HotOiler3 Posted October 26, 2014 Share Posted October 26, 2014 Does anyone build their own honor boxes? After looking all over the internet and deciding I couldn't get a single honor box for much less than $20 shipped, I decided to make my own out of a cardboard box, I'm actually quite pleased with how it turned out and I like the idea I had for the money-box, it's very simple to get into but at the same time, it isn't OBVIOUS how it's opened, and I took a glue stick and glued random playing cards all around the outside and inside to make it look a bit better. But now I'm considering building any future honor boxes out of either wood paneling or laminate flooring material, but there is another thread on here talking about making them out of plexiglass, I wouldn't be opposed to try my hand at that either if I could come up with a decent design using that material. Anybody else "roll your own" honor boxes? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HotOiler3 Posted November 2, 2014 Author Share Posted November 2, 2014 Really? NOBODY has made their own honor boxes? Sad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngryChris Posted November 5, 2014 Share Posted November 5, 2014 It's a good idea and I thought about doing it as well. I can't say I was going to build my own from scratch or anything but I planned on using cardboard cases (from soda) and cut them up and put a few together to make my own honor box. The hard part is making some decent graphics so that people know who to call and how much it costs for products. The thing I am most interested in is figuring out how to install a relatively secure money box that cannot be broken into without stealing the entire honor box. If someone goes THAT far to steal money then they must need the money more than I do.. but these cardboard money boxes cause issues at times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HotOiler3 Posted November 5, 2014 Author Share Posted November 5, 2014 It's a good idea and I thought about doing it as well. I can't say I was going to build my own from scratch or anything but I planned on using cardboard cases (from soda) and cut them up and put a few together to make my own honor box. The hard part is making some decent graphics so that people know who to call and how much it costs for products. The thing I am most interested in is figuring out how to install a relatively secure money box that cannot be broken into without stealing the entire honor box. If someone goes THAT far to steal money then they must need the money more than I do.. but these cardboard money boxes cause issues at times. I'm pretty sure I can make a money box that is as secure as you could expect one to be made of cardboard..... Like I've said in other posts, I'm sure I could get into just about ANY of the "real" vending machines in under 2 minutes..... Locks don't really "prevent" much of anything, they just keep honest people honest. I've really enjoyed reading your updates on your honor boxes Chris, I still haven't decided whether to buy them or build them, as there are obviously pro's and cons to both, in the beginning stages the biggest con I can see with making your own is making it aesthetically pleasing, but with the two I have made, they both look just fine in my opinion when they're full of product .... I can see what I can figure out as far as a secure cash box and let you know if I figure out something worthwhile, is it something you'd like to slip inside of the actual honor box? Or would you like to see it built in? I've seen the boxes that Dennis sells on his website, and I'm a bit confused as to why there is even a separate coin box instead of just having it drop into the box itself? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngryChris Posted November 5, 2014 Share Posted November 5, 2014 I'm pretty sure I can make a money box that is as secure as you could expect one to be made of cardboard..... Like I've said in other posts, I'm sure I could get into just about ANY of the "real" vending machines in under 2 minutes..... Locks don't really "prevent" much of anything, they just keep honest people honest. I've really enjoyed reading your updates on your honor boxes Chris, I still haven't decided whether to buy them or build them, as there are obviously pro's and cons to both, in the beginning stages the biggest con I can see with making your own is making it aesthetically pleasing, but with the two I have made, they both look just fine in my opinion when they're full of product .... I can see what I can figure out as far as a secure cash box and let you know if I figure out something worthwhile, is it something you'd like to slip inside of the actual honor box? Or would you like to see it built in? I've seen the boxes that Dennis sells on his website, and I'm a bit confused as to why there is even a separate coin box instead of just having it drop into the box itself? The reason why it's convenient to have a separate box is because you can simply remove the box and dump your money into