spdydre Posted November 2, 2009 Share Posted November 2, 2009 Well after 2 months of trying to get ahold of Coke and going back and forth I finally got contacted by a rep about 3rd party vending down here. According to the rep they have two choices either they fill the machines and pay me commission or I fill the machines and keep profits. She stated that the minimum to start would be 25 machines and they would have to deliver them to a location or storage facility and the minimum order is 350 cases at a time lol. Well I am just trying to expand a bit but I am not sure if this is a good idea. I am fairly new to vending and very small. I wonder if jumping to that amount of volume might be too much too soon. I mean where am I going to stick 25 coke machines unless I have locations already lined up? Has anyone done the commission route? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mxer518 Posted November 2, 2009 Share Posted November 2, 2009 Wow that is a lot different than the 3rd party program I have with coke, all the bottlers have different programs but it sounds like yours really tries to weed the small guys. unless you have a good deal of machines lined up with locations, 20+ I would not even consider storing their machines for the. If you hit the streets really hard you should have no problem locating 20, just think of all the places that have a Pepsi machine that might want coke as well.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mission vending Posted November 2, 2009 Share Posted November 2, 2009 Is that 350 per order or per month? That works out to 14 per machine, that is a lot of soda to move. If that's a monthly quota then you will need to find some pretty good accounts to keep from piling up inventory, not a good idea. My local bottler has also upped the requirements for third party vending agreement (my rep has said that they are simply not interested in "new" third party vendors but will continue to work with existing ones.), but not to that level. It seems that they have made the decision that "little guys" are not worth the hassle factor anymore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spdydre Posted November 2, 2009 Author Share Posted November 2, 2009 It is 350 per order minimum that is their minimum order requirement. I think I would have to get my ducks lined up before I even attempted this route. Does anyone have experience with commissions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mxer518 Posted November 3, 2009 Share Posted November 3, 2009 why would you want to do a commission? once you locate 25 machines you would have to be crazy to ever want someone like coke servicing them and only giving you a very small cut of the money, to me it makes no sense..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spdydre Posted November 3, 2009 Author Share Posted November 3, 2009 Yeah I was thinking about that I just wanted to know if anyone had any experience with commissions. I think I will probably start an account 3rd party with them but I will have to get alot of things in order before I tackle 25 machines at once. Should I gather all of the locations first then move forward? I'm thinking if they drop any machines off at my storage facility I will have to move them on my own of course and my storage unit cant even hold 5 machines lol. So I have to make alot of changes before anything Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikey B Posted November 6, 2009 Share Posted November 6, 2009 When I checked into commission, they was going to pay 10% gross. For the third party, Basically how ever many machines I picked up, I would have to order 35 cases. And to reorder I would have to have a minimum of 35 cases. And the cost was 72cents/bottle I work part time at a resturant and the owner will order the Coke products for me. I pay 60cents per bottle which includes a 2 cent/bottle in the owners pocket for the trouble of ordering them for me. So I have just went to the local auction barn here, and bought two Coke machines and I go that route. As for Pepsi, they just kept jerking me around. "i will call you back" etc, but never did... So I bought two Pepsi machines and I go to sams and get the 24oz bottles for 59 cents each. And advertise 24oz for $1.25 Yeah, I have to babysit the machines due to size and can't fit a whole case in but pulling in on average of about $220-230/wk I am not going to complain about making a 4mile round trip every other day. Now to manage get some RC connections and I will be all set! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poplady1 Posted November 9, 2009 Share Posted November 9, 2009 I have some experience with commissions. Once a bottler knows there is a locating company working in their territory calling on full line, they contact the locator. They offer to place their machines on site for them and send a commission check for as long as the machine remains at the site. That is why many locators will not find locations for vendors that are trying to put out 3rd party bottler machines without the snacks. Most of the of bottlers have already approached the locator with the commission deal. I have been receiving a Pepsi check for one location that I set 5 years ago, it averages about $75 a month year round. I don't have to do anything, just cash the check. On the commission question 10% of gross was the normal amount but if we put a machine in a hotel we could set the price and tell the bottler how much of the commission came to us and how much went to the hotel. I set a school once for Coke with a lot of machines. That was a very juicy account. Blue Moose Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sbishop Posted November 9, 2009 Share Posted November 9, 2009 Wow, that is alot different than my coke deal. I can get machines one at a time. Min order for a delivery is 10 cases. I have to buy 10 cases per machine per month. I am already doing enough volume to get 5-6 machines and cover the quota before I sell any from the 3rd party machines. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spdydre Posted November 9, 2009 Author Share Posted November 9, 2009 Sbishop where in texas are you located? I am also in texas. I wish this distribution could do one at a time but that is not the case! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sbishop Posted November 9, 2009 Share Posted November 9, 2009 I'm in far west Texas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spdydre Posted November 11, 2009 Author Share Posted November 11, 2009 Ok I talked to the rep again and she gave me some prices today. Like I said its 350 cases PER ORDER she then slipped in maybe at least 2 orders a month but I dont see how that is possible I dont really think you have to order two a month unless she is getting some type of commissions on it or something she seemed like she wasnt telling the truth and said it under her breath lol oh well. 25 machine minimum after that you can get one by one 25 locations set up or they can deliver to a warehouse but she said they prefer locations so they can log the location in their system for maintainence men etc. $8.90 for 24 case CANS $18.25 for 20 oz cokes $10.00 for Water They deliver cokes on a pallet so she stated you need a warehouse with dock to unload easily or a place that can hold pallets. ------------------------------------------ Commisions you must have a location and before commissions your location must do a 75 case minimum in 3 months before you receive commissions. You control pricing for cans or bottles the higher the price the more percentage commission but if you do not meet the minimum you receive no commission. I would like to know some input from some larger vendors on the case amount. Is this amount more than enough to go through in a month on average? I also forgot to ask how many cans these coke machines hold but I 'm assuming 300-400 so it looks like one order could fill all the machines but I am not sure on this. One order is a little over 3k so I'm trying to see if this would be worth the dive and get some input on here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mxer518 Posted November 11, 2009 Share Posted November 11, 2009 there is no way you will be able to keep up with the minimum orders unless you are placing these machines in some great locations, some might be great but overall they are not going to sell what they want you to buy. If i were you I would contact Pepsi and see what kind of deal they can work out for you. with what you have told me, it sounds like they are only interested in doing business with some very large vending company's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coinvestor Posted November 11, 2009 Share Posted November 11, 2009 I think this lady is giving you the run around. She will always have one more requirement for you. Don't waste your time. Like mxer said, call Pepsi. JD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spdydre Posted November 16, 2009 Author Share Posted November 16, 2009 Ok Pepsi was ALOT quicker in responding than Coke I received a call back in 15 minutes after I called and talked to a rep. He stated that they have slowed down on 3rd party and are limiting machines now because they lost 4 million in revenue due to machines missing/stolen. He stated they blew the whistle when the sales rep that was before him gave a man a truckload of $75,000 worth of machines and the guy and machines dissappeared. He did state that they can lend from one machine to as many as you want but he just cant do it right now and said to wait until after december. Minimum cases he said was 4 per machine per week. He told me to contact Dr. Pepper because they dont have any rules and give everyone machines no matter what and I could purchase from pepsi to get my account going so that is my next step. The rep gave me alot of helpful information as far as telling me which large vending companies are giving away accounts now because they cant service them etc. He said to keep his cell number and keep in contact and he will get me some machines as soon as he can. So I guess my next step is to call Dr. Pepper and see what they have to say getting a little closer hopefully!lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mission vending Posted November 17, 2009 Share Posted November 17, 2009 He stated that they have slowed down on 3rd party and are limiting machines now because they lost 4 million in revenue due to machines missing/stolen. He stated they blew the whistle when the sales rep that was before him gave a man a truckload of $75,000 worth of machines and the guy and machines dissappeared. Not the first time I've heard a story like this. That's why the bottlers are making it much more difficult to do third party stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
