44 replies to this topic

[kevin]

Kevin, good job on the pics. The latest USI snacks I've bought have the silver facia as shown in your second set of pics (left side). These have the updated software and are wonderful to work with. The other ones I've bought prior to 6 months ago look more like the first set of pics (left machine), but are a little more updated, and the software is not as good... too many menu layers to go through... this is what they corrected with the latest generation that I'm buying now.

Hey, now that AP is a nice looking machine... maybe even a better looker than the USI. I wouldn't mind trying one of those to see how it does. I can get an HR40 (USI) for $3368 (reflects a recent price increase). Can I do about as well on a 40-select AP?

I wish I knew what the deal is with your CB500. Honestly, Kevin, I've never had a single jam with CSD bottles (that didn't leak out) with any of my CB500s. All of my CB500s have been extremely reliable and consistent. Now having said that, the next one I get will probably be one like your's.

I hear what you're saying about DEX. I can see how that would be a concern. I still kind of go back and forth on it, just not sure it would ever be worth the money it would take to imlement it.

I bought a brand new Studio with the new board and front about 6 months ago that was a five wide for about $3000. I know it was a little more then that but Im not sure on the exact figure. I got free shipping becuase I was buying from another dealer in the same area and he picked it up for me free of charge(I bought 4 machines from him at the time).

As far as the dex I keep wating for someone I know to fully emplment it so I can play with their stuff but it never seems to happen. I got fed up a few months back and started ordering kits and have an install going. I even went to the point of ripping the hardware apart and seeing what type of modems they use and the setup. I am very happy with the company I picked and if everything goes well I will save around 20-25% of the day for my route drivers and I WIll be able to expand without hiring more help. That the only real benifit I See with doing it the way I am.

Also as far as machines look. I was at a Nama show during the summer and the best looking machine on the market is AVS machines. They are very sleek and durable. They have a differnt way of doing the vend sensing as well, it uses sound. Also they do touch screens and have their own remote monitoring and a dex deal taht uses a standard USB thumb drive and their software. From my understanding they are a vending company that started making machines. The only way they would work well is if you only used their machines, that is why I never looked into it farther.

[BVI]

I bought a brand new Studio with the new board and front about 6 months ago that was a five wide for about $3000. I know it was a little more then that but Im not sure on the exact figure. I got free shipping becuase I was buying from another dealer in the same area and he picked it up for me free of charge(I bought 4 machines from him at the time).

As far as the dex I keep wating for someone I know to fully emplment it so I can play with their stuff but it never seems to happen. I got fed up a few months back and started ordering kits and have an install going. I even went to the point of ripping the hardware apart and seeing what type of modems they use and the setup. I am very happy with the company I picked and if everything goes well I will save around 20-25% of the day for my route drivers and I WIll be able to expand without hiring more help. That the only real benifit I See with doing it the way I am.

Also as far as machines look. I was at a Nama show during the summer and the best looking machine on the market is AVS machines. They are very sleek and durable. They have a differnt way of doing the vend sensing as well, it uses sound. Also they do touch screens and have their own remote monitoring and a dex deal taht uses a standard USB thumb drive and their software. From my understanding they are a vending company that started making machines. The only way they would work well is if you only used their machines, that is why I never looked into it farther.

Okay... I found their website. It's www.automaticproducts.com (not www.automatedproducts.com). I assume it's less expensive to go directly through them for pricing? I've gotten better pricing out of Wittern (USI) by going direct, but that may not be the best way with AP. I'm going to try one if I can get similar pricing.

[coinvestor]

As far as I know you have to use their distributor and cannot order direct through AP. I just ordered a HR32 for $3140 including tax and "white glove" delivery to my location. The AP 4 wide was $3510 including tax and shipping to a dock (not location). Not a huge difference, but enough that I went with the HR32.


JD

[coinvestor]

As far as I know you have to use their distributor and cannot order direct through AP. I just ordered a HR32 for $3140 including tax and "white glove" delivery to my location. The AP 4 wide was $3510 including tax and shipping to a dock (not location). Not a huge difference, but enough that I went with the HR32.
JD

Ohhh, I almost forgot....... I found a used USI drink machine for sale the other day that was made in 99. The design looked like it was straight out of the eighties. It was UUUUUUGLY. I will have to see if I can get a picture. The guy wanted $1000 for the 19 select snack and this sat drink vendor, and I still didn't buy it

I bet the Manufacturers hate us talking about prices across the country like this..

