llcoolrobb Posted September 25, 2012 Share Posted September 25, 2012 hello all, well i have been doing some research on starting a small mint box vending route and thats how i found this great forum! i want to start kinda small to test the waters and see if it will be worth my time and effort. #1 the actual mint box:found a nice clear plastic box with 2 compartments,1for the mints and 1 for the coins/money which is lockable. MC-250 This Mint Collection Box has two sections - front open "mint" section and back lockable "coin" section. The Mint Collection Box has a rear sliding door with Sign Holder where you can insert a 5"x7" card with your slogan or other descriptive message. Overall Dimensions: 5"W x 9½"H x 8"D Collection Container: 5"W x 3"H x 4"D Cash Container: 5"W x 3"H x 3½"D Sign Holder: 5"W x 7"H Quantity Price Each 1-11 $16.54 12-35 $15.71 36-99 $14.89 100+ please call. Add Padlock: Regular-Key $1.45 Keyed-Alike $1.45 i was thinking of investing in 10 of these to begin with but may opt for 12 to get the quantity discount? 10 boxes with locks=$179.90 not sure if this price includes shipping when i went to check out through my paypal shopping cart it said total was $179.90(including 10 locks keyed alike), but did not purchase yet so not sure. #2 the mints: york peppermint patties are great but the cost per mint is too high! pearsons or palmers seems to be the best options. i think i will go with which ever one i can get the best deal/price on. the best price i found so far online was with amazon,well actually a vendor on amazon,240 ind. wrapped patties for $22.97 including s/h, which makes my cost per patty $.095! #3 getting the mint boxes located:may try this myself to keep costs down,but may have to hire and expert to place them in good locations where i can earn the most profit! not sure what the going rate is for mint box placement is maybe $10-$20? this part of the biz i have not researched much yet. #4 shrinkage:i have read on this forum under the multi item big cardboard honor boxes a good rate is <20% i am hoping for <10% since they are 25 cents and not a dollar but maybe i am totally wrong? i would love in advice,suggestions,info,etc. on my 1st attempt at a vending route and the vending biz! also does anyone have any experience with this model mint box or have an idea of how many mints it will hold? what should i expect to average per month with 10 boxes in average locations? thanks, robert Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harvending Posted September 25, 2012 Share Posted September 25, 2012 hello all, well i have been doing some research on starting a small mint box vending route and thats how i found this great forum! i want to start kinda small to test the waters and see if it will be worth my time and effort. #1 the actual mint box:found a nice clear plastic box with 2 compartments,1for the mints and 1 for the coins/money which is lockable. MC-250 This Mint Collection Box has two sections - front open "mint" section and back lockable "coin" section. The Mint Collection Box has a rear sliding door with Sign Holder where you can insert a 5"x7" card with your slogan or other descriptive message. Overall Dimensions: 5"W x 9½"H x 8"D Collection Container: 5"W x 3"H x 4"D Cash Container: 5"W x 3"H x 3½"D Sign Holder: 5"W x 7"H Quantity Price Each 1-11 $16.54 12-35 $15.71 36-99 $14.89 100+ please call. Add Padlock: Regular-Key $1.45 Keyed-Alike $1.45 i was thinking of investing in 10 of these to begin with but may opt for 12 to get the quantity discount? 10 boxes with locks=$179.90 not sure if this price includes shipping when i went to check out through my paypal shopping cart it said total was $179.90(including 10 locks keyed alike), but did not purchase yet so not sure. #2 the mints: york peppermint patties are great but the cost per mint is too high! pearsons or palmers seems to be the best options. i think i will go with which ever one i can get the best deal/price on. the best price i found so far online was with amazon,well actually a vendor on amazon,240 ind. wrapped patties for $22.97 including s/h, which makes my cost per patty $.095! #3 getting the mint boxes located:may try this myself to keep costs down,but may have to hire and expert to place them in good locations where i can earn the most profit! not sure what the going rate is for mint box placement is maybe $10-$20? this part of the biz i have not researched much yet. #4 shrinkage:i have read on this forum under the multi item big cardboard honor boxes a good rate is <20% i am hoping for <10% since they are 25 cents and not a dollar but maybe i am totally wrong? i would love in advice,suggestions,info,etc. on my 1st attempt at a vending route and the vending biz! also does anyone have any experience with this model mint box or have an idea of how many mints it will hold? what should i expect to average per month with 10 boxes in average locations? thanks, robert Check Mint Box in Honor Box Vending. I have had good success with mint boxes. Let me advise, the mint box you discribe will be too small. Will be glad to help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
llcoolrobb Posted September 25, 2012 Author Share Posted September 25, 2012 Check Mint Box in Honor Box Vending. I have had good success with mint boxes. Let me advise, the mint box you discribe will be too small. Will be glad to help. what size due you suggest and where can i get 10 of them? thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
