2 gumballs for a quarter vend

[ginger vend]

What gumball size goes with 2 gumballs for a quarter?  Was informed some Oak Vistas I am considering getting have this setup.  Sure this needs to be changed to one GB per vend to be profitable, but interested in knowing what size these would be and also what the wheel setup is compared to the standard 1/vend. Have not seen thus far. 

Tks

[NYCandyMaN]

profit wise, its not a wise decision, unless you're using the 1080 or 1050ct, this way it seems that you're getting 2 for one, but they are smaller, so you're getting like 1.5 gumballs instead of 2 for 1

[gumball guy]

4 hours ago, ginger vend said:

What gumball size goes with 2 gumballs for a quarter?  Was informed some Oak Vistas I am considering getting have this setup.  Sure this needs to be changed to one GB per vend to be profitable, but interested in knowing what size these would be and also what the wheel setup is compared to the standard 1/vend. Have not seen thus far. 

Tks

There are two types of 2 for 25 wheels that I am familiar with and both can accommodate 1 inch gumballs.

This is the Oak 2 for 25. I run Dubble Bubble 1 inch (850 ct) through these and Ford 1850 count Royals in many of my old Fordway route locations. The only problem I ever encountered running 850s through this set up was when I used expansion panels without a spring defuser on the wheel. They tended to jam up the wheel and misvend.

These are a 3rd party 2 for 25 wheel that I exclusively run 850 counts through:

I use 2 for 25 wheels anytime I am in a shared location with a competitor or if I have a slow location and I am trying to jump start sales. In regards to profit I am paying $21.68 for a case of Dubble Bubble 850 count which works out to .025 cents per gumball so when I am giving 2 gumballs out I am still making 20 cents on each vend. Even if your paying $30 bucks for a case of gumballs (850) your still making 17 cents on the vend. Gumballs, even at 2 for 25, have plenty of margin. I can attest that if you run one of these setups against a competitor who is running a standard 1 gumball per vend you will dominate sales.

[NYCandyMaN]

i would do something a bit less damaging to my pocket if i wanted to get more sales and dominate, i use 1 inch capsules, and put a few quarters in them, throw a few in, make sure they are visible, and wait! the work well, $0.50 usually does well, and it looks good on you bc you're giving back

[RikaKazak]

2 for .25  850 dubble bubble isn't bad at 3 cents x2 = 6 cents per vend.  But I personally would never do it.  1 850 gumball for 25 cents 99.9% of people are good with.  (I've been seeing 1 850 for .50 on some machines around me...in high traffic fancy machine amusement type places.... so if anything people are going in the other direction)  And 1 1080 @ 25 cents is common around me too.

[NYCandyMaN]

don't forget commissions if you have any, you're giving away 50% of your pay, you will move more boxes, and probably service more often, but in reality, 1 gumball is plenty for anyone, and knowing that you could get it for free is just a risk you take buying it if a prize is available.

[gumball guy]

15 minutes ago, NYCandyMan said:

i would do something a bit less damaging to my pocket if i wanted to get more sales and dominate, i use 1 inch capsules, and put a few quarters in them, throw a few in, make sure they are visible, and wait! the work well, $0.50 usually does well, and it looks good on you bc you're giving back

To each his own......I am ok with 70 -80 percent gross profit on a vend. Capsules are generally .07 per capsule for a generic mix (more for a themed mix) and that doesn't include shipping so no real benefit over 2 for 25 gumballs there. Also I can run gumballs almost anywhere....capsules you must have a fair amount of kids coming through for success. It ain't rocket science......if I am looking at two gumball machines side by side and have to chose between getting two gumballs or one for the same price I'll go for two and so will most people.

[gumball guy]

26 minutes ago, RikaKazak said:

2 for .25  850 dubble bubble isn't bad at 3 cents x2 = 6 cents per vend.  But I personally would never do it.  1 850 gumball for 25 cents 99.9% of people are good with.  (I've been seeing 1 850 for .50 on some machines around me...in high traffic fancy machine amusement type places.... so if anything people are going in the other direction)  And 1 1080 @ 25 cents is common around me too.

People won't buy gumballs en masse for 50 cents. I have been doing the 2 for 25 for years in locations with competition or slow sales with great success and I haven't had issues with profitability running gumballs in this manner. If I can take a machine that is doing $3 per cycle and bump it to $15 or $20 bucks per cycle while still making 70-80 percent gross profit I think that's a no brainer. Like I said above.....to each his own. I will add this piece of advice.....Bulk vending isn't going to get any easier going forward so don't be afraid to experiment with different setups especially when the cost of the experiment is negligible. Locations are getting harder and harder to come by so having a cost effective competitive edge never hurts.

[RikaKazak]

Gumball guy and NYCcandyman have more experience then me, so I'd recommend listening to them and not me.

