the high dollar prize machines. so they get a prize everytime. i dont know if that skirts the high value prize law... but with a capsule they did win every time so it becomes a diffrent class machine. stacker giant, and keymaster have optional capsule vending built in.. most newer machines are headed that way. and it would not be too difficult to add a ADD-ON capsule vendor etc. bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogcow Posted May 30, 2012 Share Posted May 30, 2012 I have had someone tell me the same story about pennsivania areas could be, as the states get more or less broke they start looking for anone trying to make a living and make sure they cant make a dollar. NOBODY puts you out of business faster is the state or goverment... or a relative.. thats why thier is a cop on every light in michigan. giving out tickets like free water.. get a ticket... fight it all they want is the money no points etc. it depends on if GA has the manpower to enforce those laws... first they have to find the machine... then track the owner... then fine the owner and then prove it in court. most states are too broke to have enforcers or dont care, we will eventually have to add mercy capsule vendors to all the high dollar prize machines. so they get a prize everytime. i dont know if that skirts the high value prize law... but with a capsule they did win every time so it becomes a diffrent class machine. stacker giant, and keymaster have optional capsule vending built in.. most newer machines are headed that way. and it would not be too difficult to add a ADD-ON capsule vendor etc. bill the way it works in GA, they seize the machine if its found in violation. for a $3-5,000 machine you probably come looking for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PerformaVending Posted May 30, 2012 Share Posted May 30, 2012 the way it works in GA, they seize the machine if its found in violation. for a $3-5,000 machine you probably come looking for it. So do they have a "Bureau O' Buzz-kill" to go around and check all the machines? That sounds depressingly petty of them. Do they offer any sort of help in making older machines compliant? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogcow Posted May 30, 2012 Share Posted May 30, 2012 So do they have a "Bureau O' Buzz-kill" to go around and check all the machines? That sounds depressingly petty of them. Do they offer any sort of help in making older machines compliant? So do they have a "Bureau O' Buzz-kill" to go around and check all the machines? That sounds depressingly petty of them. Do they offer any sort of help in making older machines compliant? to maake it compliant your prize must be under $5, if you want to know more PM roostyr he will explain it all Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rdendy Posted May 30, 2012 Share Posted May 30, 2012 to maake it compliant your prize must be under $5, if you want to know more PM roostyr he will explain it all So how do they value out the prizes? People charge different amounts for the same items everyday. In fact if i pay a dollar to your machine and win an IPOD didn't I in fact get it for a dollar, making it under $5?!? I get what they are doing, but seems unenforceable. Have a friend, wife w/e buy the items and then resell them to you for $4.99, with receipt of course, and then show them the receipt and ask wtf they think they are doing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havending Posted May 30, 2012 Author Share Posted May 30, 2012 Many counties in Maryland have very high tax stickers for bulk. I have paid as high as 40.00 a year per head. In one location I did not comply fast enough and they stuck the location owner with the fine. I cleared it all up but total bs to me. Sent from my Desire HD using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogcow Posted May 30, 2012 Share Posted May 30, 2012 So how do they value out the prizes? People charge different amounts for the same items everyday. In fact if i pay a dollar to your machine and win an IPOD didn't I in fact get it for a dollar, making it under $5?!? I get what they are doing, but seems unenforceable. Have a friend, wife w/e buy the items and then resell them to you for $4.99, with receipt of course, and then show them the receipt and ask wtf they think they are doing. i dont know the specifics i think thats probably tax evasion. its like if u try to sell someone a car for $1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caserri Posted May 31, 2012 Share Posted May 31, 2012 i dont know the specifics i think thats probably tax evasion. its like if u try to sell someone a car for $1 I used to do that all the time until Massachusetts got wise. Now they charge tax on the value OR the selling price, whichever is greater. Sent using Tapatalk 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roostyr Posted May 31, 2012 Share Posted May 31, 2012 it depends on if GA has the manpower to enforce those laws... first they have to find the machine... then track the owner... then fine the owner and then prove it in court. most states are too broke to have enforcers or dont care, we will eventually