whaletail116 Posted August 24, 2009 Share Posted August 24, 2009 I now know what you mean when you say Crane! Thanks for the knowledge! The semester starts today!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poplady1 Posted August 25, 2009 Share Posted August 25, 2009 Good luck and congrats finding your own spot. Blue Moose Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisdunn77 Posted August 28, 2009 Share Posted August 28, 2009 All i can say is WOW!!!! what a trip. from disaster to success in very little time. that's what makes business fun! great job!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
West Coast Vend LLC Posted August 29, 2009 Share Posted August 29, 2009 BP, I have 5 cranes and some other redemption/prize machines on location. Be careful on the licensed plush you buy. It is always more expensive and not always the greatest looking. They charge you a lot because of the licensing but you don't get quality. I have found with mine that you are better off mixing inexpensive larger plush with higher priced product. One thing that I have found to be very successful is putting one item in the machine that everyone tries to get. I put a TracFone in the middle of the mix. I have been doing that for months and it works great. They are regularly $20 each but they go on sale for $9.99. Another real good thing to do is buy the tattoos from http://www.winbigvending.com/ They have scratch-offs on their cards that give customers a change to win bigger prizes. http://www.winbigvending.com/ has P.O.S. that gives customers an idea of what they can win. I rubber band them to my plush and people go crazy trying to win. Try http://www.coastentertainment.com for plush. I use the medium happy mix for my machines and it is good looking and cheap. They ship for free so that's always a winner for me. Gary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PLAYTOWINBOB Posted August 29, 2009 Share Posted August 29, 2009 hello we run cranes and other type prize machines and they do very well. make sure you get the hottest items you can fine,that what drives the sales. one thing i haved learned was PRECIEVED VALUE.. ........ your customers look at your cranes like you look at a store when you walk in and want to buy something. say you have a nice watch in your crane,your customer says to himself...WOW!! that watch must cost $16 i will try to win it. before you know he put $10 in your machine. also it is very importent that you let your customers win also. the precent of winners you want to be at is 20-30% so they win and are happy,and you make money. i have seen people walk by a crane and say, that crane never picks up nothing and your done. you don't make any money and others will here that. also i have not tried any malls out yet but what is the going rate you are paying on your lease. you can pm me if you like,we own about 51 cranes and was thinking about malls in nc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BluePlate Posted August 29, 2009 Author Share Posted August 29, 2009 Thanks for the tips on the cranes. I have thought about the higher value prizes, haven't do it yet. I'm having a lot of fun with the cranes, it is really amazing how people love to play these things. I personally do not understand it. Anyways, I was thinking abou bugging Steve to put up a skill crane board The best deal I've found on licensed plush is from a company call NANCO. The 7" licensed plush is running about $1.80/each. The problem you need to buy individual items (not mixed) by the Gross. Anyone want to split a case of Spongebobs? The other thing I learned from a local guy was to store the plush in one of the SPACE BAGS. It's a big zip lock bag that has a vacuum port on it ....... sucks all the air out of the bag makes it smaller to store. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caserri Posted August 29, 2009 Share Posted August 29, 2009 I was thinking abou bugging Steve to put up a skill crane board I can do that, if there is an audience for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mxer518 Posted August 31, 2009 Share Posted August 31, 2009 BluePlate do you know the name of the management company who own the mall? I have a ton of malls that I operate with protocol machines. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BluePlate Posted August 31, 2009 Author Share Posted August 31, 2009 I forgot the name, this company has 2 malls one around me and one in upstate NY. They are definately a smaller management company. I am working on another mall that is a Simons mall. How do you do with the Protocol machines? This mall is looking for various vending relationships, they don't have anything like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whistle Posted September 6, 2009 Share Posted September 6, 2009 hey casseri.....is there a boxer machine forum? if not is there anyone out there vending these boxer machines? its a machine with a speed bag attached to it....measures speed and power of a single punch.....anyone own this machine? email me back...thanks Whistle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
West Coast Vend LLC Posted September 6, 2009 Share Posted September 6, 2009 I have seen these boxer machines. The company you see the most looks, (and is) a bus-op from what I read. http://www.franchisesolutions.com/franchise/Knockout_Vending_LLC.cfm http://www.punch-line.info/products.php?id=7 http://eagled.com/knockout.htm The first one sounds like a bus-op. The next two look like companies just selling machines, one at a time. Gary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mxer518 Posted September 7, 2009 Share Posted September 7, 2009 I forgot the name, this company has 2 malls one around me and one in upstate NY. They are definately a smaller management company. I am working on another mall that is a Simons mall. How do you do with the Protocol machines? This mall is looking for various vending relationships, they don't have anything like that. Interesting, I would love to find out the other mall they own, I do a lot of business in the upstate NY marketplace. Malls can be great partners in vending and an asset you any vending business portfolio. Can you find out the management company or the town in New York they own the mall in and PM it to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BnDVending Posted September 7, 2009 Share Posted September 7, 2009 WOW!! What a saga...thanks for such a good story. You could almost write a book from that!! Thank you, Barry PS - Yes I am a book nerd! