21 replies to this topic

[BbAaSsSs]

Hello, I havent startedmy vending business yet but am looking to start soon. I have a different situatiion than most on this forum. I am a supervisor at a factory and have actually been thinking about this for a while. I have no intentions of quiting my job and doing this full time. When I first came to this company 2 years ago and we only had 30 people working at the location since then we have started 2 more shifts and now have over 130 employees. I thought about doing this once when we went from only having one shift to having 2 shift and more than doubleing our staff. We have had the same Vendors in our break room from the start. When we doubled in size the service got horrible sometimes we went days with nothing in the machines at all this is when I first thought of the idea of me doing it. I got very close to going ahead with it but at the very last sec I whimped out. I wasnt going to do it because I needed the money I just thought it would be an easy way to make some extra cash. After researching it I decided that it might not be worth the extra hassel. Well about 6 months after that we started up a 3rd shift and now we have 130 plus employees and I talk to the guy that services the vending machines and now he is coming about 5 days a week where as before it was only 2 days a week. He has told me that business is crazy at our location and it has really gotten me thinking about doing it again.

I am about to get married in a few months and my fiance doesnt make a whole lot of money. I have been thinking this is something she could do and not have to work except for this. Like I said im not wanting to make this the main source of income but would like for her to beable to quit her job and service this one location. Right now they have a bottle machine and a can machine and 1 snack machine. I was thinking about buying a 12 selection machine and do 6 bottles and 6 cans. and then about a 24 selection snack machine. Does that sound ok or would you just go with the can machine and the snack machine?

Pricing is also a mystery for me. Just recently they took the cans from 50 to 60 cents and the bottles from 1.00 to 1.25 granted they are making more money with each vend but do you think it would be more proftiable to do 50 cent cans and 1.00 bottles? We have a Sams close by and thats where I was planning on getting the soda and snacks. With this being our only location i think we could prolly make one trip week and we do that now anyways. I was also looking to buy the vending machines at sams club as well. Does anyone have any advice for me about wether thats a good or bad idea? We are in Indiana so if anyone knows of a better place to get machines let me know.

Like I said we are located in Indiana and would love any additional information reguarding taxes or fees with all the buisness stuff. Thanks in advance for everyones help. If you anyone has questions just let me know.

Bass

We are from

[jblvending]

Hello, I havent startedmy vending business yet but am looking to start soon. I have a different situatiion than most on this forum. I am a supervisor at a factory and have actually been thinking about this for a while. I have no intentions of quiting my job and doing this full time. When I first came to this company 2 years ago and we only had 30 people working at the location since then we have started 2 more shifts and now have over 130 employees. I thought about doing this once when we went from only having one shift to having 2 shift and more than doubleing our staff. We have had the same Vendors in our break room from the start. When we doubled in size the service got horrible sometimes we went days with nothing in the machines at all this is when I first thought of the idea of me doing it. I got very close to going ahead with it but at the very last sec I whimped out. I wasnt going to do it because I needed the money I just thought it would be an easy way to make some extra cash. After researching it I decided that it might not be worth the extra hassel. Well about 6 months after that we started up a 3rd shift and now we have 130 plus employees and I talk to the guy that services the vending machines and now he is coming about 5 days a week where as before it was only 2 days a week. He has told me that business is crazy at our location and it has really gotten me thinking about doing it again.

I am about to get married in a few months and my fiance doesnt make a whole lot of money. I have been thinking this is something she could do and not have to work except for this. Like I said im not wanting to make this the main source of income but would like for her to beable to quit her job and service this one location. Right now they have a bottle machine and a can machine and 1 snack machine. I was thinking about buying a 12 selection machine and do 6 bottles and 6 cans. and then about a 24 selection snack machine. Does that sound ok or would you just go with the can machine and the snack machine?

Pricing is also a mystery for me. Just recently they took the cans from 50 to 60 cents and the bottles from 1.00 to 1.25 granted they are making more money with each vend but do you think it would be more proftiable to do 50 cent cans and 1.00 bottles? We have a Sams close by and thats where I was planning on getting the soda and snacks. With this being our only location i think we could prolly make one trip week and we do that now anyways. I was also looking to buy the vending machines at sams club as well. Does anyone have any advice for me about wether thats a good or bad idea? We are in Indiana so if anyone knows of a better place to get machines let me know.

Like I said we are located in Indiana and would love any additional information reguarding taxes or fees with all the buisness stuff. Thanks in advance for everyones help. If you anyone has questions just let me know.

