On the buyer's side of the table.
Suds & Cents is an independent intelligence brief for laundromat owners and investors. We publish the numbers the industry doesn't — and we show our work.
Who this is for
- Owner-operators who want to know what their peers charge, spend, and earn — not what a vendor brochure claims.
- First-time buyers doing diligence on a specific store, who need checklists and normalized math instead of sales pitches.
- Investors underwriting acquisitions or portfolios, who need real multiples and real cost structures.
Who this is not for
- Anyone looking for a get-rich-quick course. We publish data; you make your own decisions.
- Anyone who wants their existing opinions confirmed. If the data disagrees with the conventional wisdom, we print the data.
- Vendors looking for friendly coverage. There are trade magazines for that.
Four rules we don't bend
No vendor pay-to-play
No sponsored rankings, no "partner content" dressed up as analysis, no vendor money touching editorial. Sponsors — when we take them — are clearly labeled, never see issues early, and never shape coverage.
Every number is labeled
Surveyed data ships with sample size and methodology. Sourced figures carry their citation. Estimates are marked illustrative. If we don't know, we say so.
Surveys stay anonymous
We ask for metro area, not addresses. Emails are optional and stored separately from responses. Nobody buys the raw data — not vendors, not brokers, not anyone.
Corrections get printed
If a number we published is wrong, we correct it in the next issue — visibly, not quietly. A data publication that won't admit error isn't one you should trust.
Where the numbers come from
Four inputs, one standard: we'd rather publish "sample too small" than a number we can't defend.
1. Operator surveys
Our benchmark survey collects vend prices, utility costs, labor, rent, and equipment data directly from owners — anonymously. This is the core dataset, and it only gets sharper as responses grow. Respondents get every report free, before it's published anywhere.
2. Public listings
We track for-sale listings — asking prices, claimed revenue, stated multiples — and compare them against what actually closes when we can verify it. Broker copy gets a discount rate; bank statements don't.
3. Equipment quotes
Real quotes from distributors and rebuilders, collected over time, so buyers can see what machines actually cost instead of what the brochure says. This feeds the equipment price tracker.
4. Filings & industry sources
IBISWorld market sizing, Coin Laundry Association reporting, SBA program terms, utility rate filings. Always cited, always dated — a 2024 figure is labeled 2024, not presented as today.
How we label every figure
You'll see one of these three labels on any number we publish. No exceptions.
From our operator survey
Always published with the sample size, the collection window, and a methodology note. Example: "Median wash vend price, Southeast — $5.75 (n=84, surveyed Mar–Apr 2026)." Small samples get published with a warning, not hidden.
From a named third party
Always cited with publisher and date. Example: "~$7.3B US market size (IBISWorld, 2026)" or "~30,000 stores (Coin Laundry Association)." If a figure is commonly cited but we can't pin a primary source, we say "commonly cited industry figures" — never presenting it as harder data than it is.
Working estimate, clearly marked
Used for frameworks, rules of thumb, and chart mockups before survey data lands. Never presented as measured fact. Example: chart placeholders labeled "illustrative sample data," or payback thresholds described as rules of thumb, not surveyed results.
Contact & corrections
Found a wrong number? Disagree with our math? The fastest way to reach us:
- Facebook: message the Suds & Cents page
- Reddit: u/sudsandcents
- Subscribers: just reply to any issue — every reply gets read.
Corrections policy: if we published a wrong number, we print the correction in the next issue — visibly. Tell us what we got wrong and where you got the better figure.
Suds & Cents publishes educational content for informational purposes. It is not financial, legal, or investment advice. Talk to an attorney and an accountant before buying anything — we're a newsletter, not your diligence team.
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