a bag rather than digging it out of the box. Regarding how secure things are (such as vending machines), yes, they can be broken into. I highly doubt that you could break into machines in under two minutes unless you are bringing powered equipment. Sure, you could bring some drills and some other tools and get into it pretty quickly but you're also going to make a lot of noise. Even if you get into it quickly, the whole point of making something "secure" is to stop people from EASILY getting into your equipment. The same thing applies to honor boxes. It takes me about 5 seconds to put a zip tie on a box and about 2 seconds to snip it off. Yeah, it's not hard to get into things like honor boxes but the idea is that the added security will deter MOST people from wanting to mess with it. It might seem a lot easier to steal someone's phone in a break room than to take a few bucks out of the snack box (and worth more money too). Like I said in another post, it's mostly about having peace-of-mind but it is hard to determine how well you can actually stop theft-of-cash by having a better box. To date, I have only had one box stolen. By the way, if your boxes work for you then great! Running an honor box business isn't about fancy marketing and all of that... it's about making profits (just like almost any other business) and you can and should do whatever is going to give you the most bang for your buck. If your custom boxes work out better and cost you less than those you can order, then I am 100% supportive of what you do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HotOiler3 Posted November 5, 2014 Author Share Posted November 5, 2014 I'm still debating, and drawing up "bluprints" in my head for a nice wooden box, making it strong and sturdy, while still being lightweight and easy on the eyes. I'll definitely keep this thread posted with what I do, I am fairly certain that I'll end up building at least a few more boxes, and I'll put some pictures up here. The two that I have built aren't really all that exciting, here is my first box before I glued all the playing cards to the inside and the outside, I didn't get a picture of it after I did that. The 2nd box I built I hot-glued together instead of duct tape. Although it is a bit smaller, and the change box is designed considerably different, the hinge is made with zip ties as well as the "lock" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngryChris Posted November 5, 2014 Share Posted November 5, 2014 That's a pretty decent looking box but keep in mind that it will probably get pretty beat up after a few cycles. Most honor boxes use cardboard that folds over so that it is extra strong. You look like you will be able to learn as they get beat up though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HotOiler3 Posted November 5, 2014 Author Share Posted November 5, 2014 Yep, I talked to my mom shortly after posting the picture, and my coin box fell apart, so she rigged a butter dish in it's place and empties it every night..... I'm going up there tomorrow and I'll bring my hot glue gun and glue it all together and ditch the Damn duct tape Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Makes Cents Posted November 5, 2014 Share Posted November 5, 2014 Why not use coroplast (corrugated plastic sheets). Its cheap, you can get it at wholesale sign supply companies, its very durable, can be cut with x-acto knife and is available in a variety of colors and thicknesses and its nearly indestructible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sherlock Posted November 5, 2014 Share Posted November 5, 2014 Is it really worth all this hassle when you can get professional looking, long-lasting, easy to set-up/store honor boxes for around $3 each? I mean, really! No location owner/mgr will ever turn you down because your honor box looks too good and too professional. Yet, plenty will turn you down because of the opposite. Spend the $40-$50 to buy 10 real honor boxes shipped right to your door and get to work already. And if anyone out there thinks $40-$50 is too expensive for a start-up, then forget about owning your own vending biz and get a job somewhere...because if $40-$50 scares you, then you will outright pee your pants when you realize how much it will cost you to fill those 10 boxes with product. