Brassine Vending Posted October 29, 2008 Share Posted October 29, 2008 Do most of you vendors pay for the spots you have your soda machines at? What do you pay? % of gross income? flat dollar amount each week/month? If you do pay, what would be a good way to pay when getting a new location that hasn't had any prior machines placed there? The one place I have is my inlaws back yard. Which is across the street from the high school. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tedk Posted October 29, 2008 Share Posted October 29, 2008 In most places I don't pay commission. I never bring it up as an option. If you are dealing with a factory or business, especially one that hasn't had vending ,don't mention it. You are providing a service to their employees free of charge to the business. The benefit to the employer is happier employees, less time at break waiting for the coffee truck, less lost time with employees going out to get a drink. If I am dealing with a place where my machine is targeting their customers I may pay commission, but again I never suggest it. My approach is that I am providing a service that you want for the benefit of your customers/employees, at no charge. If I am pressed for commission I would suggest the price without commission is "A" the price with commission is "A" plus whatever rate you negotiate Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ANDERSONVENDING Posted October 30, 2008 Share Posted October 30, 2008 Brassine, I have a produce stand that I pay them 25% of net and I have a retire home that I'm paying them 50% of profit off of their machines, they agreed to sell me their machines for $500 for 2 soda and 1 snack machine(a vendo 264,dixie 276 and an AP435),all the other locations I have are no commission. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yvette Posted October 31, 2008 Share Posted October 31, 2008 I have been blessed with five (5) full line machines on my part-time vending route and, so far, I don't pay any commissions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
West Coast Vend LLC Posted October 31, 2008 Share Posted October 31, 2008 Don't offer any commission amount. You are supplying the equipment. You are buying all the product to fill the machines. You are checking machines daily/weekly and filling them with new product. What part of the job are they doing to earn commission. I know, there are always those locations that if you offer a little something, will take you in. Well, make sure it is only 5%-10%. Gary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alyssamma Posted October 31, 2008 Share Posted October 31, 2008 Gary, I agree with you about not paying commission. I have 16 machines out and don't pay commission on any of them. That being said, there are a few reasons a location may want commission: 1) Reimbursement for electricity. A small amount, true, but still... 2) Competition. If multiple people are competing for the same location, the one who will pay a commission will usually win. 3) Space. Your machine is taking up space. Again, a small amount, but it is space the location can not use for anything else. Kevin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brassine Vending Posted November 1, 2008 Author Share Posted November 1, 2008 The reason I asked about the commission, is that in my area, any and all businesses around here can call Coke, Pepsi, RC and the bottler will bring a machine to their place of business and place it anywhere the property owner/mgr wants it, and the bottler will even go as far as fill it for them. All the mgr or owner has to do is, pay for the actual product and what ever cash is in the machine is theirs to keep. I actually had three different places tell me, "Thanks for your offer, But why would I allow you to place machines on my property, when I can call pepsi and they will have a brand new machine here within 48hrs. and they will even stock it for me. And all I have to do, is pay for the product and what money that is in the machine is mine?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
West Coast Vend LLC Posted November 1, 2008 Share Posted November 1, 2008 The beverage machine that you are offering the account will carry a variety of products that Pepsi or Coke carry. Pepsi will only sell their products and Coke theirs. The advantage to you servicing the account with your machine is that you can mix those products so that all their employees tastes are satisfied. As for the Pepsi and Coke deal. They will fill the machine. They set the retail prices. The account has to use their money to buy the products at a price that gives them very little profit. Pepsi & Coke have their ROI upfront and if the product sells, the account gets their profit cut in 30 days. (They get back what the laid out for the product and a few extra dollars for profit) You could do the same thing if you want. Place your machine. Sell the product to the account. Get your cut and let them have whats left. Sell it to them at a 5-10% profit margin. You will have your money to work with for a month and they will have to wait for theirs. Not a bad deal... Gary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antoniocinisi Posted November 2, 2008 Share Posted November 2, 2008 Gary:it must be differant in your neck of the woods because here I tell (pepsi)what I want to sell the bottles for and not them to me.I also fill the machine myself,the product is cheaper this way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Summit Vending Posted November 2, 2008 Share Posted November 2, 2008 Kevin, I have to say if you can get away without paying a commission I commend you. What kind of locations do you have that do not