Condom Vending

[washme1]

What has been your experience selling condoms? I have a large chilled glass front vendor and have found candy bar sales to be slow. My car wash is a 5/1 in a blue collar area. I can buy 40 pack of Trojans at Costco for $12, was thinking of selling them three to a package. Any ideas on best way to repackage? What's a good price point?

 

[Ghetto Wash]

What has been your experience selling condoms? I have a large chilled glass front vendor and have found candy bar sales to be slow. My car wash is a 5/1 in a blue collar area. I can buy 40 pack of Trojans at Costco for $12, was thinking of selling them three to a package. Any ideas on best way to repackage? What's a good price point?

It seems like chilling them would ruin the moment,

 

[washme1]

It seems like chilling them would ruin the moment,

I hadn't thought about that...maybe I should consider warming them but then I'd have to remove the cold drinks and candy. However, I could post a sign advertising WARM CONDOMS.

 

[Red Baron]

Here in the bible belt it would hurt business. One of the first lessons my dad tauight me about business when I went to work for him 31 years ago was to never smoke in front of the customer. He would say: You can't offend the customer by not smoking - if he smokes and you don't light up he won't be offended, but if he doesn't smoke and you light up, he will be offended.

Course, I don't/didn't smoke so it didn't matter.

Condoms may offend 2% of my customers, or 10%, but they won't offend any of them if I don't vend them.

 

[Buzzie8]

My first thought was that I would find used ones in my parking lot all the time. If they go through my automatic and use my top 9 minute wash then maybe it will be worth the clean-up.

 

[harleygrant]

I sell 4 packs for $3.25 out of my vend. I can't keep them in stock.

 

[MudMoney]

I sell them in 3 packs for $3.00 and business is good.Never had any negative feed back in 15 years.I catch more flak over my anti-Obama bumper stickers

 

[Bill Manke]

Personally I can't imagine that being a very good image for a car wash. Even if they sell well. you gotta draw the line somewhere.

 

[harleygrant]

Personally I can't imagine that being a very good image for a car wash. Even if they sell well. you gotta draw the line somewhere.

Give me a break......REALLY!!!

 

[Bill Manke]

Give me a break......REALLY!!!

Sell what you want. I could care less. But in my area I don't see why you would want to. Gee you sell alot of them well great.

 

[harleygrant]

If you could "care less", why did you make a comment in the first place?

 

[Red Baron]

If my wash was in Chicago where there's an endless supply of potential customers, that'd be one thing. But here in a small town in the south it would be a net negative for sure. Probably a big one. And it might foster the wrong sort hanging out at my wash.

Not to equate the two, but I agree you have to draw a line somewhere beyond what is merely profitable. If not, why not vend vibrators and blow up dolls? And why stop there, French Ticklers would probably sell better than Armor All so why not ditch the Armor All and go with a complete line-up of sex aids? Because it's a car wash, that's why. There's probably a Walgreens and an adult book store nearby for the other stuff.

But hey, that's the beauty of America; everyone gets to run their wash any way they want. It's like I've been known to tell the jerk who chews me out because I won't allow him to blast nails out of his pickup bed all over the place: Sir, in this country when a guy ponies up his own money to build a business he gets to run it how he sees fit - if I want to put a sign out front that says I only allow customers who're wearing purple pants, either go get yourself some purple pant, or go elsewhere.

 

[washme1]

If my wash was in Chicago where there's an endless supply of potential customers, that'd be one thing. But here in a small town in the south it would be a net negative for sure. Probably a big one. And it might foster the wrong sort hanging out at my wash.

Not to equate the two, but I agree you have to draw a line somewhere beyond what is merely profitable. If not, why not vend vibrators and blow up dolls? And why stop there, French Ticklers would probably sell better than Armor All so why not ditch the Armor All and go with a complete line-up of sex aids? Because it's a car wash, that's why. There's probably a Walgreens and an adult book store nearby for the other stuff.

But hey, that's the beauty of America; everyone gets to run their wash any way they want. It's like I've been known to tell the jerk who chews me out because I won't allow him to blast nails out of his pickup bed all over the place: Sir, in this country when a guy ponies up his own money to build a business he gets to run it how he sees fit - if I want to put a sign out front that says I only allow customers who're wearing purple pants, either go get yourself some purple pant, or go elsewhere.

Red,
I understand what you and Bill M. are saying and I've tried to look at it objectively. My opinion is that by offering condoms in a way that is inconspicuous, I am helping people avoid unwanted disease and pregnancies. I doubt that any young person is going to start having sex because condoms were available in my vendor.

 

[Red Baron]

Red,
I understand what you and Bill M. are saying and I've tried to look at it objectively. My opinion is that by offering condoms in a way that is inconspicuous, I am helping people avoid unwanted disease and pregnancies. I doubt that any young person is going to start having sex because condoms were available in my vendor.

Agreed.

I work hard to run off the 2% of customers who're jerks and who present negatives that amount to more than the money they spend. I work just as hard to not run off anyone needlessly over politics and moral issues. I won't lose any customers by not selling condoms, but I might lose some if I do in this little town where rumors spead at the speed of light...or faster.

I'm a walking talking contradiction, I realize that.

Just last week I sent an e-mail to the local chief of police to make sure my proposed readerboard message wouldn't offend LEOs:

PSSST, THERE IS A POLICE
CAR UP AHEAD
PULLING OVER DIRTY CARS

Btw, last week's readerboard message:

VOTE VOTE VOTE
OK, MAYBE JUST ONCE

 

[ibspuds]

Are you freaking kidding me? If someone has to buy condoms out of a machine, their up to no good. Do you have no morals, that you would support such a thing? Are you that desperate for income that you have to resort to this. Give me a break! May GOD bless your soul!!!!

 

[Jeff_L]

I would sell them in my vending machine. However my 13yr old and 10yr old often help me stock it, and I'm just not ready for that conversation yet. It is fast approaching though....

 

[MudMoney]

wow! Now this has gotten to be a moral issue. so buying condoms in a supermarket is different? plenty of sex going on in cars and not just teenagers. just providing a product in a time of need,lol.

 

[Red Baron]

I would sell them in my vending machine. However my 13yr old and 10yr old often help me stock it, and I'm just not ready for that conversation yet. It is fast approaching though....

So imagine some other dad's embarassment when he sends his 13 year old son to the vendor to bring him back a Little Tree, and the son presses B3 instead of B4 and comes back to dad with a ribbed Tojan Enze.

By the way, it's both a moral issue and a business issue. How many condoms does one have to sell to make up for 1 offended customer?

 

[Randy]

I have a friend in Southington Connecticut who tired selling condoms from his Shurvend vender. The last time I talked to him about them he wishes he had never put them, he wasn’t selling very many of them and he's gotten a lot of crap over them.

 

[harleygrant]

Are you freaking kidding me? If someone has to buy condoms out of a machine, their up to no good. Do you have no morals, that you would support such a thing? Are you that desperate for income that you have to resort to this. Give me a break! May GOD bless your soul!!!![/QUOTY

You have to realize that it is 2010 and not everywhere in the U.S. is bible thumping territory like your area. There are not any kids having sex in my parking lot either. All I know is that when my machine is out of them, I hear about it. Other than that people could care less and think it is a good thing