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Makes Cents Posted November 5, 2014 Share Posted November 5, 2014 The OP mentioned $20 cost. I dont do honor boxes and at $3 per box you have a point. The only advantage making one w/ coroplast is once its built it will not deteriorate like cardboard. Tear proof, water proof etc. but it would cost $1.50-$2 to make so not a big deal if boxes sell for $3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HotOiler3 Posted November 5, 2014 Author Share Posted November 5, 2014 Why not use coroplast (corrugated plastic sheets). Its cheap, you can get it at wholesale sign supply companies, its very durable, can be cut with x-acto knife and is available in a variety of colors and thicknesses and its nearly indestructible. Holy golpher! That is genius!! I didn't think of that. Is it really worth all this hassle when you can get professional looking, long-lasting, easy to set-up/store honor boxes for around $3 each? I mean, really! No location owner/mgr will ever turn you down because your honor box looks too good and too professional. Yet, plenty will turn you down because of the opposite. Spend the $40-$50 to buy 10 real honor boxes shipped right to your door and get to work already. And if anyone out there thinks $40-$50 is too expensive for a start-up, then forget about owning your own vending biz and get a job somewhere...because if $40-$50 scares you, then you will outright pee your pants when you realize how much it will cost you to fill those 10 boxes with product. Is it really worth all this hassle when you can get professional looking, long-lasting, easy to set-up/store honor boxes for around $3 each? I mean, really! No location owner/mgr will ever turn you down because your honor box looks too good and too professional. Yet, plenty will turn you down because of the opposite. Spend the $40-$50 to buy 10 real honor boxes shipped right to your door and get to work already. And if anyone out there thinks $40-$50 is too expensive for a start-up, then forget about owning your own vending biz and get a job somewhere...because if $40-$50 scares you, then you will outright pee your pants when you realize how much it will cost you to fill those 10 boxes with product. Sherlock, if you can find where I can buy boxes for $3.00 each SHIPPED, please, please share that information, cheapest I found is just under $7.00 a piece to buy a case of 25, unless I'm buying more than 1,000 I can't find them for less than $5.00 shipped..... Shipping on these things is absolutely ridiculous. I realize some people like throwing money away, but I've always tried to be frugal, so far the boxes I've built have been built with materials I've already had....So I consider that FREE myself.... But even if not, we're talking pennies on the box for the tape, the amount of ink from a sharpie used and hot glue...... So no, I'm not "afraid" to spend any amount of money, but I do like saving money and right now money IS in fact pretty tight at the moment. But like I say, please share with me where I can get boxes shipped for $3.00 a piece, without ordering 3,000 of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sherlock Posted November 5, 2014 Share Posted November 5, 2014 Sherlock, if you can find where I can buy boxes for $3.00 each SHIPPED, please, please share that information I didn't say $3 shipped. I said "$3 each" and followed it with "$40-$50 for 10 shipped". That's $4-$5 each shipped. But, that's still less than what you've found elsewhere. To put it another way...$27.80 for 10 plus shipping. Shipping will vary per delivery location. But, it's not expensive to ship these. So you may even do better than the $40-$50 I quoted as the total price shipped to your door for 10. Supplier is CAMERON PACKAGING. I own some Cameron boxes as well as some from Sheridan. I have no complaints regarding boxes from either supplier. But, to start off with, go with Cameron because they're less expensive AND allow you to order as few as 10 for $2.78 each. They are a bit smaller than Sheridan's snack box, but you don't have to put the divider piece in the middle and that will allow you to put plenty of snacks on location. The Cameron box size is able to handle all but the super-busy locations. Only reason I wound up with some Sheridan is because I bought them off another vendor who was unloading them cheap. Otherwise, I'd have been perfectly fine going exclusively with Cameron boxes. GOOD LUCK! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sherlock Posted November 5, 2014 Share Posted November 5, 2014 I realize some people like throwing money away, but I've always tried to be frugal, so far the boxes I've built have been built with materials I've already had....So I consider that FREE myself.... Be careful. Inferior honor boxes might save you money on the front end but cost you money on the back end...lost sales because the box looks terrible after only a week on location and lost opportunities because locations tell you "No" based on the appearance of a homemade box. Like with vending machines, investing in quality is not "throwing money away". These boxes and their contents will be the only things that represent your business to your customers. Being frugal can be the difference between success and failure. Too many business owners learn too late that it can be more costly to spend time than to spend money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HotOiler3 Posted November 6, 2014 Author Share Posted November 6, 2014 Be careful. Inferior honor boxes might save you money on the front end but cost you money on the back end...lost sales because the box looks terrible after only a week on location and lost opportunities because locations tell you "No" based on the