bulkdude Posted January 19, 2013 Share Posted January 19, 2013 I am looking into getting a crane machine but was wondering what the average ROI was for crane machines what do they average monthly. What is the best location for a crane machine? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treadmill Posted January 19, 2013 Share Posted January 19, 2013 Cranes are discussed in the amusement vending section, you may want to check there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michele Posted February 4, 2013 Share Posted February 4, 2013 I don't understand how cranes pencil out if they do less than $400 per month. I understand that in many locations they do $150-$200. If you are in a location with a lot of repeat customers and have to do a 1 in 5 win rate at $0.50 play with average toys costing $1.25, that's a 50% of gross toy cost. Then there is say 30% commission to the location. Then there are maintenance, repair, gas, moving, licensing, sales tax, and storage expenses. As far as I can tell, any crane that makes less than $500 or so (even then, the ROI seems to be significantly worse than other bulk machines), either makes very little or loses money for what can be a very big hassle. Based on the projections I ran, the only way it makes any sense is if the win rate is around 1 in 25 to 1 in 35, but you have to be in a location where the customers are not weekly or monthly and having to service every two-four weeks increases gas expenses with gas prices on the rise. For the time being, I have decided not to touch these machines. I think a lot of operators confuse gross with net. In many cases, the location owner might get a better commission if based on gross than with other bulk machines, but what you take home net would appear not to be worth it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogcow Posted February 4, 2013 Share Posted February 4, 2013 i buy all my cranes for around 500 bucks or less unless its going in a location i will expect to gross over 300 a month. so i get my return pretty fast. i use knobby balls on 1/5 ratio mostly which gives me about 15 cent cost or so. 200 is a pretty average location. so lets say $200 is 400 plays 1/5, so thats about $12 in product, and $60-95 commission depending if u do gross or net commission. in abouth 3 months i get my ROI on the crane I dont have a ton of problems with cranes maybe i am lucky my biggest problem have been with cranes that are too old to find parts for like united cranes,but i was buying them for $100 so if they break in a way i need a weird part i just take the parts out and toss them, but most of the stuff is simple switches and power supply stuff. when u get into plush and other prizes yeah it becomes a mess at the smaller locations. 1/12 is my number for plush , i dont know about other operators but i find gravel cranes better than plush , people dont seem to need to win as often to keep playing. also if u have older games like stacker, sports arena, slam dunk, u can rotate the machines around occasionally to keep it fresh. Just like anything else u will want to adjust your service cycle to get the best return, on plush and gravel cranes i do a 60 day cycle on balls 30 days Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rogersmith Posted February 4, 2013 Share Posted February 4, 2013 Do the kids get tired of only knobby balls, with sales dropping off after a period or two? Roughly how many knobby balls fit in a 31" crane? My issue with the gravel cranes is that many of my locations are in bad neighborhoods and I'm concerned about break-ins if there's anything too expensive in there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogcow Posted February 4, 2013 Share Posted February 4, 2013 yeah i mix in different stuff like 5" micro baskebtalls that u cant win anyway but it looks like u can ,and vinyl sports balls, bring my cogs up to maybe 30-45 cents , how many ? i have no clue honestly. depends how u inflate them really. sales drop off after 3 months so i rotate it to something else. all my accts are in bad neighborhoods i have had break ins but to get to the money nobody breaks in to get to the prizes. i made the mistake of putting a $20 banded to a stuffed animal thats the only problem i had with someone tipping over the crane. worst case scenario someone busts your glass out just drill some holes and replace it with a lexan sheet. but my ponit abotu the balls, u rotate them around to different accts, eventually u will come back and they will start playing again. so i have my cranes 1/3 of them knobby, 1/3 gravel, 1/3 plush and i switch the prizes about once a quarter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rogersmith Posted February 4, 2013 Share Posted February 4, 2013 Do the kids get tired of only knobby balls, with sales dropping off after a period or two? Roughly how many knobby balls fit in a 31" crane? My issue with the gravel cranes is that many of my locations are in bad neighborhoods and I'm concerned about break-ins if there's anything too expensive in there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rogersmith Posted February 4, 2013 Share Posted February 4, 2013 What gravel prizes do you like to use? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogcow Posted February 4, 2013 Share Posted February 4, 2013 fake ipods and cheap digital cameras/camcorders , "bling" watches and teen watches like "glee" or slap watches Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rogersmith Posted February 4, 2013 Share Posted February 4, 2013 Who's a good supplier for that stuff? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogcow Posted February 4, 2013 Share Posted February 4, 2013 I get my watches from a local novelty supply co and the other stuff from compusa they run specials every few weeks and I clean out whatveres on sale usually work to about 15 bux an item for mp3,mp4 or digital cam Watches are 3-5 bux but I have to bjy a retail box for a dollar each Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rogersmith Posted February 4, 2013 Share Posted February 4, 2013 What's a good payout rate for gravel cranes? