New in Bulgaria

[BG760101]

Hi guys,

Been looking at the forum for a while now - definitely interesting enough to join, so here I am!

I started operating here in Bulgaria something over a year ago on the Black Sea Northern Coast (Balchik). I bought from, BUT did not actually sign any contracts, with tubz vending and NOT signing turns out to be the best thing I could have done with this company. I have read a lot of what has been said about them on here and agree with all of it. You can e-mail them and (IF you get a reply), you can wait so long for the reply, you've forgotten what the question was . Exactly the position I am in with Simon Smith right now. Anyway, enough about these "industry leaders"

Recently, I have been working with Mike Sheppard at Midland Vending - now there is a real professional.

Anyway, enough of this - I look forward to having some interesting discussions with you guys. I haven't seen that anyone on here operates outside of the UK and, if I am right, I can assure you I have more or less the same successes and failures as you do in the UK.

Well, I've gone on long enough for an intro

ATB, George.

[Coin Operated Group]

HI George,

Great introduction!!!

How does site finding work in bulgaria? do they telesale for you?

Is there any competition in bulgaria?

PS.... glad you did your research and didnt sign a contract

[BG760101]

Hi Matt,

Thanks for the welcome .

tubz vending doing site-finding for me in Bulgaria tubz vending, as you probably know, are not interested in doing anything unless it immediately impacts their bottom line positively, ie selling more products and machines.

Before buying from them, I personally went round a lot of local cafes, bars, restaurants etc to gauge the no of machines I would be able to place. In the event, half of them having said yes initially, then just backed down when the eqpt was actually here. Bulgarians do that a lot. A lot just flatly refused free money. I could never work that one out. Anyway, through my own efforts, I have sited some machines, but nowhere near as many as I thought I would. I have just started on working selling small bundles to other people in other areas to get rid of some machines, but have yet to see how that works out.

THERE IS NO TOWER COMPETITION IN BULGARIA So, if you want an open arena to work in, this is it, mate - get over here pronto

There are crane grabs and beaver type machines, but no towers anywhere to the best of my knowledge. Still, business ought to be better, but isn't. I am also in property and many Bulgarians, strangely enough, would rather let their houses rot than sell at a decent price. 6 years ago, one of my sellers was offered 80K Euros for a half-finished structure, which was a good price then - he wanted more and didn't get it. Now it has fallen down!! Oh yes, the Bulgarians are a strange lot

I never knew how the business was going to go here, so I just refused to sign anything tying me into buying certain amounts, etc. I would do that with any business, but with tubz vending, it was an exceptionally wise decision

[Coin Operated Group]

How many towers have you managed to site then? & how come you moved to bulgaria??

[Snackmore]

Hi mate welcome aboard from abroad!

Went to Sunny Beach about 15 years ago staying in a top hotel when Bulgaria was not very popular and very cheap, had a fab holiday and couldn't spend my money!!!! Everything was so cheap. I remember the rep telling us the average wage at the time was £30 a month hence why everything was a bargain not so sure now though? Surely there is enough sites in the tourist areas for you? Why not buy some stock from Hurleys or Sweetfix (get a quote from both) and hit these areas big time. If there is no competition you should be very successful particularly if you speak the language.

Good luck

[BG760101]

Hi Matt,

Right now, I've got 12 sited out of 50 Could site more, but wouldn't be cost effective from the point of view of travelling.

I came out here in 2004 to sell property, which I also used to do in Russia and Malta. This was fine till the crisis and then it all went belly-up. Then I started a speciality British food shop (I don't know if I can post the link here?) If you like, I could pm it to you. Food vending was an adjunct to that.

Business is very bad here and the crisis has hit far worse than the Uk. Still, I expect we'll live

Hi Steve and thanks for your welcome,

I really hate Sunny Beach - such a rip off. You'll sure as hell spend your money there if you come over now. The average wage now is only a little over a 100 quid. I LIVE in a tourist area, but the Bulgarians are strange and some just refuse free money. Having sited some machines in good locations in shaded areas, we find that some will move them into direct sunlight and it has hit 50 degrees here this summer. Some do it because they are not too bright and some do it on purpose, but either way, this destroys a whole machine's worth of stock, so I've lost a few sites this way - I now have some deep indentations on my knuckles and there are a few Bulgarians walking around fairly toothless

Getting stock is not a problem, but getting good sites is, though you would think, on the face of it, the opportunities are there. Things in Bulgaria are far, far harder than you might imagine. Having said that, I would like a price list from sweetfix - you wouldn't happen to have an e-mail for them? I don't speak Bulgarian, but do speak Russian - as they are similar, I understand most of it. However, my girlfriend is a Bulgarian-speaking Russian, so, in the end, it's not language that is a problem, but Bulgarian mentality. Things should get better, so I'll give it all a little while yet.

ATB, George.

[Coin Operated Group]

George, you can post whatever links you like.

Sweetfix & hurleys are both members on here and im sure they will contact you regarding prices.

[BG760101]

Thanks, Matt.

I like to be sure of forum etiquette first in order to avoid doing anything silly and possibly being banned!

For anyone who is interested, the link is http://www.britishlionfoodstore.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;.

ATB, George.