Skaught Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 I don't mean to bring up such a pessimistic post, but it seems like something that realistically has to be considered, and I'm sure most everyone here has thought about it. But, with inflation rising every year, and the price of goods increasing, does anyone fear that Bulk Vending may no longer be able to be profitable? I mean there's really no way to change the price of your quarter machine like you can on a Full Line machine. It makes me wonder why more machines aren't changed to $.50 machines yet. I could go on... But what are everyone's thoughts on the future of Bulk Vending? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dapreachaman Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 it all hinges on cost of goods. if you cant find candy at good prices then it just might be time in the near future to change our mechs out to 50 mechs. right now i wouldn't do that, because i have been very lucky to find some great deals on candy. My last major purchase was 80 cents a piece for 14 oz bags. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrianS Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 80 cents?? hoook it up lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lurtsman Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 80 cents?? hoook it up lolYou can say that twice!(keke, bad play on the double post) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrianS Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 lmao lurts!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quarter Master Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 IMO-The rising costs of just doing business are effecting everyone and everything.Each person has to take a look at their situation and try to make the best calls.The vendor with equipment that has long been paid for is in a better position than someone just getting started.Most definetly change is coming,but at this time of the economy I don't see a .50 vend being the norm.We just have to shop for bargains and try a little harder to promote the business and ourselves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nepavend Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 With things going the way they are candy exclusive vendors will have a bigger problem with trying to stay profitable. This is another reason why I love doing gumballs, toy capsules and flat sticker/tattoos. It would take an awful lot of inflation to dig into their profit margins. We may see the time when candy has to go to a 50 cent vend, but gum/toys/flats can stay at 25/50 cents for the foreseeable future. As long as there are biz-ops selling candy machines and people dreaming on quarters, people will still continue to get into and out of the business through things like Vendstar and other biz-ops where they push candy vending. It certainly has its place in certain areas and situations, but short of being in a massive candy business like a movie theater situation, in a mall, or some other huge volume business, it will be difficult to be profitable, and even those large vendors who probably get some sort of discount will still feel the pain. But then again, no one has a crystal ball, right?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrianS Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 Excellent post Joe. Sticker machines look great, I may have to try a few of those out in a month or so Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beer980 Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 Well I actually do have a crystal but it is not a ball. You never know what you might find when you start asking for things from members. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antoniocinisi Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 Well I actually do have a crystal but it is not a ball. You never know what you might find when you start asking for things from members.crystal meth does not count beer! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nepavend Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 Brian, You are definitely an eager beaver... that is a very good thing, but wait until you have a few locations and some money coming in under your belt before you start getting into all different kinds of equipment. I had nearly 200 stops before I got my first sticker machine, they can be expensive to get your hands on, especially new, and used ones in good shape are harder to find than other machines. You want to get to the point, especially with sticker and rack machines, where the income from the business is funding more equipment for the business, and not from your pocket. Sometimes I have had to go against this rule but I made a calculated decision and not just jumped on it. Also, you want to get a direction established for your business (ie, several accounts with similar products, a decently centralized and efficient route) to make sure you are managing your fleet the right way when you are small so you don't overwhelm yourself later on. Setting up your route and building your strategies now will make a big difference down the line. Think of your business like an investment (which it is, and it is a big one), get your investment strategy (short and long term, where you want to go with your routes, business/strategic planning, goals, other boring stuff LOL) and framework (your route building, locating, and route/inventory management) down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skaught Posted February 7, 2009 Author Share Posted February 7, 2009 With things going the way they are candy exclusive vendors will have a bigger problem with trying to stay profitable. This is another reason why I love doing gumballs, toy capsules and flat sticker/tattoos. It would take an awful lot of inflation to dig into their profit margins. We may see the time when candy has to go to a 