JD

[kevin]

Ohhh, I almost forgot....... I found a used USI drink machine for sale the other day that was made in 99. The design looked like it was straight out of the eighties. It was UUUUUUGLY. I will have to see if I can get a picture. The guy wanted $1000 for the 19 select snack and this sat drink vendor, and I still didn't buy it

I bet the Manufacturers hate us talking about prices across the country like this..

JD

Are the shelves roll out for the drink with a top load? We have one sitting out in our yard that sams gave us. They dropped it and crushed the side pretty bad. We gave them a handling fee of like $25 and havnt touched it. It is a satilite as well. Also those prices sound a little high for AP. During the winter they usually have a buy 2 get free shipping deal. I just spent $6500 for a coffee machine taht I had to buy for an account from them and there was no price break becuase its the newest Cafforia. The machine works great and makes the best coffee Ive ever tasted vended but I still wish the machine could of been cheaper. The best advice I can give you is to try and plan out 2 or 3 machine buys a year instead of breaking them up. It will save you over a grand in shipping cost over the year. The distributor I use is 7 hours away so Im sure our shipping price is pretty high.

[BVI]

As far as I know you have to use their distributor and cannot order direct through AP. I just ordered a HR32 for $3140 including tax and "white glove" delivery to my location. The AP 4 wide was $3510 including tax and shipping to a dock (not location). Not a huge difference, but enough that I went with the HR32.
JD

Well, that's certainly enough of a difference. I would have done the same thing. And probably will if I get similar or same pricing. I'm going to contact them and find out who around here distributes AP and see what happens. If it's only $100 more, I'll try an AP. If it's $200 more, I'll have to logically justify it with something I can get from an AP that I can't with an HR series, and it will have to be significant enough to make a real difference. Any more than $200 for the equivalent machine and I'll have to stay with USI.

The main reservation I have about introducing an alternate snack line to USI into my machine mix at this point is that I like having the ability to hook up the CF1000 food satellite to my HR-series snacks. I can get CF1000s for $3011.58 each. I'm willing to bet the equivalent AP cold food machine will cost substantially more, putting me at a disadvantage if I have to provide cold food using AP equipment. But I'm still willing to at least try one if the price is right.

[BVI]

Are the shelves roll out for the drink with a top load? We have one sitting out in our yard that sams gave us. They dropped it and crushed the side pretty bad. We gave them a handling fee of like $25 and havnt touched it. It is a satilite as well. Also those prices sound a little high for AP. During the winter they usually have a buy 2 get free shipping deal. I just spent $6500 for a coffee machine taht I had to buy for an account from them and there was no price break becuase its the newest Cafforia. The machine works great and makes the best coffee Ive ever tasted vended but I still wish the machine could of been cheaper. The best advice I can give you is to try and plan out 2 or 3 machine buys a year instead of breaking them up. It will save you over a grand in shipping cost over the year. The distributor I use is 7 hours away so Im sure our shipping price is pretty high.

Shipping is one reason why USI sells so many machines. Shipping is always free, and they literally place the machine onsite in the exact spot for you. Yeah, it's packed into the price, but I bet the price is probably either the same or even less than an AP before shipping charges are added in. I'd like to try an AP, but I don't want to pay an extra $500 to get a machine that is only equal in quality and features to what I'm already getting with USI.

[BVI]

Ohhh, I almost forgot....... I found a used USI drink machine for sale the other day that was made in 99. The design looked like it was straight out of the eighties. It was UUUUUUGLY. I will have to see if I can get a picture. The guy wanted $1000 for the 19 select snack and this sat drink vendor, and I still didn't buy it

I bet the Manufacturers hate us talking about prices across the country like this..

JD

Hey... I'm actually looking for used USI (CB500). I have an existing account that has a shop building a few blocks away from the main building where I have their new machines located... they only have about 18 workers in there, but they've asked for a soda machine. If I can find an old CB500 for maybe $1000, I'd be willing to put it in there. I don't care what it looks like (and neither do they) so long as it works. Strange thing though... I cannot find any used CB500s anywhere, not even eBay.

[coinvestor]

Hey... I'm actually looking for used USI (CB500). I have an existing account that has a shop building a few blocks away from the main building where I have their new machines located... they only have about 18 workers in there, but they've asked for a soda machine. If I can find an old CB500 for maybe $1000, I'd be willing to put it in there. I don't care what it looks like (and neither do they) so long as it works. Strange thing though... I cannot find any used CB500s anywhere, not even eBay.

I just got one of those Sams floor model 6 select drink machines ($2145). It is designed like the CB500, but the software is different and not real user friendly. I just did the install today so there was some learning curve.

I have only seen one used CB500 for sale ever. They have only been making them a short time (I believe), so not many out there yet.

