dperry Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 I have been trying to figure out of late, exactly how well a mystery mix does compared to straight mixes. I have a number of very slow selling items (jewelry mostly), that I put into a general mix. I then toss in some more premium items like figurines (monkey, alien, malz, mania) to help make them more desirable, and sell them for 25c. I usually use the mystery mix in locations where I have only 2 heads; one for gumballs and one for the mystery mix. I'm finding that this doesn't really sell as well as I'd like, so I'm rethinking things. I generally make mixes out of other items, but keep them in similar categories. I mix all the monkey items together in one mix (monkey 'n around, funny monkey, and monkey head danglers), and the aliens (planet-x, glow-in-the-dark, and alien invasion), and I make a Sticky/Streatchy/squishy mix with a&a's sticky mix and stretchy pests. So what I'm thinking is that I should keep the different premium items separate (don't add any to the mystery mix) and then toss in some of the other items into the premium items. For instance, I'll throw some rings and/or sweet tattoos into the mini-malz, classic tattoos into the ninjas, glow sticks in with the aliens, etc. I guess the whole reason I'm doing this is just to get rid of some really horrible selling items. Jewelry is my worst selling category. Thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpvnc Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 DPerry: I have been having good success with a mix of these items. A couple hand fulls of each except the last one. A&A fun time mix , funny monkeys, the little planet X aliens, alien transformers, silly bands, 27mm balls and some general mix from top notch toys which is the bulk of the mix. Maybe it is just a perceived value problem for your area. but at 25 cents you should be selling a bunch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dperry Posted May 25, 2011 Author Share Posted May 25, 2011 Maybe it is just a perceived value problem for your area. but at 25 cents you should be selling a bunch. How does it compare to your standard mixes? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hillbilly Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 I mix everything together as well. I try not to leave the mix in a location for more than 2 cycles. The key is to keep them interested in the new stuff. I alternate locations that way I always have places to get rid of the junk. I bought some display cards from A&A for $1 each and padded them with bubble wrap and cardboard on the back. Use a hot glue gun to glue on some toys. I'll change up the display every now and then too so the kids think they are getting new stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minivend Posted May 26, 2011 Share Posted May 26, 2011 I bought some empty clear plastic caps from actionmatic and put $1 bills in them. Only two or three and this helped move the mix faster. Also, if the location will participate, you can put a couple of coupons in for something free at that spot and then pay them cost. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dperry Posted May 26, 2011 Author Share Posted May 26, 2011 I mix everything together as well. I try not to leave the mix in a location for more than 2 cycles. The key is to keep them interested in the new stuff. I alternate locations that way I always have places to get rid of the junk. So what you are saying is that you treat the mystery mix the same as any other mix, and rotate it out periodically? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpvnc Posted May 26, 2011 Share Posted May 26, 2011 The mix I was speaking of is 25 cents 1" caps. I cap some of the same products and use them in a 2" mix also which is .50 cent. I put 2 27mm BB in some caps, silly bands, silly bands with a power band added in cap, power bands alone, I put fun time mix 1 product per cap. also I throw in a couple 45 mm BB and a few jumbo sticky hands. Thank God I am almost out of silly bands but I still see kids wearing them. One thing I also wanted to say sales on this stuff is good and steady but is no where near what a great seller will pull in a month. I feel that I have to sell product that is lying around it is money that is tied up. I am also capping monkeys and aliens BB, and sticky hands myself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dperry Posted May 26, 2011 Author Share Posted May 26, 2011 I'm starting to think that the way to get rid of slow moving items is not to create a mystery mix so much, but to add similar junk items into premium selling items at about a 10:1 ratio. Just like how I have gotten rid of alot of my fortune dice by adding them to the funtime self vend mix. Or adding mini-malz to mania items. