Sell Candy in School
If you're interested in selling candy at school to make some quick cash, you'll be pleased to know that selling candy is easy. The real trick is to make a decent profit that can be put toward the things you're saving up for.
Contents
Steps
Knowing your market
- Find out whether or not it's okay to sell candy at your school. There's no point doing this if the school specifically forbids it. If you're at a sugar-free school or a school focused on healthy eating and no candies, you'll likely get yourself into trouble with the authorities if you haven't told them and get found out. Realize that parents who don't want their children eating sugar may make trouble in such a case.
- Do some market research. What kind of candy do people at your school want? Does anybody else sell candy? You need to know everything you can in order to maximize profit.
- The most popular candy tends to be candy bars but it may depend on where you are and what the current fad is.
- Realize that you won't become rich overnight, and maybe not at all. Realizing this is your first step, because you will most likely be let down. Think small, but by all means think profit!!!
Purchasing and preparing the stock
- Save money. When you have at least $10 or more, you can go to a nearby bargain store and buy bulk packs that contain over 30 candy bars in each pack. That alone will cost you $10 or so and is a great way to invest in for starters.
- Buy only a little of any new brands of candy you want to try selling. If it is unpopular, you won't waste money and take a loss.
- Get a box that you can fit in your backpack. Put the candy inside. A box as wide and long as a shoebox is pretty good, but you may want to aim for one that's a little thinner. It doesn't have to go in your backpack; feel inclined to carry it. Take between 15 to 20 bars or bags a day of a good variety will help you maximize sales.
- List all the brands of candy in permanent marker on the lid of the box. This will save you from having to search inside the box to tell the customer the actual kinds of candy you have.
Selling the candy
- Go to school one day without your candy. Use the day to advertise. Tell everyone that you will be selling candy and that each bar will be around $1 or so. That way, they will come to school with money and ready to see what you have.
- Sell the candy each day thereafter. Sell it on the bus, in the cafeteria, even during class, if people really want the candy! (But don't get in trouble.)
- Stay on top. Eventually, people will try to sell candy too. You need to make sure they don't. Get better product and deals than them, and run them out of business.
- Take a break from selling, every so often. You may find that interest declines after a while and so do your profits. Take a break from selling, then come back with specials. Buy three bars, get one free. Create a bar-a-day club where customers can buy a bar each day Monday through Thursday and get a free bar on Free Friday.
- Expand your employees. Is anybody interested in joining you? If so, hire them. You could hire a supplier (makes candy) and a distributor (sells candy). That way, all you do is sit around and manage the money. Eventually, people could even work for your distributor or supplier.
- Gain more ground. Try to get distributors in different areas. Do you have friends in another school or neighborhood? If so, you could potentially get more profit off of different people.
- Save the money you've made for whatever you want!
Tips
- Bring a couple of dollars in ones each day to break $5 and $10 bills. Being able to make change will result in more sales, because people are more willing to spend the singles you give them.
- Don't sell during the first few days of school. Make sure you're nice to your teachers and they get to like you. Don't get a reputation for being someone who gets in trouble or doesn't do their homework. This way, when you decide to sell the candy later, the teachers will like you and are far less likely to turn you in or tell you to stop.
- Watch out for all of the teacher assistants! They can really hamper business and will take your goods.
- Never trust people if they say they will give you the money tomorrow unless you know they are trustworthy.
- Be polite to your customers.
- Don't feel restrained to bars! Experiment with Skittles, sour keys, gummies, M&M's, etc.
- Do not buy too much candy to start. Sometimes other kids don't have money or don't want candy. Demand will go up as you business gets more known.
- Don't advertise by using notes or posters; a pesky person could run up and show the paper to the teacher, which means trouble.
- Most of your profit will be in quarters. Roll them up using quarter wrappers and take them to the bank. You can deposit them in your account (if you don't have a bank account, now would be a good time to open one) or cash 'em up. Avoid using "Coinstar" type machines. They may be easier to use, but they may take some of your profit as a transaction fee.
- With chocolate, put the candy in the fridge when your home. You don't want it to melt!
- Always put your box in your locker if you can't carry it. You don't want to unwittingly give out samples.
- Sell and advertise that you sell candy for less than the student store; you will get more buyers.
- Try to make friends with substitute teachers. They should let you have free access to selling candy in that class.
- If you have to, sell candy undercover so that teachers don't find out.
- In class, sell candy during movies, lectures, in the computer lab, and easily during runs in PE to avoid teachers' seeing you.
- Sell to a few people you trust its less risky but make a lot of money.
- On holidays, especially Valentine's Day, jack up the prices by a quarter. You'll have more sales and profit during the "giving" time of the season!
- Make friends with teachers that go easy, as they might buy from you or even let you sell in their classes.
- Think up an excuse/backup plan. If you're caught by the teachers, you'll need a good story or plan. Make a good friend a lookout in return for candy, etc., or have a special place to hide it, like under rocks in your friend's locker. Pay him or her a little each week as compensation.
- Carry quarters, nickels, dimes, and pennies to break change.
- Advertise your product by telling your friends, and asking them to tell their friends.
- If you hate math class, try guessing the amount of money you would make if you sold a 30 bar box of candy every 2 weeks at $10 for about a month. Measure the profits and the non-profits. It will look to the teacher like you're paying attention.
Warnings
- Never fall for "I'll give you the money tomorrow." They never do.
- Always be cautious of the stealing type.
- Never have more than $10 on you so that you don't lose too much if your money is confiscated. If you have no choice, then keep the candy and money in a separate place or deny having the money altogether. If you have to, say you gave it to a friend.
- Never eat your merchandise, no matter how much you crave it.
- Don't show strict teachers! They will find any way to prevent you from selling candy. Try to get past them unnoticed.
- Don't give anyone a free sample.
- Don't carry money with you at all times; carry quarters, nothing big.
- Be wary of kids who tend to hang out near yard duties; they have better sight and tend to care more than yard duties do.
- Beware: If you are doing this in high school, you may be mistaken for selling drugs, and the police may get involved.
- Beware of kids in the lower grades; they are more likely to snitch.
- Be sure to have a safe hiding spot for your money and candy. If you store the money and candy in your locker, be sure to lock it at all times! You will most likely be robbed.
- If you aren't supposed to be selling candy, do not make a stand. Stick with a sign and a box, easy to fold up and hide.
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