require a commission? What is your volume (ball park)? I mean for me here is the deal I have not been in one meeting with a location without them bringing up a commission. I think it would make it harder to aquire a location(high volume) without offering compensation to the location. How do you go about not having this come up(commission)? Thanks, Brian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Summit Vending Posted November 2, 2008 Share Posted November 2, 2008 Don't offer any commission amount. You are supplying the equipment. You are buying all the product to fill the machines. You are checking machines daily/weekly and filling them with new product. What part of the job are they doing to earn commission. I know, there are always those locations that if you offer a little something, will take you in. Well, make sure it is only 5%-10%. Gary Gary, As you know I have only been in full line vending for a short time and have had many meetings with prospective accounts that all have required some sort of a commission. I personally agree with the fact that we do all the work and that we are offering a service for the benefit of this location but this fact alone does not hold water when it comes to securing the location. Now before everyone gets up in arms about my opinion let me explain. In full line you are paying a good sum of money for your machines, and as everyone knows you really don't want to move these things around that much. I believe when you get a good location you should offer a commission and have a contract for at least two years as this will prevent another company from coming in and knocking you out of a location due to a low commission and no contract. We offer commissions not because we want to but to secure the location and our investment. Now I'm not saying that it's not possible to get away with not paying a commission but if it's a producing location with a good return you need to prevent the boot by doing the above and still providing a high quality service. Again just my opinion and I could be wrong but would rather be safe than sorry. Brian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alyssamma Posted November 2, 2008 Share Posted November 2, 2008 Brian, I am new to vending (bulk) and newer to full line. We have 9 locations with snack/soda machines. The average amount of all machines is $140/mo - nothing to get too excited about My best machines do about $90/week, but I have some machines that do worse than my bulk Anyway, all of the locations except for one I aquired from purchasing a route. The other we had a bulk machine there. Actually we are about to place a snack machine at a location where we have a bulk machine too. I guess I just got lucky. I have a friend who bought a large route - about 70 machines. He only has one location that charges commission. That location is a college and it makes a lot of $ each week. I guess if I had the locations that did $150+/week then we'd have to pay a commission. Kevin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coinvestor Posted November 2, 2008 Share Posted November 2, 2008 Only one of my locations get a commission and its not that great of a location at that . I have seen it done both ways even in the same area. You might have one vending company that never offers commission and one that always does and both seem do co-exist. I have looked at routes for sale that people were staying with some very pitiful vending service because they were getting a commission. JD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Summit Vending Posted November 2, 2008 Share Posted November 2, 2008 JD, Well we can only assume that when we get full line locations we have to make sure they are worth it(employee count,foot traffic,etc). I'm not saying that we wont get an occasional dud but thats where we have to be somewhat picky before we place. We cant just place our machines at a location just to say we have a location. Now in regards to these locations staying with a below par vending company due to the commission alone it proves this, that a commission will secure a location but it will not keep the location if the service and quality is not there. This is where companies like ours have an edge. I have a major account I'm about to close in the coming weeks and I might get it due to the vendor currently in place getting complacent and not servicing this location correctly(dirty machines,etc). Performance based contracts with a commission prevents you from getting complacent and forces you to do what you are contracted to do. Again just my opinion and I also posted a topic in regards to a progressive commission that might be worth while if we end up getting a below par location. Brian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mbicfl Posted November 15, 2008 Share Posted November 15, 2008 5% to to 10% of net or gross profit ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mbicfl Posted November 15, 2008 Share Posted November 15, 2008 Yea, pepsi and Coke are really supporting small businesses. How big does a company have to be for Coke or pepsi to do that ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brassine Vending Posted November 15, 2008 Author Share Posted November 15, 2008 From what I have found in the last few weeks is, the more cases of product you are willing to purchase at one time, the more interested they are in serving your needs. When I first tried they just blew me off. So I started putting $30 back out of each pay check. After I got $1500 to put towards product alone I called them up and said, I have a vending route and would like to know what your price would be on 15 cases/wk. Within 20-30mins of leaving those type messages, They were calling ME, wanting to know what they could do for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mbicfl Posted November 15, 2008 Share Posted November 15, 2008 Do you have a warehouse or commercial address that they deliver to ? How much are you paying for 20 oz. bottles of Pepsi and Coke ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
