Claw-machine plush: sizing, payout ratio and reorder cadence

Prize counters · September 8, 2026 · the Buying Desk

A claw machine is a stock position, not a toy. The plush inside is the inventory, the claw strength is the price, and the payout ratio is the margin. Get the sizing wrong and either nothing comes out, which empties the queue, or everything does, which empties the bin.

Size to the claw, not to the customer. A standard claw wants a plush it can lift but not always hold, which in practice means the small-to-mid sizes in the Plush & Squishies department rather than the display-size pieces. Mixed sizes in one bin are what keep the payout unpredictable, which is what keeps the machine earning.

Reorder cadence follows footfall, not the calendar. A machine in a busy arcade can want a fresh case every couple of weeks; one in a restaurant lobby may go a month. Watch the bin level rather than the date, and place the reorder when the top layer starts to thin: one case, no minimum, dispatched in one to two days from Maxton, NC.

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