Bass

We are from

If you would have said that you was looking to get into this down the road, I'd say go for it, but since you just looking for part time money, I'd say No.This is a capital intense business, and it would serve you better to go work at a part time job, where your only expense is showing up and working, with vending, there is much to learn, just imagine if you had a machine go down while at work, will you be able to work on it, I would think this would be a conflict of interest and they wouldnt allow it.Also the cost of machines, it will be a couple of years before you recoup your intial layout.In my opinion it will become a headache for you, people whining to you about you never have anything good in the machines, what will happen if you got laid off, God forbid, not to mention if your coin mech or Validator goes bad, you will need to know who to contact to order or fix it, what if you piss off your boss with a stale product..Bam.. your in double trouble.I recommend you get a part time job without investing any moniesThe only place you will be able to get products is Sam's and they don't sell 20oz drinks.I could go on, but this is something to think about.Good luck

[BbAaSsSs]

If you would have said that you was looking to get into this down the road, I'd say go for it, but since you just looking for part time money, I'd say No.This is a capital intense business, and it would serve you better to go work at a part time job, where your only expense is showing up and working, with vending, there is much to learn, just imagine if you had a machine go down while at work, will you be able to work on it, I would think this would be a conflict of interest and they wouldnt allow it.Also the cost of machines, it will be a couple of years before you recoup your intial layout.In my opinion it will become a headache for you, people whining to you about you never have anything good in the machines, what will happen if you got laid off, God forbid, not to mention if your coin mech or Validator goes bad, you will need to know who to contact to order or fix it, what if you piss off your boss with a stale product..Bam.. your in double trouble.I recommend you get a part time job without investing any moniesThe only place you will be able to get products is Sam's and they don't sell 20oz drinks.I could go on, but this is something to think about.Good luck

Thanks, I agree with most of what you said except for the fact that this would be my wifes only job. If something went wrong as far as the machine goes I would call her up and have her come fix it. As far as the bad product goes. I would be right there to respond to the problem. Or then again I could call my wife to come and fix the problem with stale food. I was thinking about spending around 6 grand for both machines and at 150 bucks profit a week that would only take 40 weeks and 300 bucks profit it would only take 20 weeks which is only 5 months. Does anyone have any idea a guess about how much a location with a snack and soda machine with 130 employees would make profit? I also forgot to mention this is can be a very hot and hard job and we are about 15 miles out in the country and not a lot of people leave for their 30 min lunch. Im thinking it wouldnt take long to pay off the initail investment. Anyone else have any input??

Bass

[jblvending]

[quote name='BbAaSsSs' post='2238' date='Oct 15 2007, 05:21 PM']Thanks, I agree with most of what you said except for the fact that this would be my wifes only job. If something went wrong as far as the machine goes I would call her up and have her come fix it. As far as the bad product goes. I would be right there to respond to the problem. Or then again I could call my wife to come and fix the problem with stale food. I was thinking about spending around 6 grand for both machines and at 150 bucks profit a week that would only take 40 weeks and 300 bucks profit it would only take 20 weeks which is only 5 months. Does anyone have any idea a guess about how much a location with a snack and soda machine with 130 employees would make profit? I also forgot to mention this is can be a very hot and hard job and we are about 15 miles out in the country and not a lot of people leave for their 30 min lunch. Im thinking it wouldnt take long to pay off the initail investment. Anyone else have any input??
Yes you did, my bad

[coinvestor]

Bass,
How many selections do you have in the breakroom snack machine now? I think I would use a 32 selection machine at a minimum. I would plan on spending lots of money for product until you find out what sells good (even with insider knowledge of what people eat now).

I don't know your area, but I would not go down on the price. They sound about right. The current vendor did the hard part for you (price increase) now you won't have to be the bad guy even if your cost do go up a little.

Sams sells the wittern machines (USI, Selectivend all the same). Thats what I use primarily and I am happy with them.

If you decide to do this just be sure to treat it like a business and your location as your customer and not just a side job even if it is.

Hope this helps,

JD

[Vol Vending]

What you have to watch out for is your fellow employees knowing you own the machines and are profiting off of them. I just put a machine in my own fraternity house, and trust me when I say people will not use it just out of smite.

I paid $1200 for my soda machine off eBay, and have about $1500 in it after stocking drinks and having a local service guy look it over.

I am starting out small, knowing that it will take me minimum 6 months to break even. The way I see it, worst case I will still have a machine in a year (if it takes that long to pay off) that is worth at least $800

[BbAaSsSs]

You Failed to mention your wife.