If you do end up running 2 for .25 I'd love to hear how it worked out, what the increase in sales is like etc.

[ginger vend]

Thanks for all the info.  Believe Im going to give it a try.

[VendUSA]

I have 2x25 wheels for both NW & Oak (also fitting A&A/Eagle. etc).  If anyone is interested in giving it a shot, I'd sell 5 for $15 plus $5 shipping (sorry, selling onsies/twosies not the worth the effort).  

A friendly competitor I just bought out (who'd been in the business 27 years, is sharp as hell & recently retired) had been using 2x25 almost exclusively last few years.  We spoke at length about his thought process.  He says he'd done the math, & even in locations w/o competition, his overall sales increased near 20%- more than paying for the extra product.

I remain skeptical there but absolutely agree that in locations where you have competition it's a no brainer.  We are in an impulse business- mom gives her 8 year old a quarter, it ain't rocket science as to which machine he gravitates toward.

[VendUSA]

He also taught me that in the 2 for wheels you can vend 5 1900 count gumballs- which he did where he had extensive competition, tho I'm easing out of that in favor of 2 Nerds 850 count if necessary.

...oh, (& duh), you gotta create a catchy '2 for 25¢' display.

 

 

[ginger vend]

VendUSA:  what gum brand and count did the guy use? 

 

 

 

[VendUSA]

He used 850 count, I'd say tho that 1080 works just fine.

[RikaKazak]

On 12/22/2020 at 2:28 PM, VendUSA said:

He used 850 count, I'd say tho that 1080 works just fine.

The cheapest I can find nerd 850 where I live (including shipping, I'm in Idaho) is 6 cents per gumball.  Are you able to find them cheaper?

Ford costs me 6 cents.  Double Bubble through samsclub.com was 3 cents.

Are you guys getting gumballs way cheaper then me?  I'd love to know how.  (I have 30-40 gumball locations right now, so buying by the pallet isn't an option yet).

edited to add:  I ask because 2 nerd 850's at 6 cent per (12 cents total) = no way I'd run candy that expensive, so I'm assuming you guys get it cheaper then me somehow.

Edited December 26, 2020 by RikaKazak

[gumball guy]

4 hours ago, RikaKazak said:

The cheapest I can find nerd 850 where I live (including shipping, I'm in Idaho) is 6 cents per gumball.  Are you able to find them cheaper?

Ford costs me 6 cents.  Double Bubble through samsclub.com was 3 cents.

Are you guys getting gumballs way cheaper then me?  I'd love to know how.  (I have 30-40 gumball locations right now, so buying by the pallet isn't an option yet).

edited to add:  I ask because 2 nerd 850's at 6 cent per (12 cents total) = no way I'd run candy that expensive, so I'm assuming you guys get it cheaper then me somehow.

Are you unable to get Dubble Bubble from Sam's Club any more? I'm asking because I see it on their website today for $22.77 a case with free shipping for Plus members. I buy the Ford Super Royals 1 inch gumballs (1100 count) for $28.80 per case plus shipping. That is a basic case price without a quantity price break. A & A Global has Zed Gumballs for $25.95 per case (850 ct) plus shipping and you can get them shipped from Los Angeles which may save you a little on shipping. Nerds Gumballs are a premium item that I would not run at 2 for 1. I run them in only a small percentage of locations where I have a rack or multiple machines (for added variety). I buy them from a local wholesaler so I don't need to worry about shipping. 

[VendUSA]

I do buy by the pallet.  For awhile I bought from Ford (imo the highest quality standard 850 count), but now I've gravitated toward Oak Leaf as I'm getting Nerds 850 for $30 a case- tho their standard 850 is nice too ($22ish a case).  

I agree with darn everything 'gumball guy' has previously said.  Tinker, experiment- try Nerds (absolutely best gum out there), try 2X25.  Every existing location I walk into, I scope out whether moving my machine 2 or 3 feet might get me a higher profile; again, unless they're an employee, it's impulse/impulse/impulse.

  Even 50-75 cents more a month multiplied by (x) amount of locations...

[nepavend]

Never be afraid to tinker.  I have some 2-fer wheels I am saving in case of emergency.  I also have a box full of 10 cent mechs from the Ford vendor I bought out, I can use them to crap on my neighbor should it come to that. LOL  I changed candy to other candy, or chiclets to try to reduce waste.  I have also had to say goodbye to locations who were costing more to bad product than they were making in revenue.  That is part of the game also.  Use toys where you can in trafficked locations, due to COVID this will be case by case, but keep thinking long term, this will not last forever.

I use almost exclusively Ford gum, I was buying a pallet every four months in 2018-19 (my best years ever pretty much) until COVID so I am/was doing some volume.  I have some accounts where I changed from gumball to chiclets and had some positive (or at least neutral) results.  Meaning, I wasn't throwing out gumballs or more expensive pan candy every service.  I have so many candy wheels I had to find some use for them, so I went with Ford Chiclets (w/ 10% Licorice), some of my adult accounts love the licorice and pick them out after they spend a dollar or two getting handfuls of gum out.

