WOODBUDDIES Posted February 27, 2013 Share Posted February 27, 2013 HELLO. I AM A 100% PROUD NEWBIE. WHAT IS THE TYPICAL RATE TO PAY A BUSINESS FOR HAVING YOUR GUMBALL/CANDY MACHINES? I HAVE ALWAYS THOUGHT IT WAS A CERTAIN % OR DONATION TO A CHARITY. WHAT DO YOU PAY/DO? ALSO FOR RESPONDING I WILL LET YOU KNOW THAT I BOUGHT A 30 LB BOX OF RUNTS ONLINE TODAY FOR $35 SHIPPED TO MY DOOR FROM A REPUTABLE COMPANY USING A DISCOUNT COUPON. AS A THANK YOU FOR ANSWERING MY QUESTION I WILL PM YOU THE DETAILS. THANKS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bullyfrog Posted February 27, 2013 Share Posted February 27, 2013 For a small 1 or 2 head, it's not gonna be worth it to offer anything. You can use a charity to help get it placed if needed. Typically, I would say start at 25% for racks and larger equipment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shepherdsflock Posted February 27, 2013 Share Posted February 27, 2013 Also, when communicating with potential locations via email, don't use all CAPS. They'll think you are angry and yelling at them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GagesVending Posted February 27, 2013 Share Posted February 27, 2013 Almost all of my locations are charity. I have a double head in a Mexican restaurant that's 25% commission as well as a double head in a bowling alley I pay 25% to. Always try charity first for the smaller machines, then if they are not interested let them know that you would be willing to offer a commission, if you think it would be worth your while in the specific location. I would not pay over 30-35% for a small machine location. For a rack, I've heard of other operators paying as much as 50%, but that's outrageous. I like 25% for several reasons: the math is easy, it gives the client are respectable amount and you can still make a profit on it, in a decent location. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shepherdsflock Posted February 27, 2013 Share Posted February 27, 2013 Try to make sure your cost of goods, sales tax, and commission/charity payments don't exceed 50% of gross. If your total for cost of goods, sales tax, and commission/charity payments exceed 50%, you need to change something. Bulk vendors don't sell enough of anything to make decent money on anything less than 50% of gross. Your bulk vending business isn't like a Walmart or some other huge retailer where you can make a decent profit at 5 or 10% of gross. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sherlock Posted February 28, 2013 Share Posted February 28, 2013 ALSO FOR RESPONDING I WILL LET YOU KNOW THAT I BOUGHT A 30 LB BOX OF RUNTS ONLINE TODAY FOR $35 SHIPPED TO MY DOOR FROM A REPUTABLE COMPANY USING A DISCOUNT COUPON. AS A THANK YOU FOR ANSWERING MY QUESTION I WILL PM YOU THE DETAILS. THANKS It's no secret around here that you can get that price from Quill using their coupon codes...shipped (since their shipping if free). Quick shipping and great service through them, too. Been dealing with them for a long time and have nothing but great things to say about them. As satisfied as I am with Quill, your supplier would have to beat Quills pricing by A LOT for me to even try them....$35 isn't going to do it. As far as what you pay a location, in a commission account I think anywhere from 20%-30% is fair. However, I have some accounts that justify more than 30%...and some that don't deserve 20%. So, experience will help you dictate what you pay. But, for now, stick to 20%-30% and you should be fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bullyfrog Posted February 28, 2013 Share Posted February 28, 2013 I figured that's who he was talking about (Quill). Sent from my EVO using Tapatalk 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WOODBUDDIES Posted February 28, 2013 Author Share Posted February 28, 2013 Ok....So you figured me out... Quill it is! $35 is a great price. To bad they do not carry more candy supplies in 30lb bulk. Those that answered my question with a NICE reply thanks. As FaR aS CaPiTaL LeTtErS....LoCk WaS On. I would not email a potential customer...but rather have a more personal face to face talk. Thanks for being the WORLD WIDE WEB FORUM CAPITAL COP. I am just glad i did not use text slang.....I would have hated to hear the beat down i would have got on that!!! Again for those with a straight forward response to my question......A BIG THANKS! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sherlock Posted February 28, 2013 Share Posted February 28, 2013 Those that answered my question with a NICE reply thanks. As FaR aS CaPiTaL LeTtErS....LoCk WaS On. I would not email a potential customer...but rather have a more personal face to face talk. Thanks for being the WORLD WIDE WEB FORUM CAPITAL COP. I am just glad i did not use text slang.....I would have hated to hear the beat down i would have got on that!!! Again for those with a straight forward response to my question......A BIG THANKS! If you consider shepherdsflock's one-line reply to your all-cap post even a mild "beat-down", I would recommend you thicken up your skin. The world of business is going to be a lot tougher on you than his post was. