bulk and or full line vending???

[showme vending]

Hey guys,

 

I was walking the mall yesterday and as i was going into shops i would stop and ask if they wanted a machine in the back for thier employees. i get mostly no's but something interesting happened yesterday. I walked into a old navy and talked to the manager and told him who i was and how my biz supports charities etc. he wasnt really interested in the bulk candy but asked if i could place a coke machine and a snack machine. I havent ventured into this area yet but since they want it I will do it.

My question is what do the guys here that do both find more profitable. there are all kinds of good dels on ebay for used coke machines and pepsi machines and I was running some numbers. if a can costs roughly 20 cents and you sell it for 50-60 you making 200 + on a machine when it empties and coke machines empty fast from what i hear.

is full line that much more profitable than bulk? I'd love to hear more feedback from emembers that do both. I will buy 10 or more coke and pepsi machines if this one does well.

 

Mike

[caserri]

Great question Mike,

Yes soda machines, at least for me, make more money however there is much more work involved. The service intervals are usually weekly instead of monthly. The product is much heavier and takes much longer to service. There is a lot more that can go wrong with a coke machine than with a bulk machine. There are lots of electronic and mechanical components making it much more difficult to diagnose and fix. The machines themselves are beasts to move and should be done by at least 2 people and they are really expensive compared to bulk.

BUT....

From a decent account you should expect to pull $75-$100 a week out of them. I'm not sure if you would hit that mark in the breakroom of a mall store though. Also pulling dollar bills is a lot nicer than pulling quarters. A good rule of thumb, at least from what I'm seeing, when it comes to soda vending revenue is about $1.00 per employee, per week if you have a placement in a factory breakroom or someplace else that your sales depend solely on the employees.

Another great thing about soda vs bulk, You need far less soda accounts to make a living as opposed to bulk. For example, 1 bulk location might average $15 a month while 1 soda location may average $400 a month. You can see how you would need far less to accomplish your goals.

Hope this helps.

[caserri]

Also,

Lee (clvending) does soda and bulk as well. Hopefully he will give some input here.

Steve

[showme vending]

thanks steve for the input. You're like a vending yoda

 

Mike

[ANDERSONVENDING]

I also have all 3 I'd  would rather have only soda accounts for the higher revenue they have.

Steve,I have a book on vending that says you can figure $1.50 TO $2.00 per week per person on soda and $1.25 to $1.75 per week per person with snacks,although they are more work.You're also better off paying a moving company to move your machines,that way if something gets damaged they are insured for the repairs.

John

[caserri]

I also have all 3 I'd  would rather have only soda accounts for the higher revenue they have.

Steve,I have a book on vending that says you can figure $1.50 TO $2.00 per week per person on soda and $1.25 to $1.75 per week per person with snacks,although they are more work.You're also better off paying a moving company to move your machines,that way if something gets damaged they are insured for the repairs.

John

You are absolutely right on all points John. I was mistaken on the per employee figure. I think I read what you are referring to some time ago but my memory is not what it used to be.

Steve

[clvending]

    I do find that doing soda/snack is much more profitable than bulk...  It is much more expensive to maintain a soda route than a bulk route.  You have to plan on visiting more often.  However, I would say "Go For It" if you have a chance to get into the snack/soda world.  I do enjoy counting the green.  A good source for soda/snack machines is vendingworld.com.   Randy was very helpful to me in picking the right machine.  Another piece of advice is measure the door openings that you will need to pass through.

Good Luck,

Lee