New to vending - seeking advice and guidance.

[Ade]

you wont be able to avoid paying site commission unless you donate to help for heroes or another charity. the site will have no intrest whatsoever in your machines. Also its worth noting that when you do pay commission the site takes more intrest in your machine, ie they will phone you if it breaks down or needs topping up. i really wouldnt worry bout getting sites to sign anything. you wont get far with that, everyone is way to cautious about signing contracts and it will not open a lot of doors for you. other than that spot on, be careful with any franchise company, they will tell you what you want to hear, but when you decide to go independant it will be a whole new story.

Ade

[Ade]

you wont be able to avoid paying site commission unless you donate to help for heroes or another charity. the site will have no intrest whatsoever in your machines. Also its worth noting that when you do pay commission the site takes more intrest in your machine, ie they will phone you if it breaks down or needs topping up. i really wouldnt worry bout getting sites to sign anything. you wont get far with that, everyone is way to cautious about signing contracts and it will not open a lot of doors for you. other than that spot on, be careful with any franchise company, they will tell you what you want to hear, but when you decide to go independant it will be a whole new story.

Ade

[Eustace]

Ade, thanks for the input. Sounds like my idea might not translate well in practice, then? I can see advantages with the franchise route, but I wouldn't want to go ahead with a franchise unless I was allowed to place 2/3 additional machines independently. I've run the numbers, and franchising doesn't work well unless you can add your own machines.

I know these messages can be read by third parties, but I've raised the query with a franchisor and I have nothing to hide. I'd rather be out and in the open and do things transparently.

[Centurion]

Hello,

I'm new to vending, and just starting out. First, I want to congratulate you all on this website and Forum - you're doing great work.

Having carried out my own research, read this website, and spoken to a couple of franchisors, so far I've come to the following (tentative) conclusions:-

1. It's best to go independent, though a franchise might help in the beginning as long as you understand their business model and can make a swift exit down the line.

2. Source high value product (lowest cost, longest-lasting).

3. Have the site-owner sign an exclusivity agreement, when and where possible.

4. Try to place 2-3 machines at each site, with a mixture of sweets, savouries and other items (e.g. toys).

5. Actively manage your sites and make improvements, and where necessarily, move to a different site. Use a spreadsheet to monitor performance.

6. Control costs and minimise the time investment by keeping sites as close together as possible.

7. Try to focus on sites that will not insist on a commission payment.

8. Focus on geographic areas that lack market penetration by competitors and use e-mail, leaflet drops, cold visits and social media to raise awareness.

9. Maintain a friendly image and don't burn your bridges with site-owners. Always leave a business card and follow-up, even if the site-owner isn't interested there and then.

10. Take advice from others already in the business and forge business relationships with suppliers and competitors.

I'm new to all this, so please add anything that you think is relevant. The above are the Ten Rules I intend to adopt in this business, but I'm sure it will change as I receive advice and input from members of this forum.

What I'd like to do initially is make use of an independent site-finder. I'm based in West Yorkshire. Is there anyone in my area who might be able to assist, please?

I'm looking to work cautiously at first, maybe put in place one site at a time and build things up slowly to begin with.

Thanks in advance to anyone who can help. I hope to reciprocate and help others as I embark on this journey.

Hi Eustace. Whats your name Where are you based We're based in Essex. Regards Alan.

[Eustace]

Thanks. I'm from West Yorkshire, but I'm sure we can help each other. By all means PM me if you want to chat. I have a few novel ideas but would value bouncing things off more experienced/wiser heads.

[Ade]

Ade, thanks for the input. Sounds like my idea might not translate well in practice, then? I can see advantages with the franchise route, but I wouldn't want to go ahead with a franchise unless I was allowed to place 2/3 additional machines independently. I've run the numbers, and franchising doesn't work well unless you can add your own machines.

I know these messages can be read by third parties, but I've raised the query with a franchisor and I have nothing to hide. I'd rather be out and in the open and do things transparently.

its not you hiding stuff from the franchisor thats the prob, its them hiding stuff from you

Ade

[Eustace]

Too true, sadly.

[Venderbase]

Hi Eustace,

Watch out for 12 month franchise agreements. They might not seem too bad to begin with, but you don't know whats going to be in the next edition in 12 months time that you must sign.

Also, don't look at commission being a bad thing. If the site is happy because he's getting money for nothing, then you get a good relationship with them.
The none commission/charity sites will always be the dregs after the 20% commission payers have had their pick. (With the odd exception)

[Eustace]

I'll give the commission angle some further thought. But there is something about this that puzzles me.

Put yourself in the shoes of a site-owner. If we assume an average monthly take of £30.00 per machine, then 20% is somewhere between £72.00 to £216.00, depending on the number of machines.

Do people really jump at that? I just don't see how you can sell it, and even then many machines will take significantly lower than the average.

Maybe at 40-50% commission, it starts to look like serious money as long as you have sited multiple machines at the same location, but this is over the course of an entire year, so the monthly or quarterly payments are still going to be chicken feed. For instance, 50% commission on £30.00 average take with three machines works out at £540.00 p.a. or £45.00 p.m.

Wouldn't a small business owner just pay the overhead and put their own machine in???? Maybe the reason they don't is because they don't want the added overhead and they see it as free money? I can understand that to an extent, but when you think it through, it makes more sense for the site-owner just to run his own machine.

Perhaps in a garage or office or dentist's waiting room, and the like, it makes more sense to use a vendor because those people just won't want the hassle of self-managing it, but if I owned a shop or cinema or something similar involving retail, I'd wonder whether the money going into the machine could be going into my till, and maybe from there I'd reach the conclusion that 50% isn't enough! Why not 100%? Yes, it would involve an initial investment, but if you're a retailer anyway, then it's just a diversified part of your business, and if vending works so well, then why not?

Sorry if I'm not seeing something obvious.

[Rossi fan]

Hi Eustace,

The none commission/charity sites will always be the dregs after the 20% commission payers have had their pick. (With the odd exception)

I disagree with you Daz. Many of my H4H sites are excellent. I agree, site type is key however.

Paul