[gumball guy]

1 hour ago, nepavend said:

Never be afraid to tinker.  I have some 2-fer wheels I am saving in case of emergency.  I also have a box full of 10 cent mechs from the Ford vendor I bought out, I can use them to crap on my neighbor should it come to that. LOL  I changed candy to other candy, or chiclets to try to reduce waste.  I have also had to say goodbye to locations who were costing more to bad product than they were making in revenue.  That is part of the game also.  Use toys where you can in trafficked locations, due to COVID this will be case by case, but keep thinking long term, this will not last forever.

I use almost exclusively Ford gum, I was buying a pallet every four months in 2018-19 (my best years ever pretty much) until COVID so I am/was doing some volume.  I have some accounts where I changed from gumball to chiclets and had some positive (or at least neutral) results.  Meaning, I wasn't throwing out gumballs or more expensive pan candy every service.  I have so many candy wheels I had to find some use for them, so I went with Ford Chiclets (w/ 10% Licorice), some of my adult accounts love the licorice and pick them out after they spend a dollar or two getting handfuls of gum out.

I really like the Ford chicle gum as well. Great tasting product that stays soft for a long, long time. I mix mine with 6200 count little gumballs for added variety and profitability. Excellent seller.

[NYCandyMaN]

who is this Ford I am hearing about for gumballs, are they cheaper than AA, sams club and concord? we are in a pandemic guys, not sure about you guys, but in NY we cant get anything right now, we are literally licking AA balls for all the stuff sams club and BJ's used to carry. I wouldn't mind having a few 2 for 1 wheels, but not sure if they will fit the beavers. we are struggling here with locations closing left and right, warehouses getting full, and no place to hide, some are selling, and for those that are not in the business, are scrapping the good stuff, its a horrible time, I've seen over 50k worth of beavers get scrapped for the metal, I was able to save some plastic, and bought out the rest. these are bad times, i hope that you guys outside NYC are doing good, because we are miserable here, went from 100% profit down to 10% from march, no indoor dining, bars and restaurants closing by 7 or 8 pm, the city is putting them out of business! its bad!!! on top of that locations want 50% of everything! so now its even harder to operate, expanding is not an option at this point, only buying out a retiring competitor will get anything done at this point.

[NYCandyMaN]

On 12/22/2020 at 6:29 AM, VendUSA said:

I have 2x25 wheels for both NW & Oak (also fitting A&A/Eagle. etc).  If anyone is interested in giving it a shot, I'd sell 5 for $15 plus $5 shipping (sorry, selling onsies/twosies not the worth the effort).  

A friendly competitor I just bought out (who'd been in the business 27 years, is sharp as hell & recently retired) had been using 2x25 almost exclusively last few years.  We spoke at length about his thought process.  He says he'd done the math, & even in locations w/o competition, his overall sales increased near 20%- more than paying for the extra product.

I remain skeptical there but absolutely agree that in locations where you have competition it's a no brainer.  We are in an impulse business- mom gives her 8 year old a quarter, it ain't rocket science as to which machine he gravitates toward.

will the wheels fit beavers or AA and NW only?

[VendUSA]

Have for both NW & Oak.  Oak wheels fit Beaver.

[RikaKazak]

On 12/31/2020 at 11:27 AM, NYCandyMan said:

who is this Ford I am hearing about for gumballs, are they cheaper than AA, sams club and concord? we are in a pandemic guys, not sure about you guys, but in NY we cant get anything right now, we are literally licking AA balls for all the stuff sams club and BJ's used to carry. I wouldn't mind having a few 2 for 1 wheels, but not sure if they will fit the beavers. we are struggling here with locations closing left and right, warehouses getting full, and no place to hide, some are selling, and for those that are not in the business, are scrapping the good stuff, its a horrible time, I've seen over 50k worth of beavers get scrapped for the metal, I was able to save some plastic, and bought out the rest. these are bad times, i hope that you guys outside NYC are doing good, because we are miserable here, went from 100% profit down to 10% from march, no indoor dining, bars and restaurants closing by 7 or 8 pm, the city is putting them out of business! its bad!!! on top of that locations want 50% of everything! so now its even harder to operate, expanding is not an option at this point, only buying out a retiring competitor will get anything done at this point.

Idaho has been almost "full open" for months now (no touching at strip clubs, and no dancing in night clubs, other then that it's 100% back to normal).....sorry you're going through that man.

[NYCandyMaN]

On 1/4/2021 at 8:39 PM, RikaKazak said:

Idaho has been almost "full open" for months now (no touching at strip clubs, and no dancing in night clubs, other then that it's 100% back to normal).....sorry you're going through that man.

wow, wish i was there