Take a Break With a Used Vending Machine

With new and creative vending machines showing up these days to accommodate the tastes of the most discerning customers, purchasing one for your consumers may prove to be a lucrative prospect. But just like any successful company, it is essential to do the appropriate research and get to know the players in the industry. So before you invest in a new or used vending machine, consider a few things outlined in this article to ensure your investment is the correct one.

Buying a vending machine for your company or office depends on many variables not the least of which is customer demand of the product you can sell. Placing bubble gum machines at the lobby of an office building will yield little results because the proper audience is not present. On the other hand, an area where there is high traffic, but few food choices, then the likely decision to make would be to buy a new or used vending machine that dispenses crackers, water, sandwiches, and candy. But if traffic — the amount of people coming through the area who are likely to make a purchase — is not high enough, then the profit will suffer just as well.

Most first-time buyers are often discouraged by the high price of a new machine. This is why many choose to look for and buy a used vending machine start with or maybe to test the market. While you could shop for a secondhand machine offline, you are likely to find better results by performing the bulk of your search online. Some sites that are worthy of further investigation are eBay, sakauegroup.com, and better-vending.com. Additionally, popular website is Craigslist for buying vending equipment. While searching for the best deal, it is important to remember that the transportation cost of your vending machine could be substantial depending on how far away you are from the seller.

When buying a used product it is imperative to give the merchandise a thorough inspection before purchasing one. First questions tend to focus on the machine’s history, like were there any issues encountered by the previous owner. Were there any repairs made to rectify these problems? Asking these questions will not only assist you in making a more confident purchasing decision, but it will also help you keep your used vending machine in optimal working condition since you know what to look out for.

For entrepreneurs who are new to the vending machine industry, tapping into trends like a DVD vending machine could be very rewarding. They would also be wise to procure the services of the manufacturer to make repairs to the machine at least in the beginning. In time, familiarity with the product will grow, thus enabling the buyer to decide whether a specialist is needed or if the repairs can be performed in-house. Before closing the deal, be sure to ask about the possibility of the warranty being transferred. This can result in huge savings. Being knowledgeable of this can also prepare the buyer for any required maintenance to be in compliance with such a warranty.

A vending machine can be a welcome extension to your overall channel of revenue. With the proper placement, even when your store is closed for the day, a vending machine will continue generating income for you.

How reliable is vending as a business venture?

It's time to turn our attention to whether vending is a viable business to enter, as well as the average cost for a very important part of the business: the vending machine.

Is vending a reliable business venture?The first recorded vending machines date back to the first century B.C., but came to prominence in the late 1880s. These were primarily postcard and gumball machines with simple mechanisms, a single selection and accepted one coin.

The snack and soda machines we recognize today – multi-selection, accepting multiple coin types, dispensing change – originated in the 1940s. In the '40s, of course, vending machines accepted coins only, did not dispense change, and limited selections about 20 items. These were fully mechanical vend mechanisms and required no power to operate the vend cycle.

Early soda machines required power to refrigerate the product. The modern vending machine design with spiral dispense, full change capacity, dollar bill acceptance (usually by dollar bill coin changer), 30-40 snack selections, and up to 10 soda options, came to being in the late 1960s and was refined in the 1970s.

Improvements in vending machine technology since have been based on electronics and computer innovation, with standardization of protocols and improvements in currency acceptance. Ultra-modern vending machines can accept a variety of payment types – credit cards, large denomination bills (up to $100), cell phone charges (charging a product to your cell phone bill) – can be monitored remotely by Internet, can produce sales figures to individual unit numbers (sold 13 Snickers and 8 Doritos out of this machine last week), log machine entry times, and can even provide surveillance with camera technology. Yes, we've come a long way, baby.

So how is this history lesson relevant? Vending machine technology is responding to market need. The successful vending operators have driven this technology with their purchasing habits. Like all businesses, if technology affords a profitable advantage, that product has a market. The fact that the vending machine manufacturers have continued to produce better and better vending machines means that the vending business is a reliable venture when run properly.

Like all businesses, proper operations is the key to success. Learning about your account market, the kind of locations and businesses you serve, learning about marketing, the product you are you going to sell, and the type/s of vending equipment you'll use, all these factor into the success of your vending machine business.

There are thousands of successful vending machine companies in the United States, and if you think the vending business is for you, offer to work for a company in another city for free. For free, are you kidding?! Instead of taking that week's vacation on a cruise, work for a vending machine company: learn all you can about every aspect of the business – load trucks, fix machines, look at the accounting, install machines. Pay attention to the products sold, the order in which they go into the vending machine, find out what sells best, ask questions. The real-world education you will receive will be invaluable. One week's worth of effort can literally save you hundreds of thousands of dollars. (And an operator in a different city than yours won't feel threatened by your business plans.)

The vending machine business is an established industry, so don't try to reinvent the wheel. . .at least not at first. Work a proven system until you achieve profitability, then implement new systems to improve your economies of scale. Don't fall into the trap of believing that the rules of the business do not apply to you.

So what do vending machines cost?The first criteria in determining cost depends upon the location for which the vending machines are destined.

Most successful vending operators have a formula to determine the value of the equipment to be placed into a given account. In our surveys of hundreds of companies, we have found that most operators want to pay off the equipment with 9 months' profit from the vending machine account. This equates to about half of the gross sales for a 9-month period. If they project an account to do $10,000 in sales in 9 months, then the equipment cost should be $5,000 or less. Less effectively produces more profit from your vending machine investment.

Now that you have a budget (based on your agreement with the customer), it's time to find the vending machine equipment. You have two basic choices:1. Used vending machine equipment2. New vending machine equipment

New vending machine equipment is straightforward: find the brand and model you feel comfortable with. New equipment ranges from $2,000 to $10,000 per vending machine and depends on the type of machine, as well as its options. Types include snack machines, soda machines, refrigerated machines, frozen food machines, change machines, and more. Options include payment methods, size of vending machine, number of selections, electronics packages, and so forth.

Used vending machine equipment has many options on pricing, from free to several thousand dollars. With all used machines, make sure you have a clear title. Be extremely careful in buying a branded machine (Coke, Pepsi, M&M, etc.), because many of these machines are owned by the brand company, which retains ownership rights. If you purchase one of these machines, you could find yourself either losing the machine without compensation, or heading to jail for possession of stolen property.

Most free vending machines have been abandoned when an operator went out of business. You can also find operators selling their vending equipment through the want ads. Both of these venues generally require a tremendous amount of work to get the vending machine location-ready. While the initial cost might be low, the time and repair costs can be excessive, making other alternatives actually less expensive in the long run.

Reputable used vending machine equipment suppliers sell equipment at several levels: as-is, as-is working, refurbished (several levels), and like new. As-is and as-is working are similar to free machines or those found through want ads. I don't suggest these options unless you are a highly skilled mechanic with access to a large parts inventory.

Instead, I suggest you concentrate on refurbished vending machines. Select the refurbishment level that the customer needs, and stick to your pre-determined budget. Expect to pay at least $1,000 per machine. And don't forget shipping, which can be considerable and is a part of the cost of vending machine equipment.

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