livinginthe80z Posted March 8, 2019 Share Posted March 8, 2019 I have a question. My area Coca Cola is not loaning out or leasing out drink machines. I have a bulk machine in a tattoo shop that wants me to replace coke. Reason #1 is coke doesn’t come service the machine in a timely manner. They run out of drinks and have to wait tilp coke comes by. And #2 the price on the machine was raised and did not tell them anything. I was told it really didn’t bother them but when it’s sitting inside right by the register and it’s sucking electricity empty and the price goes up they get a little annoyed. Ok now my question. Has anyone on here ever called and seen if coke lets you take over the machine? They used to loan machines out to vendors in my area. I just wondered because I’m thinking about buying a machine and kicking that one out to the curb. Oh I called coke and it’s been over a week. No call back. No response. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anacapa Vending Posted March 8, 2019 Share Posted March 8, 2019 We dont ask for permission from locations to raise prices either. The cost of product goes up overtime and I dont ask for permission to maintain my margins. As far as taking over coke's machine you would have to talk to your coke rep. My bet is no because they wouldnt want you selling foreign brands in their equipment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livinginthe80z Posted March 9, 2019 Author Share Posted March 9, 2019 1.00 for a 12oz can is a little bit too much I think. I might be wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anacapa Vending Posted March 9, 2019 Share Posted March 9, 2019 Maybe since coke actually makes the product. But as you grow as a vendor you have to buy directly from coke, Pepsi, 7up, vistar, etc.,etc. And the prices tend to be much higher per unit then they are when the local grocery store runs a sale. (We bought 16 pallets just from coke in January) shopping for deals really isnt an option. When we first started buying from coke I believe they were trying to charge us around .55 a can. Then we have to add tax, crv, gas, equipment depreciation, labor, rent, insurance, waste, etc. I guess my point is dont make being cheaper than your competitors your main selling point. It is very easy to underestimate your costs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gumball guy Posted March 9, 2019 Share Posted March 9, 2019 58 minutes ago, livinginthe80z said: 1.00 for a 12oz can is a little bit too much I think. I might be wrong. I sell 12 oz cans at 1.00 and have for the past two years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngryChris Posted March 9, 2019 Share Posted March 9, 2019 Perhaps I missed something here but I don't think you'll do all that well selling anything at a tattoo shop. I have a problem at a hotel I just acquired where they are unhappy with Pepsi.. but Pepsi has a mega agreement with the hotel chain through the vending management company from what I understand. So, here I am selling candy for $1.25, pastries for $1.50, etc.., which aren't too high of prices mind you, but 15% comes off the top... and Pepsi leaves the machine empty for sometimes over a week from what I was told. I am not sure what this location just did in the last 4 days but it appears to be about $50 in snack sales. It's not huge, but those were week days and not during a busy time either.. so collecting $50 was pretty good I think.. and that's without a card reader!!! I can only imagine a tattoo shop selling maybe 1 case each week. It might sound good to you but it's really not. I don't think the place would break $1k/year in annual sales. The problem that I have seen with bulk vendors is that you're okay with making $20/month from bulk machines so even making $100/month in a soda machine sounds great. Technically, you can get away with doing soda only with smaller accounts that don't warrant a snack machine.. but the problem is that you'll eventually need a vehicle with the capacity, you'll have to deal with repairs and maintenance, and you'll have to get them moved around somehow. It may be a good learning experience but all I am saying is... don't invest too much into a machine but make sure you get a decent machine. Just stock it no more than 50%, come back in a few days or a week later and see how it does. It's possible that coke doesn't stock much anyway. On the other hand, if you have personally seen coke coming every couple weeks and stocking a lot of cases of soda.. then you'll know that it will do well. Sometimes locations think they sell a lot when they don't... you have to see it for yourself to know for sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randymire Posted March 9, 2019 Share Posted March 9, 2019 I’m a 3rd party vendor for coke and Dr Pepper . In my area coke won’t allow you to just take over the machine but what you can do is replace the machine with your own . After you’ve done that get ahold of the local coke rep and sign up as a third party vendor. You’ll sign a contract agreeing to buy products directly from coke and not sell anything except coke products from that machine. You’ll have to buy a minimum in product for each machine that you have from them and the price of the product goes down if you consistently buy enough product. Once your a third party vendor it’s really a great deal because they move the machines onto the locations and repair them at no cost to you . They wont provide credit card readers but if the location is busy enough you can do that but talk to the rep before doing it , I also use PayRange on the machines . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngryChris Posted March 9, 2019 Share Posted March 9, 2019 4 hours ago, Randymire said: I’m a 3rd party vendor for coke and Dr Pepper . In my area coke won’t allow you to just take over the machine but what you can do is replace the machine with your own . After you’ve done that get ahold of the local coke rep and sign up as a third party vendor. You’ll sign a contract agreeing to buy products directly from coke and not sell anything except coke products from that machine. You’ll have to buy a minimum in product for each machine that you have from them and the price of the product goes down if you consistently buy enough product. Once your a third party vendor it’s really a great deal because they move the machines onto the locations and repair them at no cost to you . They wont provide credit card readers but if the location is busy enough you can do that but talk to the rep before doing it , I also use PayRange on the machines . That may not be good advice in this situation because coke might not give him anything as far as a lease goes. Every region is different and coke doesn't lease anything in some areas. If they won't lease anything or do any repairs, then there's no benefit in signing an agreement OR ordering from them. It's far better to get your own machine, stock it with whatever will sell, be it Coke or Pepsi or 7up, and take care of it yourself. Plus, you might have trouble meeting their minimum or having a suitable place to receive deliveries. You can go to the grocery store or sams club or wherever and get things cheaper and immediately. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livinginthe80z Posted March 9, 2019 Author Share Posted March 9, 2019 This seems true for my situation Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arkhusker Posted March 10, 2019 Share Posted March 10, 2019 Chris is right. Not every Coke region is equal nor operates in the same way. It may be an independent distributor or bottler and not a CCE or CCR region as Coke started selling off territories to independents a few years ago. My area is serviced by Corinth Coca-Cola now and they operate considerably different than when it was CCR. Independents don't have the capital to offer what Coke corporate bottlers do. If you think the location is worth it, buy a machine and have them call Coke to pick up their machine. That way you aren't restricted to what you can sell or where you can buy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southeast Treats Posted March 12, 2019 Share Posted March 12, 2019 Locations make assumptions about what is wrong with a machine without really knowing. It may not be sold out but could be some other problem. Bottom line is you really can't know how much they will sell unless you try it. Coke will probably not give you the machine if you don't already have a relationship with them, and usually if they do give up a machine it's because it's a dog. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Golfdogs Posted March 12, 2019 Share Posted March 12, 2019 1 minute ago, Southeast Treats said: Locations make assumptions about what is wrong with a machine without really knowing. So true. I can't tell you how many times I've heard "the bill thingy is full" for a jammed dollar bill. But, hey, it gives me a place to start! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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