have to add mercy capsule vendors to all the high dollar prize machines. so they get a prize everytime. i dont know if that skirts the high value prize law... but with a capsule they did win every time so it becomes a diffrent class machine. stacker giant, and keymaster have optional capsule vending built in.. most newer machines are headed that way. and it would not be too difficult to add a ADD-ON capsule vendor etc. bill The amusement machines fall under the jurisdiction of the ATF here in GA, not sure about everywhere else. You are required to have a master license for Class A (video games) and a master license for class B (redemption) games. In addition to the master license, there is a seperate sticker fee for each game you have in operation. You are required to submit the name of each game as well at its physical location to the ATF. The prize cost is stated as $5 wholesale. Really they don't care to much what the cost is though, as long as its not blatently obvious that you are over $5 (Ipod touch, Xbox, etc). The law was originally introduced to help curb the ever increasing videopoker machines that make loads of $$$, it wasn't intentionally targetting redemption games like cranes (Though other states do have prize limit laws, GA is currently the lowest at $5). Interesting though about the capsule every time turning it into a seperate class machine. I've seen Road Trips with capsules as the minor prize...but that's still not everytime like you mentioned. However, games like Skittleball (OK Mfg) still fall under class B redemption, and its a guaranteed prize as well....Not sure if the Eyeprize machine does or not actually. And its basically just a bigger toy capsule machine. I'll check that at the end of this week theres one near my route. the way it works in GA, they seize the machine if its found in violation. for a $3-5,000 machine you probably come looking for it. If a machine is not compliant, either no sticker for the machine or prize cost over the legal limit they fine you on a per machine basis. It's around $125 per machine, if you want to use the machine again your also going to have to pay them $85 to reinstate it in addition to still needing to purchase the sticker for the machine (assuming it didn't have one). Class A stickers = $35 per year. Class B = $75 per year. Video - Redemption respectively. If you don't pay the fine within two weeks they seize the machine(s). So do they have a "Bureau O' Buzz-kill" to go around and check all the machines? That sounds depressingly petty of them. Do they offer any sort of help in making older machines compliant? Yes, the ATF actually goes to all these places and checks the machines. Don't think they have much of a detailed schedule for determining when to go where. Just if their in the neighborhood already checking licenses for other things. So how do they value out the prizes? People charge different amounts for the same items everyday. In fact if i pay a dollar to your machine and win an IPOD didn't I in fact get it for a dollar, making it under $5?!? I get what they are doing, but seems unenforceable. Have a friend, wife w/e buy the items and then resell them to you for $4.99, with receipt of course, and then show them the receipt and ask wtf they think they are doing. Mentioned this at the top of my post. But they arent to concerned as long as its not blatently obvious. Could you do that? Maybe. They would obviously know what your doing but whether they wanted to push the issue is the question. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
will.vend Posted May 31, 2012 Share Posted May 31, 2012 I spoke with the ga dept of revenue today and they informed me the master license per year has been raised to $5000.00, in addition to the master license you have to pay a sticker fee per machine per year. when I checked with them in February of this year the master license was only $500.00. This increase in fees will prevent me from being in the crane business. I have attached a copy of the current revision and a copy of the revision I got in February. I sure hope Im missing something here and these fees are incorrect. If you are unable to read the attachments pm me your email address and I will send it to you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rdendy Posted May 31, 2012 Share Posted May 31, 2012 Wow thats insane and unrealistic imo. But thats government and beauracracy, all they know is to regulate and tax business to death. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roostyr Posted June 1, 2012 Share Posted June 1, 2012 I spoke with the ga dept of revenue today and they informed me the master license per year has been raised to $5000.00, in addition to the master license you have to pay a sticker fee per machine per year. when I checked with them in February of this year the master license was only $500.00. This increase in fees will prevent me from being in the crane business. I have attached a copy of the current revision and a copy of the revision I got in February. I sure hope Im missing something here and these fees are incorrect. If you are unable to read the attachments pm me your email address and I will send it to you. They are 2 seperate master licenses: Class A ($500 yearly) + sticker cost = video games. No prizes awarded Class B ($5000 yearly) + sticker cost = redemption games. Cranes, tickets. You need both master licenses if you plan on running both types of games. