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My Flatline 2" Cap Haul!


PerformaVending

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Mike, Becky, and team Flatline have come through yet again! I was in their neighborhood on other business, and decided to drop in on them to see what's up.

 

Though they don't yet have the Minions in stock (some things beyond their control have come up with their shipping company) they've got a lot of other cool items in stock!

 

Here's what I got today:

 

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Upper left is Jewelry Box 3, a fresh spin on their last iteration of jewelry box. While it doesn't have as many "big" leader items, it is a considerably brighter, and in my opinion striking display. With fewer expensive leaders, it means the overall quality to the customer is improved too. Far fewer "stretchy bands" from what I can see, which should mean more sales.

 

Upper right is Mega Splat, one of Flatline's 2" sticky mixes, and once again it's fantastic. The card is bright and vibrant with a sampling of the mixes awesome leader items. I popped the plastic off to "unsquish" the pigs face, but this is a brilliant improvement in Sticky Pig technology! All joking aside, this is easily one of the best 2" sticky mixes around, and with cooler weather fast approaching, a lot of my "too hot/melt hazard" locations will again be graced with sticky stuff!

 

Bottom left is a "value" mix called Birthstone Diamonds. I was asked to keep the price to myself, so I will, but let's just say you'll want to call Mike and get a quote for yourself on these beauties. It's a simple 2" product with an unexpected sales force behind it- I've been selling tons of these, and at first I didn't know why... then I found out. While servicing an account, I overheard some customers (between 10-12ish) eagerly buying a bunch of the Birthstone Diamonds shortly after I'd introduced them. They mentioned wanting to get "Garnet" and how "She's so cool". A Google search or two later, and I found out about Steven Universe (pictured), a Cartoon Network Cartoon with relatively little merchandise, where all of the characters are named (and colored) after the gemstones. Whether that still factors into the sales as heavily now as it did then I don't know for sure, but sales are consistent, so I'll be keeping this one on hand until Flatline finally passes it up for something better.

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Finally, on the bottom right is a product I haven't tried before, though it's predecessors have done well. "Shadow Ops" is the grandson of "Guns N' Stuff" and a cousin of "Zombie Hunter"- which is a variety mix with a "special forces/paramilitary" theme to it. The leaders frame the outside, the core items are mainstay key-chain guns. Great, classic items all around. While there's been debate and dialog surrounding the whole toy guns/gun control/etc. going around, I've reached a point in my business where I'm not too worried about the potential backlash a product like this might have. I've got a pretty good feel of my locations, and I know which ones will take these, and which ones won't- and the ones that will I'm sure will sell very, very well. I figure I worry about so many other aspects of my business, worrying about whether some kid is going to carry a toy gun they bought from me to their school is really not worth the time nor effort. Other opinions may differ, and that's fine, but I've come to a point in my business where, quite frankly, I just don't care to worry about it anymore. A full coin tray in a NW 80 makes a really good argument for these things, and I'm excited to see how they do against their predecessors.

 

All in all, today has been a great day! It's always a blast to stop by Flatline and see what they've got cooking- though they're not paid nearly enough to have to deal with me in person. ;D

 

Anyone else tried any "new" 2" items that have sold pretty well lately? I'm always on the lookout for cool new things to try on the route!

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Next time you're in, tell Mike to get his golpher back to TVF and update his section! :)

 

Will do sir! I don't think his absence is by choice though- he's running all over their facility like a madman these days to keep things running as well as they have of late. Hopefully the end of the summer rush will give him and his staff more free time to hang out with us again.

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BTW, I moved your thread to the Flatline section. (But left a link in bulk) Hopefully it will spark some life in here.

Sent from my XT1080 using Tapatalk

 

Good thinking sir! Might stir some of the other pipeline suppliers to wake up and post an update too! ^_^

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Was messing with you about price, I read your post.

I have been ordering more and more from Mike, saves me a little on shipping plus his product line is getting better all the time. I had the pleasure of meeting him in Vegas and he is a real nice down to earth guy.