llcoolrobb Posted September 25, 2012 Author Share Posted September 25, 2012 i found this mint box byridan SysteShems Sheridan Systems Sheridan Systems sheridan systems Price: $19.95 These acrylic plastic honor boxes are the cream of the crop. Use them for your best locations and to get the best locations. They come with a secure locking attached coin box with keys. You can be proud to walk into any major location with this deluxe display. Dimensions: 10"D X 5"W X 10"H would this box be a good size for peppermint patties? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harvending Posted September 26, 2012 Share Posted September 26, 2012 i found this mint box byridan SysteShems Sheridan Systems Sheridan Systems sheridan systems This is the box I use and it works great. It will hold up to 125 York Patties. FYI you can buy york patties at sams or costco for 12.75. Also consider Bobs mint for locations that have Yorks already. Price: $19.95 These acrylic plastic honor boxes are the cream of the crop. Use them for your best locations and to get the best locations. They come with a secure locking attached coin box with keys. You can be proud to walk into any major location with this deluxe display. Dimensions: 10"D X 5"W X 10"H would this box be a good size for peppermint patties? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sweetman Posted November 6, 2012 Share Posted November 6, 2012 The Sheridan is a great mint box. I currently have 14 out on location in restaurants and am grossing an average of $31.00 each per week. I use Pearson's Mint Patties which costs $2.38 per bag of 44 at Walmart. All of my locations sell 3 bags or 132 mints per week. A couple of them go thru 4 bags a week and are grossing around $45. These have only been out for 3 weeks, and I will be adding 10 more soon. I am netting around 70%.. believe it or NOT on these puppies! I hope this will help some of you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treadmill Posted November 6, 2012 Share Posted November 6, 2012 Are you paying a commission to the restaraunt owner or are you using a charity. What is your shrinkage? What is your total cost and what is your net? That would be helpful. How many times have you moved your mint boxes around to get that number you have. I have many restaurants and mine are not doingas well as yours but are none the less still doing respectable numbers. Also if you are buying your mints at Walmart you are paying sales tax on those mints. If you go to Sams clubs you will not have to pay sales tax thus putting more money in your pocket. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sweetman Posted November 7, 2012 Share Posted November 7, 2012 1. I am using NCCS charity & my location owners love it! 2. Shrinkage is less than 5% overall - as a few of my locations actually gross around 103-106%, which makes up fot the 2 I have which show a 20% shortage. Those have only been out for 2 weeks and they should improve.. expecially when I let the owner know. All my others are within $.10-.50 of perfect. 3. All my boxes are located in restaurants. Only restaurants that require the patron to pay at the cash register. My boxes MUST be located at or very near the register or I will not place one. Pulling 2 boxes tomorrow as the locations are dead and about to go out of biz. I have locations lined-up for those already. These locations I now have should be very steady! 4. Sales Tax. Since I do not believe double taxation is legal, I pay sales tax when I purchase them but NOT when I re-sell them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sweetman Posted November 7, 2012 Share Posted November 7, 2012 P.S. To my last. I pay NO commission to nobody! Have not even been asked. Maybe that's because when I walk into the establishment, I am wearing a NCCS embrodried ball cap and have my box - with the NCCS decal on the front and full of mint patties. Most of the time; if they do not have a spot for me, they will make one! (For the Kids) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rxmark Posted November 8, 2012 Share Posted November 8, 2012 How much are you charging? Are the same size as York peppermint patties? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mission vending Posted November 9, 2012 Share Posted November 9, 2012 Sales Tax. Since I do not believe double taxation is legal, I pay sales tax when I purchase them but NOT when I re-sell them. Depending on which state you live you may or may not be obligated to collect and remit sales taxes at all. In either event you should get a resale certificate from your state that will enable to make the purchases without paying sales tax when you purchase the items. If you are not required to collect and remit sales taxes then you have put whatever you pay in sales taxes on your bottom line. If you are required to collect and remit sales taxes then you are supposed to be collecting the taxes on the total sale price (cost + markup). With a resale certificate you won't be paying some sales taxes at the point of purchase and then filing and remitting a report taking a credit for the taxes already paid which will make your life simpler. Either way you need to do a little research and find out what exactly your responsibilities and obligations are as a business owner and make sure that you are in compliance with the law. You don't want to be getting into trouble with the taxing authorities. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sweetman Posted November 10, 2012 Share Posted November 10, 2012 For my Pearson mint patties I charge $.25. They appear to be about 10% smaller than York. Since York has a foil pack with lots of air in it, one can only get about 100 of them in an acrylic box. However; with the Pearson's mint, the box can easily hold 4 bags or 176 ea. - as they are "wrapped" in foil. When I pick-up my boxes, they will usually contain 10 to 17 dollar bills plus an ocassional 5 dollar bill. Have even had someone put a $10 dollar bill in one of my boxes. Hope that helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mapleleaf15 Posted November 20, 2012 Share Posted November 20, 2012 This is good info. I bought six acrylic boxes off of ebay last week, filled them with Pearson's mints from Sams and placed them with a local charity sticker on it. I want to give them a few weeks before I collect and possibly add more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justcraig Posted December 15, 2012 Share Posted December 15, 2012 I have never seen this type of honor box system (I have seen similar but nothing like this) and to be honest I quite like the concept - I haven't seen any near where I live so I think there may be some scope! My only concern would be this: When I pick-up my boxes, they will usually contain 10 to 17 dollar bills plus an ocassional 5 dollar bill. Have even had someone put a $10 dollar bill in one of my boxes. Surely when someone puts $5-10 in a box they assume the whole amount is going to the charity? Do you donate any surplus revenue as well or just use that to cover shrinkage elsewhere? Do you just donate a fixed amount to the charity every month/year or do you donate a % of the revenue? