Charity or Commission?

[Ryan]

Hey guys!

Caserri, great new discussion forum! To contribute, I thought that I might start a thread/poll to ask about charity versus commission.  Do you find that since you do just charity machines that you are at a disadvantage when placing machines at locations, especially potentially high volume locations? Have you ever considered adding some commission locations for places that aren't willing or excited to have charity machines?

I am totally leaning towards doing charity machines only, hopefully for the charity that I will likely be working with on a major event the next few months.  There are two reasons for this: One, I will not just be making money for myself, but also helping the charity, and two, I like the idea of keeping things simple.  On the other hand, I think it might be difficult to find locations by doing just charity machines only.  What do you guys think? What about you guys that don't do charity machines? I would love to hear as many different perspectives as possible regarding this issue.

Thanks,

Ryan

[caserri]

Welcome to the forum Ryan!

Great post! My only experience is with charity. Believe it or not, I have never been asked for commission. I go into each location representing my chosen charity from the get go, so I think that deters people from bringing up the commission thing.

Have I lost any locations due to not offering commission? Who knows. Along with what I said above, I've never had a location say "commission or take a hike bud!" so its hard to say.

Once again, welcome and thank you for your participation! Keep the posts coming! The more we get the better our rankings in the search engines and the more members we attract! Which is great for us all!

Steve 

[AmuseStar Vending Co]

NO COMMISSION? WOW! over 650 machines, using charity? I use a mix myself.

Kyle G.

[caserri]

100% of my machines are working for charity! Its my angle.

Steve

[AmuseStar Vending Co]

HOLY CRAP! I WANT TO NOT PAY COMMISSION!

Kyle G.

[KPower]

I am not yet a vendor and I am still in the planning stages but I have looked at both sides of this issue. I think charity can be good way to get a base income. If you have 500 single head gumballers that average 7.00 am month thats 3500 gross. After charity fees at 1.00 per machine and a 10% product cost on gumballs you are looking at 2650 profit. Thats almost 32k a year. The problem is you have to visit 500 locations a month to get that money. Personally I am going to start a bulk vending route and place 100 charity machines. I think I can easily service 100 machines on a part time basis. Then I am going to use the profits from these machines to buy racks and locate them in busier locations and offer commission. From what I have read a rack location can range from 100 to 1000 a month gross. the problem with this is that if you lose one of these locations you lose a significant portion of your income. Thats why I will always have the charity machines running and making money for me on the background. If you lose one of those you are losing 7 bucks a month and they are easier to find. After I get at least ten rack locations. I will use those and the gumballs to generate revenue and expand into cranes and eventually stackers. My idea is to diversify and not put too many eggs into one basket. Eventually I may phase out the gumball route and concentrate on racks and cranes. I want to visit as few locations as possible and make the most money I possibly can. These are just my ideas and I welcome feedback from everyone since I haven't even started yet. This plan could change as it has many times already.

[caserri]

Welcome to the forum KPower!

You have made an excellent first post! Your point of view is fresh and the amout of thought put into your business plan is evident!

 

I think I can easily service 100 machines on a part time basis.

This is absolutley possible. Just remember, the closer your machines are to each other, the more you can do in one day.

 

I think charity can be good way to get a base income. If you have 500 single head gumballers that average 7.00 am month thats 3500 gross.

 

 

$7 is a good figure to start. I believe that is the number quoted at NBVA.org, however charity machines have just as much potential to generate as much, if not more than commission machines do. My fleet average is right up there with the commission machines and I accomplish that by continually monitoring the performance of each machine. As soon as one falls below a pre-determined amount it gets pulled and placed at a better location.

Thanks again for joining the forum. Your input is greatly appreciated. Please post often so we can attract more new members.

Steve

[leo7068]

I am not yet a vendor and I am still in the planning stages but I have looked at both sides of this issue. I think charity can be good way to get a base income. If you have 500 single head gumballers that average 7.00 am month thats 3500 gross. After charity fees at 1.00 per machine and a 10% product cost on gumballs you are looking at 2650 profit. Thats almost 32k a year. The problem is you have to visit 500 locations a month to get that money. Personally I am going to start a bulk vending route and place 100 charity machines. I think I can easily service 100 machines on a part time basis. Then I am going to use the profits from these machines to buy racks and locate them in busier locations and offer commission. From what I have read a rack location can range from 100 to 1000 a month gross. the problem with this is that if you lose one of these locations you lose a significant portion of your income. Thats why I will always have the charity machines running and making money for me on the background. If you lose one of those you are losing 7 bucks a month and they are easier to find. After I get at least ten rack locations. I will use those and the gumballs to generate revenue and expand into cranes and eventually stackers. My idea is to diversify and not put too many eggs into one basket. Eventually I may phase out the gumball route and concentrate on racks and cranes. I want to visit as few locations as possible and make the most money I possibly can. These are just my ideas and I welcome feedback from everyone since I haven't even started yet. This plan could change as it has many times already.

Excellent bussiness plan. I thought I was the only one thinking this way until I saw this old post showing my exact thoughts. Though I quess everyone wants a really tight or passive set of locations.