marysbuyonline.com

First I am referring to a mobile door to door icecream route in North Florida.

These are facts:

There are limited suppliers or distributors so all vendors are aware of the inventory cost of other vendors, assuming they are treated equally by law, and there is no reason to think otherwise, because they are regulated.

If you are a low cost vendor it is necessary to have at least 50% of product sold profit just to stay in business (with no profit for earned income.) Prices don’t matter, you have to sell an average of 50% profit on all items SOLD per hour. Any item you sell at cost will result in no profit and will be the most prolific sales item. It will consume mileage, time, etc. Example: Small icecream cups that are retailing at 75cents each to maintain profit for delivery, packaging, and manufacturing. If for instance a vendor sold ½ of their hourly sales in this product at no profit or at cost, then the following would happen.

If you are a mobile peddler door to door you have a minimum of 37.5 cents cost per mile for gas, insurance, repair, service maintenance(understated). Since the vehicle consumes gas at idle you can triple or quadruple your gas allowance per mile consumption. You can only turn off the engine if you have an external generator or house current or the icecream will melt.

A way to compute cost is the average speed on the road is 50 mph. Your expense is rated at 37.5 per IRS mile for 50 miles or $18.75(this is not gas only-it is insurance, maintenance, repair, and gas) per hour. With an icecream truck your engine is wide open at idle because of current pull, like an A/C would do, but you have to compute expense hourly not by the mile. So you minimum cost per hour is $18.75, no matter how many miles you go.

So if a single vendor in excellent health and much experience can sell $50.00 per hour door to door due to time Using the figures below is the break down for a vendor to go into debt.

Sold in one hour: $50.00

Cost -25.00 in inventory for replacement if mark up averages 100% of sold items

Adjusted Gross $25.00 per hour

Vehicle expense -18.75(not gas only)

Profit per hour 6.25 hourly wage before expenses which include freezer replacements or service, $500.00 annual licenses, office supplies for recordkeeping, taxes(Sales tax on novelty icecream would be $3.00 per hour paid to the State of Florida) and expensive electrical supply system, generator or inverters, plus exposure loss of damaged product at 3% of sales.

If a vendor sells ½ at cost and ½ at 100% markup and sells $100.00 per hour

Sold in one hour: $100.00

Cost for inventory sold at cost - 50.00

Cost of ½ sold at profit - 25.00

Adjusted Gross = $25.00 per hour

Vehicle expense -18.75 per hour(not gas only)

Profit per hour 6.25

and you are back to $6.25 per hour profit for 2 people before deductible expenses.

There is also the possibility that other vendors use switch and bait tactics where they advertise ridiculously low prices, but sell only a limited quantity per day, but have the buyers come to the store for the low item and buy a higher priced substitute with the belief that all the prices are low. This way they only need occasional reinforcement of supply for the gullible to stay loyal and be used.

So one would ask “Why did you stay in business for ten years?” Several reasons:

1- I had a supplier that sold to me below cost of most local suppliers, but I still charged local market prices for many years, but that supplier is no longer available

2- Gas was less than half of what it has been for the past 2 years

3- Older vehicles as I started with required less investment recapture, cheaper repair parts, and I had an on hand free mechanic who was a student. Newer vehicles require more investment recapture, more expensive repairs and parts, and more specialty mechanics.

4- Downsizing to the choice customers. These are the most intelligent of consumers and gracious who realize you can’t provide a vehicle and gas and time to deliver icecream at fast food store prices, who do not have delivery expense. If they could make money delivering door to door they would hire someone to do so, I am sure, just as grocery stores would get in the business of delivery.

So you ask “What is the point? Why don’t you quit?” and I say “Because I came up with a better plan for people to get novelty icecream delivered daily, when the people want it. A plan that will work for all small communities. It is the start of the computer generation supply and demand. Is it before it’s time? Maybe. But those with computers(laptop best) can ease the inexperienced into the wave of the future. Game finesse can be converted to employment finesse, with huge savings on self employment opportunity. Several ways to do this.

You can provide a desktop in a easy entry room of your home, and allow people to look at the menu with your help. They prepay, and you deliver.

You can print a catalog of the items you want to deliver, and promote them to your customer delivery base.

You can give the web address to all of your computer savvy friends to buy from you.

You can cater to special church or civic events, family reunions.

You can deliver anywhere pizza orders are delivered (offices, schools, no soliciting housing or neighborhoods) places mobile vendors cannot reach.

You can drive around, or use a sign on your bicycle, backpack, whatever to promote the website in general, and all orders in your area will be forwarded to you for commission and delivery.

With current icecream routes, any mobile vendor can move in on you. With this website you are guaranteed exclusive areas to promote that others cannot manipulate with fake prices to steal your customers.

It is more profitable than mobile vending because:

If you deliver $50.00 an hour, which would be 5 deliveries of $10.00 you would not have any of the expenses associated with selling such as a commercial vehicle, commercial insurance, selling permits and state licenses, no website expenses, and no wasted time driving or delivering single items, and less risk of small children unsupervised getting injured. You would work close to home. Use daily transportation means, and have the backup of walking fast, if you lost your transportation temporarily, and still have employment. And gas would not be a major cost factor as in door to door peddling, so you would be less affected than commercial vendors.

You get to set your own delivery hours based around your other activities(school, part-time other, medical considerations, childcare, etc.)

So what kind of profit do you make and I make. First I will not buy icecream for you to sell and collect the cash to pay me. You will buy the icecream at the selling price less 30% discount. All the delivery money collected is yours to keep and re-invest in inventory. This is more profitable because you actually get to recognize a 30%commission on all sales. I earn my 20% by providing a sales method that does not require a commercial mobile vehicle by the delivery only personnel, commercial insurance, does not require special licenses and permits, is not dependent on weather, and since this is food not for immediate consumption because it is sold on the web, savings of 6 ½ percent state sales tax. You will have email backup on all orders placed through the site. If you deliver icecream that is not emailed ordered, COD , through the site, you are peddling without a license and can face a substantial fine.

So what if you decide to order half of your inventory from me for sales rights and half directly from the supplier? You will have to pay 20% commission on all orders exceeding the retail amount purchased for resale through the website . You will pay 6 ½ % sales tax on all purchases direct from the distributor. So you will be paying 26% instead of 20%. Same if you decide to buy all direct from the distributor. If you deliver icecream that is not sold on line you will have to collect sales tax, have a peddler license, etc, or deduct sales tax from the listed delivery price at your expense. Any fraudulent use of the website will invalidate any exclusive rights as a delivery representative. You must be 16. No criminal history. Have computer skills, math skills, and be self motivated, and entrepreneurial attitude of positive thinking, and time investment to establish a business.

Why I drive a commercial vehicle is for promotional purposes, to maintain income while establishing alternate sales methods, and keep my current customer base informed on choices available, and options for employment.

There is also the need to provide realistic, non manipulated prices and information to those whom are so easily used by the unscrupulous whom would say any disreputable tactic is fair in competition. I do not believe that, nor do I endorse it. For comments you can email me at mary@webicecream.mobi