9 replies to this topic

[shepherdsflock]

I spotted some machines at a good location that looked like they hadn't been serviced in a while and hadn't been taken care of very well. I was wondering if it would be a good idea to see if I can find out who owns the machines and contact them to see if they would want to sell the machines on location to me. Have any of you done anything like this before? The machines don't look like they are beyond cleaning up and repairing, they are kind of dirty and one of them has a cracked candy hopper. I didn't happend to see what brand the machine is, but I figure if I can find one used machine on ebay I could either replace the damaged one or repair it. Cleaning the machines shouldn't be a huge problem, just a little elbow grease and a Saturday afternoon should get the job done.

Do you think contacting the owner is a good idea?

[mizugori]

if the machines have a sticker on them with the owner's info, call and tell the owner you are interested in vending and would like to buy his machines. make sure you don't overpay.

if there is no sticker, ask the manager for the vendor's contact info.

there is nothing wrong with this if the guy wanted the route he would be taking care of the machines! he might be thrilled to hear from you and have you take the machines off his hands! but if he wants too much for them, pass. he may call you back a day, week, or month later and offer you a lower price after he thinks about it a bit.

[shepherdsflock]

if the machines have a sticker on them with the owner's info, call and tell the owner you are interested in vending and would like to buy his machines. make sure you don't overpay.

if there is no sticker, ask the manager for the vendor's contact info.

there is nothing wrong with this if the guy wanted the route he would be taking care of the machines! he might be thrilled to hear from you and have you take the machines off his hands! but if he wants too much for them, pass. he may call you back a day, week, or month later and offer you a lower price after he thinks about it a bit.

Thanks, that sounds like good advice.

[shepherdsflock]

Well, my investigation into the machines continues. The machines are Northwesterns, which from what I have read on this board are a highly reputable machine. There is an old sticker on one of the machines that is in pretty bad shape. The sticker has a 1-800 number on it, and below the 800 number is part of a regular telephone number that has been scraped off. The 800 number took me to an operator who asked me for a PIN code, which I told her I didn't have. She refused to offer any further assistance. The area code for the partial regular telephone number is 507, which I googled and found to be in the Rochester, MN area (quite a distance from where I live, Iowa). I called directory assistance in Rochester and they couldn't find a business listed by the name that was on the sticker. So, I'm guessing the sticker is from a previous owner and was never removed when the current owner purchased the machine.

I called the store manager this morning and asked him if he could tell me who owns the machines. He couldn't find any information about them and told me he has never seen anyone come in to service the machines. He's going to do some more research and call me back if he finds any information.

Does anyone know if there are laws about abandoned machines? If these machines have been abandoned for a certain period of time, can I just claim them as mine and start using them?

[minivend]

ran into this a few times. The machines (in a court of law) become the property of the store owner. He decides what to do with them. After getting the store owners approval, I have drilled the locks out and gave him the money inside. I then have taken the equipment, cleaned it up and sold it. Gave the money to him again. Then I have put my equipment in and started operating..Only have gone through this type of effort if I believe the location is a winner. Kid high traffic location..good luck

[shepherdsflock]

ran into this a few times. The machines (in a court of law) become the property of the store owner. He decides what to do with them. After getting the store owners approval, I have drilled the locks out and gave him the money inside. I then have taken the equipment, cleaned it up and sold it. Gave the money to him again. Then I have put my equipment in and started operating..Only have gone through this type of effort if I believe the location is a winner. Kid high traffic location..good luck

Would you ever consider keeping the equipment? They look like decent machines, just need to be cleaned up a bit.

[minivend]

If the equipment is manufactured by Beaver, then yes I would purchase it from the store owner. I only operate Beaver equipment. I have found that operating a mix of different equipment causes problems. Keep things standard.

[bcron]

Well, my investigation into the machines continues. The machines are Northwesterns, which from what I have read on this board are a highly reputable machine. There is an old sticker on one of the machines that is in pretty bad shape. The sticker has a 1-800 number on it, and below the 800 number is part of a regular telephone number that has been scraped off. The 800 number took me to an operator who asked me for a PIN code, which I told her I didn't have. She refused to offer any further assistance. The area code for the partial regular telephone number is 507, which I googled and found to be in the Rochester, MN area (quite a distance from where I live, Iowa). I called directory assistance in Rochester and they couldn't find a business listed by the name that was on the sticker. So, I'm guessing the sticker is from a previous owner and was never removed when the current owner purchased the machine.

I called the store manager this morning and asked him if he could tell me who owns the machines. He couldn't find any information about them and told me he has never seen anyone come in to service the machines. He's going to do some more research and call me back if he finds any information.

Does anyone know if there are laws about abandoned machines? If these machines have been abandoned for a certain period of time, can I just claim them as mine and start using them?

Be sure to know the laws in your area well. I had a similar situation in a customer who was wanting me to come in. I wanted to take over the old equipment there, but after talking to others in my area, found that you could be liable for basically stealing the equipment if you just take over. Not somewhere you want to go. In my case, it turned out the equipment ended up being repo'd for being behind on their payments.

[For The Kids Vending]

You may ask if the store owner can store them in the back room for 2-3 months first while you have your machines up front. If the other vendor ever comes back then they can pick up their stuff in the back. There would be nothing illegal about this. After the 2-3 months once again check your local laws but it might be ok.

[dperry324]

I spotted some machines at a good location that looked like they hadn't been serviced in a while and hadn't been taken care of very well. I was wondering if it would be a good idea to see if I can find out who owns the machines and contact them to see if they would want to sell the machines on location to me. Have any of you done anything like this before? The machines don't look like they are beyond cleaning up and repairing, they are kind of dirty and one of them has a cracked candy hopper. I didn't happend to see what brand the machine is, but I figure if I can find one used machine on ebay I could either replace the damaged one or repair it. Cleaning the machines shouldn't be a huge problem, just a little elbow grease and a Saturday afternoon should get the job done.

Do you think contacting the owner is a good idea?

Absolutely. Whenever I find a bulk vending machine when I'm out and about doing errands and such, I always try to find the phone number of the vender on the machine. You'd be surprised how many venders don't put their contact info on the machine. What's up with that? Anyways, if they don't have a phone number, I try to place my business card where the owner can find it, with the message "Sell me your vending route" on the back of the card.
So yeah, do it!