I put this in my first post

I am about to get married in a few months and my fiance doesnt make a whole lot of money. I have been thinking this is something she could do and not have to work except for this. Like I said im not wanting to make this the main source of income but would like for her to beable to quit her job and service this one location

Sorry if it was confusing. Yeah I am planning on my wife taking this as her full time job and hopfully making at least what she is making now working 40 hours a week.

As far as my fellow employees knowing its mine I think it could go either way. For one thing I can really find out how they feel about what is being offered and change it depending on prefrences they have. I can understand what you mean but I really dont think people are going to go hungry or thirsty just to cost me money. Like I mentioned we are about 15 min out in the contry and we have a night shift where I know there isnt anything open for them to go get stuff from.

Yeah a 32 selection snack machine would be nice. right now they offer some cheap off brand chips and I think offering the name brand stuff would deff sell better. The next time I talk to the Vending guy that does our location now I am going to try and get some more detailed information out of him like exact quanitys of product sold.

Does anyone think going from having cans and bottles to just cans would piss people off? Thats the last thing I would want to do but I know Bottles are a little harder to come by. I was thinking about going with the 24oz bottles because I know you can buy those at stores like Sams am I right?

The machines from Sams are pretty good huh thats awesome. I was looking at A and M Equipment sales and since I would be out of state I wouldnt have to pay for sales tax, but shipping would probably kill me. I Havent quite got that down yet as to where i am going to get the machines. I love the Idea of the sams discover card and think that every little bit would help.

Sales tax how does this work in the state of Indiana does anyone know? What would I be required to give to the goverment after the sale? For some reason I have 30 % stuck in my head does this sound right? I know you dont pay sales tax when you buy it but you have to pay something when you sell it right?? Sorry for all the questions just trying to get some ideas before I fork over the money to do it. Thanks again for everyones help and all suggestions or input is much appreciated!!

Thanks,

Bass

[BVI]

I put this in my first post

I am about to get married in a few months and my fiance doesnt make a whole lot of money. I have been thinking this is something she could do and not have to work except for this. Like I said im not wanting to make this the main source of income but would like for her to beable to quit her job and service this one location

Sorry if it was confusing. Yeah I am planning on my wife taking this as her full time job and hopfully making at least what she is making now working 40 hours a week.

As far as my fellow employees knowing its mine I think it could go either way. For one thing I can really find out how they feel about what is being offered and change it depending on prefrences they have. I can understand what you mean but I really dont think people are going to go hungry or thirsty just to cost me money. Like I mentioned we are about 15 min out in the contry and we have a night shift where I know there isnt anything open for them to go get stuff from.

Yeah a 32 selection snack machine would be nice. right now they offer some cheap off brand chips and I think offering the name brand stuff would deff sell better. The next time I talk to the Vending guy that does our location now I am going to try and get some more detailed information out of him like exact quanitys of product sold.

Does anyone think going from having cans and bottles to just cans would piss people off? Thats the last thing I would want to do but I know Bottles are a little harder to come by. I was thinking about going with the 24oz bottles because I know you can buy those at stores like Sams am I right?

The machines from Sams are pretty good huh thats awesome. I was looking at A and M Equipment sales and since I would be out of state I wouldnt have to pay for sales tax, but shipping would probably kill me. I Havent quite got that down yet as to where i am going to get the machines. I love the Idea of the sams discover card and think that every little bit would help.

Sales tax how does this work in the state of Indiana does anyone know? What would I be required to give to the goverment after the sale? For some reason I have 30 % stuck in my head does this sound right? I know you dont pay sales tax when you buy it but you have to pay something when you sell it right?? Sorry for all the questions just trying to get some ideas before I fork over the money to do it. Thanks again for everyones help and all suggestions or input is much appreciated!!

Thanks,

Bass

You had to say the dirty words: sales tax. I have to give my state 6%. It comes straight out of your profits, since you can't charge sales tax with a vending machine. The only thing you can do is try to raise your prices the equivalent of your sales tax, but you also have to stay competitive with other vendors pricewise, so that gets a little sticky.

If you want to get set up correctly, and I suggest that you do, you need to go talk with an attorney who specializes in business law and have them file the proper forms. They can set you up as an LLC, S-Corp, or whatever you want and explain the differences between each.

[coinvestor]

You had to say the dirty words: sales tax. I have to give my state 6%. It comes straight out of your profits, since you can't charge sales tax with a vending machine. The only thing you can do is try to raise your prices the equivalent of your sales tax, but you also have to stay competitive with other vendors pricewise, so that gets a little sticky.

If you want to get set up correctly, and I suggest that you do, you need to go talk with an attorney who specializes in business law and have them file the proper forms. They can set you up as an LLC, S-Corp, or whatever you want and explain the differences between each.

