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I'm done with Quill!


LandJGroup

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Use to buy four to eight cases of runts from them a month. I hate candy like most full time guys, but I have spots that just kill it. They have almost doubled their price for runts over the past two years. Yeah I get/use the cpu and free shipping....but I'm done.

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Have you tried Sam's Clubs Rascals? Most people wouldn't know the diff.

You have to order them at the customer service desk and they ship them directly to the store, so there's no shipping fees.

 

Just a thought. If you wanna give it a shot the info you need is located on the side of the Sam's gumball box, 850 count.

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Use to buy four to eight cases of runts from them a month. I hate candy like most full time guys, but I have spots that just kill it. They have almost doubled their price for runts over the past two years. Yeah I get/use the cpu and free shipping....but I'm done.

51 for 30 pounds at ford

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Well, no one is happy about the price increase, but let's look at the numbers.

 

According to the A&A web site, a 30 pound box of Runts has 10,740 pieces.  So sell 9 pieces per vend, that would be a total of 1,193 vends.

And that generates $298.50 per box or almost $900 per the 3 boxes.  I always order 3 boxes to get the discounted price.

 

At $60 per box, that breaks down to $.0056 per piece.  Now vend 9 pieces per quarter, and you get $.05 or 5 cents product cost per vend.

Still a respectable 20% product cost for a candy product (generates 5 times your money in revenue).

 

Most of the time, you can knock off $8 per case with those coupons.

So at $52 per box. that breaks down to $.00485 per piece.  Now vend 9 pieces per quarter, and you get $.0437 or 4.37 cents per vend product cost.

An even better 17.5% product cost  (generates 5.7 times your money in revenue).

 

So Runts from Quill are still a decent choice, especially if vending just a single candy product on a double or a rack.  Runts (like any hard pressed candy) have a great shelf life and rarely need to be thrown away.  Margins on Runts still beats out the other popular candies.

 

Quill service is also good.  I get my Runts in two business days after ordering.  That will NEVER happen at Sam's Club where you may wait three weeks to get the product.  And have fun beating your head against the wall waiting to get one those front desk clerks at Sams to figure out how to place that special order!  Most clerks will give you that Deer-In-the-Headlights look and will have no clue how to place a special order.

 

So for now, I am sticking with Quill and Runts.

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Uhhhh...I was joking. Exclamation points, smiley faces. They're visual cues to help people new to the internet know you're using sarcasm.

 

OK that's cool Rick.  I figured you were just joking around.  Just having some fun with those Peanut M&M's!  And as an old ex-COBOL programmer, I appreciate the internet tips!  ^-^

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Well, no one is happy about the price increase, but let's look at the numbers.

According to the A&A web site, a 30 pound box of Runts has 10,740 pieces. So sell 9 pieces per vend, that would be a total of 1,193 vends.

And that generates $298.50 per box or almost $900 per the 3 boxes. I always order 3 boxes to get the discounted price.

At $60 per box, that breaks down to $.0056 per piece. Now vend 9 pieces per quarter, and you get $.05 or 5 cents product cost per vend.

Still a respectable 20% product cost for a candy product (generates 5 times your money in revenue).

Most of the time, you can knock off $8 per case with those coupons.

So at $52 per box. that breaks down to $.00485 per piece. Now vend 9 pieces per quarter, and you get $.0437 or 4.37 cents per vend product cost.

An even better 17.5% product cost (generates 5.7 times your money in revenue).

So Runts from Quill are still a decent choice, especially if vending just a single candy product on a double or a rack. Runts (like any hard pressed candy) have a great shelf life and rarely need to be thrown away. Margins on Runts still beats out the other popular candies.

Quill service is also good. I get my Runts in two business days after ordering. That will NEVER happen at Sam's Club where you may wait three weeks to get the product. And have fun beating your head against the wall waiting to get one those front desk clerks at Sams to figure out how to place that special order! Most clerks will give you that Deer-In-the-Headlights look and will have no clue how to place a special order.

So for now, I am sticking with Quill and Runts.

I couldn't agree with you more. Just tired of their price increases. It's not like a gradual thing either. I would never even think to do candy anymore, but like I said in my first post I have places that just kill it in candy. Skittles are very comparable at that 60 dollar a case Mark. Skittles more times than not out sale runts, so I'm going to give Sams more biz.

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I couldn't agree with you more. Just tired of their price increases. It's not like a gradual thing either. I would never even think to do candy anymore, but like I said in my first post I have places that just kill it in candy. Skittles are very comparable at that 60 dollar a case Mark. Skittles more times than not out sale runts, so I'm going to give Sams more biz.

 

Yea, I hear ya.  There seems to always be a need for some candy at some locations.  There really is no perfect bulk candy product is there?  It either costs too much or the kids don't like it or it can't hold up in the local climate, etc.  And I would also agree that Skittles sells better than Runts in many locations.  Ten years ago when I vended multiple candy products, I actually eliminated Runts in favor of the Skittles.  Then some years later, the Skittles started to clump up more and more.  I think the Mars Company may have changed the formula for the shell (may have been for Kosher standards - but not sure, just a rumor I heard once).  So I no longer wanted to vend Skittles in the Florida climate due to excessive clumping in some locations.

 

When I went to the one-candy-only model, I choose Runts as the lesser of the other candy evils!  I know some rack vendors like the generic stuff - Rascals, Flower Power, Gone Fishing, Bones, etc.  But I personally wanted to stick with a more recognized brand name that still has decent margin and holds up in the Florida climate.  FYI, Sams used to sell Runts back in the early 2000's.  Anyone remember that?  Would be nice if they brought them back.

 

In any event, good luck with those Skittles!  And the Sam Walton family thanks you as well!

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They were 37.50 a case a year ago. Shipped and using a cpu. Just looked up my old invoices. Nearly double that in one year.

 

Yea, it was a beautiful thing back then!  With the coupons, the product cost would go down to almost 3 cents per vend or 12% cost.  It was fun while it lasted!

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  • 8 months later...

Yea, I hear ya!  Sticker shock for sure.  At that price, it is no longer worth pursuing from Quill.

 

May look at Bonz or Flower Power as an alternative.  May probably do Skittles in the interim.  Or maybe could purchase from A&A on next order.  Just not sure.

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Yea, I hear ya! Sticker shock for sure. At that price, it is no longer worth pursuing from Quill.

May look at Bonz or Flower Power as an alternative. May probably do Skittles in the interim. Or maybe could purchase from A&A on next order. Just not sure.

Sams .com has good candy case pricing. Great shipping rates to

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I just checked Sams. Searched "Concord Candy"

Bonz are sold out ($43 per case + shipping)

Gone Fishing is available but probably not as popular ($38 per case + shipping)

Flower Power is not offered

Are the prices in line? I don't really do candy but they seem good

Looks like they have 5 or 6 in stock pressed candy items.

Want a good laugh look at the All star bulk on there lol

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Those prices are reasonable - 11,000 pieces per case.

 

But do the generics sell?  That is why I prefer the Runts since it is a recognized brand name.

 

Too bad Sam and Wonka could not work things out with bulk.  Back in the day, Sam sold Runts in bulk.  My guess is that the terms were Sam's way or the highway.  And Wonka split the scene on bulk Runts.  CNBC documented how Walmart can be super tough and demanding on their suppliers.

 

I don't do much candy either and I only offer 1 candy product.  But some locations still want or even demand some candy.  So the Runts were a nice compromise.

 

But candy can be such a pain in the butt - fading, melting, bugs, low margin, low volume, increased prices, etc.  50 cent Runts anybody?

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