Chicago Coin Laundry questions

[Maria Bocanegra]

Coin Laundry questions! I am considering coin laundry in a multi-unit I am closing on . . . i have several questions I thought I'd source here in one post rather than rummaging thru the forums!

New or Used?

Buy outright or lease? Do you in turn sublease?

Brands? Resellers?

How much do you charge per wash and per dry? I am not trying to make money on this but pass on water and electric costs.

How often can you negotiate terms of leased units?

What else may I be missing here?

[John Warren]

@Maria Bocanegra I just recently decided to buy brand new to replace perfectly good, but used machines in one of my Berwyn buildings. I am using pay range to collect and will not have any coins. I have been watching this company for a while, and finally decided to take the plunge. They are charging me 3% of the collected revenue, but I never touch a single quarter! 

I would not lease machines for a small building as the companies that do this tend to not be the most reputable. 

@Dave Madoch has more experience than me with pay range since he took the plunge before me. 

[Dave Madoch]

I have been using Payrange since Nov 2019. My machines are new (SpeedQueen) and are in a 6 unit building. I feel people spend more when payment is not in a physical form. 

The software is pretty basic but gives you what you need; total coin revenue, total app revenue and # of transactions. They also give the ability to offer a basic loyalty program. 

We did have a tenant that was requesting a refund each week from payrange for no reason. When I noticed 2 months later I did let payrange know and they notified the tenant and warned them. They would not tell me which tenant due to privacy issues. 

@John Warren installed machines without the ability to accept quarters so I am curious how that goes. I go to the building every 3 months to empty quarters, although I could probably get away with every 5 or 6 months. 

[Connor O'Brien]

I bought a set (coin) from best appliances on south Ashland for $600 including install.  Seems to be working well

[Richie Thompson]

@Dave Madoch had did you get pay range installed?

@Connor O'Brien you got the address to that location a set for $600 w/installation a bargain from prices I’ve been seeing

[Connor O'Brien]

4916 S Ashland Ave, Chicago, IL 60609

[John Warren]

@Richie Thompson you can get pay range installed by the company you buy the machines from. I used Coin O Matic and the rep was Mike Dragon. http://www.coinomatic.com/

If you are buying new machines, then I think this set up is a no brainer. If you are on a budget, you can get a used set for 25% of what this setup costs so it may not make sense day one. I like that I will have zero headaches for 5 years with this as the used stuff I bought kept breaking down all the time which ended up killing my revenue. 

[Richie Thompson]

@Connor O'Brien thanks I might check out tomorrow 

@John Warren thanks I’ll check them out. Crazy how the coin operated machine cost compared to regular machines you can buy for homes. Coin operated machines sets be 2k+ easily 

[Jonathan Klemm]

@Maria Bocanegra - I dont have coin laundry in any of my units, but I'd listen to @John Warren coinomatic is the way to go.  Coin laundry is definitely a time where you get what you pay for.  Buy the higher end commercial stuff it will last way longer with hopefully less maintenance.

[Aaron Zimmerman]

I second what John Warren said. The previous owner had pay range along with coin operated laundry and it has worked really really well. 

[Jazmin Carranza]

Hey Maria. If you're going to have coin laundry, I'd strongly recommend investing in the kind that tenants can pay using a debit/credit card. It would be a huge convenience for the residents (especially now with coin shortages) plus I think coin laundry will be obsolete in the near future. 

[Silvia Garcia]

I agree with Jazmin Carranza!

I often hear tenants compleining about having to deal with quaters. 

[Maria Bocanegra]

hi all - f/u on this thread. i FINALLY closed and rehab is nearly done. Best Appliances on Ashland is literally a few blocks from my new building. I plan on visiting this week. As for Payrange, i went to their website and could not really figure out how this all works. @John Warren do you just buy the harness and attach it?

[John Warren]

@Maria Bocanegra I did a ton of research on how to do this, and then I found a place to buy the Speed Queen machines from that installs them for you! You just register them to your account and it is 100% set up when they arrive. It honestly couldn't be easier. I opted for the machines that had no coin option and I am going 100% coinless at all of my locations.