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musser Posted February 4, 2013 Share Posted February 4, 2013 I am looking into getting a crane machine but was wondering what the average ROI was for crane machines what do they average monthly. What is the best location for a crane machine? Cranes are no different than anyother kind of vending. There is no average ROI nor average monthly sales. It all depends on your business cost structure and how much return you feel you need. Really the question is unanswerable. I have cranes that need pulled because they only do $100 a month and I have some that do over $1000. I will answer specific questions for you bulkdude but please pm me. I will not go through another series of inane postings by time wasters. ( and I don't mean you bulkdude but some hangers on) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ronsidney Posted February 5, 2013 Share Posted February 5, 2013 I don't understand how cranes pencil out if they do less than $400 per month. I understand that in many locations they do $150-$200. If you are in a location with a lot of repeat customers and have to do a 1 in 5 win rate at $0.50 play with average toys costing $1.25, that's a 50% of gross toy cost. Then there is say 30% commission to the location. Then there are maintenance, repair, gas, moving, licensing, sales tax, and storage expenses. As far as I can tell, any crane that makes less than $500 or so (even then, the ROI seems to be significantly worse than other bulk machines), either makes very little or loses money for what can be a very big hassle. Based on the projections I ran, the only way it makes any sense is if the win rate is around 1 in 25 to 1 in 35, but you have to be in a location where the customers are not weekly or monthly and having to service every two-four weeks increases gas expenses with gas prices on the rise. For the time being, I have decided not to touch these machines. I think a lot of operators confuse gross with net. In many cases, the location owner might get a better commission if based on gross than with other bulk machines, but what you take home net would appear not to be worth it. the cog's are about 20-30%..a $2 toy(jumbo plush) should bring about $8-10 on average...30% to location and you walk away with half of gross on normal location..A person will not just play the crane once to win, they will put 5-10 to get the toy most of the time..sure some will just put in 50 and then leave but that is not the norm, this is why they make so much more money than bulk.. say a restaurant has 100 families come in in one night.. out of those 100 families 25 are your customers(meaning they play cranes and bulk vending).. if all 25 families have 2 kids and they each get a play your bulk will only get one turn normally so you grossed 50 vends or say 12.50 for that night..I would guess that those same kids would each get a buck each for the crane, some might not but then some will pour 5-10 in there trying to win something. The crane in same location will do 4-6 times better than the rack right next to it in gross sales in my average.. Now there are those locations where the atmosphere is right where it will do 10-20 times better.. that atmosphere being "greasy spoon" with cigarettes smoke in the air and flirty waitresses and greasy residue on the ceiling.. A rack there might only do 50 a month but the crane will do 5-600!! Its all about the locations! and then this is how all of this plays out?? the crane operator is there every month giving handfuls of dollar bills..every time he hands them a stack he asks.. How much do you make on those gumball machines? Hey, can i put a rack of gumball machines in here? etc.. The memory of that location might start like this.. 1st time>> No , this is mikes gumball rack, I've had him here for years..he does a great job.. 2nd time>> well mike has been a little slow fixing that machine, let me have a talk to him. 3rd time>> Man that crane sure does make a lot more than these gum ball machines,what kind of stuff do you put in your gumball machines? 4th>> yeah go ahead and bring your rack in, I don't guess Mike is gonna come around much..You've gave me a hand full of cash 4 times and i still haven't even seen mike. I would rather just service 1 crane for 200 bucks than service 5 bulk locations for 200 bucks..even if i have to drive 20 minutes between stops to get that ratio..when i was first building up with cranes i had the mentality of " Why not just stop and do all the 20 bucks stops in between, make all the money?" i later came to realize i didnt even want to mess with those 20 buck stops as it was too time consuming.. This is the circle of life with vending,, the new guys get the cheap 10 a month stops until they finally get established, then racks, then cranes with the racks etc..Its about time and experience. ron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toad Posted February 5, 2013 Share Posted February 5, 2013 "Circle of life" love that Simba, i mean Ron! The goal in vending is the make more money in less time and less stops. I am at the crane level, but have not made it to the next level ( key masters, barber cuts) yet, ( like my idol Fred!) maybe I will in march at Show! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vendamania Posted February 5, 2013 Share Posted February 5, 2013 Ha Ha ok Glenn idol... If I had your money I would burn mine. If anyone is an idol it would be you,the yahoo guys worship you like a god. You got vending figured out my friend. Actually slowing down on redemption and placing more cranes & Atm's , more stable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toad Posted February 5, 2013 Share Posted February 5, 2013 I am happy with the "level" I'm at with vending, but I can't help but feel I'm not doing as good as I should. I have a lot of great diners that should be great potential money makers with better redemption machines (in addition to my cranes) I just can't pull the trigger. Our friend in Dallas keeps going on and about the new redemption machines, so I keep doubting my current complacency. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vendamania Posted February 5, 2013 Share Posted February 5, 2013 Keymasters will do real good in a good diner at first then they slow. Plus you have to always keep up with the latest. That is the prize redemption game. I really only place them in the more transient locations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toad Posted February 5, 2013 Share Posted February 5, 2013 I tried to make the jump with lighthouse, stackers and couldn't justify the earnings. Guess my stops might not be good enough to warrant it. I guess I'll try to get some truck stops Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick505 Posted February 5, 2013 Share Posted February 5, 2013 This is the circle of life with vending,, the new guys get the cheap 10 a month stops until they finally get established, then racks, then cranes with the racks etc..Its about time and experience. Sounds about what I have been through in the last 20 months! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogcow Posted February 5, 2013 Share Posted February 5, 2013 I tried to make the jump with lighthouse, stackers and couldn't justify the earnings. Guess my stops might not be good enough to warrant it. I guess I'll try to get some truck stops what kidn of money were u seeing, i havent had the return i was expecting from a stacker but i only paid 800 used so im not terribly dissapointed i may try using higher end product see if it helps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musser Posted February 6, 2013 Share Posted February 6, 2013 I am happy with the "level" I'm at with vending, but I can't help but feel I'm not doing as good as I should. I have a lot of great diners that should be great potential money makers with better redemption machines (in addition to my cranes) I just can't pull the trigger. Our friend in Dallas keeps going on and about the new redemption machines, so I keep doubting my current complacency. I have talked with a lot of guys that are doing well with the new chicken machines. might be something to think about. I'm going to look for a knock off at the show. I think the Parsol price is too inflated. It sure looks like the machine is a mainland product and not Tiawan made. I may be wrong. Anyway a I think the machine is about twice what it should be. Who knows maybe we can work a deal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ronsidney Posted February 6, 2013 Share Posted February 6, 2013 the stacker had its day ..when i first got stackers they where hot..I would put in grocery store like IGA or Piggly wiggly or a busy china buffet and they would do 400 or more per week, had one IGA do close to 1000 for the first 3 months it was there..I gave away a PSP a week in that spot.. now the stackers are just another amusement pc to move around with others like slam dunks and gravity hills etc.. "Hey you want a whole arcade in your pizza restaurant?" ok..that would be a jumbo plush crane,ball crane,gravel crane, candy crane,24" 2" ball/capsule crane,stacker, slam dunk, sports arena, gravity hill, a couple bulk racks by front door,air hockey and a couple videos...The absolute less videos you can get away with installing as they will be the thorn in you in this location... But hey,,you can stop by this stop every couple weeks and fill the cranes and pull a grand or more after split.. I dont do but a couple stops like this in a day,i love those laid back days! now the keymasters is the new "stacker", you had barber cuts, winners cube before it..and i may have forgotten some.. I have never made the plunge into the keymasters and others as in my area i didnt have the locations for them. The locations they need to be in like say walmart and shopping malls i cant touch...I do have a need for a couple but i have been on the fence for a while.. And to be honest with my buds here i can build a quarter pusher, and i have some that do more money than a key master ,and they are in ghetto piece of crap foreign owned "discount tobacco and lottery" stores..so my opinnion is swayed a bit(lot more of those than shopping malls here in dixieland) when i was balancing leases and bank notes to grow a few years ago with stackers i didnt have the coin pushers.. NOW on the other hand.. I bow down the alter of mighty Vendamania!! now that guy is the one that needs to school us all on key masters!!! all jokes aside he is probably the smartest guy i know when it comes to the big money stops! ron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vendamania Posted February 6, 2013 Share Posted February 6, 2013 Will you kiss my feet when you bow down? I am very humbled from what the tag team thinks of me....Thanks Guys ur the best. I like my business model but far from an expert... However I do know one,he is the absolute best at operating high end merchandisers. That is all he does and if I told you what he did in a month from one location you wouldn't believe me. Now Ron we all know he knows every aspect of vending..operating,manufacturing,service and more. He truely is a vending genius and a wealth of knowledge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musser Posted February 6, 2013 Share Posted February 6, 2013 Ron said; NOW on the other hand.. I bow down the alter of mighty Vendamania!! now that guy is the one that needs to school us all on key masters!!! all jokes aside he is probably the smartest guy i know when it comes to the big money stops! and that is a fact Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.