shepherdsflock Posted August 6, 2011 Share Posted August 6, 2011 Today I emptied out the coin trays for the first time on my vendstar. It is located in a Falafel restaraunt near a large university campus. The machine has only been there for two weeks, so its hard right now to tell what the long term productivity will be like. Classes are not in session right now, so a huge chunk of my customer base hasn't even seen the machine yet. The next couple of months will give me a better idea of how good the location is. This is my fist machine and I'm hoping it does well so that I can expand. My first pull today, August 6, was good for a total of $6.00. Peanut M&Ms $4.25 Reese's Pieces $1.50 Skittles $0.25 Unless sales on the skittles skyrocket when classes are back in session, I think I'll wait until they sell out or go stale and swap them out for plain M&Ms or something else. I will say that it was exciting to see actual money in my machine's coin trays. The number of quarters in the Peanut M&Ms coin tray really made me happy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dorado Vending Posted August 8, 2011 Share Posted August 8, 2011 Thats how it always is after your first time Your going to be addicted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shepherdsflock Posted August 27, 2011 Author Share Posted August 27, 2011 I serviced the Vendstar today after three more weeks. Next weekend is the beginning of college football and the whole town where my machine is will be positively nuts, so I decided to service it today instead of letting it go for an entire four weeks. So, the grand total was $6.75 for three weeks. Peanut M&Ms$5.25 Skittles$0.75 Reese's Pieces$0.75 One thing that I think had a big impact on sales this time was that the restaraunt is frequented primarily by Muslims during the summer when classes aren't in session; and this month was Ramadan (when they fast until sunset). I'm curious to see if my sales go back up in September. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buckeye Posted December 28, 2011 Share Posted December 28, 2011 So how about another update? Buckeye Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shepherdsflock Posted January 7, 2012 Author Share Posted January 7, 2012 Okay, things have changed a little bit since my last update. The falafel restaraunt never turned out very good. I think the most I made in one month was arond $10. I'll have to go through my records and post an update on how that went. So, last month I approached my employer about placing my Vendstar in the manufacturing break room. Blue collar, about 30 employees, one shift. Considering how poorly my first location went, this new location is a gold mine. I pulled $39.25 yesterday from the machine after a month and 4 days (December 2 to January 6). Here's the breakdown: Reece's Pieces: $28.25 Peanut M&Ms: $10.50 Skittles: $0.50 I'm going to switch the skittles out for something else. They were the poorest performer at my last location, too. I just have to decide what I want to replace them with. Any suggestions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treadmill Posted January 7, 2012 Share Posted January 7, 2012 Okay, things have changed a little bit since my last update. The falafel restaraunt never turned out very good. I think the most I made in one month was arond $10. I'll have to go through my records and post an update on how that went. So, last month I approached my employer about placing my Vendstar in the manufacturing break room. Blue collar, about 30 employees, one shift. Considering how poorly my first location went, this new location is a gold mine. I pulled $39.25 yesterday from the machine after a month and 4 days (December 2 to January 6). Here's the breakdown: Reece's Pieces: $28.25 Peanut M&Ms: $10.50 Skittles: $0.50 I'm going to switch the skittles out for something else. They were the poorest performer at my last location, too. I just have to decide what I want to replace them with. Any suggestions? You can try Mike & Ikes's Runts, Reg. M&M, Hot Tamales in that order. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KPHudson Posted January 9, 2012 Share Posted January 9, 2012 Okay, things have changed a little bit since my last update. The falafel restaraunt never turned out very good. I think the most I made in one month was arond $10. I'll have to go through my records and post an update on how that went. So, last month I approached my employer about placing my Vendstar in the manufacturing break room. Blue collar, about 30 employees, one shift. Considering how poorly my first location went, this new location is a gold mine. I pulled $39.25 yesterday from the machine after a month and 4 days (December 2 to January 6). Here's the breakdown: Reece's Pieces: $28.25 Peanut M&Ms: $10.50 Skittles: $0.50 I'm going to switch the skittles out for something else. They were the poorest performer at my last location, too. I just have to decide what I want to replace them with. Any suggestions? I would try Gumballs....they are always my second best