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WOODBUDDIES Posted February 28, 2013 Author Share Posted February 28, 2013 Not seen even close to a beat down!! Just funny how people can not answer a question straight up without being a prick! This is not a business for me by any means. This is a hobby for my 8 year daughter. We own a 10 business strip mall and she wants to do vending machines. This is purely for fun! See Ya outa here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shepherdsflock Posted February 28, 2013 Share Posted February 28, 2013 Ok....So you figured me out... Quill it is! $35 is a great price. To bad they do not carry more candy supplies in 30lb bulk. Those that answered my question with a NICE reply thanks. As FaR aS CaPiTaL LeTtErS....LoCk WaS On. I would not email a potential customer...but rather have a more personal face to face talk. Thanks for being the WORLD WIDE WEB FORUM CAPITAL COP. I am just glad i did not use text slang.....I would have hated to hear the beat down i would have got on that!!! Again for those with a straight forward response to my question......A BIG THANKS! I apologize for being rough with you, it's simply very irritating to have people posting in all caps. And yes, if you would have used text slang, you would have received a beat down. All language issues aside, I do want to see you succeed, and politely suggest that you read my second response to your post. The maximum commission or charity percentage that you can offer is usually going to depend largely on cost of goods, sales tax, and what level of net profit you're comfortable with. I'm not comfortable with anything less than 50% net profit. I'm not including fuel, occasional repairs, or other costs in that number. Let's use my area as an example for sales tax. Where I live, sales tax is 7%. Let's say my cost of goods is on average about 20%. Without paying any commission or charity, I'm already losing 27% of every quarter that gets put into my machine. If I set my minimum net profit at 50%, then that means that the most I can offer a place for commission is 23%. This is not a hard barrier, where if the location wants more you simply walk out the door, but if they try to push you very far beyond a level that will net you 50%, you should be prepared to leave. Locations that try to push you into high commissions will likely be problematic and you'll find yourself kicked out pretty quickly. I do have a couple of locations with 8-way racks that do enough sales that I bend my own rule a little bit. I think I'm closer to 40% net profit on those, but the level of income they generate is worth paying the location more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Priusjames Posted March 3, 2013 Share Posted March 3, 2013 Welcome to the forum, Woodbuddies. You're here for help and to learn from others, right? All caps is considered shouting by friends, as well as customers. If your skin is so thin that you lash out at those who are trying to help with the most mundane housekeeping rules, I'm not sure how many people will be inclined to interact with you regarding their business/livelihood. I give others high credit for continuing to give you information, even after your responses...this is a pretty friendly group, when you think about it. Busting in, proudly shouting to the world that you're a newbie, bragging about "secret supplier" info, then lashing out at those offering advice might *seem* like a good idea, just not to anybody I know. That being said, I'll again offer a welcome and a bit of advice: It's good to be humble when asking for help. James Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Priusjames Posted March 3, 2013 Share Posted March 3, 2013 Not seen even close to a beat down!! Just funny how people can not answer a question straight up without being a prick! This is not a business for me by any means. This is a hobby for my 8 year daughter. We own a 10 business strip mall and she wants to do vending machines. This is purely for fun! See Ya outa here. I hadn't seen the "outta here" message, or I obviously wouldn't have bothered to offer advice in my last message. Wait...I guess I might have said "Waaaaaaaahhh". Did I miss something? He doesn't know basic netiquette, tries to extort information in his first post as to how to communicate with [sic]his own tenants and daughter (ignorantly offering common knowledge as the carrot), whines and/or acts wounded when he's kindly notified of the faux-paux by somebody who also offers sound advice and specific figures from their own experience...thanking him by calling him a prick...before throwing an 8 year old girl into the mix (in almost the same breath as "prick") and telling *us* he's trying to have fun as he runs for the hills..does that about sum it up? He may be gone(?), but here's the best feedback I have at this point: I'm thinking (hoping) the 8 year old would have handled communication better. I'm also thinking none of the businesses will say no when she asks them, even if she doesn't tell them daddy owns the mall. His main worry seems to be how much of her money she'll have to pay his tenants (or how he can use a charity to get a foot in the doors of his mall). Best of luck James Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
addam111 Posted March 4, 2013 Share Posted March 4, 2013 0% strict charity Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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