West Coast Vend LLC Posted November 15, 2008 Share Posted November 15, 2008 Are the 20oz bottles of Pepsi and Coke really worth the effort it takes to get them from these companies? They are not interested in small, start-up businesses. If you have to buy a ton of product just to get them to do business with you, you are going to end up with out dated product before you sell all of it. I am thinking that I would be better off selling 16.9oz water and Gatorade in plastic and cans for everything else. I can get cans for a great price and even at 75c retail, I can make good money. If someone thinks I am wrong, please let me know what I have to do that will make me more money with plastic and at the same time, remain competitive. Thanks Gary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caserri Posted November 15, 2008 Share Posted November 15, 2008 Is my local Sam's the only Sam's that offers the 20oz? That's weird. Maybe some of you should request that your Sam's carry the 20oz. That way you can buy as little or as much as you need and forget about the bottlers. Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
West Coast Vend LLC Posted November 15, 2008 Share Posted November 15, 2008 What is the price you are paying at Sam's club, Steve? And, what flavors do they carry? Thanks Gary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caserri Posted November 15, 2008 Share Posted November 15, 2008 Gary, 0.77 per bottle and they have Coke, Pepsi, Diet of both, maybe even caffeine free of both, Dr. Pepper, Sunkist, Mt Dew, Sprite, Mug Root Beer, and Ginger Ale. They retail for $1.25 to $1.75 locally. Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brassine Vending Posted November 15, 2008 Author Share Posted November 15, 2008 Do you have a warehouse or commercial address that they deliver to ? How much are you paying for 20 oz. bottles of Pepsi and Coke ?No, I don't. Actually, I have the coke products delivered to my place of employment and save the $15 surcharge. Then I put them in the truck and make the 1/4 mile trip home.When I go to coke and pepsi to pick up machines I try to have the funds to pick up extra cases also. With pepsi, I just go to the bottler and pick them up. The price of cokes are .78 each The price of pepsi are running from .71-.74 each When I am in wal-mart or shopping with my wife I always check out the 12oz prices and if I find them for 25 cents each, I will buy as many as they will let me. Once I actually had to call my father to bring my truck down due to the groceries and sodas not being able to fit in the car. I believe I ended up walking out of there with around 21 12packs. After that, they tend to limit what I can buy, So I will buy the max, have my wife buy, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brassine Vending Posted November 15, 2008 Author Share Posted November 15, 2008 Are the 20oz bottles of Pepsi and Coke really worth the effort it takes to get them from these companies? They are not interested in small, start-up businesses. If you have to buy a ton of product just to get them to do business with you, you are going to end up with out dated product before you sell all of it. I am thinking that I would be better off selling 16.9oz water and Gatorade in plastic and cans for everything else. I can get cans for a great price and even at 75c retail, I can make good money. If someone thinks I am wrong, please let me know what I have to do that will make me more money with plastic and at the same time, remain competitive. Thanks Gary Honestly, In my opinion Gary, It really and truthfully is NOT worth the trouble to get the 20oz. The problem I am running into is people are accustomed to getting 20oz out of the machine. Even if the 16.9oz are cheaper than the 20, they seem to gripe and whine about getting ripped off. If I had the know how on how to set the bottle machines up for 24oz, I would be selling those in all my machines I would get. I can get 24oz bottles ANYWHERE and they are running around .55-60 a bottle. Which is 18-23 cents more in my pocket right off the bat and I don't have to worry about overhead or rotating stock due to getting what I need and being able to get it when I want it and not having to pay extra for a small order. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mbicfl Posted November 16, 2008 Share Posted November 16, 2008 You can buy 16.9 ounce cokes in Walmart for .50 cents, I'm not sure what they sell for at Sams. You can sell them for 1.00 dollar, but If you were selling 20 ounces for 1.00 and switched to 16.9 ounces then customers will gripe;therefore sell them for 85 or 90 cents, but If you were selling 20 ounces for 1.25 then sell 16 ounces for a 1.00. Remember fix the labels on your machines so that it wont show 20 ounces. In Orlando you can only buy 20 ounce bottles at the bottlers or Vistar, but Vistar charges you about .76 to .80 per bottle. Pepsi and Coke will not let you pick up from them. Delivery only. Fact is: Pepsi and Coke are taking advantage of all vending businesses with these prices, but we can sell 16.9 ounce bottles in bottle machines and beat them at there own game until they start screwing us gain. I havent seen a 16.9 ounce pepsi bottle yet. Has anyone ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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