JD

[kevin]

I just got one of those Sams floor model 6 select drink machines ($2145). It is designed like the CB500, but the software is different and not real user friendly. I just did the install today so there was some learning curve.

I have only seen one used CB500 for sale ever. They have only been making them a short time (I believe), so not many out there yet.

JD

I have been buying used Royal 768;s for about $1200 a piece. They arnt the nicest fronts becuase they are generic but they are completly redone and for the price you cant beat them. They are bottle machines that work kinda like those CB500's as well with not shims or resets. You just set the sales depth and price, The are 10 select with 12 columns and hold a ton of product. I recomend them if you are buying used drinks. There seem to be alot of them out there right now and they are not that old.

[BVI]

I have been buying used Royal 768;s for about $1200 a piece. They arnt the nicest fronts becuase they are generic but they are completly redone and for the price you cant beat them. They are bottle machines that work kinda like those CB500's as well with not shims or resets. You just set the sales depth and price, The are 10 select with 12 columns and hold a ton of product. I recomend them if you are buying used drinks. There seem to be alot of them out there right now and they are not that old.

Kevin, I need to ask you a question about Royals. I've given up on finding used USI. I've found a Royal 376 that is touted as a can machine (I don't know if it will do bottles or not). Most of my 3rd party machines are Royal 650s and fairly new when I get them. I've had pretty good luck with the Royal 650s once I get the bugs worked out. My question is, is the Royal 376 pretty much the same machine? And, is it a good machine? I can get these used at a list price of $850 on www.vendorsequipment.com.

Also, are coin mechs and bill validators pretty much universal in the way they hook up to either soda and snack machines? I've often wondered about this... it would be easier to work with some used machines if they don't require model-specific hook-ups to coin changers and bill validators. I'm hoping they are as transerable from one machine to the next sort of like how you can hook up any USB thumb drive to any computer with a USB port.

[kevin]

Kevin, I need to ask you a question about Royals. I've given up on finding used USI. I've found a Royal 376 that is touted as a can machine (I don't know if it will do bottles or not). Most of my 3rd party machines are Royal 650s and fairly new when I get them. I've had pretty good luck with the Royal 650s once I get the bugs worked out. My question is, is the Royal 376 pretty much the same machine? And, is it a good machine? I can get these used at a list price of $850 on www.vendorsequipment.com.

Also, are coin mechs and bill validators pretty much universal in the way they hook up to either soda and snack machines? I've often wondered about this... it would be easier to work with some used machines if they don't require model-specific hook-ups to coin changers and bill validators. I'm hoping they are as transerable from one machine to the next sort of like how you can hook up any USB thumb drive to any computer with a USB port.

As for that modle I am not familar with it. We started using royals when everthint was MDB. I do not believe that machine is and for that Im guessing its a pretty old machine. Also as for newer machines they all use MDB(multi drop bus). MDB is alot like USB actuallky. They have an Rx Tx Gnd and voltae supply. The power coming off them are 24V and normally you can use any 24v validator with these machines if the proper hook up is there. The only differnece between most older 115v and newer 24v is the voltage. I have 24v MEI validators in 115v machines with a 24v adaptor. As for things like Dex there is no voltage since the handhelds carry there own voltage.

www.vending.org/technical_health/MDB_3.0.pdf Give that a read its the specs on the MDB protocol and how it works. Its hard to find specs on older machines but if you google enough you can find them.

Third parties have to use newer machines these days in order to keep grack of all the cash. So any mech or validator in there is MDB compatible. My favorite combo is a Coinco Vortex and a MEI Validator and as of right now almost all of my amchines are MDB and dex compatible except maybe 30-40 and most of those will not get an upgrade either way.

[BVI]

As for that modle I am not familar with it. We started using royals when everthint was MDB. I do not believe that machine is and for that Im guessing its a pretty old machine. Also as for newer machines they all use MDB(multi drop bus). MDB is alot like USB actuallky. They have an Rx Tx Gnd and voltae supply. The power coming off them are 24V and normally you can use any 24v validator with these machines if the proper hook up is there. The only differnece between most older 115v and newer 24v is the voltage. I have 24v MEI validators in 115v machines with a 24v adaptor. As for things like Dex there is no voltage since the handhelds carry there own voltage.

www.vending.org/technical_health/MDB_3.0.pdf Give that a read its the specs on the MDB protocol and how it works. Its hard to find specs on older machines but if you google enough you can find them.

Third parties have to use newer machines these days in order to keep grack of all the cash. So any mech or validator in there is MDB compatible. My favorite combo is a Coinco Vortex and a MEI Validator and as of right now almost all of my amchines are MDB and dex compatible except maybe 30-40 and most of those will not get an upgrade either way.

