Wholesale & Billboards Money Guide
How this fits the mid-game loop
Bank early cash with First robot & early money and VIP orders, stabilize the floor, then add billboard foothold + wholesale volume. Full drones / Battle stack: automation tips.
1. Why wholesale & billboards matter
Early money is walk-ins, VIP vans, and income licenses. Mid/late money adds two levers already summarized on automation-tips:
- Wholesale — unlock bulk deliveries, ship volume, then fully upgrade the line for passive / high-count throughput.
- Billboards & ads — city presence and the ad war against the local monopoly competitor (often called QuickBox in guides).
Neither replaces your first robot or early VIP drip — they stack after the warehouse floor is stable.
2. Soft unlock timing
Reuse of the soft order already on automation tips, first-robot money, and warehouse upgrades:
- First robot(s) → stabilize unload / counter.
- Drone unlock → skim urgent small jobs.
- Billboard foothold → start the ad war.
- Wholesale unlock → passive volume.
- Warehouse / drone / wholesale max upgrades + VIP licenses.
Community / uncertain
Exact shop prices, level gates, and campaign dollars can shift with patches. Demo-era write-ups on this site mentioned ad campaigns on the order of a couple hundred dollars lasting a few in-game days — verify in your build. We do not invent wholesale payout tables.
3. Wholesale loop (achievements → habits)
Steam / site achievement names map cleanly to the money habits:
| Milestone (site name) | What it marks | Money habit |
|---|---|---|
| Serious Business | Unlock wholesale deliveries | Turn the unlock on once docks / robots can absorb bulk inbound |
| Wholesale Supplier | Ship 50 wholesale orders | Keep shipping; late automation makes the count easier |
| Package Convoy | Fully upgrade wholesale deliveries | Spend upgrade cash when volume is already flowing — not before L2 / first robot |
- Players often finish wholesale volume while focusing on story goals — don’t stress the 50-count early (achievements tip).
- Stack wholesale max with warehouse / drone max and VIP licenses once the floor is stable (VIP orders · warehouse upgrades).
4. Dock & wholesaler trucks
From the beginner guide: wholesaler trucks may run around the clock; boxes can sit on the dock until you (or a robot) unload them. That is the practical link between wholesale money and hire / energy habits:
- If bulk trucks arrive while you chase billboards or VIP, a Loader / unload bot keeps the dock clear — soft hire order on robot hire order.
- Watch robot status / energy so the hire does not freeze mid-rush — robot energy & charging.
- Pause inbound deliveries for a shift only when labeling / packing is flooded (community tip on first-robot money); re-enable before wholesale volume stalls.
5. Billboards & ads money
Billboards are the other income / presence lever peeled from automation-tips:
- Take over billboards for city presence — achievement Cranelock-Style Marketing (first billboard).
- Ad campaigns help push out QuickBox branding (Battle for Cranelock “ads filling” lever).
- Branded bags are sometimes cited as passive advertising while customers carry them around town — keep bag consumables stocked (same habit as first-robot money).
Community sources summarize three mid/late levers against QuickBox: ads / billboards, key clients, and exclusive VIP / licenses. Deep VIP path: VIP customers & exclusive orders. Soft license order: early licenses.
Do not invent campaign ROI
This site does not publish a fixed “$X ads → $Y sales” formula. Prefer on-screen campaign UI; treat demo-era “couple hundred / few days” notes as approximate only.
6. Stack with VIP, licenses & warehouse
Wholesale and billboards amplify a store that already sells and delivers:
- Income licenses (Repair Goods / Outdoor Goods soft order) expand catalog tickets — early licenses.
- VIP and exclusive VIP take key clients while ads drown rival branding — VIP orders.
- Warehouse expansions fund capacity for bulk + robots — warehouse upgrades · Maximum Capacity.
- Long-run cash milestone on the list: Tycoon (earn a total of 500,000) — finishes naturally with volume; no grind spreadsheet here.
7. Common mistakes
- Buying wholesale / billboard upgrades before warehouse Level 2 and the first robot — soft early arc still on first-robot money.
- Unlocking wholesale then leaving the dock unmanned while trucks pile up overnight.
- Stressing the 50 wholesale count before automation is online — site tip: it often finishes naturally later.
- Running ad campaigns while shelves and bags are empty — presence without stock wastes the spend.
- Treating demo-era campaign dollar notes as live patch gospel.
- Ignoring exclusive VIP / licenses while only buying ads — Battle uses all three levers.
8. FAQ
- When should I unlock wholesale?
- After first robot(s) and usually after a drone / billboard foothold per the soft order on automation tips. Unlock when the dock can absorb bulk inbound.
- What is Serious Business / Wholesale Supplier / Package Convoy?
- Site achievement names: unlock wholesale → ship 50 wholesale orders → fully upgrade wholesale deliveries. List: Achievements.
- Do wholesale orders pay more than VIP?
- Not pinned as a fixed comparison on this site. VIP is the early high-ticket van path; wholesale is bulk / upgrade volume. Run both once unlocked.
- How much do billboard campaigns cost?
- Unknown as a live fixed price here. Demo-era notes on automation-tips mentioned roughly a couple hundred dollars for a few in-game days — confirm in your shop UI.
- Are branded bags part of the ad war?
- Community notes sometimes cite branded bags as passive advertising in town. Stock them as consumables either way so counter throughput does not stall.
- Where does this sit vs automation-tips?
- Automation-tips stays the drones + Battle overview. This page is the money deep-dive for wholesale volume and billboard / ads habits only.