The 9 best-selling products

[Quinch]

I am about to make my first order for stocking tower vending machines and would really like to know what people think are their 9 best-selling products as this will be a great help in deciding which products I should order.

I realise what sells well in one site might not in another, so there is no right or wrong answers. I have already had some much appreciated advice from members here about their best-selling products but I thought it would help me and anyone else new to vending if as many people as possible would simply list what their best-sellers are......

These are some of the products I have had suggested:
Minstrels, Skittles, Chocolate Mini-Eggs, Fizzy Mix, Jelly Mix, Fizzy Cola Bottles, Strawberry Pencils, Bon Bons, Tutti Frutti Bottles.

Thanks in advance to anyone who contributes.

Quinch

[dorsetvending]

Add into equation the most profitable lines - give this extra weighting when u consider your lines. Branded products are way too expensive imho as once u add Vat+associated costs u may only make 20p a tub

Add mixed pencils to your list too!

[Snackmore]

I find Minstrels, Skittles, Chocolate Mini-Eggs, Fizzy Mix, Strawberry Pencils, Assorted Pencils, Jelly Beans,Bon Bons are best sellers. I also self pot some Maoam chews with refreshers, Love Hearts and fruit salad that sell really well (top seller). Strawberry pencils sell better than anything bought in , double up on your order of them.

I have not tried Tutti Frity bottles and find cola bottles very slow. I tried jelly mix but again very slow compared to the others. I also tried honey nuts, they are a waste of time and bloody expensive. I have just bought some Hurleys fruit pastels and shall see how they go. Didn't have a lot of success with the Rowntrees ones and they ran out of date I also thought that 3 little tubes looked a rip off for a pound, maybe thats why people didnt buy.

With delivery my average cost is 38p a pot which leaves 42p gross after commision and you are giving the customer what they want also.

[Rossi fan]

Add into equation the most profitable lines - give this extra weighting when u consider your lines. Branded products are way too expensive imho as once u add Vat+associated costs u may only make 20p a tub

Add mixed pencils to your list too!

Hi Gavin,

20p per tub. Who are you buying from! Branded products outsell others 10-1 in my machines and I have stats to prove it, so it is a no brainer really. I agree with the other selections and Assorted Pencils.

One other thing I would add, is dont buy new products if a particular site has asked for them. Do research and see if other sites would buy them first. I fell for this when I first started and I ended up binning stock.

Thanks,

Paul

[dorsetvending]

How much are you paying per box for branded?

[Rossi fan]

Hi Gavin,

£35 + vat for both Minstrels and Skittles. I look at my margins from a different perspective. I average out the profit made overall, when you take into account the cheaper products against the dearer ones. If you order larger orders, then the average cost of the individual product is lower also. I then look at my standing costs and mileage allowances etc and arrive at my average profit per tub.

Thanks,

Paul

[valiant016]

I only sell two branded products, Choc Mini Eggs and Skittles.
That way my purchase costs stay at a reasonable level.
The other best sellers are Fizzy Cola, Jelly Beans, Mini Pencils, Jelly Mix, Choc Raisins.
When I attend a site over two or three vends I note if a particular product is not selling and either double up a good selling product or try something new.
So in some sites, Bonbons or Strawberry Pencils or Rhubarb and Custard go okay!

Also, in some hotels I have been asked to provide a savory snack.
Cashews are the most popular, but very expensive!
So I usually go for Salted Peanuts or Hot & Spicy, but I have two sites where Pimento Olives go well.
Basically, try the main products but be adaptable!

Valiant

[glennborthwick]

i find skittles better than minstrels but only use them in poor performing sites. In good sites I sell more strawberry pencils and jelly mix than anything else and they are such a cheap line 28p in the machine instead of 44p. We've had the discussion many times so each to their own. Another thing to consider is that if all costs do go up 10% 44p becomes 48.4p whilst 27p becomes 29.7p. The gap just gets bigger and bigger.

[Rossi fan]

I have tried the no branded items approach, but it did not seem to work. I would rather sell 9 minstrels than 3 jelly mix. At the end of the day, for me its about the overall profit I make, so I dont like to over worry about managing others tastes. I like to see lots of sales, no matter which product is gone and that to me is a good sign that I am doing things ok.

I think each person has to try different ideas and then settle on what works best for them.

Thanks,

Paul

[Vendingwarehouse]

If you are selling lots Paul does that not mean you are managing others tastes.In a lot of our machines, we only carry 7 products and we double up on the two most popular. With our sales records this allows us to visit less often and save on diesel and wages. I got sick of being told that a machine had run out , only to find it was only the two most popular lines that were gone. That doesn't happen any more. We stock
Skittles x 2 lines
Minstrels x 2 lines
Chocolate mine eggs
Fizzy Cola bottles
Fizzy mix
Jelly mix
Mixed bon bons.
We also carry Strawberry Pencils and sometimes Fizzy cherry bottle in case we're asked for something different. I am long past the stage of carrying too many lines. These are our best sellers which give us the best sales mix. I can't see me changing any of these for a while as there is no decent replacment. Anyway the Irish taste buds don't seem to vary much.