9 replies to this topic

[ranarox]

Hello and thanks for reading.

I am about to buy a vending machine and location in Austin, Texas. I found some posts online which talked about the drop off in sales from soda vending machines in the winter. Makes sense to me.

Could experienced vending machine owners please advise me on:

1. Should I invest in a snack machine? Or a soda machine? Is it true that the sales from a snack machine are more steady than a soda machine?
2. What are the differences in construction / internal mechanism between a soda machine and a snack machine? Is it safe to assume that since snack machines do not need intensive cooling as such, that maintenance is easier on a snack machine than on a soda machine?

I would deeply appreciate any input you could give me.

Thanks.

[dogcow]

while i am not the voice of experience i can tell you from common sense you might have a problem with only 1 snack machine. remember you will have to have a wide variety to fill the machine and you will have to buy in bulk to get a price low enough to make money. so could end up with a lot of expired food in your garage if there is not enough traffic to the machine. snack machines seem to be an economy of scale operation, because if you have 3 or 4 you can spread the food out and have less lost to spoilage. soda doesnt really go bad, that i know of, so you can safely buy it in bulk and store it without worrying as much about spoilage, plus you probably only need 5 varieties for a soda machine

even if your soda business drops off in the winter, the soda doesnt go bad, so if you have a few slow months, so what? the soda will still be good when it gets hot again (probably)

[Papanick]

Just want to put my 2 cents in. I had snack machines when I first got into the vending business today I have zero. All I deal in is soda and nothing but soda. Now you may get a location that wants a snack and soda machine. I would tell them some of my experience with snack machines and they ussually agree with me when I am done. Just like dogcow says you have to buy in bulk in order to make any kind of money with a snack machine. Then you always wind up with silent partners. Its the crawling kind like ants ,rouches,mice dropping. They really like the gum ball machines that you see all over town. Then your other silent partner is an employee that shakes the machine to get a free snack. When that happens the next guy to buy that candy is screwed. When you go to service your machine you may have a 6 foot 9 in. 275 lbs. guy looking for his refund and he doesn't like you. This is no joke it happened to me when I had cigarette machines. Its your machine so you are blamed for his lose. I would stay clear of any snack or gum ball machine even if I got them for free. All soda cans have a dates stamped on the bottom of the can but that is about six months to a year before they suppose to expire. Hardley anybody looks on the bottom of the can. Also if you have soda thats 6 months old in a machine I would change flavors or the location. I also recommend that you buy a soda machine with no less than 6 selection and have a dollar validator on it. Hope this didn't discourage you just stating facts that have happened to me over the last 19 years............Nick

[ranarox]

Dogcow, Papanick, Hello.

I cant even begin to tell you how helpful your advice has been to me. Thanks!! I really, really, appreciate it.

I will be very careful to steer clear of gumball and snack machines, and work with soda machines ONLY.

You both seem to have a ton of useful input. I am a newbie to this entire business. Would it at all be an option for me to be able to talk to you guys for a few minutes on the phone? Or perhaps via email?

Thank you both so much once again!

Cheers

[RJT]

Dogcow, Papanick, Hello.

I cant even begin to tell you how helpful your advice has been to me. Thanks!! I really, really, appreciate it.

I will be very careful to steer clear of gumball and snack machines, and work with soda machines ONLY.

You both seem to have a ton of useful input. I am a newbie to this entire business. Would it at all be an option for me to be able to talk to you guys for a few minutes on the phone? Or perhaps via email?

Thank you both so much once again!

Cheers

Are you just wanting to buy one machine only or are you looking to start a vending company with many locations?

[RJT]

while i am not the voice of experience i can tell you from common sense you might have a problem with only 1 snack machine. remember you will have to have a wide variety to fill the machine and you will have to buy in bulk to get a price low enough to make money. so could end up with a lot of expired food in your garage if there is not enough traffic to the machine. snack machines seem to be an economy of scale operation, because if you have 3 or 4 you can spread the food out and have less lost to spoilage. soda doesnt really go bad, that i know of, so you can safely buy it in bulk and store it without worrying as much about spoilage, plus you probably only need 5 varieties for a soda machine

even if your soda business drops off in the winter, the soda doesnt go bad, so if you have a few slow months, so what? the soda will still be good when it gets hot again (probably)

All products expire even drinks. Look on any can or bottle drink and it will have an expiration date on it. Some longer than others but yes you can have out of date drinks if you are not careful. I would not worry so much about "buying in volume" because you would have to be a HUGE company to get any type of discount off products bought. A one man operation can buy at the same price as a million dollar a year company.

[dogcow]

All products expire even drinks. Look on any can or bottle drink and it will have an expiration date on it. Some longer than others but yes you can have out of date drinks if you are not careful. I would not worry so much about "buying in volume" because you would have to be a HUGE company to get any type of discount off products bought. A one man operation can buy at the same price as a million dollar a year company.

maybe our def. of bulk differs but if you are buying enough chips,etcc from costco with 1 snack machine u really think its likely the whole machine will empty before some of the stuff goes bad? i have to figure even in the best location theres stuff that just doesnt get eaten very fast

[RJT]

maybe our def. of bulk differs but if you are buying enough chips,etcc from costco with 1 snack machine u really think its likely the whole machine will empty before some of the stuff goes bad? i have to figure even in the best location theres stuff that just doesnt get eaten very fast

I am a little confused by your answer?

What is your definition of bulk? Simply buying enough product to fill machines?

A snack machine is not supposed to "empty" between fills. So you think you are supposed to fill a machine and not service it again until it is empty? That is NOT the way you run a snack machine if that is what you are thinking. You will be kicked out of your accounts within a few weeks to a month.

Product loss is part of vending and can not 100% be avoided. It is what we call the "cost of doing business". It can be limited but not stopped. Their are ways to limit it to a minimum, even with one machine.

You may have the wrong size machine in an account. You may have a 5 wide and only need a four wide. This helps reduce stales because of less selections and product in the machine. Maybe the account is not even worth you having a machine there at all. If thats the case then pull out and move it to one that turns enough product.

Yes, you can have one snack machine in the right location and have very limited stales. Sam’s and Cotsco both have enough "variety packs" of products to get you enough selections without having to much excess inventory that could go bad. I have a location with a snack only that does over $100 a week with NO stales.

Matter of fact with my machines I only like to see a couple of empty spirals between fills. If I go and see 4 or 5 empty spirals I look and decide if I need to up my level of services. However if I think I am servicing to often based on revenue I may back off and service less frequent. It is a balance that can only be determined by experience and knowledge how to work accounts?

[Dennis-23]

Large accounts will give the business to those that do snack, soda, coffee, bill changers and cold food. Myself I would be willing to do at least soda and snack. These two catagories will provide you with about 80% of the business.

If money is short buy the snack and talk to the local bottlers about suppling you with their machines for your location. If it is a good location they will sign the machine out to you at no cost. You just buy the product from them.

[RJT]

Dennis,

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