They's all located.

[Lucero]

2 doubles, 1 single.

One shop I have the machine in (single) doesn't seem to be getting much play so far (2 weeks, about $2.50).  Should I start trying to relocate it right now?  Should I give it 6 weeks?

PM&Ms in a Jerky store, if anyone is curious.

I think I'll run the machines for about a month and a half, and then if I like the biz (which at this point... why not run a few dozen or a hundred machines?  It's not too intensive), I'll probably start buying them in 5-head chunks, and just order a new batch when the previous set are located.

[caserri]

One shop I have the machine in (single) doesn't seem to be getting much play so far (2 weeks, about $2.50).  Should I start trying to relocate it right now?

 

Absolutely not! Locations in this business are valuable. You never know what a location will do until you give it at least 2 months, if not more. I don't believe I have ever voluntarily re-located a machine sooner than 6 months after initial placement. You just have to "learn" the location. Fiddle around with product offerings, machine placement and such. Don't be too quick to give up on it, especially if you are the only machine there.

Steve

[ascentvend]

Try changing products. I'd try Gumballs first but that's just because they cost less per vend.

[jimbo]

I agree w/ Steve on this. I had a small manufacturer that did real poor, $5 month, had mmp and gb, switched gb to Mike & Ike, tried peanuts and I just could not get it dialed in, but I kept trying. After about 2 1/2 -3 months I swithched to Reeses and Hot Ts and bingo, it now avgs 3-4 vends per day and has for over a year.

All you need are 1-2 people buying consitantly to turn a dud into a solid stop.

After doing this awhile you kinda get a gut feel for how to play relocating, if a business has good employee or customer count and it is not selling, chances are you can dial it in, if it has no employees and traffic and theres 2 other vendors in there, you walk.

Also, they all cant be winners, if you have a good, clean spot where the people are nice and your gear is safe but it only does $9 a month, I would think about keeping it, you could make more elsewhere but bulk vending is also a service kinda thing, sometimes we forget that.

Jimbo

[showme vending]

i agree and disagree. You should leave it in there for one month to see how it is going to do. But in my experiences a month is a good indicator of how the machine is going to work out. if your only getting 4.00 changing up the candy ( in my experiences) doesnt always ramp up the money being spent. You can change the product if you like but I hate to see you wasting money on changing product out and then having the machine vend only 4 or 5.00 again. Then you have wasted all this money on product and only have 8-10.00 over 2 months to show for it. You wont stay in business that long.

It is difficult when you have to locate machines yourself. Not everybody has money to use a locator but if you do the advantages of using a locator in my experiences far outweight locating yourself. They have databases with companies that have a large employee number. usually they place them in companies with 20 or more employees or alot of businesses with foot traffic. The odds on your machines doing better are greater when you use a locator, howver like I said people dont always have the luxure of being able to use one due to some charging 40-60.00 per location.

My locator is great. She gaurntee's your machines will make 20.00 a month or she will keep moving the machine for free until it does. How can you beat that.

 

Mike

[T BIRD]

Mike........does your locator travel?  Like to New York? ( Long Island )

[showme vending]

no she doesnt travle but she has business databases in all 50 states. You just call her up and tell her what zipcode you want your machine(s) in and she will look up all the businesses there and then call them up and she will then call you when she has found the locations. She gives you the info for the locations she found and the contact info and then you go and contact that business as they have already said yes to the machine. You go and put in the machine and then check it in a month to see how its doing. if it doesnt do well you tell her and she will find you a new location.

 

 

[caserri]

Mike,

I'm sure we would all appreciate a review of your locator in the review section. She sounds like a winner!

Steve

[T BIRD]

Thanks Mike.

[AmuseStar Vending Co]

No need to pull out just yet!

[jimbo]

i agree and disagree. You should leave it in there for one month to see how it is going to do. But in my experiences a month is a good indicator of how the machine is going to work out. if your only getting 4.00 changing up the candy ( in my experiences) doesnt always ramp up the money being spent. You can change the product if you like but I hate to see you wasting money on changing product out and then having the machine vend only 4 or 5.00 again. Then you have wasted all this money on product and only have 8-10.00 over 2 months to show for it. You wont stay in business that long.

It is difficult when you have to locate machines yourself. Not everybody has money to use a locator but if you do the advantages of using a locator in my experiences far outweight locating yourself. They have databases with companies that have a large employee number. usually they place them in companies with 20 or more employees or alot of businesses with foot traffic. The odds on your machines doing better are greater when you use a locator, howver like I said people dont always have the luxure of being able to use one due to some charging 40-60.00 per location.

My locator is great. She gaurntee's your machines will make 20.00 a month or she will keep moving the machine for free until it does. How can you beat that.

 

Mike

If you only have one or two locatiions, right, its hard to change out, you'll lose money. You need other locations where the changed product sells. Look, I do this all the time, even in established locations where one side is selling slow, I'll bag the product, wipe it down, change my settings if needed, and put another product in.  Then Im off to the next stop, I always have extra baged product and I use it first when I fill stops, to me, its just part of the game.

In my opinion, 1 month is not long enough, for me thats only one cycle so that means Im only trying the first products, I will leave em for 3 months, try to dial em in, you would not believe how many crappy locations I've had that turned in to good solid locations just by doing this.

Jimbo

[Lucero]

Hey thanks for the encouragement and advice, folks.  If the full month does end up being a stinker ($8.50 or less), I'll switch products and see if that helps.  This shop is a square about 15' by 15', and my machine is as plain-sight as can be, so moving the machine isn't really an option, and probably isn't a factor anyhow.

-Lucero