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caserri Posted June 1, 2012 Share Posted June 1, 2012 I spoke with the ga dept of revenue today and they informed me the master license per year has been raised to $5000.00, in addition to the master license you have to pay a sticker fee per machine per year. when I checked with them in February of this year the master license was only $500.00. This increase in fees will prevent me from being in the crane business. I have attached a copy of the current revision and a copy of the revision I got in February. I sure hope Im missing something here and these fees are incorrect. If you are unable to read the attachments pm me your email address and I will send it to you. With the license cost of $5000.00 and the fine only $125, I'm afraid I'd have to operate without the license and happily pay the fine "if" I got one. Seems like a decent gamble to me. Sent using Tapatalk 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
will.vend Posted June 1, 2012 Share Posted June 1, 2012 With the license cost of $5000.00 and the fine only $125, I'm afraid I'd have to operate without the license and happily pay the fine "if" I got one. Seems like a decent gamble to me. Sent using Tapatalk 2 My fear is they would charge more than that. But you are right if the fine is so small what is the incentive to pay the $5000.00 master license fee? Small operators that have invested in a few cranes might be forced to skip the license and take their chances. Each crane would have to gross over $400.00 a month just to pay the fee, and that doesnt include the cost of tax stickers, commissions and product. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogcow Posted June 1, 2012 Share Posted June 1, 2012 My fear is they would charge more than that. But you are right if the fine is so small what is the incentive to pay the $5000.00 master license fee? Small operators that have invested in a few cranes might be forced to skip the license and take their chances. Each crane would have to gross over $400.00 a month just to pay the fee, and that doesnt include the cost of tax stickers, commissions and product. my knobby ball cranes run about 2% cogs, i probably spend more on parts than product Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
will.vend Posted June 1, 2012 Share Posted June 1, 2012 my knobby ball cranes run about 2% cogs, i probably spend more on parts than product I didnt mean to take the thread off topic but it all seems relevant...dogcow what are the master and sticker license fees in florida? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogcow Posted June 1, 2012 Share Posted June 1, 2012 I didnt mean to take the thread off topic but it all seems relevant...dogcow what are the master and sticker license fees in florida? each county and in some cases city handles their own license, id have to look thru my records for the exact numbers, i believe they are all under 20 bucks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dkochan Posted June 15, 2012 Share Posted June 15, 2012 Ever since the state of Georgia raised their license fees on coin-op machines I noticed there are more and more video games and cranes with either expired tags or no tags out on locations. I decided against expanding into cranes because of the steep licensing fees. I do notice that all the "adult" redemption machines (gambling) have to up to date tags. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryan Posted June 15, 2012 Share Posted June 15, 2012 This thread is what has been scaring me from getting started. I live in ohio which has the $10 redemption limit yet I want to place a stacker and offer larger prizes such as xboxs. I'm starting to think that paying the fee (if it ever even is an issue) of $125 is much better than not being able to vend anything over $10 at all. I'd like to know what some people who are already running these machines are doing. Also, if I do place a machine with prizes greater than the redemption limit, should I still be contacting my county/city to get tax stickers? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryan Posted June 15, 2012 Share Posted June 15, 2012 Double psot, sorry guys! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
will.vend Posted June 15, 2012 Share Posted June 15, 2012 This thread is what has been scaring me from getting started. I'd like to know what some people who are already running these machines are doing. you might not get an honest answer to this question on an open forum or even any response at all in regard to the georgia fees. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryan Posted June 15, 2012 Share Posted June 15, 2012 That's kind of what I was thinking, and PMs would be much appreciated Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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