My state sales tax rate is 6.75%, but if the item is sold through a vending machine you only have to pay 50% of the tax. This is great compared to alot of areas until you try to calculate sales tax at 3.375%

I don't pay tax on the product for my machines as long as I buy from a wholeseller and fill out a form and provide a copy of my "use tax certificate".

JD

[kevin]

My state sales tax rate is 6.75%, but if the item is sold through a vending machine you only have to pay 50% of the tax. This is great compared to alot of areas until you try to calculate sales tax at 3.375%

I don't pay tax on the product for my machines as long as I buy from a wholeseller and fill out a form and provide a copy of my "use tax certificate".

JD

What do you mean you dont pay tax if you fill out a form? I know here that you have to fill out a form for all your machines as a whole but you still pay taxes on them. The only accounts I dont pay taxes on are schools, government buildings(not all), and nursing homes. Can you go into a little more depth by what you mean? My state is very screwy, for instance:


Cracker products under 50 cents are not taxable
Pastries are not taxable as long as they are not served on a plate with a utensile(works for me )
All chips are 100% tax
All candy is 100% tax
Sodas are 100% as well as all energy and powerade
Some cookie type products are 50% tax
Also everything is taxed that you buy whether it goes bad or not
Water has no tax but flavored water does
Coffee and teas are tax free
Our sales tax rate is .0825%

Im just glad I sell alot of pastries compared to candy. We do have a tax exepmt classification with Sams and other distributors but thats just for resale, I still have to pay tax on it in the end. During the summer we pay on average $1500 a month in taxes. I havnt done the figuring myself in awhile since we are short handed but I think this month we pay for the last 3, but Im not sure. I have read the rules more then once and our CPA has as well. We have had meetings with , Im not sure what there official title is, tax people.

[caserri]

Ahh I just love to chime in on this subject. Here in Mass, we don't pay taxes on the purchase of the product OR sales tax on the sale of the product! Woo Hoo!

Sorry,

Steve

[BbAaSsSs]

Ahh I just love to chime in on this subject. Here in Mass, we don't pay taxes on the purchase of the product OR sales tax on the sale of the product! Woo Hoo!

Sorry,

Steve

Lucky!! Does anyone know what Indiana pays?? Is there anyone in southren Indiana on here??

Thanks A lot.

Oh yeah today I am at work and they have a 32 selection snack machine and an 8 selection can machine but 2 of the selections are doubled for mountain dew and pepsi and they have a 9 selection bottle machine with 9 different selections. Anyone else have any suggestions on whether or not this would be very profitable here??

Thanks,

Bass

[BVI]

Ahh I just love to chime in on this subject. Here in Mass, we don't pay taxes on the purchase of the product OR sales tax on the sale of the product! Woo Hoo!

Sorry,

Steve

Yeah... I hear ya, but I bet they're sticking it to you somewhere else. After all, you're in Taxachuesetts. (JK)

You can bet on this... if there is a government out there - state, federal or otherwise, they're gonna get into your pockets in lots of different ways. I'm still discovering new taxes I'm having to pay and I've been doing this for a year and a half now. The latest one is having to pay property tax on all the vending machines I own. I just about had a cow over that one.

[caserri]

Yeah... I hear ya, but I bet they're sticking it to you somewhere else. After all, you're in Taxachuesetts. (JK)

Yeah they do, but I dont like to talk about it. My therapist says I'm getting better!

Steve

[coinvestor]

What do you mean you dont pay tax if you fill out a form? I know here that you have to fill out a form for all your machines as a whole but you still pay taxes on them. The only accounts I dont pay taxes on are schools, government buildings(not all), and nursing homes. Can you go into a little more depth by what you mean? My state is very screwy, for instance:
Cracker products under 50 cents are not taxable
Pastries are not taxable as long as they are not served on a plate with a utensile(works for me )
All chips are 100% tax
All candy is 100% tax
Sodas are 100% as well as all energy and powerade
Some cookie type products are 50% tax
Also everything is taxed that you buy whether it goes bad or not
Water has no tax but flavored water does
Coffee and teas are tax free
Our sales tax rate is .0825%

Im just glad I sell alot of pastries compared to candy. We do have a tax exepmt classification with Sams and other distributors but thats just for resale, I still have to pay tax on it in the end. During the summer we pay on average $1500 a month in taxes. I havnt done the figuring myself in awhile since we are short handed but I think this month we pay for the last 3, but Im not sure. I have read the rules more then once and our CPA has as well. We have had meetings with , Im not sure what there official title is, tax people.

