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First Location and comission!


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Hi

 

Bought my first machine 3 weeks ago May 15.

 

Hired a locator that night. He has done a good job so far, proposing locations but none has fallen through. He has proposed 10% on the net for every location. 

 

Three weeks have passed, I am itching to place this by the end of the week. A sense of urgency.

 

I called a laundromat today and offered 10% on the gross and he laughed. Somehow the percentage worked up to 25% gross, and he has tentatively agreed, at that rate!

 

 

That is a steep rate. I suggested cans for 75 cents on my email proposal, but at that rate with a 11.59 32 pack at Costco, my profit on a 32 pack is $6.41

 

 

I can do cans for $1 which will make my profit on the 32 pack $12 per pack, which is worth it for now IMO (first machine, need to start making revenue. )

 

What do you suggest for commission, and pricing on can?

 
He said industry standard is 25% on gross. It's not; From my reading and research it is 10-20% on the net. 25% on gross is a substantial amount.
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There is no way anyone except coke directly is paying 25% off the top,  If it were my first machine and don't have to much money into the machine I would still place it, something is better then nothing and it will give you a little experience till you find somewhere to place it that will make you some money.

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My standard commission offer is 10% of what's left after I take out the sales taxes due. The only place where a 25% commission works is in tourist/hotel type of location where you can jack up the prices. In this case, if you place the machine your best option is to sell for 1.00 and hope people will pay it.

 

The only other thing I would add is don't become one of those guys that tells the location they are getting 25% but actually only pay 10% or less.

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Hi

 

Bought my first machine 3 weeks ago May 15.

 

Hired a locator that night. He has done a good job so far, proposing locations but none has fallen through. He has proposed 10% on the net for every location. 

 

Three weeks have passed, I am itching to place this by the end of the week. A sense of urgency.

 

I called a laundromat today and offered 10% on the gross and he laughed. Somehow the percentage worked up to 25% gross, and he has tentatively agreed, at that rate!

 

 

That is a steep rate. I suggested cans for 75 cents on my email proposal, but at that rate with a 11.59 32 pack at Costco, my profit on a 32 pack is $6.41

 

 

I can do cans for $1 which will make my profit on the 32 pack $12 per pack, which is worth it for now IMO (first machine, need to start making revenue. )

 

What do you suggest for commission, and pricing on can?

 
He said industry standard is 25% on gross. It's not; From my reading and research it is 10-20% on the net. 25% on gross is a substantial amount.

 

While I understand your desire to get the ball rolling - understand that 25% of gross is 50% of net .... completely absurd unless your talking about Disneyland or LAX.  Keep your powder dry and don't place all your hopes in that locator.  As I recall you've got a great machine, Royal 804.  While this machine can handle a high volume location, it can also allow you to do a once a month location without running dry on the most popular items (probably Coke).  For me, I expect a machine to do at least $200 each time I service it - anything more is a bonus and anything less is unacceptable.

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Right, Royal RVCC804.

 

He wasn't happy with 10% gross so I offered 20% net. Should be about the same. Either way, I just need to get my feet wet. Rschlig is right. 

 

He has bulk vending being done which probably pays 25%, so that is why he thought soda machines will give him 25%.

 

Hope the machine can fit through his front door!

 

Do you have any advice for getting a machine into a tight spot?

 

I'm hiring a pro mover (http://www.vendingmix.com/vending-machine-moving) to move it. I'll review the moving service when it comes time and post it!

 

Thank you!

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Sounds like your going to be paying a lot in commissions, but experience is a big thing, and it will let you see how it all works so you will be able to decide if you want to try and get more and more accounts.

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Right, Royal RVCC804.

 

He wasn't happy with 10% gross so I offered 20% net. Should be about the same. Either way, I just need to get my feet wet. Rschlig is right. 

 

He has bulk vending being done which probably pays 25%, so that is why he thought soda machines will give him 25%.

 

Hope the machine can fit through his front door!

 

Do you have any advice for getting a machine into a tight spot?

 

I'm hiring a pro mover (http://www.vendingmix.com/vending-machine-moving) to move it. I'll review the moving service when it comes time and post it!

 

Thank you!

You were wise to hire a mover - they'll open the door and clam shell it through the front door and any other tight spots.  These guys know what they're doing.  You are probably correct in assuming that the location owner has the 25% stuck in his head because of his bulk vending machines.  Their cost of goods is less than half percentage wise of ours.  You might want to watch how the movers operate - not that you'll ever want to do this yourself but it will give you an idea about the obstacles to look for like steps and openings less than 35" wide.

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Interestingly in our market our good old enemy number one Coke Vending readily offers 25% commission on drinks and 20% on snacks...

It's all a moot point Ron, as their machines rarely have anything in them to sell anyway.

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Right, Royal RVCC804.

He wasn't happy with 10% gross so I offered 20% net. Should be about the same. Either way, I just need to get my feet wet. Rschlig is right.

He has bulk vending being done which probably pays 25%, so that is why he thought soda machines will give him 25%.

Hope the machine can fit through his front door!

Do you have any advice for getting a machine into a tight spot?

I'm hiring a pro mover (http://www.vendingmix.com/vending-machine-moving) to move it. I'll review the moving service when it comes time and post it!

Thank you!

Do you have any vending dealers you can visit in your area? You may get a local, reliable mover just by word of mouth from another vendor. I wish I'd met my current mover when I first started. Could save you some $.

It's all a moot point Ron, as their machines rarely have anything in them to sell anyway.

Yes, Their variety is weak.
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"I'm hiring a pro mover (http://www.vendingmi...-machine-moving) to move it. I'll review the moving service when it comes time and post it!"

 

While I understand how difficult it can be to find a good machine mover, you need to be aware of the conflict of interest this outfit has because they appear to also be a vending company - your competition - as well.  They even offer $500 cash for leads to any large accounts.  While chances are they won't be very interested in a small location, I would be very leery of letting them anywhere near a good account.

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"I'm hiring a pro mover (http://www.vendingmi...-machine-moving) to move it. I'll review the moving service when it comes time and post it!"

 

While I understand how difficult it can be to find a good machine mover, you need to be aware of the conflict of interest this outfit has because they appear to also be a vending company - your competition - as well.  They even offer $500 cash for leads to any large accounts.  While chances are they won't be very interested in a small location, I would be very leery of letting them anywhere near a good account.

Actually, we have machine movers coming out of the wood work around here.  Your point about possible conflicts of interest is very valid especially given the fact that we have many choices who only move machines and have no other vending interests.

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Do not hire a vending company to move your machines. 20% off net isnt bad. Its what i pay a laundromat. Sell waters, powerades, and cans. Top off the prices like cans at $1 waters $1.25 chocolates $1.25 lss $1 etc anything lower isnt worth it. Or small chips at .85

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So in the end, the owner of this laundromat stopped answering text messages and phone calls. Although we met at Starbucks for 15 minutes and talked, it did not finish.

 

Another thing is that he gave me the card of someone who wrote 25% gross commission on the back. I called that number with my phone and said they offer 25% on gross. I figured I should match it, I'll adjust prices and selling a can for $1 will be like selling it for .75¢

 

VendingMaster will strike a deal again!

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I have 20 accounts and I don't do commissions on any of them. If I land an airport, college or hospital, I may consider it... but never at 25%. This is why:

 

$1.00 price

50% my cost

10% taxes

5% gas

5% maintenance and repairs

---------------------

 

Total 30 cents profit.  Why would I add another quarter to pay someone else?

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