BrianS Posted February 4, 2009 Share Posted February 4, 2009 Hey, As you all know I am a beginner and received my first 4 machines and just need to get candy and a home for them tommorow I was wondering if there is a price 'guide' if you will of where people buy certain candy/chocolates. Does anyone use ebay for any candy? Does everyone use Sam's club? How big of bags/cases do you get? -Brian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrianS Posted February 4, 2009 Author Share Posted February 4, 2009 Also to add on, How much do you fill your machines up? I have 4 triples for now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creativecandy Posted February 4, 2009 Share Posted February 4, 2009 what triples do u have.................it seems everyone uses sams............i like to feel my machines 2/3 full.........where did u buy your triples and how muc did u pay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrianS Posted February 4, 2009 Author Share Posted February 4, 2009 Just vendstars...$20 a piece So u buy the 56oz bags of skittles and m&m's and 44oz bags of reese's? Are these the biggest bags they have? To fill it 2/3 it is more then 1 bag per head right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antoniocinisi Posted February 4, 2009 Share Posted February 4, 2009 Just vendstars...$20 a piece So u buy the 56oz bags of skittles and m&m's and 44oz bags of reese's? Are these the biggest bags they have? To fill it 2/3 it is more then 1 bag per head right? yes thats the biggest they have at sams.I would use only 1 bag regardless of how full it is unless its more then 3/4 full.I dont have vendstars so not sure how much it takes. if your pieces per vend are correct u should be ok for a service cycle. avoid peanut mm if u can they are expensive.you have to vend very few to make money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrianS Posted February 4, 2009 Author Share Posted February 4, 2009 Ok great. I was afraid I would have to put in 2 bags per head. Trying to keep the costs to a minimum right now while I get going. Gotta keep the wife from getting to upset, heh. How about Skittles,Reese, Dubble Bubble Tab gum. Sound like a decent combo? -Brian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antoniocinisi Posted February 4, 2009 Share Posted February 4, 2009 it usualy varies by location but its a good start. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrianS Posted February 4, 2009 Author Share Posted February 4, 2009 Much appreciated =) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dperry Posted February 4, 2009 Share Posted February 4, 2009 With candy, it is better to have an empty head than it is to have stale candy that nobody buys. So to that end, you need to put in only what you expect will be used during your service cycle. It's ok to put in less, but it's wasteful to put in more. The industry average per head is 1 vend per day. The typcial amount to vend for candy is 1/2 oz, but sometimes less. So if you expect to do the average in say Skittles, and you are in fact using 1/2 oz vend amounts, then you would only need about 15oz for a 1 month service cycle. So, a 54oz bag can prolly be used to fill about 3 heads/locations for your 1 month cycle. I buy at Sam's, but I've also gotten some other candy online. Another place you can look is stores like Big Lots, Dollar General, etc. Yeah, the candy can be old, but it still might be good. You might want to sample it before you buy large amounts tho. Those stores can also have other types of candy that you may not be able to get at Sams. Sams will also allow you to special order other products from Concord (The Double Bubble Gum makers) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beer980 Posted February 4, 2009 Share Posted February 4, 2009 Those Vendstars will hold 3 bags per canister if I remember right. I dumped a whole bag of Runts in one of mine yesterday and it was about 1/2 full. I usualy keep it just below half unless it is a good moving gumball then I fill it up 3/4. Most of us buy the big bags at Sam's or Cosco. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrianS Posted February 4, 2009 Author Share Posted February 4, 2009 Thanks for the great advice Darryl! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrianS Posted February 4, 2009 Author Share Posted February 4, 2009 Yea I tested it, it is definatly 3 bags per cannister, which is wayyy to much Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joebob051977 Posted February 4, 2009 Share Posted February 4, 2009 With candy, it is better to have an empty head than it is to have stale candy that nobody buys. So to that end, you need to put in only what you expect will be used during your service cycle. It's ok to put in less, but it's wasteful to put in more. This is absolutely true. I learned this lesson with my first machine. I ended up throwing away a lot of candy because it wasn't selling. I like to put a full bag of each product in my machines, but I am learning that even that might not always be practical to do. And despite my good intentions, keeping my candy wheel open all the way turned out to be impractical. Start-up costs really are a big obstacle when you have a limited budget. I started off with $500. After $100 for my assumed name, $30 for a Sam's club membership there isn't much left for machines and candy. I certainly would've done things a little bit differently now that I have more experience. That is the good thing with this forum, you don't have to make all the mistakes for yourself. I started in vending just when this forum started so I got to make some mistakes on my own, but not too many. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrianS Posted February 4, 2009 Author Share Posted February 4, 2009 Great post Joe. Yes I am working with an almost IDENTICAL budget to yours. After sams membership and name, I am left with very little for machines and candy. I really appreciate you guys responding. I would hate to of loaded the canisters full blast and wasted a bunch of candy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dperry Posted February 4, 2009 Share Posted February 4, 2009 When starting in a business like this, the last thing on your list of stuff to spend your money on is a business name. Heck, I have a business name and I didn't spend one single dime on it. If down the road you really really REALLY need to have a legal business name, then maybe you will have more funds from the income of your business with which to get one. When 20% of your startup capital goes towards a business name, you know you have to rethink your priorities. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dperry Posted February 4, 2009 Share Posted February 4, 2009 I would hate to of loaded the canisters full blast and wasted a bunch of candyOne thing that really rankles my ankles is that just about all vending machine makers advertise how their machines can hold a huge capacity of product. Well that's well and good for toys and gumballs, but not so great for candy. If anything, I want an extra small globe for my candy machines. If I have a double with a GB and candy, my GB side is always filled to the brim, yet I have only about 2" of candy in the other side. This looks awful to me, yet I can' add more product like I want. I know that if I do, it will likely just go stale or chip/crack and otherwise look so unappetizing that nobody will buy it.I serviced a location yesterday that had my 2for1 gumball machine, somebody else's Saega double and yet another 4-head u-turn. The uturn had 2 heads of chipped double bubble gumballs that didn't seem to be selling (prolly because my 2for1 were sold out!) and some regular M&M's in the 3rd head and pink M&M's in the 4th head. The other double had chipped/broken Peanut M&M's in the first head and a completely full head of salted peanuts in the second. I'm waiting this guy out and am waiting to see if he wants to sell his underperforming route to me when he finally pulls his head out of the clouds. Anyways, maybe somebody can come up with a smaller volume canister that I can use with my NW's and Oaks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skaught Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 Anyways, maybe somebody can come up with a smaller volume canister that I can use with my NW's and OaksI'm just thinking, and I'm not sure how it may look, but what about finding a way to divide the head in half (assuming it is a triple head we're talking about) with a piece of plastic or something. That way, all the candy is pressed up against the front of the machine, and it gives the impression that the machine is more full. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timberframe50 Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 I use triples, the center is always gumballs. I print a large label and put it inside, this covers just over half of the face. I fill half way and you can't tell it. The 2 side canister I put label son that take up one third of the front and on the sides i use a black piece of plastic and cover the entire canister. This way you can only see the front. If I fill the canister on third it still looks 3/4 full. Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tedk Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 I ran some Seaga triples for a while. I cut plastic rectangles and laid them in on an angle from top to bottom. It made them appear much more full than they were. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dperry Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 We've had this discussion before on what to do to take up space in a head so that it looks fuller with less candy. I like Bob's idea of using a peanut butter jar, and I like the idea of a plastic sheet to push the candy to the front and making it look fuller. My only thought is that the the candy falls into the wheel at the back of the machine, not the front. So then there must be some way to spead a layer of candy at the bottom so that it will fall into the back. Oh well. Maybe I'm just think too much and should just go with the flow. http://vendiscuss.com/forums/view_topic.php?id=2846&forum_id=1&highlight=%26quot%3Btake+up%26quot%3B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bacho Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 My experiences with full machines have been just the opposite. Unless the machine is in a breakroom where the same people buy from, I only fill my heads 3/4 full. When I first started, I would get excited about a product being almost empty after filling it only half way for the first month. The following month I would fill it all the way. To my surprise it wasn't being used as often. So, I removed some product and low and behold, the next month it was almost empty. I guess people are finicky to a point as to the machine not being used. Three quarter full gives it the impression it's being used. Just my experiences. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrianS Posted February 5, 2009 Author Share Posted February 5, 2009 Great points bacho. Love the reply's guys, very infomartive!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beer980 Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 Like timberframe50 said about the labels. I also use a good size label and some are turned sideways to fit better. They cover over half the canister so you really can't tell how much is in there. I usually fill to the bottom of the label. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antoniocinisi Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 I also like the label low like this because it protects some of the candy from the sun,makeing it last longer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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