Why are we still selling 20 oz sodas for $1.25

[sbishop]

Everywhere I go I see machines priced at $1.25 for sodas. There is not a store selling them for less than $1.50 So, why the low prices in vending machines? They are closer than a gas station, so why under cut the convienance store price?

I just took over a motel, the old vender has 20oz priced at $1.00 and cans at $.65. I had coke set up my machines at $1.50 for the 20oz. I was a little worried about the response. This new location have proved to be one of my best locations! Everyone knows that sodas cost $1.50 so I am trying to place all new machines at that price!

[dogcow]

Everywhere I go I see machines priced at $1.25 for sodas. There is not a store selling them for less than $1.50 So, why the low prices in vending machines? They are closer than a gas station, so why under cut the convienance store price?

I just took over a motel, the old vender has 20oz priced at $1.00 and cans at $.65. I had coke set up my machines at $1.50 for the 20oz. I was a little worried about the response. This new location have proved to be one of my best locations! Everyone knows that sodas cost $1.50 so I am trying to place all new machines at that price!

i think because of the lower overhead allows vendors to undercut each other to take an account

also people assume a vending machine represents lower overhead (no employee,etc..) so they assume the price should be lower

i agree with your general sentiment, a can soda costs 99c at every gas station but people think you are ripping them off @ 75c

[caserri]

I saw a machine in Connecticut recently selling cans for $1.25 and 20oz for $2.00!

[Technivend]

Because in the late 80's we had a slight recession and most vendors forgot what they should be selling, service and convenience. The industry commoditized what it was and began a downward spiral of pricing. The industry has yet to get back on track with what it is, a service industry and NOT a retail industry.

http://technivend.blogspot.com/2011/02/soda-pricing.html

[mission vending]

i think because of the lower overhead allows vendors to undercut each other to take an account

also people assume a vending machine represents lower overhead (no employee,etc..) so they assume the price should be lower

i agree with your general sentiment, a can soda costs 99c at every gas station but people think you are ripping them off @ 75c

You've hit the nail on the head. Its more of a perception problem with the public. They don't "perceive" the additional value we bring by delivering the product to their door. Then you add to that the fact that other vendors are willing to undercut you to take the business from you and so you just have to be careful about when and where you raise your prices.

I have several locations now at 1.50, a few more at 1.35 and the rest at 1.25. As long as my overall COGS stays between 50-55% of sales I will not be in as much of a hurry to raise my prices further.

[JEREMYTINA]

You've hit the nail on the head. Its more of a perception problem with the public. They don't "perceive" the additional value we bring by delivering the product to their door. Then you add to that the fact that other vendors are willing to undercut you to take the business from you and so you just have to be careful about when and where you raise your prices.

I have several locations now at 1.50, a few more at 1.35 and the rest at 1.25. As long as my overall COGS stays between 50-55% of sales I will not be in as much of a hurry to raise my prices further.

I can only speak for the Tampa area, but there has been a big push at almost every gas station here that is an independent, to sell 16 oz @$1.29

The big places like Racetrac and 7-eleven still push the 20's but they are the only ones. I sell 16oz at a $1.25, but a lot of 20oz stuff is $1.50 in machines around here.

I've been watching a lot of prices at convenience store lately to see what they are selling at, particularly snacks, and I have been raising prices here and there. I may go to 75 cents on cans toward the end of summer if fuel keeps going up.

[antoniocinisi]

To get a soda machine account I had to set the price of cans to .60 with the agreement being it goes up a nickle every year,my other can machine is and has been at .75 for at least 3 years and my bottles have been 1.50 for even longer.the trend around here has also been to push the 16.9 oz bottles but the gas stations still offer 20 oz.they sell those for 1.59 plus tax,which comes to 1.72.I plan on raising prices on coke 20 oz next time they raise prices because they are .95 cents at my cost.pepsi I get for .74 and will remain the same for a while longer.

[coinvestor]

I just took over a motel, the old vender has 20oz priced at $1.00 and cans at $.65.

