NEED INFORMATION ON WHAT TO DO

[Northeast Amusements]

Ok So I Got Contacted By A Guy Who wants 12-14 Machines For An Arcade In His Restaurant I Told Him We Only Had One As It States On Our Website But I Would See What I Can Do , He Said Ok And i Really Want This Location But Im 15 and he is 1 hr Away My Parents are No Help They Dont Want Me Even Doing Arcades They Said Stick with Bulk I Dont Beleve In My Bulk Part Of My Busneiss Cause to make money in bulk you need like 30 machines i only have 2 locations and a part time job that ive been saveing every penny for this arcade thing but i still dont know what to do NEED HELP Nate From Northeast Amusements 

 

[AngryChris]

6 hours ago, Northeast Amusements said:

Ok So I Got Contacted By A Guy Who wants 12-14 Machines For An Arcade In His Restaurant I Told Him We Only Had One As It States On Our Website But I Would See What I Can Do , He Said Ok And i Really Want This Location But Im 15 and he is 1 hr Away My Parents are No Help They Dont Want Me Even Doing Arcades They Said Stick with Bulk I Dont Beleve In My Bulk Part Of My Busneiss Cause to make money in bulk you need like 30 machines i only have 2 locations and a part time job that ive been saveing every penny for this arcade thing but i still dont know what to do NEED HELP Nate From Northeast Amusements 

 

The first thing I recommend is to use punctuation.  It makes it so difficult to understand people sometimes when they don't use any punctuation.

The second thing I would recommend is to breathe a bit.  You're very young.  The good news is, you have plenty of time to make all kinds of mistakes.  Assuming you have no children, you could fail fantastically and still make it out okay in the long run.  The bad news is that, without any kind of support from your parents, you are in a really tough spot financially since it's likely that you don't make much from a part-time job.

I don't do amusement or bulk vending, but business is still business.  I don't know if it's a good opportunity or not as it really depends on the amount of customers this restaurant brings in.  On one hand, if the restaurant is packed regularly with families with lots of kids, then this may be a really good opportunity.  If the restaurant is more older people who may rarely use the arcade portion of the restaurant, or if it just doesn't have that much foot traffic, then you may be in over your head with the investment of it all.  In that case, the restaurant owner/operator may just want amusement in there NOT because he cares if you make money but because he wants to use that to bring people in.

Since I have no experience with amusement, I am going to go out on a whim here and say that you need a solid contract that guarantees you make a minimum amount of sales before you give any commission.  After that minimum, you have a set percentage that goes to the restaurant.  If you can get this without commission, great, but my understanding is that there's almost always commission involved with amusement.  You want a contract should prevent the restaurant owner/operator from just kicking you out at a moment's notice with no good reason.

I also wonder why this restaurant wants all of these machines right now.  Did they have amusement vending before and the other company left?  Is it a new restaurant?  In either event, I don't know how the amusement works with restaurants.  I just think it's important to make sure you aren't making a terrible decision.  But even if you did, as I stated earlier, you have a lot of time to make a lot of mistakes in life and you are better off learning early.  Just don't get totally screwed over.

 

[gumball guy]

21 hours ago, Northeast Amusements said:

Ok So I Got Contacted By A Guy Who wants 12-14 Machines For An Arcade In His Restaurant I Told Him We Only Had One As It States On Our Website But I Would See What I Can Do , He Said Ok And i Really Want This Location But Im 15 and he is 1 hr Away My Parents are No Help They Dont Want Me Even Doing Arcades They Said Stick with Bulk I Dont Beleve In My Bulk Part Of My Busneiss Cause to make money in bulk you need like 30 machines i only have 2 locations and a part time job that ive been saveing every penny for this arcade thing but i still dont know what to do NEED HELP Nate From Northeast Amusements 

 

     You should pass on this for several reasons. The main reason is your age. As a minor, entering into contracts, obtaining liability insurance, creating a valid corporation or LLC, paying business taxes (sales & income), obtaining the proper vehicle insurance (or a driver's license at 15 for that matter) are just a few challenges that lie ahead for you until you turn 18. I am no lawyer and have no idea what the law is in Massachusetts but in most states minors are extremely limited as to what kind of contractual agreements they can enter in to. So, if you can't enter into a legal contract, then you have no protection if you acquire a bunch of equipment, place it in this restaurant and then the guy finds another amusement operator a month later an kicks you out. In my opinion it is a red flag that an established and responsible restaurant owner is looking to a 15 year old who lives an hour away to outfit a full arcade for his business. I would worry about the stability of the business in general based on that decision alone. If the restaurant is indeed on the level and a good location that is even more reason to make sure you have protections afforded to you by liability insurance and a proper sole proprietorship, llc or incorporation. Without those protections your parents and you could be directly liable in the case of a fire started by one of your machines of if someone is injured by your equipment.

     You are obviously motivated and a go getter and I applaud you for that. That said, start slow and build your business as close to home as possible. Bulk vending is indeed a better way to try out the business on a budget. Thirty (the number you used) bulk vending machines are a lot cheaper to purchase, transport, operate and maintain than 12-14 amusement machines especially when you take into consideration that you will need to have at least a couple of claw machines and other prize merchandiser games to really make some money. Keep in mind that at 15 years old it is highly likely that you will become interested in a lot of different business opportunities in the coming years so don't overload yourself with a bunch of old vending equipment that you may not want in a couple years.

    

[brmorr]

All good points with the past 2 posts on this subject. Does this guy wanting these machines know that you are 15 or did he just come across your website? I don't know many restaurant owners who would want to get into a contract with someone underage. 

Here are some other things to consider. Do you know how to fix video games? Things will break including monitors, etc. that will need to be serviced. If he is wanting 12-14 machines, you are also going to have to supply games probably like cranes, prize merchandisers, etc.. If you can't work on them yourself, are you going to be paying someone to fix them? Since you don't have a license, who will drive you to the location when stuff breaks down(which it will)?

Normal contracts for games like this will include a split which is usually 50/50, 60/40, 65/35 type thing. I don't know any place that is going to sign a deal where they don't get any money until a minimum is hit.

Sounds like you got a good head on your shoulders, but stick with your bulk vending for now until you have the capital to go ahead with a full game room of stuff.