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COINMAN QUESTIONED
I read your magazine's article
on the "Coin man of the Month in
your December issue more than a
week ago. I find that I still have a
desire to comment on some of the
claims made by the operator. My
intent is not in attacking Mr.
Pasziewicz, but in improving the
quality of article content in your
publication. We rely on publica-
tions such as Play Meter as a
source of accurate and realistic
information on our industry for
use in improving our own opera-
It
tion.
I can only compare the accura-
cy of your reporting to my own
operation.
However, my pre-
sumption is that efficiency im-
proves as the operation grows.
My firm operates about five
hundred combined music and
game machines. I employ only
eight people and only have eight
vehicles for an operation one-
third the size.
My average
location gross is about $50.00.
Let's now structure a hypo-
thetical operation of 600 music
and game stops which would
yield a weekly gross of about
$30,000. Let's pay 130 employees
$150 per week and an owner $500
per week.
Let's replace 600
phonographs every eight years
(at a rate of 75 per year or $2740
per week ). Let's plan $1200 per
week for parts (4 percent of
sales). Let's buy 3 records a
week for each machine ($1296).
Let's lease 80 vehicles at $110
each ($2030 per week). Let's buy
one tank of gas for each vehicle
And let's figure our
($912).
employee payroll taxes and other
benefits at a conservative 8
percent of payroll ($1600 per
SPECIALISTS
ARCADE
A rcades
BRUNSWICK Karate
AlARI lrak 10
S9I5
AlARI Jet Fighter
!Hi
IRi
ATARIJaws
ATARI AntrAlrcraft
IRi
ATARISteeplechase .
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KEE Formula K
IRi
MIOWAYRacer
915
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MIOWAY Gunlrght
.. 14!li
MIOWAY Seawoll
1:Hi
EXIOY Oeeth Race
. 11!li
EXIOY Oeslrucllon Oerby
.1145
MEAOOS Cobra Gunship
MEAOOWS BombsAwey . . ............. 845
MEAOOWS Orop Zone 4
IRi
RAMTEK Baseball
... fBi
RAMTEKTrrvra
.. . ...........
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. 1245
RAMTEKHIIMe
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.....
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u.s BILLIAROS Shark ...
US BILLIAROSArr JalAlal
.1Ri
FUN GAMES Tankers .
J!!i
FUN GAMES B,·Plane
IRi
GREMLIN T rep Shoot
, ..... · ........ 915
GREMLIN Play Ball
... ... . ... . .. 845
.. fBi
CHICOIN Speed Krng
ALLIED Super Shifter .... . . ... . .... 645
· ..
~
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~
~
...... ... fBi
Guns
CHICOIN Coney Island
CHICOIN Rille Gallery
CHICOIN TWIn Skeet
CHICOIN Commando ..
CHICOIN 1 rep Shoot
CHICOIN Oelender
CHICOIN Hunt Club
MIOWAY Haunted House
MIOWAY Gang Busters .
ALLlEO Knock Out
WILLIAMS Flolilia
COMPUTER GAMES Big Twrn
COMPUTER GAMES Big Ouke .
COMPUTER GAMES S'x Shooter
$11!li
.. .. J!!i
.. 545
. ... :Hi
:Hi
245
J!!i
245
545
fBi
.245
.. !Hi
.. J!!i
.. fBi
Cockt ail Tables
445
OIGITAL Knock Out
..
...... 445
OIGITAL Ping Pong
.fBi
US BllllAROS SurvIVal
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U S BlllIAROS Shari<
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KEETank
OVER !":Il USED FLIPPERS IN STOCK, REAOY FOR
IMMEOIA TE DELIVERY I CALL COllECT .
[In the article, Mr. Pasziewicz
opposes 2S cent play on music.
He states that his phonos are on
two for 2S cents with some lower
class locations set on three for a
quarter. He said nothing about
his pricing on games .
Your hypothetical operation
using Mr. Pasziewicz's figures
fails to take into account the fact
that with his 130 employees and
80 vehicles he also runs a 1600
piece cigarette machine route, a
juU-line vending division and an
office coffee service. Therefore
to properly apply Mr. Paszie-
wicz's figures to your hypotheti-
cal operation, w hich is purely
music and games, you would have
to discount the employees and
vehicles that are used in other
areas.
Assuming that half of his 130
employees and half of his 80
vehicles are used to run his
cigarette and vending routes and
the office coffee service, you wiU
get quite a different picture. The
new bottom line figure would
read $12,243 in the plus column,
each week. I bet '!IOU could buy a
lot of games with that. -Ed.]
ADVANCE DISTRIBUTING CO.
TEL: (314) 652-1600
2820 N. GRAND BLVD .,
ST. LOUIS , MO. 63107
NSM Sa le., Pa rt., Service I" The U.S .A.
~~------------------------------------~
12
week).
On t he bottom line we still
have $222.00, but we haven't
bough t games, licenses, two-way
radios. We still haven't rented
two offices and paid the tele-
phone, heat, lights, water and
vehicle repairs.
Only about 15 percent of my
phonographs are priced less than
two plays per quarter. In the last
six months we have converted
about 20 percent of our flipper
games to one play per quarter
with great success. Perhaps part
of our hypothetical operation
should be a consideration for
sensible pricing at two for 25
cents on phonos and one for 25
cents on all games. After all, if it
isn't profitable, it isn't worth -
while.
Harmon D. Woodford,
President
Calarko Music Co., Inc.
Lancaster, Ohio
DEATH RACE
I would like to personally thank
you for the kind words yo u had to