Mall kiosk experience

[Jerrod Treangen]

Does anyone have experience with laser products in a kiosk in their local malls? We are trying to see if this would be a worth wild adventure for the holiday season. Any feedback?

[Laura Zaruba]

I have not tried a kisok, but there's another small laser company that seems to be doing quite well in my area. They do mostly marble photos but I'm starting to see some wood products. What concerns me (and should concern them I feel) is they have a lot of copyright infringement going on - tons of NASCAR, Harley, and other famous icons/logos for sale. I could be wrong, but I kind of doubt they've got the okay to sell these items.

Anyhow, they started last holiday season as a seasonal temp, ended up staying, doubling their kiosk space within a couple months then not long after got an actual small storefront in the mall.

[Aaron Koehl]

We haven't set up a mall kiosk, but I primarily cast the idea because Things Remembered offers laser engraving at all of our local malls. In retrospect this shouldn't matter, as we have many distinct products of high quality.

The worst would be being stuck with the long hours required to run a kiosk.

I'm glad you mentioned it--it's probably worth investigating.

[Lee DeRaud]

We haven't set up a mall kiosk, but I primarily cast the idea because Things Remembered offers laser engraving at all of our local malls.Do they actually do the laser stuff on-site? I would think there'd be noise issues, either with the laser itself or the ventilation/filter system.

(I obviously have a warped mind: I cannot see a Things Remembered kiosk without mentally renaming it "Needful Things". :p )

[Aaron Koehl]

I want to say the only engraving they do on site is the rotary engraving. I think they send away for the lasering.

[Mike Mackenzie]

The biggest issue with running a laser in a kiosk in the EXHAUST!! Anyone who is considering this should really investigate this issue. Smells are the hardest thing to get rid of and if you are not in an area where theres a lot of air flow People will complain!

[Bruce Volden]

I stopped at a mall with my daughter a couple yrs. ago. There was a laser engraver busy at the time doing text / photos on marble and granite. I know I never use my exhaust when doing these items. I visited with him for a good while and customers were picking up their stuff, others were dropping off photographs for him to scan. He was turning the dough and quite happy. this was in Iowa City. Personally this is not something I would want to do as I am definitely not a people person. Yes, I know, and I run a business!!??

[Charles McKinley]

In my short retail stint the malls around here will fine you if you close early when they are running their extended hour promotions, i.e. open til midnight. I don't kinow if this extends to kiosk or not but be sure to check all of that out before signing any contracts.

[Jerrod Treangen]

Sounds like there are experiences all over the board. I agree you could maybe do marble/granite on site but not much else. The long hours don't sound to intriguing either, but business is business. I guess the real question is.....is there the business to justify it?

[Chuck Burke]

Sounds like there are experiences all over the board. I agree you could maybe do marble/granite on site but not much else. The long hours don't sound to intriguing either, but business is business. I guess the real question is.....is there the business to justify it?


Jerrod,
The only way to find out if there is enough businesss to justify it is to go to the mall at their slowest time ( summer maybe?) and ask random passersby if they would be interested in your services/products. Do the same thing at the malls busiest time ( holiday shopping season?). If you do that and keep notes, you will get a good picture of whether there is enough traffic to support it. But the less tangible and added benefit that is hard to measure is the value of the EXPOSURE of your company and services to people that might need them down the road.

Just my two cents. Want change?

Chuck Burke
American Pacific Awards.

[Roy Brewer]

....... doing text / photos on marble and granite. I know I never use my exhaust when doing these items.


I don't mean to be a smart aleck, but I didn't want to let this go by as "acceptable."

I believe all the engineers will agree that you should certainly have your exhaust on when doing marble and granite. Airborne particles of this material are not at all friendly with any laser engraver's mechanical & optical components.

[Jerrod Treangen]

Chuck...very true about investigating the worst case scenario by visiting at the slow times. I have done this and it appears there is interest. Do you or anyone have first hand knowledge of an actual kiosk and how they did when up and running?Some have offered that a retail store may be more bang for the buck?? Ideas??

[Chuck Burke]

Jerrod,
I sent you a pm pointing you to someone that has vast experience in the "mall kiosk" market.

Chuck

[Jerrod Treangen]

Chuck,

I did not get the PM. Could you email me at admin@laseretchusa.com?
Thanks for the info.

Jerrod

[Nick Adams]

I want to say the only engraving they do on site is the rotary engraving. I think they send away for the lasering.
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_Aaron_
SawmillCreek Administrator
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I know for a fact that 3 of them local to Indianapolis do not use anything but rotary, Since we get about 5 rotary jobs and most of thier laser business per week (for this area) I would assume that most of the others are the same.

[Shaddy Dedmore]

I believe all the engineers will agree that you should certainly have your exhaust on when doing marble and granite. Airborne particles of this material are not at all friendly with any laser engraver's mechanical & optical components.

I agree. Also, doesn't the exhaust system pull air through the cooling fins of the laser tube itself, helping to cool it? In my experience with other electronics equipment, heat is an enemy. My epilog is set up that way, so I always use the fan. I also let it run for a while after my job, just to help cool the tube back down. I haven't read too much about it, it just looks like it works that way... I could be wrong.

Shaddy