How much do these vendors really actually make??

[bogeyjim]

Starting to delve into DIY and I was just wondering what these guys are actually making??

I know no one knows for sure, but are the owners of these shops actually supporting their lives with just juice vending?

People like AVE and Vermillion, and Halo??

What do you think these companies make a year?

Not trying to pry or get personal, it's just something I've been thinking about.

Jim

 

[Lyndagayle]

If you have Scubabatdan's calculator, there's a sheet on it that will calculate to the penny what it costs to make any size bottle you want, based on the price you paid for your materials. The profit margin is nothing to sneeze at. I was paying $16.00 for 30 ml of juice that I make myself for $2.49 per 30 ml. I got some real good prices on my base mix and flavorings. That's a substantial savings, yes?

 

[salemgold]

You have to remember that the vendors also have employees, rent and many other items to pay for from what they make. I feel sure that much like most businesses some to most probably make enough to support themselves and family.

 

[Lyndagayle]

True Salem. Then there's the cost of their labels, bottles etc. I reuse bottles that I saved from my commercial juice.

 

[martinc]

Even though I DIY,I also buy pre-made juice...got to support them and most are really reasonnably priced...and its convenient.

DIY is fun and rewarding when you nail a flavor though

 

[AzPlumber]

You have to remember that the vendors also have employees, rent and many other items to pay for from what they make. I feel sure that much like most businesses some to most probably make enough to support themselves and family.

In addition they have the occasional "lost shipment" and "taste like soap" replacements.

 

[thinkingaboutit]

You have to remember that the vendors also have employees, rent and many other items to pay for from what they make. I feel sure that much like most businesses some to most probably make enough to support themselves and family.

Some do, but I really picture this cottage industry as having most of the vendors working out of part of their home. I am sure places like ecb and VR and the big guys have more overhead...but also more customers. I could be totally wrong, but I could see lots of them operating out of a few hundred well organized square feet, not warehouses.

 

[salemgold]

Some do, but I really picture this cottage industry as having most of the vendors working out of part of their home. I am sure places like ecb and VR and the big guys have more overhead...but also more customers. I could be totally wrong, but I could see lots of them operating out of a few hundred well organized square feet, not warehouses.

Very true but we all know how time consuming it can be to mix juice. Especially without a dedicated space to do it in when you have to pack up and unpack all of your supplies. Time absolutely has value IMO. No way would I mix up even several orders of juice a day for little or no profit. Except for friends and family.

 

[babemomlover]

Very true but we all know how time consuming it can be to mix juice. Especially without a dedicated space to do it in when you have to pack up and unpack all of your supplies. Time absolutely has value IMO. No way would I mix up even several orders of juice a day for little or no profit. Except for friends and family.

That's part of the reason it amazes me when vendors custom make juice per order
If I were a supplier I'd make liter jugs of juice at a time.. LOL

 

[Ralikar]

Yes, you're overlooking how easy this is on a larger scale. Suppose I was Ralikar's Johnson Creek and I wanted to start my own secret recipe and make it really easy to mass produce:

100mg nic 100% PG is $57 at WL for 500 ml...
1500ml of PG from WL is $30
Making a 25% nic PG solution of 2000ml
10% VG is about $5
Making 2200 ml of base 22.5 nic
Now if you use a 15% secret blend of Capellas which is way expensive 120ml (4 oz) costs $20... so you'd need about $60 (3 bottles) in flavors...


Which gives you 2530 ml of juice...
Which gives you 84 bottles of juice
At $20/bottle for 30ml you've made $1680
-1$/dropper bottle...


So for $209 in cost on the easy to make side you've made $1600 in product. And customer pays for shipping. Once you know the ratios, you probably want to test your nic from the supplier, dump all into sealed vat at once and steep.

You're making a ton of cash/batch. Even more with bulk discounts.

Hmmm... this DOES make me want to make "Ralikar's special vape"... Hmmm....

 

[babemomlover]

You're making a ton of cash/batch. Even more with bulk discounts.

The only problem with this batch idea is that everybody likes different concentrations of nic.
Maybe make an overflavored nic-less base and then add pg/vg concentrated nic mixed with 0mg pg/vg to obtain desired concentration?

Just an idea.

