12 replies to this topic

[jack]

I'm thinking of investing in some combo snack/drink machines and having them placed for me by professional locators(APS).
I know every situation is different,and it depends on how good your location is ,but,is there any way you guys can give me
a general idea of what is considered an average gross return per month per machine.
the machines are new combo snack/drink machines from 1-800vending.they hold 140 snacks and 149 drinks.
I live in a fairly large metro area ,and should be able to get some high traffic locations,any help would be greatly appreciated

[Agee Vending]

I'm thinking of investing in some combo snack/drink machines and having them placed for me by professional locators(APS).
I know every situation is different,and it depends on how good your location is ,but,is there any way you guys can give me
a general idea of what is considered an average gross return per month per machine.
the machines are new combo snack/drink machines from 1-800vending.they hold 140 snacks and 149 drinks.
I live in a fairly large metro area ,and should be able to get some high traffic locations,any help would be greatly appreciated

You should do some more reading on this forum... 800 vending machines are junk.

[jack]

junk huh...ouch,well, good to find out now instead of later,can you steer me towards a more dependable line,any help would appreciated.thanks

[Christiane]

800 vending

[vend1ng]

junk huh...ouch,well, good to find out now instead of later,can you steer me towards a more dependable line,any help would appreciated.thanks

The thing to remember and is very important there is a location for every machine made...... BUT! No location will take just any machine .....Get the locations first then get the right machines for that location. The right machines will be equal to or better than the location already has. If the company that you are buying machines from has their own locator and tell you to buy the machines and they will locate them for you RUN! If you want in this business there is 2 ways to get in 1. If you can open a window and throw 40,000 out the window and not bother you, jump on in because thats what it will cost you in errors 2. Read everything on this board about getting into vending do your homework study it and ask the right questions and you can be successful. Rule of thumb is if you can move the machine with ease by yourself so can the guy that just lost a nickle in it and thats about what the machine is worth. Just a thought .
Vend1ng

[dogcow]

I'm thinking of investing in some combo snack/drink machines and having them placed for me by professional locators(APS).
I know every situation is different,and it depends on how good your location is ,but,is there any way you guys can give me
a general idea of what is considered an average gross return per month per machine.
the machines are new combo snack/drink machines from 1-800vending.they hold 140 snacks and 149 drinks.
I live in a fairly large metro area ,and should be able to get some high traffic locations,any help would be greatly appreciated

the #1 thing wrong with your logic above.... if the location is high traffic a combo machine is no good there.

remember 140 drinks seems like a lot but spread that across 8 selection thats less than a case of drinks per selection even your worst location should take at least 3 cases per week! remember not all selections will sell evenly thats whjy professional vending equipment has double and single columns, coke and dew will outsell root beer and diet at least 2:1

you might be able to keep a combo stocked enough but if the volume justifies the expense you will be filling it non stop. the idea with vending is servicing it the least amount possible to make the best money.

IMO if the location cant support at minimum a 368 capacity drink machine its not worth it.

If you want to get into vending i would recommend talking to RJT on this forum he can save you a lot of money and point you in the right direction on how to do make $ in vending. he wrote a book which is very good, also you could check out "vending machine fundamentals" by steve woodbine which is also another very good book.

[H4UV]

Just as a side note... Apart from the fact that combo machines have a low capacity, they are also known to have problems, many unexplainable ones too. They can be working one minute, and not the next, then be working again. It is the cold system vs. regular snacks and candy run by one control board that can cause weird problems. The refrigeration is complicated, and is monitored by the machine, and any variation in temperature 5 degrees or so past programmed levels, will cause many parts of the machine to shut down. There are a variety of common problems, which can sometimes only be corrected by the machine itself after periods of time, or whenever it decides to. In general, I'd stay away from combo machines. Full size individual snack and soda machines made by quality American companies will outsell, out live, and out work anything else that's out there any day of the week.

[amiraweston]

I just bought 5 healthy vending machines from Healthy You, a division of 800 vending. Did I buy "junk". What about healthy vending machines? I'm new to vending and feel very lost and alone

[RJT]

USE THE SEARCH FUNCTION!!! Not trying to be short or ugly with you but why would you buy anything without searching first. Combo machines have been discussed a gazillion times on here along with healthy vending and many, many other subjects that get people in trouble in vending.

I hate to see people start off in vending this way. Vending is a great business but so many people go about it the wrong way and loose money and NEVER make it.

Take your time, use the search function, read all the info and then ask questions to help fill in the blanks of what you cant find or dont understand......

[RJT]

I'm thinking of investing in some combo snack/drink machines and having them placed for me by professional locators(APS).
I know every situation is different,and it depends on how good your location is ,but,is there any way you guys can give me
a general idea of what is considered an average gross return per month per machine.
the machines are new combo snack/drink machines from 1-800vending.they hold 140 snacks and 149 drinks.
I live in a fairly large metro area ,and should be able to get some high traffic locations,any help would be greatly appreciated

I have already responded to this thread but I will say this. Lets say you have an good account with one of these combo machines in it. I walk in and say, "I see you have a very limited selection of snacks and drinks" (you may have 140 snacks but that equates to around 10 selections and 6 to 8 drink selections) I then say, "I have snack machines with 40 selections and drink machines with 10 selections". Guess what you are more than likley going to be out and I am going to be in unless you have some strong relationship with this account. See my point???? Combo machines are not the way to go for stand alone accounts in vending.

[H4UV]

RJT is right. Competition in some areas for accounts is so fierce, in places like California, I had a friend tell me that his competitors were bribing business owners to let them in, and kick other vendors out! In a competitive market, you need to have machines that can stand a chance against competition. A 10 select snack won't stand a chance against what most other vendors can bring against you.

[amiraweston]

USE THE SEARCH FUNCTION!!! Not trying to be short or ugly with you but why would you buy anything without searching first. Combo machines have been discussed a gazillion times on here along with healthy vending and many, many other subjects that get people in trouble in vending.

I hate to see people start off in vending this way. Vending is a great business but so many people go about it the wrong way and loose money and NEVER make it.

Take your time, use the search function, read all the info and then ask questions to help fill in the blanks of what you cant find or dont understand......

I did use "THE SEARCH FUNCTION"! AND ONLY A FEW TOPICS POPED UP.

[dogcow]

I just bought 5 healthy vending machines from Healthy You, a division of 800 vending. Did I buy "junk". What about healthy vending machines? I'm new to vending and feel very lost and alone

try to get your money back