jpvending Posted July 8, 2012 Share Posted July 8, 2012 Hi, I am just starting out. I was planning on only buying a couple machines at a time but the opportunity presented itself for ten new Vendstar 3000 machines for $500 which seemed like too good of a deal to pass up. From my research on here, it sounds like these aren't the best machines but I'm hoping they will at least last for awhile and give me a chance to see if vending is for me. Anyways, on to my questions... 1) I haven't decided yet if I'm going to do charity or commission. If you've decided to do commission - how do you approach store owners? Do you tell them what's in it for them? Do you have a set commission or is that something you negotiate? Etc. A friend owns a pizza place and has had a 2 head machine in there for at least ten years. I asked her about it and she said the guy looked so down on his luck that she let him place it for nothing - but that normally she expects 50% commission. To me that seem crazy high. What percentage IS normal? 2) If I do a charity where you pay for the stickers...for example NCCS...they have a price per machine for 1-5 and then 6-24. Am I better off paying for all 10 of my machines to start with or should I get stickers as I get placements? Maybe do 5 and then 5 later? 3) Is there a general radius you should keep within? I am fairly certain I could place a machine in the breakroom where I used to work but it's about 30 minutes away. Not sure if it's worth the gas. Maybe if I got more in that area? 4) Do you have more success with placements if you take an actual machine with you vs a picture? Someone said it had greater impact when they saw it in person filled with candy. Wondering if that's true. I'm SO bad at sales - anything I can do to minmize my rejections is a good thing. I was proud of myself as I made my first attempt at placement this morning. Of course the manager wasn't there but I left my contact information and will follow up next week. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDVENDING Posted July 8, 2012 Share Posted July 8, 2012 Welcome. To save you and everybody else allot of time, a member on here by the name of Vendelicious posted a thread called "the ultimate bulk vending beginners mega thread". It will tell you everything you ever wanted to know about bulk vending and more. Heck there's so much info in there that I think it will even explain to you the theory of relativity, and how an internal combustion engine works. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedvender Posted July 8, 2012 Share Posted July 8, 2012 1. Charity VS. Commission If your doing just candy to start Charity. 50% commission to me seems to high for a vending if your doing a Video game pinball machine that is the normal rate. From what I have heard here For a Rack with toys it is 10-35% usually off the gross. 2. Getting Charity Stickers If you know of a well known local Charity See if you can hook up with them and design your own sticker. Or if you do from one a organization like NCCS American Lung, etc,,, You can do it either way. Depending on your start up budget. You can pay the yearly fee upfront. 5 tagsx12 months 60 bucks plus postie and handling. Or you can say Hey I need 10 20 whatever and make monthly payments. I have paid for mine up front so far when I get enough machines making money I will move over to monthly. 4 General radius Just depends how for are you willing to drive for a buck. I have 12 machines out right now 4 in the town I live one the next town over and 5 in a close buy larger city and one in a good size city next to that one in the next state over. I have a car that is cheep on gas I use right now and know There is a ton of bossiness I can fill in around my locations i have. I have just squired more machines and that is what I am planing on doing with those. Also the machines I have started with are Vendstar 3000. I have also bought now some NW and eagles. There are the next set to get placed. 5. Don't be afraid to ask for help. Check out Candy king has posted his experiences with different locating company's and who was the winners and loses. If your by yourself and not sure on the locating the use of a locating Company can help get you started and a good one can help make your more profitable from the start. Finally good luck from a New Guy myself The most important thing to do is ask questions Look for a mentor Like this board. I was talking with my wife's college friend she said of the 80 percent business fail of the 20 percent that succeed they usually have had some kind of mentoring and that is what this board is for us vendors Maybe not all the ansewrs but it will get you pointed in the right direction Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VenDana Posted July 8, 2012 Share Posted July 8, 2012 JPVending, I bought 2 brand new Vendstar 3000's about 10 days ago for $100 and kids love them! My son doesn't care if it's metal or plastic ~ he see's candy and goes gaga over it! Since I can't say I have any experience at all and am a newbie myself, I'd say that is a good deal if they are all keyed the same (more convenient) and I'd even try to talk him down some more. Say, I have $450 cash and can meet you in 10 minutes. I have a rule that it is always better to be told no than to wonder later if they would have said yes. You're going to do great things! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PerformaVending Posted July 9, 2012 Share Posted July 9, 2012 Yeah, Vendstars have a bad reputation from the professionals, but they really are solid little troopers that have served the industry well for decades. 50% commission "can" work, but it MUST have some serious foot traffic to warrant that for candy. 50% gross or Net? Actual machines have landed me more stops than photos have. Again, if you need anything, a LOT of this stuff is discussed HERE. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpvending Posted July 9, 2012 Author Share Posted July 9, 2012 Thanks for everyone's responses so far. I have read the beginners thread as well as pages and pages of the forum. You guys/gals are a wealth of information. The nearest Sam's Club is about 30 miles from me so I tried CostCo today to see what they have in candy offerings and was quite disappointed. Guess I will have to get a Sam's Club membership. The good news is that it turned out my CostCo card is expired...so I'll not renew that one and instead get one at Sam's Club. Will Sam's Club allow me to use a one day pass so I can check it out and make sure it's going to have everything I need before purchasing a year? How much does it cost for a year. I was surprised that the CostCo membership had gone up to $60. For those who use a local charity (vs one of the national ones) do you just go to the local charity and ask for their permission to use their name/logo on your machines and let them know in exchange you will donate a % of profit? Or how do you approach them? I'd prefer local but may go the path of least resistance and use a charity that is already set up if it's going to be a hassle to do a local one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PerformaVending Posted July 9, 2012 Share Posted July 9, 2012 For those who use a local charity (vs one of the national ones) do you just go to the local charity and ask for their permission to use their name/logo on your machines and let them know in exchange you will donate a % of profit? Or how do you approach them? I'd prefer local but may go the path of least resistance and use a charity that is already set up if it's going to be a hassle to do a local one. I have a local church group. I give them a percentage, and I get to use their name. I set it up through their youth group. They were pretty resistant until I explained I was fully insured. Then it was smooth sailing all the way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amc-vending Posted July 9, 2012 Share Posted July 9, 2012 sam is around 50 a year - I think they still allow a 1 day pass but not 100% sure on that. If you are doing your own locating - a local charity would work - but believe it or not - most local charities dont wont to be assocated with vendors. Mainly because they are not setup up for it. If you are going to hire locators - a national charity would work better, they have their scipts designed for them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpvending Posted July 9, 2012 Author Share Posted July 9, 2012 Ok, another couple questions, since I'm trying to figure out WHAT to sell. Will the Vendstar 3000 handle bouncy balls? Any other toys or small bubbles that toys go in? I've read that they don't vend 1 in gumballs well....that there is a part you can buy to vend 1 inch gum but have heard differing opionions as to how well that worked. Thanks everyone! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amc-vending Posted July 9, 2012 Share Posted July 9, 2012 I have heard both - Vendstar didnt have a gumball wheel, but have heard there was a aftermarket one - have no idea where to get them thou. 1800 , NW, oaks and beavers are better and you can find good deals on them. Check the bulk for sale section - I saw some for sale there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PerformaVending Posted July 9, 2012 Share Posted July 9, 2012 Ok, another couple questions, since I'm trying to figure out WHAT to sell. Will the Vendstar 3000 handle bouncy balls? Any other toys or small bubbles that toys go in? I've read that they don't vend 1 in gumballs well....that there is a part you can buy to vend 1 inch gum but have heard differing opionions as to how well that worked. Thanks everyone! The Vendstar was designed expressly for candy. It's best not to push these units too far, as reliability can drop. If you need bouncy balls or gum, it's best to add a standalone head to these stops for several reasons. Volume, faster services, mobile price-points, etc. Candy composition should depend on your locations- For mine, I run Runts, Skittles, and M&M's, though the M&M's are going to be replaced to cut costs. These machines have a horrible time with Mike and Ike's and Hot Tamales in my experience. Others may disagree, but I avoid those in my Vendstar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedvender Posted July 9, 2012 Share Posted July 9, 2012 I have 12 vendstars out I am trying the 1" gumballs Tested it at home with 2 different machines. I ran around 30 vends each machine one time I got 2 another time it was hard to turn but did vend. I am giving it a try and will see what happens. I placed them in 5 stops if it doesn't work I will slowly change them over to another candy or just by the small gumballs and do it that way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aristavending Posted July 9, 2012 Share Posted July 9, 2012 2) If I do a charity where you pay for the stickers...for example NCCS...they have a price per machine for 1-5 and then 6-24. Am I better off paying for all 10 of my machines to start with or should I get stickers as I get placements? Maybe do 5 and then 5 later? I guess it depends on how quickly you plan to place your machines. This isnt a huge expense, but you don't want to be paying for something you aren't using. If you use NCCS, it is really easy to add stickers. They will send you a form to fax/mail in when you need more. It's a pretty quick, easy, painless process. Also, I have found that local charities often don't want you to associate their name with your business. 3) Is there a general radius you should keep within? I am fairly certain I could place a machine in the breakroom where I used to work but it's about 30 minutes away. Not sure if it's worth the gas. Maybe if I got more in that area? This is really up to you. I prefer to be as close as possible, but depending on the area you live, you might need to branch out to find good locations. Remember you will probably only have to go service once every month or two (barring any problems/issues). It would definitely make sense if you could get more in that area. Will Sam's Club allow me to use a one day pass so I can check it out and make sure it's going to have everything I need before purchasing a year? How much does it cost for a year. Sam's always has one day passes to try them out - although they charge you an extra 10% on your purchase. See here: http://oi41.tinypic.com/1zyaq8h.jpg. Just google search for them - they are all over. The Sams by me is $35/year for a basic business membership, but it might vary by the part of the country you are in? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpvending Posted July 9, 2012 Author Share Posted July 9, 2012 Thanks for your input everyone! I might actually get this off the ground with your help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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