lurtsman Posted August 12, 2009 Share Posted August 12, 2009 Nice work-around Kevin. I'm gonna start doing that. Have you considered using mozilla instead of internet exploder... I hear that works good to My internet explorer got screwed up shortly after I formatted this machine about 2 years ago. I never bothered to fix it, only use mozilla for 99% of things. Took a while to convince my wife, but the browser is better in many ways. (Primarily security ,stability, and available addons for improved experience -- see advertising blockers) Sorry to hi-jack the thread. It just surprises me when intelligent people are still using exploder. to the OP: It sounds like you are very excited about your endeavor. I do hope you can remember that this is a marathon and not a sprint. There is no getting rich quick. It's a great opportunity for people who despise working for someone else and doing vastly more than their equitable share of the work. Judging by you salary, you'd have no need of additional income, so I'd have to assume you're doing it for love of business. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alyssamma Posted August 12, 2009 Share Posted August 12, 2009 LOL, ok...let's not bash MS I love IE...especially IE8. This forum is actually the only website I've had problems with. Also, most of the work I do is for business clients and the use IE. It makes things easier if I do too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsimms Posted August 12, 2009 Author Share Posted August 12, 2009 update: not much to report guys. I did run across a local vending locator in my area. I am not sure if anything with pan out, but try to keep my options open. I am still expecing my machines to be in on saturday. my wife said I could set one up by the front door, and she would be my best customer... boy does she love her M&M's...she also wants to borrow a few quaters... sorry babe, your not credit worthy... We plan to go out to sams/cosco this weekend to scott out some candy prices. Have a great day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparta_Automation Posted August 12, 2009 Share Posted August 12, 2009 FedEx typically only delivers on Saturday if you paid the extra $10 for Saturday delivery....otherwise I believe you will have to wait until Monday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsimms Posted August 12, 2009 Author Share Posted August 12, 2009 FedEx typically only delivers on Saturday if you paid the extra $10 for Saturday delivery....otherwise I believe you will have to wait until Monday. I am not sure what the seller paid for shipping. The fedex tracking does say it is due to arrive this saturday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsimms Posted August 14, 2009 Author Share Posted August 14, 2009 Ok guys.. went to sams today looking at some candy prices... M&M's 56 oz $8.79 Skittles 56oz $17.58 (very exp) M&M Peanut Mix 56 oz $10.89 Cashews 40 oz $11.89 Pistachios 56 oz $15.99 What do you guys think ? The 6 VendStar machines that ordered the other should be here tomorrow: Fri 8/14 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G-man422 Posted August 14, 2009 Share Posted August 14, 2009 Whats up witht he skittles being $17 a bag ?!?! They were $5.66 in Ohio for the 56oz. If you are doing nuts just be sure they move or else they could cause some problems (spoilage, moths). Instead os skittles maybe you could to Mike and Ikes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antoniocinisi Posted August 14, 2009 Share Posted August 14, 2009 he probably looked at the wrong price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BluePlate Posted August 14, 2009 Share Posted August 14, 2009 Skittles were $5.99 last time I bought them..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joebob051977 Posted August 14, 2009 Share Posted August 14, 2009 Yep, Skittles are not that much at Sam's. Sam's Club candy prices are usually a good deal for candy. It is nice that your M&M's are $8.79. Ours are back up to $9.14 after a short price drop. That will help your bottom line. Just a bit of advice, don't open up your candy wheel all the way. I thought I was being a good vendor by doing that. I was wrong. 1/2 oz vends are just about right. If your vend size is too big you will flood a small child's hands and they will spill candy and the locations won't be happy. If the customer doesn't feel he got enough candy, he will put in another quarter and to get more candy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsimms Posted August 14, 2009 Author Share Posted August 14, 2009 Yep, Skittles are not that much at Sam's. Sam's Club candy prices are usually a good deal for candy. It is nice that your M&M's are $8.79. Ours are back up to $9.14 after a short price drop. That will help your bottom line. Just a bit of advice, don't open up your candy wheel all the way. I thought I was being a good vendor by doing that. I was wrong. 1/2 oz vends are just about right. If your vend size is too big you will flood a small child's hands and they will spill candy and the locations won't be happy. If the customer doesn't feel he got enough candy, he will put in another quarter and to get more candy. My wife got the price on skittles... I will have to reverify...we actually did not go to sams, it was cosco that we went too...either they are high, or she brought back the wrong price... and it is hard to belive that those same 56oz bags of M&ms sell for $12.95 plus shipping on ebay...and I did not see mike&ikes at cosco... is there no place online that you can get the above candy cheaper? Thanks for the advice about the wheel...will be the first thing I check on when they come in today... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dperry Posted August 14, 2009 Share Posted August 14, 2009 went to sams today looking at some candy prices... Skittles 56oz $17.58 (very exp) I think you mixed the prices of Skittles with the price of the Gumballs. This looks like the price that gumballs should be at Sams. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsimms Posted August 14, 2009 Author Share Posted August 14, 2009 I think you mixed the prices of Skittles with the price of the Gumballs. This looks like the price that gumballs should be at Sams. maybe so..I looked on sams club website and their prices for skittles are $5.88 and M&M $8.59 to honest with you, I am getting a bad vibe about this whole process...the neg comments on the machines I will be getting, neg comments on locators, not so good incomes i have seen on the income thread...I am just starting to wonder if this is even a good idea... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chowchowjailboss Posted August 14, 2009 Share Posted August 14, 2009 There is money to be made with bulk vending but it is work, especially on the front end. Getting the machines placed and the cost of filling them will the the biggest hump. I re comend that you stay away from any kind of nuts, if possible. If you do vend them, vend the dry roasted peanuts as they hold up better. Buy all of your candy and gum at Sam's if you can as the shipping is what make buying on line expensive. Mike and Ike's, Peanut M & Ms ,RP, bouncy balls and nerd gumballs do the best in my area. Good Luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsimms Posted August 14, 2009 Author Share Posted August 14, 2009 There is money to be made with bulk vending but it is work, especially on the front end. Getting the machines placed and the cost of filling them will the the biggest hump. I re comend that you stay away from any kind of nuts, if possible. If you do vend them, vend the dry roasted peanuts as they hold up better. Buy all of your candy and gum at Sam's if you can as the shipping is what make buying on line expensive. Mike and Ike's, Peanut M & Ms ,RP, bouncy balls and nerd gumballs do the best in my area. Good Luck I talked to a locator today, and he sounded fairly confident that he could place all the machines.. he would even include some extras just in case of any rejections...but that does not guarantee they will do good...once these are placed, do you think i should get more, or wait to see how these six are going to do? so peanuts do not sell that good? I was thinking of a cashew or pistocio. I will go with M&M maybe even skittles to start, may end up with RP, not sure yet...maybe M&M, M&I, and RP, how does that sound? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsimms Posted August 14, 2009 Author Share Posted August 14, 2009 M&M's comes in 56oz bags, does anyone know how many bags it will take to fill up 1 canister on a triple...? I was thinking about not topping them off as candy is expensive, maybe checking them every couple weeks to see what the level is...it does not make sense to fill $50 worth of goods into a triple then to find out is is only making $1-$5/mo...not so good... what do you guys think...? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alyssamma Posted August 14, 2009 Share Posted August 14, 2009 DSI, I'm going to suggest this once more...take a week and read through all of the old posts on this board. You are already doubting whether or not vending is for you. Do this before you sink more $ into it. It is fine to ask for opinions here - that is what the forum is for. Unfortunately a lot of what you get will seem contradictory at first. For example, one person will say Vendstars are no good and another will say they are great. However, if you take the time to read all of the posts about Vendstars, you'll see that most people agree they have a place because you can get them so cheaply. Some even use them as "starter" machines - placing them initially in locations and then replacing them with better machines later. Ditto for the candy. Like I said before, you'll need to know your locations before picking out candy. Do you have a bar? Then nuts might do great. A daycare or breakroom? You probably can't vend gum there. Lots of places will even specify that they want a certain type of candy. Again, I'm not trying to insult you or put you down, but you seem to think that this is the type of business where you just come in, do steps A, B, and C, and start making money. It isn't. And the people here who are successful have invested a lot of time to be that way. It is that way for any business. Unfortunately in vending, because it is relatively easy to get started in, many people jump in and fail quickly (this, btw, is where you get good deals on machines ). Some of the things that no one has even mentioned, that you’ll have to deal with are vandalized machines, closed locations (and lost machines), stolen candy via cardboard or slugs. Again, like any business, vending has its pros and cons. And like any business you can make money in it. But, like any business, you need to treat it like a business. Trust me...take some time and read up on some of the posts here. It will help you be much more successful. Good luck! Kevin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsimms Posted August 14, 2009 Author Share Posted August 14, 2009 actually I have been reading..I have doubt because a lot of people on this forum have doubt... everyone goes in all directions, its bad, its good, its worse... I am not sure the locations will be, but I need something in general for the machines...a new vendor does not need to run out to sams and get 10 different things, this would just run up cost up front...so unless you have something specific to say, reading the forum just leads into all directions...and i can not predict that my machines will be vandaliszed any more then you can...and since they will be in different locations, it is doubtfull all of them will be... these machines will be in tomorrow, I will get product for them, and hopeuflly they will have a spot some time next week, and I will see how they do. if you have any thing straight forward to say, I would love to hear other then just go read the forum...I can sit here and read posts that run everywhere, or I can get these machines out doing something. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alyssamma Posted August 14, 2009 Share Posted August 14, 2009 DSI, i have said *several* straightforward things to you. In fact, I was the first person to reply to your "new vendor has Q" post. For example... 1) Wait until you know your locations before you buy candy. 2) Vendstars are good machines (to me) but try to get them cheaper 3) Don't buy candy online as shipping will kill you, unless you don't live near a Sams, Costco, or BJs 4) Labels are in the Plus section - which you should have access to by now. 5) NCCS is a charity that many (charity) vendors here use. 6) I sent you a CL deal for Vendstars That is just a sample of the "direct" answers I've given you. I'm not sure why you think I'm not saying anything straightforward. Additionally, I never said all of your machines will be vandalized, nor did I imply it. I was trying to inform you of other things you need to be aware of in this business. Regardless, you seem to not like my posts, so I'll stop replying to your questions. Sorry to have wasted your time. Kevin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
g_r_vending Posted August 14, 2009 Share Posted August 14, 2009 boy Kevin you could not have spoken more truths in your posts, when i got started in vending about a year and a half a go, i came in with huge aspirations of making a ton of money, boy was I wrong, this is hard work, the first machines I bought were plastic one like vendstars but even less quality, big mistake, then I found a OK deal on the Sega 3000's not a bad machine, but being so big and heavy was throwing out alot of product because i filled the to much, then locate after locate that promised the world and did almost nothing, prob cost me $500, then thank god I found this web site, have learned so much since then that I now am a good size vending company with 6 full line locations as well as 50 bulk locations making money, finally found a great locator's for me(Jacklyn at central) and the rest is history, I am about to buy 37 more 1800 triples next week, and will have those placed by the end of the year, so like everyone is trying to say, take the time to read this forum, ask alot of questions, there is allways someone here that made a stupid mistake you can learn from and avoid, and remember this is your business, you can make or break it by your actions. Best of luck Gary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsimms Posted August 14, 2009 Author Share Posted August 14, 2009 I know it looks like I am rushing, but you really think about it, you really do not know what I am thinking or doing..if i was rushing, I would order 37 more machines today...I will get the vendstar setup, see how it does..if i can find them at $50/each, then I may buy more of them. I am also looking at the 1800 triple, it looks better and a lot more stable. I see on on ebay now for $100/each...is that good? I guess better then what I paid for the vendstar, so I am somewhat paying attention, so my next triple could be the 1800, so why not have something solid instead of cheap for the same amount... I think right now the biggest worry is how the locator is going to work out... I am not really rushing as fast you think I am...and no, I am not buying candy online, will be at sams, you see I do read this stuff... as a matter of fact, I will not order any more venstar... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
g_r_vending Posted August 14, 2009 Share Posted August 14, 2009 I have yet to buy a 1800 for more than $60 each, if you look on craigslist in your area you are sure to find some near a big city, even if they are asking more you make a offer of no more than $50 each, they my balk, but in time they will be calling you trying to get rid of them, I once waited out a guy 6 months to get him down to my price. IMO the 1800 are better machines, look nice in any location, easy to work with, easy to assemble, ad for the money best you can get IMO. If you need a good locator you should give Jacklyn(central locators) a call and send her 5 to place, see may even be able to place you in a corporate break room(lowes,jcpenny) both of which do over $50 each month for me. Good Luck Gary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsimms Posted August 14, 2009 Author Share Posted August 14, 2009 interesting...are you buying used? I already have a locator working...if for some reason he does not pull through, then I will consider central...I have to at least give him a try... what do you search for on the 1800, its not like a 1800 search brings up that machine...It is hard to find any machine for $50...i just seen a listing for 6 vendstar for $40 +20 for shipping... I guess it is just a look and wait game, and see what turns up... I do not see anything on CL in my area for 1800's at all.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mxer518 Posted August 14, 2009 Share Posted August 14, 2009 its a waiting game for sure, when you don't need machines you will find them dirt cheap. Right after I bought a ton of Oaks new there was an ad on craigslist and the seller had used Vendstar machines for 10 bucks each and 120 available. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsimms Posted August 14, 2009 Author Share Posted August 14, 2009 nice... I will get these out next week, and sit tight, ill keep looking, but next month I will order 5 1800 at the best price I can find..it really does not make since to wait 6 months to order just to save $50 when they could be out on location... for what I am seeing now, someone is selling 1800's at $99 plus $30 s/h I am not seeing them all over like i do vendstar's, I guess that is a good thing... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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