jaharra Posted May 2, 2009 Share Posted May 2, 2009 Greetings from Utah, It's nice to have a helpful and non-competitive group here. With the many areas of vending, it's especially nice to be able to share experiences. About me, I've been unemployed for an extensive time period and am exploring putting my meager resources together to start a low cost vending route. I've been researching the vending business as much as I can, because I'm wanting to be successful with creating income and not rely on employment that could come and go. I've been looking particularly at the charity sponsored countertop honor boxs to place in retail locations. I haven't seen any boxes like these in my area and know that vending has been around a long time, so I'm a little puzzled by this. Hopefully that is a great opportunity, yet I don't want to be naiive. Something I've been wondering about with vending is how realistic is vending for being a lucrative source of income? I've spoken to successful vendors and asked them all how to be both successful and how one could fail at this business and they all say the same thing... "success is by servicing the accounts and moving to performing locations" and "failure is by not servicing the accounts". I get the impression that one can get a 100% return on investment (depending on the equipment) in under 18 months in this business and yet I see lots of used machines on the market. I've talk to some vendors who have been very successful, and it sounds like the business is very simple, and easy, i.e., 1. Locate the accounts 2. Put in items the public wants to buy 3. Service the account and have a good relationship 4. Be willing to move locations if they are or become less profitable. So can those who are experienced offer any factual or reliable info. on why some vendors are successful and others seem to struggle or get by? Or is the latter a misperception? And are there any particualr tips for ensuring success! Would you recommend this to newbies getting in the business or to your family and friends? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nam Posted May 2, 2009 Share Posted May 2, 2009 Jaharra, Welcome to the forum. Your questions here can probably be answered here by reading even some of the most recent posts here in the forum. We are neighbors as I live down in Arizona but love coming up to visit Utah. Love all the national parks up there. I will keep an eye out for some honor boxes to post in our Shop and Swap section. I have seen them once in awhile. Feel free to pm me or just ask in the forum anything you would like to know. nam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kai1836 Posted May 3, 2009 Share Posted May 3, 2009 jaharra, Nice cat! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaharra Posted May 3, 2009 Author Share Posted May 3, 2009 Thanks Kai1836, He was a cute kitten I fostered until he found a new home. He slipped down in the cushions and was rather wide-eyed about his predicament. Wendy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaharra Posted May 3, 2009 Author Share Posted May 3, 2009 If you look under my profile name under my posts, you'll see a lot of threads I've made related to honor boxes, including training ebook links I've found online and also articles on public concern with the charity honor boxes, and articles on honest honor boxes for employees. What I've learned about honor boxes prior to coming to the site is with employee honor boxes, shrinkage chould be under 20%, or else the box should be moved. I've learned it's important to keep track of each boxes earnings to know which ones to move. With Charity sponsored honor boxes which is more of my focus, placing the charity sponsored boxes at retail locations next to cash registers can be worthwile and while some will pilfer, others will donate extra. Of the initial placement, 20-30% will likley need to be relocated and seasons can affect the business, so it involves an active role in relocating. It sounds like the retailers interest in allowing the box (without any proceeds) is to support the charitable cause. However a potential pitfall is that when they or the public read the fine print that the charity receives a small royalty, some feel taken advantage of. I've read articles where it has resulted in owners having to pull the boxes (therefore their business). I've learned that the Consumer Protection Agency which is a division in the dept. of commerce regulates charities. I discovered which charities support vending programs (at vendingroutesavailable.com) and then found only 1 of those that was registered with Utah. So I'm currently pursuing that one. I'm currently thinking of putting an expanded disclaimer label on my box to explain the purpose of the charity/vendor relation in hopes that dispels any public concernsand keep it out of the media. I've learned in my state I must have a business name and permit and the charity needs to be in compliance with the charitable solicitations act or they could be fined and my boxes could be confiscated. 2 accountants have recommended setting up my business as an LLC with an S election that prevents me from having to pay 15% self-employment tax, and I also won't have to do so much with the requirements of corps. Protecting my equipment (boxes, car) could be done by having a separate LLC own the equipment and my operating co. can lease the equipment. So if I cause injury to others or get sued they can't go after to the parent co. as long as I don't co-mingle funds. I plan to post more detail on this soon. I've talked to vendor's who's goal is to net $20-$50/mo. on those boxes. With employee honor boxes, I get the impression the net is in that range. Locations in areas close together such as strip malls is good, but something more time-consuming like a mall or hospitals, etc., should be avoided. From a time aspect, honor boxes are quite a bit more time involved in servicing over snack/soda machines for the return, but the investment is considerably smaller making it easier to build a larger route. My goal is to start this out part-time and see how it goes. If I go full-time, I would like to set up a route of 200-400 boxes that I anticipate would take 20-60 hrs. week to earn the income I would like. The most economical boxes I have found to get started and try it out are at: http://www.sheridansystems.com/ or plastic boxes at: http://www.vendingroutesavailable.com or buying used on ebay or craigslist. I've spoken to an owner that sold 10 of his boxes to me, who's done this in a small town since 2001 and paid $5k for 30 boxes and said they have paid for themselves 2-3 times over, but seemed to have no idea what he averaged. He doesnt actively move his boxes and wants to sell another 10. I spoke to another in a small town who believes in putting chocolate name brand candy bars in his boxes and puts them in a cooler in the summer when on his route. He averages $20-$40 mo. per box. Another puts cheap non-choco candy like Wonka mix or a tootsie roll mix. I have the impression it is good to appeal to both