zebo89 Posted June 17, 2010 Share Posted June 17, 2010 I think everyone has had the same problems getting machines out. Most of the locations that you go to try to get in already have a gumball machine there. I have an idea and I would like to hear your comments. What is the biggest disappointment that you have when you put a quarter into a machine and your gumball comes out? It's not the color or flavor that you wanted. What if you separated the 8 different flavors from the box and put each one in its own comtainer in a uturn 8 select. I know it would take a little time to separate them but you could place your machine right beside of any other machine and which one do you think a customer would buy from. I know which one I would! Eventually the competition would have to take his machine out when it wasn't selling anything and then you would have all of the business. I believe this would work especially well in adult settings such as car dealerships, breakrooms.etc. You could even make a sign such as YOUR CHOICE VENDING or something similar. Let me know what you think good or bad.Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sprint54fan Posted June 17, 2010 Share Posted June 17, 2010 I actually like the idea and think it could work in some places..but I think it would be a pain in the butt if you have alot of accounts to sort the gum for all of them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Profits Posted June 17, 2010 Share Posted June 17, 2010 I don't believe the typical gumball buyer is as discerning as you think. ::2cents:: As for vending from a U-Turn machine... as a buyer, I would avoid them. Most of those machines look pretty bad. And I don't care what color gumball you're vending. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sherlock Posted June 17, 2010 Share Posted June 17, 2010 I think everyone has had the same problems getting machines out. Most of the locations that you go to try to get in already have a gumball machine there. I have an idea and I would like to hear your comments. What is the biggest disappointment that you have when you put a quarter into a machine and your gumball comes out? It's not the color or flavor that you wanted. What if you separated the 8 different flavors from the box and put each one in its own comtainer in a uturn 8 select. I know it would take a little time to separate them but you could place your machine right beside of any other machine and which one do you think a customer would buy from. I know which one I would! Eventually the competition would have to take his machine out when it wasn't selling anything and then you would have all of the business. I believe this would work especially well in adult settings such as car dealerships, breakrooms.etc. You could even make a sign such as YOUR CHOICE VENDING or something similar. Let me know what you think good or bad.Thanks I like your way of thinking --- but as Profits put it, I don't know how many customers care. A u-turn dedicated to gumballs may be a waste of a u-turn. That 8-select could be put to better use in a high-traffic location offering people 6-8 different types of product rather than 8 different flavors of gumball. However, your idea is not terrible. Look at the mall accounts -- those vendors carry 10-12 different gumballs in dedicated machines and seemingly do ok or better. If you proceed, here's an option: Rather than separating gumball flavors -- take a note from mall vendors. Why not just buy 6-8 different flavors? Watermelon, Wild Cherry, Grape, etc. This would avoid the hassle of separating colors from a mixed box. Let us know how it goes if you do this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lisa vending group Posted June 17, 2010 Share Posted June 17, 2010 i agree with sherlock,but i still like your thinking.yes continue to be creative.good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mizugori Posted June 17, 2010 Share Posted June 17, 2010 personally, I don't think it would be a good move. it wouldn't be practical--the sorting would be a nightmare and the u-turn is going to take up way more space than a single head gumball--and gumballs do eventually get stale, which will likely happen in a u-turn full of them. I also do not think people care that much about which gumball they get. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caserri Posted June 17, 2010 Share Posted June 17, 2010 Well... I may be a bit off but as a consumer I would actually choose your machine over the competition. Even if you charged .50 per gumball. I would pay more to get exactly what I want, even if it is as simple as a gumball. However... As an operator, I would agree with sherlock in that it may be "equipment overkill" to accomplish this and more trouble than it's worth. It may be worth a shot on a limited basis just to see how it works. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antoniocinisi Posted June 17, 2010 Share Posted June 17, 2010 is it really worth carying 8 differant types of gumballs though for one machine? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zebo89 Posted June 17, 2010 Author Share Posted June 17, 2010 I believe it would be worth separating the gum or buying boxes of each flavor. Possibly even putting them in a 4 select uturn. Maybe using nerds gum because there is only 5 flavors in a box. I have been in auto sales and parts sales and I don't know how many times I have seen another salesman go to the gumball machine and get a white gumball and say MAN I WISH I WOULD HAVE GOT ORANGE OR CHERRY! Wouldn't sales be higher if someone knew what they were going after? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whaletail116 Posted June 17, 2010 Share Posted June 17, 2010 Why would a location want TWO gumball-only machines? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Profits Posted June 17, 2010 Share Posted June 17, 2010 Why would a location want TWO gumball-only machines? Think Toys R' Us, Chucky Cheese, Shopping Malls, etc. They need LOTS of variety to efficiently monetize their vast amounts of traffic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sherlock Posted June 17, 2010 Share Posted June 17, 2010 Think Toys R' Us, Chucky Cheese, Shopping Malls, etc. They need LOTS of variety to efficiently monetize their vast amounts of traffic. First off -- no one's getting into those places without a contract. Or at least -- no one's getting in there for long without a contract. And I don't recommend going through the time and expense of a contract for a u-turn location. You have to go with racks in those situations in order to maximize your own return. Secondly, if you have the corporate push to get into these places, you're not sticking a u-turn in there. Nothing against u-turns (I have a few myself)...it's just that those places you list are RACK territory. And malls would probably NOT give you a lease for a u-turn. A competitor/friend of mine does malls and you wouldn't believe the expense and requirements he has to meet in order to get those mall location contracts. I think whaletail's question is valid. Maybe it's cool to have a couple of GB singles in a busy place, but if someone else is doing GB's already --- adding an 8-select full of GB's is probably not a good move. As a prev post of mine suggested -- use the 8-select to offer many different types of products. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caserri Posted June 17, 2010 Share Posted June 17, 2010 Why would a location want TWO gumball-only machines? Who cares what the location wants. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Profits Posted June 17, 2010 Share Posted June 17, 2010 Sherlock... clearly anyone would have to have their sanity checked to put a U-Turn in any of those locations I listed as examples. I was only referring to locations that would want a wider selection (in a rack)... not referring to the U-Turn specifically. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dperry Posted June 18, 2010 Share Posted June 18, 2010 I've actually had this idea myself when I first got into vending. The next question you'd have to ask is why should you spend all that time sorting the gumballs when you can buy the individual flavors or other flavors like cherry or grape or banana. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jax Snacks Posted June 18, 2010 Share Posted June 18, 2010 Specialty gumballs rarely increases sales, they just create more overhead and hassle. I once tried vending multiple gumball flavors and it was a bomb. If you want to experiment, then try some toys. Toys are your best bet for increased sales and your best chance of hitting a home run. Food products are very mature and are just ho-hum. Stay away from those 8-select Uturns. You will rarely sell 8 food products and 5 of them will most likely go stale due to slow product movement, Just my opinion (and a former Uturn vendor). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
divango Posted June 22, 2010 Share Posted June 22, 2010 What about 1" toys in the top 4 compartments and candy/gum balls on the bottom? Sort of a mini-rack in less space... I placed an order for some bouncy balls and will be placing an order for 1" mania tomorrow to see how this will work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheBiz Posted June 22, 2010 Share Posted June 22, 2010 If you can design a machine that's both space and cost efficient then I think it's a good idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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