 

Did you see his cheese thing while you were there? They've usually got some cheese thing set up, but I know they change the theme every year.

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Hey Alex,

 

It was great to see you yesterday! Thanks for all the kind words. The Minions arrived just after you left. Take a look, there is a 1 tag per capsule option and a 2 tag per capsule option. Give me a call for pricing, they will be shipping next week!

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My last order didn't go so smooth. Ordered some 1", 2" and flat. One of the things I ordered in 1" was 4 bags of the mustaches, got 1 bag that was a good mix, 1 that was only neon green and grey mix and the other 2 was straight neon green. Called and spoke to a female there and she said she would send 2 more bags so I could mix them all together to water down all the neon green. Never got the 2 bags or have I heard back from them. Not too worried about it, their selection is not that good anyway so I'll stick with A&A, Cardinal, Brand, and VSI in the future.

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My last order didn't go so smooth. Ordered some 1", 2" and flat. One of the things I ordered in 1" was 4 bags of the mustaches, got 1 bag that was a good mix, 1 that was only neon green and grey mix and the other 2 was straight neon green. Called and spoke to a female there and she said she would send 2 more bags so I could mix them all together to water down all the neon green. Never got the 2 bags or have I heard back from them. Not too worried about it, their selection is not that good anyway so I'll stick with A&A, Cardinal, Brand, and VSI in the future.

Give mike a call, he will fix it.
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Hey Alex,

 

It was great to see you yesterday! Thanks for all the kind words. The Minions arrived just after you left. Take a look, there is a 1 tag per capsule option and a 2 tag per capsule option. Give me a call for pricing, they will be shipping next week!

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Minions are in!?! YES!

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What would I do without you Mike? I will be in to pick them up next time I'm in town! Rock on!

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A sum of money under $30 a case. You'll have to talk to Flatline Mike for specifics. ;)

I called Mike and the price was above 30. He did not ask how many I wanted not sure maybe you bought 100 cs. To get that price. They normally charge me the sucker price anyway. But as for the product I think it's a home run. That birth stone type stuff is in right now. All started with the AA bears and has not let up still a strong category. The silver and gold is also a very good one. Freight is where FL really stands out its much lower than others and two days to Alabama. I would like to see expanded one inch items

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Hav, since the topic has been discussed around here, ad nauseum, you should know already that there are different prices for different customers. If everyone was charged the same, you see the prices online. [emoji6]

Sent from my XT1080 using Tapatalk

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Hav, since the topic has been discussed around here, ad nauseum, you should know already that there are different prices for different customers. If everyone was charged the same, you see the prices online. [emoji6]

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Don't get me wrong I like FL and will order. Maybe performa can share how many cs he bought and I can match that and get the good price. But Mike said he does not offer that price on the stones.

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Been ordering from these guys for over ten years. Never one problem. Best flat in the business. I would like to see them expand their cap line and do plush. They would then be a one stop shop for me. A class act group up there.

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The issue operators have is about pricing is that it's basically like buying a car. You just never know if you paid to much. We call up and say hey I like xyz products what's the price. And your given a price never knowing if ifs a good price or not because who knows what the other guy paid. I think that suppliers need to progress and have more transparent Pricing. Operators Communicate now much more than ever so that secret price is not so secret anymore. There are two suppliers that value the long term buyer. The buyer who may not buy a lot on each order but is buying often. That's AA and TNT. Another thing that is very frustrating is when you make a purchase in good faith and then boom its on sale with in a week. Thats happened twice at FL once at S&B and At AA. I will say AA will credit you back if you ask.

The pm I got from performa was that FL is having a sale and trying to move product. When I called I did not get that feeling. I also inquired about getting the price of 28 on the diamonds like performa did but was told there was nothing that low. I guess that's where my confusion came in. Don't get me wrong I like FL and their products. And over all the people are very nice and super friendly. But I get confused when one member talks of a super deal and I'm told it's not available. I was not even quoted a case count to get me there.

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