50 cent vend, but gum/toys/flats can stay at 25/50 cents for the foreseeable future. As long as there are biz-ops selling candy machines and people dreaming on quarters, people will still continue to get into and out of the business through things like Vendstar and other biz-ops where they push candy vending. It certainly has its place in certain areas and situations, but short of being in a massive candy business like a movie theater situation, in a mall, or some other huge volume business, it will be difficult to be profitable, and even those large vendors who probably get some sort of discount will still feel the pain. But then again, no one has a crystal ball, right?? Thanks for the insightful reply, I can definitely see where gumballs can be more profitable. However, wouldn't the price of toys continue to go up with inflation? I'm really not sure about this, but wouldn't their price continue to rise also? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jax Snacks Posted February 8, 2009 Share Posted February 8, 2009 I personally don't see how a vendor today can make it full time being a 100% bulk candy vendor. Candy is generally a slower mover in many locations. Candy is also vulnerable to bugs, sun, extreme weather and may have to thrown out at times - raising your costs even more. IMO, the key is finding the proper mix of gumballs, candy, toys (big and small) and tattoos in each location, as well as the commission/charity relationship - and that is somewhat of a trial and error process. Just look at what the "pros" are doing in places like Kmart, Golden Corral, Wal-Mart (before kicking out the vendors), supermarkets, etc. You don't see much candy, do you? I don't see 50 cent candy vending on the horizon any time soon. IMO, selling a handful of candy for 50 cents would be like McDonald's selling a happy meal for 10 bucks - just ain't gonna happen! McDonald's has figured out a way to be profitable with $6 combo meals, we vendors also need to figure out a way to be profitable at a quarter and keep product costs at 20% - not an easy task indeed. Jax Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kawoodard Posted February 8, 2009 Share Posted February 8, 2009 The cost for bulk candy will go up and at some point vendors will have to go to 50 cent mechs. I respectfully disagree, but I think the market would bear a higher priced vend. Give a little more product, charge 50 cents. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jax Snacks Posted February 8, 2009 Share Posted February 8, 2009 Giving more product at 50 cents has another very undesirable consequence - too much spillage on the floor! Kids will drop more candy and create a mess - I have lost a number of locations due to this problem. We are trapped at vending candy at 25 cents for a long time. Do you really think McDonald's can charge significantly more for a happy meal? In many ways our business model is the same as theirs as we are both trapped into selling a product at a low price that the general public demands for a cheap price only. I know of no other vendor on any board during the last 8 years that has been successful with 50 candy vending. As bulk candy prices go up, I will simply stop vending them and focus on gumballs, toys and tattoos. It's already happened with MMP as many vendors no longer offer them due to their high cost. It will also cost a small fortune to upgrade every coin mech to 50 cents. Doubling the price to 50 cents is not the answer. Going to 30 or 35 cents would be a better choice here, but that is unfortunately not practical with these types of machines. Jax Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CandymachinesCom Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 Has anybody tried to vend the small tatoos in the 1 inch capsules instead of the gumablls? I am wondering as to what was posted here earlier if it isnt a good idea to maybe try that so that your customers have a variety of candy and toys without you, the vendor, having to make an additional purchase of a sticker and /or tatoo machine. Thoughts??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nepavend Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 Toy capsules may continue to rise as well, but since their unit cost per vend is half of a candy vend, it can bear much more increases and still stay at .25 Gumballs have risen, but from 1.5 cents to about 2 cents over the last 3-4 years, you will hear some squawking about it, being that it is 33% higher now, but still excellent margins. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dperry Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 IMO-The rising costs of just doing business are effecting everyone and everything.Each person has to take a look at their situation and try to make the best calls.The vendor with equipment that has long been paid for is in a better position than someone just getting started.Most definetly change is coming,but at this time of the economy I don't see a .50 vend being the norm.We just have to shop for bargains and try a little harder to promote the business and ourselves.That is so true! I was just telling my wife last night how now is the time to buy. Everybody is having some sort of sale or have lowered their prices. Well, obviously not everybody is lowering their prices, but you know what I mean. