Crimson Tide Posted May 30, 2011 Share Posted May 30, 2011 I have a couple of questions for the group related to buying product for bulk candy machines. (1) Are the wholesale stores (e.g., Sams, Costco, BJ's) really the best/cheapest source of candy for bulk candy vending? (2) At my local Costco's, where I have purchased all of my candy to date, I am only able to purchase boxes that contain, for example, Skittles in 36 individual packages. The time that it takes to open each of these individual packages to fill just one four canister bulk machine is a real drag on productivity. Where can one buy candy in bulk (and cheaply) that can be readily poured from the original container to the machine canisters without the need of opening multiple individual-sized packages? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PnutGallery Co. Posted May 30, 2011 Share Posted May 30, 2011 I have a couple of questions for the group related to buying product for bulk candy machines. (1) Are the wholesale stores (e.g., Sams, Costco, BJ's) really the best/cheapest source of candy for bulk candy vending? (2) At my local Costco's, where I have purchased all of my candy to date, I am only able to purchase boxes that contain, for example, Skittles in 36 individual packages. The time that it takes to open each of these individual packages to fill just one four canister bulk machine is a real drag on productivity. Where can one buy candy in bulk (and cheaply) that can be readily poured from the original container to the machine canisters without the need of opening multiple individual-sized packages? I have not found any one place that is cheapest on everything, but buy at Sam's Club, Quill Office Supply, and from my gumball and toy supplier. My toy supplier is usually a little bit higher, but when you factor in the fact that I can get it all in one stop it is sometimes worth the extra $. If you can find a supplier you can pickup at vs paying shipping that is also a big plus. Try to find a few locations on the way and it really works well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havending Posted May 30, 2011 Share Posted May 30, 2011 I have not found any one place that is cheapest on everything, but buy at Sam's Club, Quill Office Supply, and from my gumball and toy supplier. My toy supplier is usually a little bit higher, but when you factor in the fact that I can get it all in one stop it is sometimes worth the extra $. If you can find a supplier you can pickup at vs paying shipping that is also a big plus. Try to find a few locations on the way and it really works well. Do not buy at ANY bulk supplier. I hate to see this guy going to gimballs. com or some re seller site. Use A&A, cardinal, Big apple, and S&B in fact S&B has the over all best bulk candy prices. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crimson Tide Posted May 31, 2011 Author Share Posted May 31, 2011 I have not found any one place that is cheapest on everything, but buy at Sam's Club, Quill Office Supply, and from my gumball and toy supplier. My toy supplier is usually a little bit higher, but when you factor in the fact that I can get it all in one stop it is sometimes worth the extra $. If you can find a supplier you can pickup at vs paying shipping that is also a big plus. Try to find a few locations on the way and it really works well. Thanks for the comment. I had never heard of Quill Office Supply before reading your post. I ordered a single head machine from them today! Do not buy at ANY bulk supplier. I hate to see this guy going to gimballs. com or some re seller site. Use A&A, cardinal, Big apple, and S&B in fact S&B has the over all best bulk candy prices. A&A, cardinal, Big apple, and S&B - I will investigate those sources. I appreciate the information. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havending Posted May 31, 2011 Share Posted May 31, 2011 I wouldn't order machines from quill. There prob sega or similar and they are junk Your in md right? What city? You have the largest bulk supplier in the world in your back yard I'd use them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
agrantha Posted May 31, 2011 Share Posted May 31, 2011 Also Stop buying Skittles and buy Runts instead. The profit margin on Skittles is the pits. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crimson Tide Posted June 3, 2011 Author Share Posted June 3, 2011 I wouldn't order machines from quill. There prob sega or similar and they are junk Your in md right? What city? You have the largest bulk supplier in the world in your back yard I'd use them I'm in Ellicott City, MD, just west of Baltimore. Forgive my ignorance of what you mean by "the largest bulk supplier in the world" in my back yard. What place do you mean? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havending Posted June 3, 2011 Share Posted June 3, 2011 A and A global is in cockysville they are the largest suplier there is to bulk vending. Machines, toys,candy,retal,plush they have it all. They you have cardinal over near dundalk they are a huge toy and cap suplier Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hillbilly Posted June 3, 2011 Share Posted June 3, 2011 I'm in Ellicott City, MD, just west of Baltimore. Forgive my ignorance of what you mean by "the largest bulk supplier in the world" in my back yard. What place do you mean? Man, you can just drive over and pick stuff up. How sweet is that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crimson Tide Posted June 4, 2011 Author Share Posted June 4, 2011 Man, you can just drive over and pick stuff up. How sweet is that? That is phenomenal. Cockeysville is only a 40 minute drive from my home. I'm going to contact them as soon as possible to get details on pricing and pickup. This could turn into a real game-changer for me in this business. I definitely appreciate the the information! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BorderJerry Posted June 4, 2011 Share Posted June 4, 2011 They are having an open house, great opportunity to meet and learn. Also might be able to find vendors with used equipment in your area... http://www.aaglobalind.com/open-house/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crimson Tide Posted June 11, 2011 Author Share Posted June 11, 2011 I took a day off from work (my regular job) and went to A&A Global Industries today, 17 Stenersen Lane, Cockeysville, MD 21030, hoping to to get a break on pricing based on my ability to do the product pickup myself (i.e., no shipping). What a disappointment. Before I went to A&A, I did some comparison shopping on Quill.com. As an example, Quill sells Runts for $47.99 (30 lbs.) + $9.99 for shipping + tax. Total cost = $60.86. A&A sells 30 lbs.of Runts for $60.18. A savings of .68 - wow! The gas that I burned driving to A&S cost way more than that. The price of $60.18 at A&A is the on-site, do it yourself, in-person, pickup at the factory price. The pricing differential for PM&Ms is essentially the same. The salesperson to whom I spoke at A&A even admitted that he would advise me to buy over the internet from certain of A&A's competitors for selected candy types. Crimson Tide Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hillbilly Posted June 11, 2011 Share Posted June 11, 2011 I wouldn't be so disappointed. If you start vending toys, picking them up can make a huge difference in your business. I'm probably sitting on about $1500 worth of inventory right now because it takes me at least 4 days to receive them. Shipping on heavy items like bouncy balls and machines can be expensive. So can toys. 1" toys average about $3 a bag to ship. 10 bags is $30 worth of shipping. Even though it didn't work out for you today, use what you saw and learned while you were there to help yourself grow. I'm sure you can use it to your advantage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havending Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 I wouldn't be so disappointed. If you start vending toys, picking them up can make a huge difference in your business. I'm probably sitting on about $1500 worth of inventory right now because it takes me at least 4 days to receive them. Shipping on heavy items like bouncy balls and machines can be expensive. So can toys. 1" toys average about $3 a bag to ship. 10 bags is $30 worth of shipping. Even though it didn't work out for you today, use what you saw and learned while you were there to help yourself grow. I'm sure you can use it to your advantage. If your on a 1500 dollar inventory for a four day lead then you should be full time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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