Starting up

[sweetsaremylife]

Hello

I am thinking of supplying a few sites in London. Would like some advice as to running costs.
I know there's income tax, stock and site commission but is there anything else which should be considered? Public liabilty insurance?
Also, as a rough guide, can anyone suggest what sort of commission would be appropriate for certain sites?

Much appreicated

sweetlover

[Kev@kevs/testaplug]

Hi, new to this myself, I have found the guys/girls on here great for advice, but also just phoning the suppliers is great lots of advice, Hurleys were brilliant and very forthcoming with advice. I need a new notepad now! Good luck KEV

[Snackmore]

You need public liability insurance (roughly £100 a year) also remember you have to buy your stock in advance. You have to allow for fuel, breakdowns, spares etc. There may (some dont have) accountant fees, I pay £300 + Vat a year.

Depending what machines you put out, average tower sites are 20% commision, some pay more if you have a Pringles as well, bulks are normally 25% and large vending machines you negotiate at the time

[dorsetvending]

Try to buy products with at least 9 months sell by...will leave you with little waste.

[sweetsaremylife]

Thanks.

I am thinking of getting a few coin op towers to begin with

Would like to know what people's thoughts were on going with a supplier such as Hurley's or tubz vending rather than finding sites myself. Bear in mind I am new to this so I thought it would be a good idea to use a supplier first off and learn from that experience before I try approaching sites myself.

Also does anyone have any experience with this in London? Would be good to know how saturated the sites are

[dorsetvending]

Buying sites from sweet suppliers ties you in to buying stock from them...some people like this others dont. They both offer cheap site finding....I am pricier as a site finder but see the sites on the ground warts and all....difficult to do over the phone.

[sweetsaremylife]

I dont like the fact that these site finders operate by telesales. Surely you can't always judge how good a site is without visiting it?!

I am less concerned with being tied into buying stock from them as, from what I have seen online, they all seem to be priced the same roughly (that is tubz vending, hurley's and getting stock/containers/labelling yourself). Also, how likely are the suppliers to find out whether you have been using someone else and are they likely to do anything except hassle you on the phone a bit?

[dorsetvending]

Drop me your number, I can help you with site finding independent sites. Helped a few of the guys here. My last trip netted 22 sites all door to door in 5 days. Tiring but fun!

[part-time-operator]

its always best to do site finding yourself. it takes time, but if you are relying on tele-sales you will waste a lot of time from going back and forth, the only thing worse than a site saying yes to a tele-sales and rejecting your machine when you get there, is when they take your machine and you have to go back and pick it up the next day when the real boss arrives!

so don't expect tele-sales sites to be easy, they're very variable and come with their own headaches and you'll still have to do some persuading when you deliver the machine.

if you havent got time to do all your own site finding, independent site finders are much better option because if your business grows you will really appreciate the ability to pick and choose where you get stock from.

In the long run you will save more from swapping suppliers and getting better prices, even if you pay an independent site finder a bit more. and its much much better if they are going round in person because then at least you know the machine is going in and its a decent site. that will also save you time going back and forth, and a better site will earn u more obviously.

you can save a lot of money by packing certain products yourself, but you'll have to decide whether its worth it for you. sometimes when there are offers you can save a lot of money doing this as long as u dont pay too much for the pots.

[PGBrew]

Hi there,

I operate towers in London. Give me a call if you wish. There is a lot of potential in london but a lot of people operating there as well.

Pete
07920 260 960