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmuseStar Vending Co Posted February 11, 2009 Share Posted February 11, 2009 IMHO Bulk Vendors and McDonalds are very different (and raising prices between the two is a whole different post). People are use to rising prices, and a quarter more, in most cases, will not affect the buyer. Raising prices will not stop people from buying, it will only stop the ones who should not be buying in the first place. Obviously, we will have to raise prices sometime. You can loose one customer of two, and still be in even more profit on the one vend. You can look at it two different ways guys. The smart ones will start stock piling mechs and raising prices. The others will slowly be chocked and finally not be able to do vending anymore due to COG's. I refuse to continue to take price hikes, and watch my profit continue to go down and not act. I can not open every ones eyes, but why not the that higher price? Why not make more off vends, require less vends to keep profit, and the vends you receive will be worth so much more. In one year I expect 1/4 of you will not to be able to operate due to profit. Times are changing, people are changing. We went from 1¢ to 5¢ to 10¢ to 25¢ candy vendors. Notice the pattern above? What do you think people said each time they rose before? The same thing guys, and look, we are still receiving customers! You can not let your business suffer any longer! Get with the program people! Kyle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skaught Posted February 11, 2009 Author Share Posted February 11, 2009 Thanks for the post Kyle! This is what I am looking at. How much longer can a quarter machine (which most can not be changed to vend a more expensive profit) continue to be profitable for years to come? McDonalds doesn't have to buy all completely new machines to keep up with inflation. This makes me think that 50 cent machines are the product of the future. You can obviously dispense a higher amount when you switch to a 50 cent candy mech. Even if they aren't greatly profitable for the first couple years, inflation will continue to rise and customers will expect 50 cent machines to become the norm. This is what makes me fearful of loading up on 25 cent machines when I feel in a few years they will become obsolete. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ROGERS VENDING Posted February 11, 2009 Share Posted February 11, 2009 There once was a dime machine... There once will be a 50 cent machine... and so on... No need to panic, just adapt to your business.... bulk candy is no different than any other busines... it keeps evolving. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmuseStar Vending Co Posted February 11, 2009 Share Posted February 11, 2009 Scott, Thankfully, we are able to change prices simply by the turn of a screw. You can buy 50¢ mechs that will change out with 25¢ mechs (this is for any machine). Keep buying the used machines at 25¢ because these can be changed later. I would buy all of my new machines at the 50¢ price mark. Depending on what machine you are using this may not be possible without buying a replacement. Keep in mind, this is coming from my extreme success with 50¢ and 75¢ toys. I have zero clue how the candy will do, however with candy prices going through the roof the charity vendors have no other choice but to move up. If you are doing gumballs, simply move the size down. This will save you money. I know that several of you are 100% against this. However, look at the growing trend. I am seeing machine prices going up everywhere. I know you say simply "give less" but will that benefit you and your customers? People do not want less for the amount they normally spend. I know I would much rather get more for another quarter, then get less for my money. It all has to do with the customers view on value. I would never lower my standards of quality products or try to "cut back" on what the customer receives. That is by no means a way to save. It will not benefit you much to save a few cents per vend, however if you make over 25¢ more per vend you can start to see your savings. The costs of running a vending business are so high that you have to be aggressive to stay on top of the costs (and out of the red). Slashing customer service, quality of products, and value for the money customers spend is not good. It would be best for us all to raise prices, give a little more product, and keep over all customer satisfaction as high as we can. After all, we can not work for free. Kyle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skaught Posted February 11, 2009 Author Share Posted February 11, 2009 That makes sense. I bought a couple Vendstars and not being able to change the price is one of my main concerns. I think I will start looking for machines with changeable coin mechs from now on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nam Posted February 11, 2009 Share Posted February 11, 2009 Kyle Great post and you are so right. It's just going to be hard switching to a 50 cent vend when competitors are still at a quarter. Nice thing about my flat vending machines is being able to change the price on the same mech. Wonder if the bulk candy machine companies would compete for sales of new mech. if everyone started wanting 50 cent vends? nam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jax Snacks Posted February 11, 2009 Share Posted February 11, 2009 Well, we all can debate this one on and on! But the problem of candy spillage can not be denied when increasing the quantity. How many Skittles, for example, would you vend at 50 cents? I would say probably 18 to 20. What about Reeses - 20 to 22 maybe. Some of those Skittles and Reeses will most likely fall to the floor especially if little kids are buying them. Candy spillage on the floor is a major problem and can get you kicked out (as has happened to me a number of times). Now some spill trays will help, but once the candy is in a kid's hand, all bets are off. Even today, I see spilled candy next to triples with spill trays - and those are vending much smaller quantities. Toys and tats at 50 to 75 cents is certainly very viable, but I don't see candy going there any time soon - especially with all of the biz-op stuff out there for a quarter. For those that try it, keep up posted on the results. Jax Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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