Coin Machine Review (& Pacific ...)

Travel the Royal Road to Revenue
. With Salesboards
It was eight o'clock in the morning when
Frank, the salesboard operator, loaded his
car and told the office girl, "I'll be back
late this afternoon. I'm working the Pine-
dale and Centerville districts. There's a
list of all those locations on your desk; if
any calls come in, you can figure out just
about where I'll be and phone me."
First stop was at the Great Way Cock·
tail Lounge. Frank brought in three
boards. On his last trip he had placed two
on the counter and left a third for reserve.
The extra one was now half punched while
the original two were empty. Frank spoke
pleasantly to the proprietor, made his col·
lection, and left three more.
He turned toward the door, and as he
did so, the shiny siIrface of the bar caught
his eye and he suddenly became aware of
how tired he was.
The bartender hailed him. "Hello,
Frank, how's it going?"
"A little rough," Frank replied, squat-
ting on a stool. "Make it a bourbon and
soda."
The initial nip served to tinge his' in·
nards with warmth. "I need a little reo
laxation," he told the bartender. "Make it
the same."
Two hours passed. Each drink tasted
just a little better than the preceding
one.
"How's the punch board business these
days?" the bartender asked as he mixed
Number Seven.
"Oh, pretty good." The glowing liquid
had unsealed the operator's tongue. "You
know, as a 'matter of fact, it's darn good.
Made twenty bucks yesterday. Only work
five days a week. You know something ?
It's the best business I know of where a
fellow can make such good profit on such
a small investment. And you know some·
thing else? It's a sweet deal. A fellow
doesn't have any mechanical worries. No
service calls. The investment for each spot
is small. Collections don't take much time.
lust a small car to make calls. And an-
other good thing is that there is no special
Federal tax. It's wonderful, just wonder-
fuL"
The bartender nodded and kept refilling.
At' three o'clock the phone rang. "Hey,
Frank, it's for you," the proprietor called.
Frank pulled together his sagging torso.
Slowly-oh, so slowly-he groped his way
to the booth, clutched the receiver.
"I've been calling all over for you ," came
the exasperated voice of his offi ce girl.
"Whassamatter ?"
"Nothing," she retorted, "except that
Harmony Lane, Skippy's and The Friendly
Inn called and said they are out of boards.
Skippy's said if you don't show up pretty
soon, they:ll ~et someone else who'll give
better servICe.
,
"Oh the hell with 'em," Frank said. "I
can get all kinds of spots, What time is it,
anyway?"
"It's nast three, and if-"
"Well, it's too late to call on all of them
today. I'll get the rest in the morning."
* * '"
Don' t thipk the above story (which is
a true incident except for fictitious places)
is an isolated occurrence. It happens too
often in the salesboard business, Because
the operation is so simple and returns so
lucrative, the punchboard man sometim es
cannot resist the urge to dally or be "a
good Joe." He does not realize that sales-
boards are an important auxiliary, of the
coin machine business and that every
branch requires good service to hold lo-
cations and insure continuance of steady
revenue.
Outstanding feature is the small invest-
ment required. A man with average busi-
ness acumen and common sense need have
no special training to make a success of
this venture, One hundred dollars starts
the beginner with 25 or 30 boards. With
100 boards a man can garner a good liveli-
hood. An operator with a coin route will
find punchboards a profit-swelling addition
to his line. He can replenish and collect at
the same time he services other equipment,
.There are three principal types: (1)'
The average pay-out or "jackpot" money
board, (2) Definite pay-out money board,
(both of these remunerate the winners in
the form of cash or trade) and (3) the
merchandise board.
Veteran operators recommend the former
for beginners because the investment is
more nominal ap.d less merchandising ex-
perience is needed.