seller Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shepherdsflock Posted January 18, 2012 Author Share Posted January 18, 2012 I just put 6 more pounds of Reece's Pieces in the machine yesterday (it was almost empty!), I didn't count money but the coin tray was about half full of quarters.. Man, I don't know who's eating all of the Reece's Pieces, but I hope they never get fired or quit! I actually had some Skittles sales. I didn't count the coins, but it looked like there might have been around $1.50 in the coin tray. I still want to replace them, though. I put a note on the machine letting the people know I want to replace them, and asked for suggetions or requests. Rather than just guessing, I'll see what they actually want. Peanut M&Ms were doing okay. Not stellar like the Reece's, but it looked like there might have been a few dollars in the tray. For 12 days, sales are looking pretty good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shepherdsflock Posted February 25, 2012 Author Share Posted February 25, 2012 Two updates. I've made two services since my last update. January 26, 2012 Total $26.75 Skittles $3.00 Peanut M&Ms $6.75 Reece's Pieces $17.00 February 25, 2012 Total $33.00 Plain M&Ms $4.75 Peanut M&Ms $7.00 Reece's Pieces $21.25 I switched the Skittles out about halfway through January in favor of Plain M&Ms. Looks like the switch is paying off, in less than a month I've sold more plain M&Ms than I did in a whole month with Skittles. And the Reece's Pieces are still doing awesome! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shepherdsflock Posted April 3, 2012 Author Share Posted April 3, 2012 I just serviced the machine yesterday afternoon. April 2, 2012 Total $45.50 Plain M&Ms $10.25 Peanut M&Ms $9.25 Reese's Pieces $26.00 Things are looking great for this location. I'm looking at getting into full line now. My return on the bulk machine has been so encouraging that I think I want to make the jump to full line. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KPHudson Posted April 4, 2012 Share Posted April 4, 2012 I'm really surprised the Reece's are doing so well....I've tried them in several locations and they always bomb... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dperry Posted April 4, 2012 Share Posted April 4, 2012 I'm really surprised the Reece's are doing so well....I've tried them in several locations and they always bomb... Try mixing them together with plain M&Ms. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shepherdsflock Posted April 5, 2012 Author Share Posted April 5, 2012 I'm really surprised the Reece's are doing so well....I've tried them in several locations and they always bomb... I think it has a lot to do with the type of location. My first location was a restaurant and they didn't do well there. However, when I placed the machine in a factory break room, I found that my Reece's Pieces sales alone were making more than all three heads had made at the previous location combined. I'm finding that blue collar, middle aged men have a different taste preference than children and college students. I've noticed that salty things sell very well in the full line machines in the break room and I'm thinking about replacing my Peanut M&Ms with something salty like nuts. It's kind of risky, since nuts have a short life span, a high cost of goods, and if they don't sell well I'm going to have a lot stale product to throw away. Maybe I'll test the waters for a month and see how they do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dperry Posted April 5, 2012 Share Posted April 5, 2012 In the break room at my work, there is a triple with plain and peanut M&Ms, with boston baked beans in the center. The BBBs outsell all the rest of the candy, and quite frequently goes empty. I wish it was one of my machines. It just goes to show that no one candy is universally liked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Falcon Posted April 18, 2012 Share Posted April 18, 2012 In the break room at my work, there is a triple with plain and peanut M&Ms, with boston baked beans in the center. The BBBs outsell all the rest of the candy, and quite frequently goes empty. I wish it was one of my machines. It just goes to show that no one candy is universally liked. Put on your selling shoes Darryl I'm sure you could take over that location. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shepherdsflock Posted April 20, 2012 Author Share Posted April 20, 2012 By the way, I replaced my Peanut M&Ms with Boston Baked Beans earlier this month, and they've been selling like crazy. I've probably sold more Boston Baked Beans in the last two weeks than I sold Peanut M&Ms in the last two months. Not sure if it's the initial "new" factor that you get with any new product (where people get excited for the first month and then don't buy as much), or if I really hit on something the people love. Time will tell, but for right now they're selling very well! I noticed last night that the machine is getting kind of dusty and needs cleaning, so I'm going to clean it tonight and I'll probably take a change count to