appearance of a homemade box. Like with vending machines, investing in quality is not "throwing money away". These boxes and their contents will be the only things that represent your business to your customers. Being frugal can be the difference between success and failure. Too many business owners learn too late that it can be more costly to spend time than to spend money.D Damnit Sherlock.....When you're right you're right...... I'll check out the link to cameron, but I think I've checked them out in the past and others, and they are astronomically expensive to ship, and I can't consider shipping as not part of the cost of the boxes, my brain just doesn't work that way If it costs me $50.00 to get 10 shipped, that still costs me $5.00 a box, regardless of the fact that $30.00 of that total cost is shipping costs, its still a cost to get the boxes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sherlock Posted November 6, 2014 Share Posted November 6, 2014 If it costs me $50.00 to get 10 shipped, that still costs me $5.00 a box, regardless of the fact that $30.00 of that total cost is shipping costs, its still a cost to get the boxes. Never expected you to not consider shipping as part of the cost. None of us do. Shipping is always a factor. I think you misunderstand my posts. I can assure you that shipping was WELL BELOW $15 when last I ordered. I used UPS ground. This is why I quoted an approx cost of $40-$50 for 10 boxes shipped. You may actually find the order comes to even less than $40 depending on shipping to your location. I'm not going to try to convince anyone that $50 or even $40 is not a lot of money. Some just have different business philosophy on how we want our company represented and how we value our time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngryChris Posted November 8, 2014 Share Posted November 8, 2014 Honestly, a decent honor box location should profit at least $10/month or over $100/year... so it is a very inexpensive way to do things. I have long thought about giving the route to my mother as a job to do when she retires (in 5-10 years). It will keep her active and busy enough and honor boxes CAN be very light work. I work a lot harder than people have to.. but that's because I take in 100+ pieces when I go in so I have EVERYTHING I need. I can service an honor box in less than 5 minutes from the time I park my car to the time I get back into my car and turn the ignition on... unless I have to leave a nasty note regarding shortages. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HotOiler3 Posted November 13, 2014 Author Share Posted November 13, 2014 Sherlock, you're going to be proud. I broke down and bought 10 of the boxes from Cameron this morning, but I still think I'm going to try and make a couple boxes out of wood Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sherlock Posted November 13, 2014 Share Posted November 13, 2014 Sherlock, you're going to be proud. I broke down and bought 10 of the boxes from Cameron this morning, but I still think I'm going to try and make a couple boxes out of wood Good for you, man. Just curious -- what did shipping come out to? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HotOiler3 Posted November 13, 2014 Author Share Posted November 13, 2014 Item Subtotal: $27.80 Shipping Cost: $21.02 GRAND TOTAL: $48.82 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sherlock Posted November 13, 2014 Share Posted November 13, 2014 Item Subtotal: $27.80 Shipping Cost: $21.02 GRAND TOTAL: $48.82 Wow. Shipping was almost 2x what I paid. Just goes to show how much it can vary. Still, less than $5 a box is not bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HotOiler3 Posted November 14, 2014 Author Share Posted November 14, 2014 Wow. Shipping was almost 2x what I paid. Just goes to show how much it can vary. Still, less than $5 a box is not bad. Yeah, I think it said Cameron packaging is in Ohio, quite a long ways from Utah. And I'm 150 miles from ANY major cities, so I don't know if that plays a role in higher shipping or not being so far away from the big "terminals". Anyways, they're ordered, I'm excited. And I look forward to getting the bigger ones from Dennis Slacks site in the future, but I think these small ones from Cameron will play a valuable role in my master plan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sherlock Posted November 14, 2014 Share Posted November 14, 2014 And I look forward to getting the bigger ones from Dennis Slacks site in the future, but I think these small ones from Cameron will play a valuable role in my master plan. Indeed they should. You will be surprised at home much you can comfortably fit in those Cameron boxes. And remember that the middle divider is optional...you don't have to put it in. If you find a high-volume location (and I hope you find a lot of them), the extra space for product you get by leaving the divider out is invaluable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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