"
Money boards cost tOll operator $1.68 to
$16.95, depending on type and size. Years
ago one called "Charley," with a five
dollar jackpot, ·became popular. Leading
manufacturers changed the name to
"Jackpot Charley," upped the top pot to
$25, and for the past half dozen years it
has been a steady source of profit. A
1,000-hole "Jackpot Charley" can be pur-
chased for $1.54 (thin) or $1.98 (thick).
An average profit chart for a 25-cent sale
"Charley" follows:
Gross
Average pay-out
$250.00
198.02
Average Profit
Less 50% comm.
51.98
25.99
Gross Profit
Less Cost Brd.
25.99
2.00 (Maximum)
Av. Net Profit
23.99
The reason "average" appears repeatedly
in the above figures is that there is no way
of knowing at what stage the jackpot will
be hit, thus invalidating the balance of the
board. The grand over·all average, com-
piled from years of experience, indicates
th at half of the board is holed before the
jack is potted.
The most important single factor in
stimulating money board play is setting th~
pay-out high enough to encourage repeat
business. Fifty to 80 per cent of the total
gross should return to customer pockets.
Many newcomers, anticipating a quick
clean-up, utilize a too thin proportion of
pay-hacks and then wonder why succeeding
boards in the same spot do not punch out
very quickly~
An operator must use keen judgment in
determining the denomination for each
location. For example, in some cases a
small cafe which caters to a less prosperous
clientele would do a greater volume of
business with a five or ten-cent board,
while a cocktail bar would be ide for a
fifty-cent one.
Ten years ago the popularity of money
boards hit a dangerously low ebb and
manufacturers, in a frantic effort to re-
su~cita te the business, hit upon the "step-
COIN
MACHINE
REVIEW
15
FOR
DECEMBER.
'946
AVAILABLE NOW FOR DELIVERY
SALESBOARDS
SPECIALS-IMMEDIATE DELIVERY
Hole.
Name
Profit Price
1000
1000
600
1200
25c J. P. Charley (Avr. Profit) $ 52
250 J . P. Chas XXThk Pro-Avr... 52
250 Barrel Winne .. XThk, Det. .. 45
250 J. P. Tex. Chas, Thk-Pro,
Avr. . ..•................•..•................. 102
2000 5c Lu - Lu-B elle-XXThk-Det . ...... $ 23
$1.56
1.98
2.39
28
28
3.28
3.54
30
3.95
ISOO:: ~~
1000
1: Avr. ~: .................................•...........
E~~~: -::~r ~~tt~Ii·.;~·
5c J. P. Big Apple·Thk.Prot ••
Avr. .............................•...............
1020 10e J. P. Gilded Baby·Grlle·
Avr.
..........................
1340 50 J. P. Moon Gazlng.Grfle.
Avr . .............................................. $
1200 50 J. P. Strip Poker· Thk-Pro .•
Avr. .................................•...........
1080 50 J. P. Let'. Have Fun·Thk.
Pro· Avr. ....................................
2268 10c J, P. Barrel Jackpots. Pro·
Avr. ..............................................
1347 IOc J. P. "0 .. 0-0·0" Glrlie-Pro-
Avr. ..............................................
2.50
$3.14
56
3.98
34
$3.99
30
3.99
27
3.99
82
4.98
80
5.98
Write for "New Wholesale" Bulletin.
(9 years specializing in the finest bds.)
I-'EGALSHARE SALES
Box 86-R
Huntinc;Jton Beac:h, Calif.
(Phone 2842)
The Sensational New
ACE COIN COUNTER
Counts • Packages - Wraps
lc • 5c . 10c • 25c coins
Combines all the features of the big
machines plus added advantage of
small, compact size.
Weighs only 7 pound.
Counts 1200 coins a minute
Complete with c:arrying c:ase
and money tubes
$139.50
Sold only in our allotted teTTitor),
Exclusi'JIe A ce Distributors Southern C alifornill
Southern Ne'JIada and Arizona
All Phones: Drexel 4326
BADGER SALES CO.
1612 W. Pico Blvd ••
Los Angeles 15. Calif.
J