Kevin,
I don't pay tax when I purchase (Like you said as long as its purchased for resale) . I pay it when I sell based on sale price so if i don't sell it I don't pay any sales tax.

JD

[kevin]

Kevin,
I don't pay tax when I purchase (Like you said as long as its purchased for resale) . I pay it when I sell based on sale price so if i don't sell it I don't pay any sales tax.

JD

Ok, just the way you said that made it sound funny. Thats why I asked.

Do you depreciate the machines you buy? I'm not sure how that works everywhere else, but every machine I buy I can write of over time, it may not afect my sales tax but with every other tax out there it helps.

[coinvestor]

Ok, just the way you said that made it sound funny. Thats why I asked.

Do you depreciate the machines you buy? I'm not sure how that works everywhere else, but every machine I buy I can write of over time, it may not afect my sales tax but with every other tax out there it helps.

Yes, I depriciate my equipment on a five year schedule. I assume everyone does five years?


JD

[kevin]

Yes, I depriciate my equipment on a five year schedule. I assume everyone does five years?
JD

We have a minimum of how much we can do in a year and becuase of this we have to push it to 7 years(the maximum) to just depreciate some of it. Ive spent over 11,000 this year on new machines and I couldnt tell you how many mechs and validators Ive bought this year. I cant get everything I need from Coke for their machines so I just buy it myself.

[BbAaSsSs]

We have a minimum of how much we can do in a year and becuase of this we have to push it to 7 years(the maximum) to just depreciate some of it. Ive spent over 11,000 this year on new machines and I couldnt tell you how many mechs and validators Ive bought this year. I cant get everything I need from Coke for their machines so I just buy it myself.

Does everyone buy thier coke or pepsi from coke and pepsi? I know sams is charging 6.68 for a case of MD or Pepsi. what does Pepsi Charge does anyone know??

No one on here is from Indiana??

Bass

[BbAaSsSs]

Does everyone buy thier coke or pepsi from coke and pepsi? I know sams is charging 6.68 for a case of MD or Pepsi. what does Pepsi Charge does anyone know??

No one on here is from Indiana??

Bass

Hey sorry I havent been on for a few days. I just talked to the Vending guy that does our comapny today and he said he ranges from 40 -50 cases of cans and 20-30 cases of bottles a week for just this stop. Now I did the math and I feell I can profit 350+/- a week just from cans and another 200+/- from bottles so that is at least 500 maybe more just from soda alone and then anything I made from the snacks would just be extra. My wife doesnt make near that a week and I think she could do this easy. Does anyone have any input??

Thanks

Bass

[kevin]

Hey sorry I havent been on for a few days. I just talked to the Vending guy that does our comapny today and he said he ranges from 40 -50 cases of cans and 20-30 cases of bottles a week for just this stop. Now I did the math and I feell I can profit 350+/- a week just from cans and another 200+/- from bottles so that is at least 500 maybe more just from soda alone and then anything I made from the snacks would just be extra. My wife doesnt make near that a week and I think she could do this easy. Does anyone have any input??

Thanks

Bass

Thats alot of product for one account per week. Im guessing that there is most likley 4 coke machines? The one account I was sharing with another vendor I most likley got the rest today after talking to the manager. They will end up with 3 or 4 coke, 2 snack, a full size coffee vendor, and a fastcorp frozen. They run about 30 cases a week and the snack empties complety every week. This account is a little smaller then the one you are talking about. I would consider giving more machines in order to handle the account better, especially if there are more then one break rooms.

[BbAaSsSs]

Thats alot of product for one account per week. Im guessing that there is most likley 4 coke machines? The one account I was sharing with another vendor I most likley got the rest today after talking to the manager. They will end up with 3 or 4 coke, 2 snack, a full size coffee vendor, and a fastcorp frozen. They run about 30 cases a week and the snack empties complety every week. This account is a little smaller then the one you are talking about. I would consider giving more machines in order to handle the account better, especially if there are more then one break rooms.

Thanks for your input heres the deal. there is 3 shifts each shift has around 35 people we run 7 days a week and almost 24 hours aday. It is a factory so its hot and we are about 15 min from town so you cant just run down the street and get something to eat or drink. He has one can machine and one bottle machine and a 32 selection snack machine. I am thinking about running just one soda machine but it would be the CB 700 I was planning on having 6 can selections and 6 bottle selections. This will be my wifes full time job just this one location so she can come out every day and refill the machines. I was also going to go with a SV 5 Snack machine which is a 40 Selection snack machine. Im thinking I can bring home 500 +/- a week. Does this seem right? Any help would be much appreciated! Oh yeah the bottles will be 24oz bottles.

Thanks,

Bass