royalforest Posted November 17, 2009 Share Posted November 17, 2009 I have a 3rd party with pepsi that has a minimum of 25 cases per machines per month. I would like to get rid of them but them delivering the cases is a big help. I wish Sams would deliver. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spdydre Posted November 20, 2009 Author Share Posted November 20, 2009 Well I talked to Dr. Pepper today and it looks like I am going to get setup with 3rd party vending through them. The guy I spoke to took my info and I am supposed to meet with a rep to sign the paperwork and look at the different types of sodas they offer. They do it where you can start from one machine to as many as you want and there is a 20 case minimum per month per machine. He didnt waste much time and kept it pretty simple just took my info told me a rep will be meeting with me this week and then said I could request machines from there. So after months of hassle and back and forth it finally comes to an end lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikey B Posted November 20, 2009 Share Posted November 20, 2009 I'm glad it's working out for you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mercury Posted November 20, 2009 Share Posted November 20, 2009 20 cases per machine per month? That is a LOT of soda......most locations don't sell nearly a case a day! Hope you have some killer locations! Good luck! Merc Well I talked to Dr. Pepper today and it looks like I am going to get setup with 3rd party vending through them. The guy I spoke to took my info and I am supposed to meet with a rep to sign the paperwork and look at the different types of sodas they offer. They do it where you can start from one machine to as many as you want and there is a 20 case minimum per month per machine. He didnt waste much time and kept it pretty simple just took my info told me a rep will be meeting with me this week and then said I could request machines from there. So after months of hassle and back and forth it finally comes to an end lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spdydre Posted January 9, 2010 Author Share Posted January 9, 2010 Has anyone in 3rd party had issues with the sales rep they work with? So far I have ordered one machine but my rep takes weeks to contact me back I am wondering if once I pick up the pace he wont be reliable to get me the machines on time. Has anyone dealt with this before? If so what is the best thing to do? I might see if I can switch reps but I dont think thats possible since he set up my account Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mission vending Posted January 10, 2010 Share Posted January 10, 2010 In San Antonio, metro area population around 2 million there are only 2 Coke reps that have the city split by geography and you get who you get. Pepsi has one rep based in Austin. So yes, it can be hard to get things done with third party guys. One of the ways I've dealt with it is to keep an extra machine in the warehouse to use when I get a location so I can set it up on my timetable not theirs. It's also one of several reasons I've been slowly phasing then out of my business, simply too much hassle. I'm down to around 10 from over 60 at one point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spdydre Posted January 10, 2010 Author Share Posted January 10, 2010 In San Antonio, metro area population around 2 million there are only 2 Coke reps that have the city split by geography and you get who you get. Pepsi has one rep based in Austin. So yes, it can be hard to get things done with third party guys. One of the ways I've dealt with it is to keep an extra machine in the warehouse to use when I get a location so I can set it up on my timetable not theirs. It's also one of several reasons I've been slowly phasing then out of my business, simply too much hassle. I'm down to around 10 from over 60 at one point. I might need to try and do that and keep one machine on backup. Ireally just want to build my business 3rd party then once I get some income comming in phase them out with my own refurbished machines. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mission vending Posted January 10, 2010 Share Posted January 10, 2010 Pay close attention to the lease agreements. The new one from Coke that I have gives them the right to take back their equipment on 30 days notice. So if you are overly reliant on them and they for whatever reason pull the plug on you it can really hurt your business. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spdydre Posted February 13, 2010 Author Share Posted February 13, 2010 Pay close attention to the lease agreements. The new one from Coke that I have gives them the right to take back their equipment on 30 days notice. So if you are overly reliant on them and they for whatever reason pull the plug on you it can really hurt your business. Oh I have I have only been dealing with them less than a month and the sales rep is already giving me a headache lol. Looks like I will just use them to grow then phase them out but I dont know if I can last that long with this sales rep. Pepsi should be giving me some 3rd party machines in March so I will see. I am also thinking of matching up every 3rd party machine with another bottle machine of my own and split the minimum required cases between the two has anyone done this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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