Thanks man. I never gave a second thought to the voltage. I checked on vendorsequipment.com, and they sell a lot of different parts and stuff, and they have a pretty big selection of 110 volt bill validators and coin mechs. They also have 24 volt. I think you're right - that Royal is probably a 110 connection to the coin mech and DBV. Do you see a problem with that as long as I can get replacement parts?

I also checked to 24 volt adaptors and didn't see any. Do you mind if I ask where you get yours?

Thanks.

[kevin]

Thanks man. I never gave a second thought to the voltage. I checked on vendorsequipment.com, and they sell a lot of different parts and stuff, and they have a pretty big selection of 110 volt bill validators and coin mechs. They also have 24 volt. I think you're right - that Royal is probably a 110 connection to the coin mech and DBV. Do you see a problem with that as long as I can get replacement parts?

I also checked to 24 volt adaptors and didn't see any. Do you mind if I ask where you get yours?

Thanks.

The 24 volt adapters I use are just generic DC adapters with a downgrad transformer. I will try and find a link to one. We have used them in older AP 6000's and just cut the line going to the validators power and replaced it with a 24 volt adapter. We got the idea from a MDB retrofit kit from SEM. As for the royal the only reason I mention 100 volt is it just means its an older machine and you may have more trouble then usual. How much are they asking for that machine? Like I said I have gotten 768's for around 1200-1300(sometimes more) the price depends on how many I buy. The $1200 tag is if I buy 3 or more.

[BVI]

The 24 volt adapters I use are just generic DC adapters with a downgrad transformer. I will try and find a link to one. We have used them in older AP 6000's and just cut the line going to the validators power and replaced it with a 24 volt adapter. We got the idea from a MDB retrofit kit from SEM. As for the royal the only reason I mention 100 volt is it just means its an older machine and you may have more trouble then usual. How much are they asking for that machine? Like I said I have gotten 768's for around 1200-1300(sometimes more) the price depends on how many I buy. The $1200 tag is if I buy 3 or more.

I think I found a better overall deal here: http://www.southerne...used_drinks.php

I'm looking at the generic front Royal 650/768. Like I said, I've had pretty good luck with this in my 3rd party equipment once the bugs got worked out. Do these look like 24 volt hookups?

Thanks.

[kevin]

I think I found a better overall deal here: http://www.southerne...used_drinks.php

I'm looking at the generic front Royal 650/768. Like I said, I've had pretty good luck with this in my 3rd party equipment once the bugs got worked out. Do these look like 24 volt hookups?

Thanks.

every machine on that link is an MDB Im pretty sure and they all have dex as well. Except for this one Dixie Narco 276 Narrow, Im not sure about that one at all but it looks like an older dixie with a logic mech based on the front.

[coinvestor]

every machine on that link is an MDB Im pretty sure and they all have dex as well. Except for this one Dixie Narco 276 Narrow, Im not sure about that one at all but it looks like an older dixie with a logic mech based on the front.

It looks like alot of the machines are the catigory "B" (cleaned and working). $1400 - 1500 is alot for a machine that has not been refurbed (I guess that depends alot on the age of the machine). The guy near me sells DN501t's factory remans with brand new compressors for $1025 plus validator and mech ( ~$1300). I know you are looking for royal machines, just kicking it out there.

JD

[BVI]

every machine on that link is an MDB Im pretty sure and they all have dex as well. Except for this one Dixie Narco 276 Narrow, Im not sure about that one at all but it looks like an older dixie with a logic mech based on the front.

That's funny you pointed that one out. That's one I'm going to order on Monday for an existing account that needs something out in the shop area where they have about 17 guys. They've been bugging my contact to death about putting something out there. The shop is about 2 blocks away from the main building.

Thanks for checking that link out!

[kevin]

That's funny you pointed that one out. That's one I'm going to order on Monday for an existing account that needs something out in the shop area where they have about 17 guys. They've been bugging my contact to death about putting something out there. The shop is about 2 blocks away from the main building.

Thanks for checking that link out!

Im gonna check and see how much we spent on our last royals. The guy I get them from does not completly redo them but they have new paint and a generic waterfall front. I am pretty saure the last ones were $1200. Hes out of Dallas so I dont know how much shipping would be

[BVI]

Im gonna check and see how much we spent on our last royals. The guy I get them from does not completly redo them but they have new paint and a generic waterfall front. I am pretty saure the last ones were $1200. Hes out of Dallas so I dont know how much shipping would be

Southern Equipment Sales is out of Tucker, GA - a suburb of Atlanta. That's a lot closer to me. Shipping from there shouldn't be too bad.