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpvnc Posted May 26, 2011 Share Posted May 26, 2011 What is funny about this whole thing is that each location seems to be independent. What sells well at one location does not sell well in another. I think weather we want to admit it or not. The clientel of each location dictates what we should target to sell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antoniocinisi Posted May 26, 2011 Share Posted May 26, 2011 I keep mystery mix @ .25 in some of my racks at all times.I target any item available that is .6 cents or lower in price shipped or slow sellers and displays I break apart.I find deals on caps on ebay or from members on here or sometimes wal mart has smaill items on clearance often for a penny or less each,that I cap myself.I keep it in a big box and add to the mix and stir it as I find stuff.A and A had some good stuff on sale lately I stocked up on.I dont throw much premium items since its at a quarter and most of my 1 inch is at .50,but on occasion I`ll throw something in. I recently put out 2 new racks with .50 cent mystery mix and it did well too.I might put a bit more premium items in those heads.I put a few bouncy in my mystery mix and you defenatly have to have the dice.I use A and A globals mystery mix display. @dpvnc:is it worth capping sticky hands since they are so cheap? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hillbilly Posted May 26, 2011 Share Posted May 26, 2011 Darryl: Yes I treat it just like another selection and rotate it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jax Snacks Posted May 27, 2011 Share Posted May 27, 2011 I found that I need more “chaser” items to make the mystery mix sell consistently. A junk/mystery mix with just a few chaser items is similar to whip cream on a pile of crap. Increase the whip cream and sales usually improve. I have always liked the “mega mix” concept where you take products from the same “family” (such as aliens, jewelry, zoo mania, plastic balls, etc.) and have just one product offering in the bowl. It creates a larger variety and the kids tend to either want to collect them all or just spin for certain items. Each head has one (and only one) family to minimize the heads and maximize diversity on the rack. Some other vendors, including myself, like to also water down a mega mix with cheaper products to lower the overall average cost. But I also try to keep the watered down products in the same family. So a Zoo Mania mix could also have some lower cost animal erasers or animal stickers for example. Some vendors may simply (or blatantly) throw in some super balls as a filler item, but I don’t want to go there except for the mystery mix. I now like the idea of using the self vending products similar to the Fun Time mix (i.e. the whip cream) and watering that down with the unwanted products or cheap “junk” or even super balls (i.e. the filler crap). Oh, and I don’t really worry about the super balls sinking to the bottom! I keep the cream-crap mix at a 50-50 ratio and it looks good in the bowl. I also eliminated the display (except the choking hazard label) since those balls and dice make a nice colorful presentation. I saw this type of setup in another rack in a buffer restaurant and it was moving nicely and even better than most of the other “stand alone” products. Still refining this mix, but I think this will probably be my new “mystery” mix going forward. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dperry Posted May 27, 2011 Author Share Posted May 27, 2011 I have a separate self-vend mix that I use and it does well. I made my own with A&A's self vend items, including the spinning tops (not to be confused with the flipping tops). I have some locations where this mix sells out of a super80 every cycle. I've started throwing handfuls of the self-vend mix into my mystery mix as well. But I like having a mystery mix and a self vend mix because it gives me a bit of diversity too. I can either have one each on a large rack, or switch one for another in a rotation. Optionally, I have found that the soccer balls or at the very least the sports balls do very well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpvnc Posted May 27, 2011 Share Posted May 27, 2011 Antonio: With less than 100 machines in the field I feel my freight savings is worth it . I order bulk acrylic rings,monkeys,aliens, self vend mix,grow animals, sticky hands and they pack them in a small box for 10.00 freight. As I grow I will stop capping but I order small quantities at the moment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dperry Posted May 31, 2011 Author Share Posted May 31, 2011 Antonio: With less than 100 machines in the field I feel my freight savings is worth it . I order bulk acrylic rings,monkeys,aliens, self vend mix,grow animals, sticky hands and they pack them in a small box for 10.00 freight. As I grow I will stop capping but I order small quantities at the moment. I once bought a case of 2" mini-malz and adopt-a-puppy and they sold horribly. I ended up uncapping the 2" ones and putting them into 1" caps and adding them to the mania mix. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dperry Posted May 31, 2011 Author Share Posted May 31, 2011 I've rethought the whole mystery mix idea, and I've decided that for me, I'm not going to do it that way anymore. I'm going to put my slow discontinued items in with other similar items. What I mean by discontinued items, is the things I will no longer buy. Things like jewelry, rings and chains. I am going to focus on a core set of products and eliminate all the other poor choices that I've made. So what I'll be sticking with are: Erasers Figurines(DOMO, Numb Skullz, Bok Choy Boy, All Aliens, All Monkeys, ninjas) Sticky and/or stretchy pests Tattoos in caps Moustaches Grow Pets Glow Sticks NFL Stickers Self Vend Super balls And that's pretty much it. Things that are out: Silly Bands Mini-Malz Adopt-a-puppy rings jewelry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.