kids and adults and offer variety in the mix. They pay between 1-.7cents per piece at Sam's club. Another puts in york mini. mints or Laffy Taffys. The candies sell for .25 cents each. The boxes seem to sell for quite a bit less used. However I spoke to someone who sold his route for what he paid for it at $180 per box new placed by locators for 200 locations (approx $36k). He said he and his wife kept track of their earnings and resold the route off of Craig's list. I would still like to talk to those with experience or anyone that has more info. to offer than what I've mentioned or who can confirm or deny any of this info. I know that everyone's experience is unique. Most that I've spoken with were referred to me by the box manufacturer/locating co. and I obviously spoke to the successful owners. I don't know what percentage of their owners are successful. One successful one that I spoke to mentioned that he doesn't recommend this business to others because he feels peple don't keep track of the earnings at locations to signal them to move it when needed. How about you Kelly, any experience or knowledge of honor boxes and what is your experience. (You don't have to be as thorough as me.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nam Posted May 3, 2009 Share Posted May 3, 2009 Jaharra, I have another suggestion for you to consider. Rather than trying to buy these boxes you could either have them made by a plastic company probably right there in Salt Lake or have them sell you the plastic already cut and you glue them together. Look up plastic in your Yellow pages. Try to find some that are local as there will no doubt be some out of your area with ads in the local yellow pages. Take one of the boxes you like to the plastic company and show it to them. Ask for three different quotes. How much for 4'X 8' sheets of a plastic like it? How much for cutting out all the pieces including the slot for money to build one? How much for building it to completion? Now go to another plastic company and do it again until you have at least 3 quotes if possible. I would never consider buying these unless someone had them used for a super cheap price! I've bought alot of different types of plastic in the 4 X 8 sheets just like plywood. This will cut on a table saw like wood as well. Really need a decent table saw with a fence to make sure your edges are nice and straight so they will line up for gluing. The professional plastic companies will use a CNC to cut out the pieces. This is the best way but then you have to pay for their labor. Having them cut the pieces in their CNC but you glue them together would most likely be your best option. Even if you have no tools and just a kitchen table you can take you boxes of plastic pieces and glue them together in your spare time. It is very important to get mult. prices on the plastic as well as the charge for cutting out the pieces. You won't believe the difference in what you may get quoted! Your first batch will be the most expensive as they will charge you a fee for setting up the CNC. This is building a file for the computer to tell it exact sizes to cut and how to do it. Once this is done you can keep going back to get more work done and never have to pay this again. Personally, I'd buy the sheets and do it all myself but not sure if you are so inclined or even have the table saw or space to do this. nam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaharra Posted May 10, 2009 Author Share Posted May 10, 2009 Wow Nam, you are quite the do-it-yourselfer. Thanks for your tips and knowledge. and Kelly, your goals sound neat. What do you really like about the bulk vending? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kai1836 Posted May 11, 2009 Share Posted May 11, 2009 wendy, speaking to what nam mentioned.....if you buy the plexiglass at lowes they will cut it for you for free. whatever size you need. hope this helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rustinm Posted May 11, 2009 Share Posted May 11, 2009 I wish i could remember the website, but there is a company that sells cardboard honor boxes for dirt cheap compared to what you guys are talking about. Its only like 2$ per box or something. I will keep looking but i cant imagine paying 5K for honor boxes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris in md Posted May 11, 2009 Share Posted May 11, 2009 I wish i could remember the website, but there is a company that sells cardboard honor boxes for dirt cheap compared to what you guys are talking about. Its only like 2$ per box or something. I will keep looking but i cant imagine paying 5K for honor boxes. jaharra posted some cheap ones in his post above -- http://www.sheridansystems.com/ looks like you have to buy a minimum of 50 boxes and they're $2.40 each; their price goes down as the quantity goes up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rustinm Posted May 11, 2009 Share Posted May 11, 2009 Yeah i saw that, but i just emailed the old locator who told me about it. I doubt he will respond we didnt exactly part ways in a nice manner. It was 1st class placement which if you read some threads you will notice that there is not many good things said about them. As far as Wendys question about can you make a living from vending i think we can all pretty much agree that is very possible. In fact if my numbers are right i will be able to make a full time income working only 1 week per month! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drink vending Posted July 10, 2009 Share Posted July 10, 2009 Yes vending can provide a living. You have to be really careful about locations. the 4 things you talked about I agree with. Try finding a location who wants your service first, then go sell the lead to a vending company. Do it a couple times so you aren't out any money. The last thing you want is to put all your eggs in one basket. I'm using a no money down technique in this case. I only recommend it when starting so you're not wiped out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whistle Posted August 7, 2009 Share Posted August 7, 2009 im still waiting to hear about the machines that are going to make me $100 a month!! it seems here that the aveage that we can make per machine per month is about $50...maybe....so in order to make a living or a good income to make the business worthwhile....you have to buy the *right* machines....the gumball machines seem to be the best and cheapest way to good.....am i correct? and i probably have to get a 100 machines just to start to think i might make some good money every month? please advise me anyone!! whistle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whistle Posted August 9, 2009 Share Posted August 9, 2009 hey Rustinm.....how are your Vendstars doing for you? i see you have 88 more!! i take it that you bought theses machines used? im going to buy a few of them this week....just curious how they are doing for you... thanks Whistle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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