see how it's doing while I'm at it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shepherdsflock Posted April 26, 2012 Author Share Posted April 26, 2012 I serviced my machine last night. Not quite a month. April 2-25. The total was $42.75. Peanut M&Ms $1.50 (Removed on April 10) Boston Baked Beans $12.50 (Replaced PMMs on April 10 with these) Reece's Pieces $19.75 Plain M&Ms $9.00 I adjusted the portion wheel on the Boston Baked Beans yesterday. After selling $12.50 the 4.5 lbs. that I had put in there was almost gone. Defintely needed to trim the portion size a bit, even though the cost of goods is low on BBB, I don't want to be giving them away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nate9303 Posted June 6, 2012 Share Posted June 6, 2012 Thanks for this post. It's been really interesting reading the changes you've made and how that has effected what's being sold. I've had great luck with Reece's. I have ten vendesign machines out and they are my best seller. I don't like to eat but I love to sell them. You've inspired me to change my setup some. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shepherdsflock Posted June 6, 2012 Author Share Posted June 6, 2012 Thanks for this post. It's been really interesting reading the changes you've made and how that has effected what's being sold. I've had great luck with Reece's. I have ten vendesign machines out and they are my best seller. I don't like to eat but I love to sell them. You've inspired me to change my setup some. Thanks. No problem, that's part of why the revenue report section exists. I need to make an update again soon. I just did my first service since purchasing part of another person's route and my route and product structuring is different. My business will be going through several changes in the months to come as I sort out what products I want to eliminate at the locations I purchased and what I want to replace those products with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shepherdsflock Posted July 2, 2012 Author Share Posted July 2, 2012 I'm due to make another update. I'll have to look at my records to get the exact numbers, but the total for June came in at just over $160. My best month yet. I have one machine that is proving itself to be a consistent dud. The month before last it made $5 and last month it made $7. I think I'll give it one more month and see if things pick up, but if not I'll be relocating it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lollerskates Lols Posted July 15, 2012 Share Posted July 15, 2012 How many reeses do you have set per vend? + How much are you paying per lb for the reeces? I think i'm going to start doing reeses instead of PMMs. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shepherdsflock Posted July 15, 2012 Author Share Posted July 15, 2012 How many reeses do you have set per vend? + How much are you paying per lb for the reeces? I think i'm going to start doing reeses instead of PMMs. Thanks. I'm not sure. It depends on the location. I have one location (my factory break room location) where I just open the portion wheel all the way on the Vendstar that I have there. I have other locations (1800 triples) where I just set the portion size toward the middle of the adjustability range. I'm not sure this really helps you, but it just depends on location. A lot just depends on what you have to compete with. At my factory break room, there is a full line vending machine selling Reese's Pieces that I have to compete with. I buy my candy at Sam's. I think the last time I bought some, I was paying $8.88 for a 56 oz. bag of Reese's. If I remember right, I gross about $32 out of that bag, or around $23 profit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shepherdsflock Posted July 15, 2012 Author Share Posted July 15, 2012 I've been promising to share some numbers, so here are numbers for the month ending in June: Factory Break Room: $42.75 Laundromat: $21.00 Mexican Restaraunt: $30.00 Pizza Place 1: $17.50 Haircut place: $14.75 Pizza Place 2: $7.00 Ethnic market: $17.66 Martial Arts gym: $16.75 Total: $167.41 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treadmill Posted July 15, 2012 Share Posted July 15, 2012 How many reeses do you have set per vend? + How much are you paying per lb for the reeces? I think i'm going to start doing reeses instead of PMMs. Thanks. Should be 12-14 pcs per vend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lollerskates Lols Posted July 15, 2012 Share Posted July 15, 2012 Should be 12-14 pcs per vend. Oh, ok. Thanks. I bought a 1.25lb of it the other day just to do some dry runs before i commit to buying any more. On the tightest settings on the machines that i have it was dispensing 11 regularly. I set another machine to the middle so that i could see/guess how much his was vending. Lol, 22-26 per vend. In that case (as far as i can tell...I did eat some since buying it. ) i'd be losing $.28 per pound. Thanks for the responses guys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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