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treadmill Posted December 15, 2012 Share Posted December 15, 2012 I just give a fixed amount. This is because each location will not do the same. When it's all said and done I just take my gross and divide by the number of boxes for an avg. Makes it a whole lot simpler. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harvending Posted December 15, 2012 Share Posted December 15, 2012 I have never seen this type of honor box system (I have seen similar but nothing like this) and to be honest I quite like the concept - I haven't seen any near where I live so I think there may be some scope! My only concern would be this: Surely when someone puts $5-10 in a box they assume the whole amount is going to the charity? Do you donate any surplus revenue as well or just use that to cover shrinkage elsewhere? Do you just donate a fixed amount to the charity every month/year or do you donate a % of the revenue? I also give a fixed amount to the charity. If a 5.00 bill should be in the box I will give all of it to the charity if the box is not too short. I think more than not the location see that some don't pay and make up for the shortage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VEND NORTH TEXAS Posted December 19, 2012 Share Posted December 19, 2012 Hey Sweetman! I am getting ready to order a few of these boxes from sheridan systems and I am also set up with NCCS. One concern I have is that the stickers they send me seem to be too big to put on these boxes. You said you have the NCCS decal on your boxes when you go into the place. Where do you get decals for NCCS that fit these boxes??? Thanks, Steve P.S. To my last. I pay NO commission to nobody! Have not even been asked. Maybe that's because when I walk into the establishment, I am wearing a NCCS embrodried ball cap and have my box - with the NCCS decal on the front and full of mint patties. Most of the time; if they do not have a spot for me, they will make one! (For the Kids) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
llcoolrobb Posted May 18, 2013 Author Share Posted May 18, 2013 WOW,lots of great posts and info on this topic! has any newbies had success after starting a mint route? if so post your info ! i just placed an order for 10 and will be getting cards/stickers from NCCS as well as a shirt and ID card. just hope i can place the 10 boxes without too much time involved! i will post we i get them placed. thanks,for all the responses and great info. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lake Cities Vending Posted May 21, 2013 Share Posted May 21, 2013 WOW,lots of great posts and info on this topic! has any newbies had success after starting a mint route? if so post your info ! i just placed an order for 10 and will be getting cards/stickers from NCCS as well as a shirt and ID card. just hope i can place the 10 boxes without too much time involved! i will post we i get them placed. thanks,for all the responses and great info. DId you get your boxes out? I'm thinking about ordering some and give it a try. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fredfarmer775 Posted June 22, 2013 Share Posted June 22, 2013 I know of a way to get those acryllic boxes for MUCH CHEAPER than that by ordering them directly from the factory in China. There's also an escrow option to do this so you can't get ripped off. I'll be happy to fill you in on it if you want. I'm thinking that it's best to not even sell the mints or any other type of candy but just to set it up as a donation box. You would never have to buy any product or restock any product or worry about people stealing your product. The acryllic boxes would be safe because they've all got locks on them and therefore you may not even have to run your route more than maybe once a month. It would probably be best that way anyway because the more money you had in your boxes, the more other people would be prone to drop their money in them (just based on simple psychology). Even if someone did steal a box, you would barely be out of any of your own money because of the price you can get a box for in China is practically nothing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BorderJerry Posted June 23, 2013 Share Posted June 23, 2013 Fredfarmer775, By the looks of your last two posts, it appears you're raising a bountiful crop of spam this season... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sherlock Posted June 23, 2013 Share Posted June 23, 2013 I know of a way to get those acryllic boxes for MUCH CHEAPER than that by ordering them directly from the factory in China. There's also an escrow option to do this so you can't get ripped off. I'll be happy to fill you in on it if you want. Why not just post details without folks having to reach out to you? You are asking members to give you feedback on your ideas and to share their experience, yet you aren't willing to post some of your own helpful info? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fredfarmer775 Posted June 23, 2013 Share Posted June 23, 2013 What do you mean by that BorderJerry? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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