There's probably better ways, as well, just haven't thought about it too much xD

 

[AzPlumber]

Ralikar, you also need to factor in the costs for bottles, boxes, tape, labels, advertising, forum dues, website fees, Insurance, business phone line(s), taxes and probably a few other costs if I put more thought into it. Running a business, even a small home based one has lots of unseen costs.

 

[Ralikar]

Well,

I certainly understand that. However, the point is that this is a huge source of profit. You're not talking some product with a small profit margin. I saw some local vendor selling their DIY for $9/10ml. Obviously, it takes time to get established but all the costs you speak of escalate as you grow. The reality is you can whip up stuff in your basement--I already covered bottles, get some labels and packing stuff and make some cash. You don't grow from my basement to JC in a week. I'm simply saying that it's news to ME now that I'm doing some DIY how much mark-up there is in some brands. This isn't some small mark up industry. I found it a surprise that I could easily for $30 on my first DIY make better flavors then the 120$ I would have spent on juice. This whole wholesale juice and buy it in China for $1 and sell it for $15 industry is making people some cash. And, remember, these juice companies start supplimenting their business with MORE stuff they buy in China for low prices and make more cash just in peddling goods along with the juice.

I was just looking at the DIY aspect for fun not the whole business. I wouldn't do it cause that first lawsuit or someones kid dies cause of your juice=no house I also wanted new DIY people to see how much $$ they can save pretty easily...

 

[KLOWDED_JUDGMENT]

Lets not forget that not all juices/flavors are winners, some of these are not of my liking, sure I may buy a couple of 10mls on a whim to try some new flavors usually 1 of 5 I would purchase again. Then maybe 1 in 20 makes it to my must have list, then comes the DIY if I fall in love (figure of speech!) with a flavor and they don't provide discounts of any kind and it is pricey I start looking for a less costly alternative, if I can't find anything that measures up I start on DIY if I nail it, its "Hey I had a great time" but I'm good... of coarse I'm a bit bias and jaded because I am in situation where I've blatantly asked for some sort of discount without response, so I am very close to DIY this particular flavor and may buy 1 more bottle at 10ml/13.00 w/shipping but then Ima Goner. Quality & Consistency is a whole nother topic. Hmm Well I'm feeling better

 

[KLOWDED_JUDGMENT]

Hmm, just read my own post, Could it be I am CHEAP ; /

 

[bogeyjim]

I feel the same way about Boba's. I LOVE that stuff but its over 20 bucks a bottle shipped and I can kill a bottle of that stuff in a week. Let alone the 3 carts it kills that week cuz its so thick!

My project is to get close to that one so I can save some money both on juice and cartos (make it 70/30 PG/VG). Nothing against the vendor, actually I praise Ben for coming up with that insanely addicting juice, personally though, 21 dollars for a bottle of juice is a bit much for me is all. If I could afford that, then that's all I'd vape , all day everyday, but I just can't!

But back to the original question, are these guys doing well enough to not have part time jobs? Enough to pay the mortgage, etc, etc?? I would think yes, but hell what do i know!?

 

[DaveP]

Compared to a mall vendor who pays really high rent for a kiosk or small retail space, the profits are larger if you can operate mail order only. Still, you are operating a business that will need employees if it grows. I suppose one person could start it off and add people as volume increased. Still, there are fixed costs as well.

I'd say they make above average profits if they are competent business people, but I don't see them driving Mercedes and living in $1M homes during the first 5 years. I don't see it as a lifestyle of the rich and famous, just a solid business opportunity, but only if you advertise and create return customers.

Otherwise, it's somewhat equivalent to a lemonade stand. We wouldn't all become soft drink moguls, but a few would gain widespread fame for their unique recipe if they were smart business people.

 

[AzPlumber]

Very well put DaveP

 

[Woody-GC]

The other denominator of operating this type of business is the aspect of change. I have been around vaping a mere 5 months and I can not believe all the changes that have come along in just the hardware. Wow, next month we may be vaping a completely different base of chemicals that are better for us or cheaper to produce or the eastern countries flood the market with 3.00 a 30ml bottle of e-liquid which they could probably do now.

 

[Myk]

Don't forget the part where if you are running a cheap countertop business as soon as you get some popularity the FDA can put you out of business or require you to spend a ton of money getting up to code.
You'd better be putting those "massive" profits aside for that rainy day or they will be very short lived.