A Question or Three to Canadian Bulk Vendors on Quantity, Price and COGs

[mughals]

Hi There, 

 

Great forum you guys have here.  Very informative to someone like me wishing to  dabble into the bulk vending business.   And that's what I plan to do; just acquire a couple of good quality double-head machines and get started.

 

What I'm having trouble with is figuring out what to sell my product for?  25c or 50c?  Being in Alberta, Canada, this could of course differ  from some of the info on this site.  

 

So to narrow it down a bit.  Here's My Plan:

 

Two double head machines - Beaver or Oak(hopefully placed in a good spot!).   Selling Peanut M&Ms and Mike and Ike's in each machine.

 

Canadian members, please help me with a couple things:

 

What would you sell these for in Canada?  50c or 25c? Would a person be willing to pull out two quarters?

 

How much would you typically dispense given the two different above prices?

 

Second train of thought:   Where do you find you get the best wholesale prices on these items?

 

Any input would be much appreciated(from anyone, of course).  Maybe it's better to substitute one of the above products for something else being in Canada, based on supplier availability, COG's?  

 

Mike

 

 

[jmac]

Hey there fellow Albertan. I used to vend Peanut M&m's and Mike and Ike's. I sold off most of my candy route and mostly sell toys now. I vended Pmm's for 25 cents, and could only vend about 4 at a time. Buying from Costco they were about 2 cents each , which is why i only vended 4 at a time. I found them to be cheapest at Costco. I would vend them at 50 cents if I were you. You will sell alot of PMM 's but the COG is high. Mike and Ike's I bought from The wholesale club, they were cheap so I vended a decent amount for 25 cents. But they clump up if the machine is in a warm area. I have very few candy locations, and now I only vend Skittles. Reason being, they are very inexpensive(you can give a fair bit for 25 cents), they have a long shelf life, they dont clump up in warm enviroments. I buy them from the Wholesale Club. They have different varities , but for some reason the Desert Skittles are cheapest. Buy Beaver machines, Southern Beavers are cheaper than Oaks when buying new. I have some Oaks and they are great. I bought them when our dollar was alot higher.

Start with single heads, if business is good, add a second machine . If the location is frequented by kids, put toys in.

[mughals]

Thanks Jmac for the input.  4 m&ms doesn't seem like much, but still north of 30% COGs.  I suppose that's the consequence of doing this in Canada.  I'm interested in the toys too.  Sounds like a different animal altogether.   I've read that most members have much greater return vending toys, however, some canadian's on here have said that it's difficult to find a balance between something that's worth 25c or a loonie.  Ideally you'd want to go after the loonie, since I believe we think of these as "chump change" along with quarters?  If you're willing to divulge, what have you found works for you in this arena?  

 

BTW, I'm in Calgary.  

Cheers,

mike

[jmac]

1" toys I vend for 50 cents no less. I have tried Allstars : Squishy Animals, Toy Mix, and Glow in the Dark Sticky mix. They all sell the same pretty much. The toy mix is pretty watered down, once its gone I wont reorder more.

I have been trying to find a 1" toy I can vend for $1, but havent found anything that IMO will work.

2" toys I vend for $2,

I had awesome luck selling Voodoo dolls, they were hot for about 2 years straight. Mario licensed toys sold well also. Currently my best 2" seller is flashing puffer balls from Allstar. Only sell premium toys for $2, sell cheap stuff and sales wont be great at that price point.

Im in Red Deer so the same area as you, pretty much. Hardest part of vending toys here is finding used machines to vend them. You will have a hard time finding 1" machines with 50cent mechs for sale. Vending 1" toys for 25 cents isnt worth it. Used Tomy Gacha, and Northern Beavers come up on Kijiji once in awhile, I suggest buying them if the price is right. A few years back I bought some used Tomy Gacha machines for $150 each, and Im kicking myself for not buying more. If you like Pm me your number and I can text you. Im by no means a pro, but can help you get started.

[huynhhh]

Thanks Jmac for the input. 4 m&ms doesn't seem like much, but still north of 30% COGs. I suppose that's the consequence of doing this in Canada. I'm interested in the toys too. Sounds like a different animal altogether. I've read that most members have much greater return vending toys, however, some canadian's on here have said that it's difficult to find a balance between something that's worth 25c or a loonie. Ideally you'd want to go after the loonie, since I believe we think of these as "chump change" along with quarters? If you're willing to divulge, what have you found works for you in this arena?

BTW, I'm in Calgary.

Cheers,

mike

I'm from Canada as well, and PMM do great, but the downside is the cost of goods, but if you look at it from a different viewpoint and do not calculate costs of goods per account, and look at it as an average of costs of good between all of your accounts, justifying the sale for PMM is better.

I sell PMM like hot cakes (a single head in 3 weeks) and manage to stay between 25-35% cost of goods (vary on month) thanks to the assortment of candies I sell. And if the location justifies a loonie mech, you'll be good to go

[jmac]

Thats a good way to look at it Huynhhh

[Rick]

That's why I still sell PMM. I'm at 42% costs on them but I only run them in machines where they do min of $20/month and outsell all other options > 2:1. Still my best candy in terms of net per location.

[huynhhh]

That's why I still sell PMM. I'm at 42% costs on them but I only run them in machines where they do min of $20/month and outsell all other options > 2:1. Still my best candy in terms of net per location.

Yeah, subsidizing candy with high COG is good when you use candy with lower COG such as GB and skittles and what-not.. Upgrading mechs can help too! Haha