Is anyone still doing well with bulk?

[zjtaylor]

The bulk thread seems really dead nowadays compared to when I started in 2016. I did great in bulk for years with about 95 locations, but since covid, things are pretty much dead. Candy started to get difficult to purchase in 2019 before covid and we had switched to only gumballs, then once covid hit gumballs were not possible to buy anymore through Sam's. Now in my area they still aren't available through Sam's and my only option for similar margin are buying pallets. I didn't have the amount / quality of locations even at my peak to buy pallets.

 

Anyways, how are yall operating your bulk businesses now? Where are yall buying your product? Seems like vending has bounced back a bit since covid, but I'm not seeing the bounceback with bulk. In my area it looks more difficult than ever to locate and also get decent margins in anything but the largest locations. I'd like to try it again but not sure if it's worth it.

 

[gumball guy]

5 hours ago, zjtaylor said:

The bulk thread seems really dead nowadays compared to when I started in 2016. I did great in bulk for years with about 95 locations, but since covid, things are pretty much dead. Candy started to get difficult to purchase in 2019 before covid and we had switched to only gumballs, then once covid hit gumballs were not possible to buy anymore through Sam's. Now in my area they still aren't available through Sam's and my only option for similar margin are buying pallets. I didn't have the amount / quality of locations even at my peak to buy pallets.

 

Anyways, how are yall operating your bulk businesses now? Where are yall buying your product? Seems like vending has bounced back a bit since covid, but I'm not seeing the bounceback with bulk. In my area it looks more difficult than ever to locate and also get decent margins in anything but the largest locations. I'd like to try it again but not sure if it's worth it.

 

I'm still up and running but am no longer growing the business. I have been selling off equipment piecemeal over the last two years as I lose locations due to normal attrition. If I get a glut of returned machines in the shop I will go out and place some locally but I have no interest in expanding the business in any way. I'd love to sell it all off but the problem is no one has the capital to buy routes and I am not interested in contract sales. So I'm just selling off equipment at flea markets. It's easy to do and I don't have to deal with tire kickers, no shows or criminals.

In regards to bulk vending sales they have actually been decent over the last two years. I have a lot of equipment in immigrant communities and those stops are still successful. My long term locations such as retail, manufacturing and restaurants have been solid as well but nothing like it was 5-10 years ago.

I have been fortunate because our local Sam's Club has consistently had gumballs in stock. They also have Skittles, Reece's Pieces and even Mike & Ike's/Hot Tamales sometimes. That said, I have been phasing out all M&M products and I am beginning to do the same with Reece's Pieces due to the lack of profitability. I am lucky enough to have a small wholesaler locally where I can get a lot of pressed dextrose candies like Pucker Up's, Tootsie Tarts, Rascals and other various long shelf life candies. I run A LOT of gumball machines which really helps my overall margins. I also run a fair amount of general mix 1.1 capsules that I also make a decent margin on.  

I would not advise anyone to get into the bulk vending business these days. The margins will continue to decline as product costs inevitably rise. Add to that people are using less and less cash as every year passes so the outlook for bulk vending is bleak. One caveat to that advice.....If you have gumball machines just sitting around they can still make money in the right places but I would never advise anyone to go out and buy bulk vending equipment with the intention of scaling the business.

[TexasFreemason]

I am still actively expanding my business. Covid hurt, but it’s coming back. I run every 20 weeks, and I don’t have any complaints.

[gumball guy]

10 minutes ago, TexasFreemason said:

I am still actively expanding my business. Covid hurt, but it’s coming back. I run every 20 weeks, and I don’t have any complaints.

That's great to hear! Finding the right locations and demographics are a key component to bulk vending success and it sounds like you are locating equipment in the right places. The fact that you are able to successfully run your routes on a twenty week cycle saves you a lot on annual operating expense. My normal cycle is 12 weeks and that's about as far as I push it out. I still wouldn't advise anyone to pick this business as a long term, full time career, especially if they are starting from scratch, but there is still money to be made in the present.