This is unfortunately standard commission free pricing around my neck of the woods. I won't sell bottles @ $1.00, so I don't have many bottle accounts. If I do bottles its at 1.25 and this is considered high for this area unless its in a hotel. On the flip side my cost is about .64 a unit.

JD

[mission vending]

This is unfortunately standard commission free pricing around my neck of the woods. I won't sell bottles @ $1.00, so I don't have many bottle accounts. If I do bottles its at 1.25 and this is considered high for this area unless its in a hotel. On the flip side my cost is about .64 a unit.

JD

My cost is about the same as yours. It`s kind of wierd but Gaorade/Powerade runs 2.00-2.50 a case less but it has been easier to go to 1.50 on it without getting anywhere near the blowback I get when raising prices on soda.

[sbishop]

My cost is about the same as yours. It`s kind of wierd but Gaorade/Powerade runs 2.00-2.50 a case less but it has been easier to go to 1.50 on it without getting anywhere near the blowback I get when raising prices on soda.

I have added Full Throttle, power aid, and Orange Juice to some machines, but the big push is Fanta flavors they cost me less than coke, sprite, & Dr. pepper. I have had a big hit with Fanta Pineapple

[mission vending]

I have added Full Throttle, power aid, and Orange Juice to some machines, but the big push is Fanta flavors they cost me less than coke, sprite, & Dr. pepper. I have had a big hit with Fanta Pineapple

Me too. Got at least one flavors in every machine. Orange is my best seller then Pineapple. If you have any glassfronts Red Flash, Barq`s RB and Mello Yellow are the same price. Well here in San Antonio anyway.

[sbishop]

Me too. Got at least one flavors in every machine. Orange is my best seller then Pineapple. If you have any glassfronts Red Flash, Barq`s RB and Mello Yellow are the same price. Well here in San Antonio anyway.

In mine I have Coke, Diet, Dr.pepper, sprite. THen FAnta orange, grape strawberry, pineapple, dasini Barrq's ECT

I am cutting out the extra cokes , cherry, zero,ect I may drop Dr. Pepper for Barq's in machines with few selections.

[dloiselle]

I am running 20 oz at $1.50 and cans between $.75 and $1.00 location depending. All my machines at this point are 3rd party with Pepsi, and my tier sucks. It is costing me $.94 per unit, but I am still $.46 a unit for stocking machines and have no headaches. I currently one one (Coke machine) and am in the process of purchasing more of my own machines, I want to increase saturation, and volume, just not so much the third party. A couple reasons for this, I am really new at this #1 and believe that I should be able to do 24 oz through the machines, but haven;t had time to play with it yet, I can get them at Sams as opposed to having to buy bottler direct, Sams is cheaper. I do have a couple can locations set up, bow trying to locate machines to place at them, I need 2 for sure.

The other reason, when I first got everything going with Pepsi, my rep was going on vacation. The delivery of product came as promised - my rep handled that, but the machines were almost 10 days late - the guy covering for my rep handled that. The guys from Pepsi that delivered the machines were just awesome, and they told me my rep would get it all straightened out but the guy covering for him could screw up a happy meal. LOL I do not want to find myself in a situation where I lose a location if something like this were to occur again. I want to be able to tell the client, I can have it here in a week or less and if there is an issue, bam, I show up with a machine as promised. Plus, if my thoughts are correct, more product, better price tier, and if the client insists on a Coke product for example, no issue with possibly upsetting my arrangement with Pepsi. I contacted Coke when I first started this venture and met nothing but resistance, even though I told him I own a machine that has Coke on it, he insisted they would be involved in my locations. Told him nope, you will deliver to my shop as Pepsi does, he informed me they don;t work like that, I informed him then my machine that has Coke on it will feature Pepsi. He said they wouldn't appreciate that, I told him we make arrangements for me to offer Coke products or the machine is for sale at 6K. Needless to say, haven't hear back form him. LOL It is my understanding that Coke here in Albany NY is notorious for trying to take away locations as they have a so called vending division, but I have first hand experience that they drop the ball if it involves anything other than delivering product. I just took a location from them for exactly that reason.