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronzo Posted September 8, 2009 Share Posted September 8, 2009 I too vote for a forum on crane machines. sounds like such a logical option to pursue for a vending business. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PLAYTOWINBOB Posted September 8, 2009 Share Posted September 8, 2009 hy when you buy your plush,buy a kit.if you have lots of cranes then buying 100+ sponge bobs is ok.the kits for your crane come in 10%-100% lic plush mix.the more lic plush you buy in the kit the more monet the kit will cost. a good kit would be about 25-30% lic. allways put you lic plush around the edges of the crane and up in front.it is very importent to treat you crane like a store.look for the hottest stuff out there,examples,not movies plush,sports plush,use some holiday plush but don't buy alot or you will have it to next year. also items like bling bling,cheap mp3s,and that new fighting figure thats red hot in wal mart starts with a b_____ . i buy cheap watches,and hats are a good item. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BluePlate Posted September 9, 2009 Author Share Posted September 9, 2009 Good Stuff Bob, thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BnDVending Posted September 9, 2009 Share Posted September 9, 2009 I have a FANTASTIC question that hasn't been brought up. To all the crane vendors out there. How do you put things in the machine to make them achievable without being TOO accessable. MP3's and Hats seem too easy to grab. Is the machine just set up that way or is there a certain manner in which you deposit items to make them less attainable without being impossible?! Barry S. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PLAYTOWINBOB Posted September 9, 2009 Share Posted September 9, 2009 tie the mp3 player to a small brick!!!!!!!!!!!!! no,only kidding.. put your hotter items around the outside area of your crane. also the way you pack your plush in a crane will make it go from easy to harder. you want to be at about 25% area of winners. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
West Coast Vend LLC Posted September 10, 2009 Share Posted September 10, 2009 Barry, As Bob said, put the higher end items in the back corners or at the front window. It will drive people nuts because they will want them but have to chip away at everything else before the good items fall to the center. That's good because it increases the number of plays, hence more money in the box. I start at the back with plush and work my way forward. I always build up the back higher than the front so it has a stadium effect. I rubber band items like Mp3's, $5 video cards, etc. to the plush that I put in the corners. I also put a $10 Tracfone in its case in the center of the plush. It is nearly impossible to pick up, but it's there and they want it! So they play and play and play. I have had a lot of success with WinBig tattoo's & stickers with the scratch off's on the cards. I rubber band them to the plush and each time I go back, all the plush with the scratch off's are gone. Gary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BnDVending Posted September 10, 2009 Share Posted September 10, 2009 I've never packed a crane before and though I have no intention of getting into the crane business anytime soon, lest I find a mall or some awesome location WITHOUT one. With that said, if I were to "pack" a crane today I would have no idea how to do it. Is this a trial and error type of thing or are there any suggestions such as; the MP3 has to be stuffed between two large animals with a brick tied to it that you can't see, ect. ect. Thanks again, Barry S. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lurtsman Posted September 10, 2009 Share Posted September 10, 2009 Could we get some pictures and diagrams of how to do this most effectively? I am interested in getting into cranes around next spring. (Need to net around 1500$/month before adding more variety) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sbishop Posted September 10, 2009 Share Posted September 10, 2009 So, how is that mall working out? They said the other company did $20k was that a month or a year? Are you seeing the sucess you hoped for with the mall location? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BluePlate Posted September 10, 2009 Author Share Posted September 10, 2009 Thanks for asking. It is doing well. The cranes I have there are only about 25% cool as the previous company. I knew I wasn't going to do as much as the previous company. Anyways, I'm averaging $45/day. The last few days it has dropped since the "back to school" crowd is over. I'm working on unique prizes and testing new things. I'm hoping to have the mogic formula by Black Friday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sbishop Posted September 11, 2009 Share Posted September 11, 2009 If you keep that average then the rent equals a gross sales commission of 37%. That is a is a little high, but you have to take into account the volume. I do not know what is the average for a crane, but I would not think you would see alot of locations doing over 1k a month. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
West Coast Vend LLC Posted September 11, 2009 Share Posted September 11, 2009 I don't want to knock you down while you are excited about this new account at the mall. I had the opportunity to buy about 6 locations in a mall down in San Diego last year. It was from one of the members on Vendiscuss.com. The mall wanted $1,300 per month for the 6 location. I turned it down because I didn't think it would cover the $1,300 rent. I would rather pay rent based on sales. What do you do during the slow months of Summer? Maybe your mall location is different but can you talk to them about adding a formula that includes sales in some way. Maybe, if it drops down below a certain level it changes to commission not rent. This way you don't get hurt during the slow times of the year. You could also have an extra commission bonus during the holidays so the mall is happy with the deal. I really wish you luck and want to hear how it goes. Good Luck Gary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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