11 replies to this topic

[JCook74]

Hello everybody.

Wife and I are looking seriously into this and need some expert advice.

We have been talking to Advanced Vending out of Conway ARK. The package is similar to others we have seen mentioned here... 10 combo machines and locations for 30k. They go further and state that we should make, off these 10 machines, 60k + in the first year. The proposal also guarantees the locations are as good as advertised and that we will recoup our investment within 6 months or we will be refunded the difference.

My market research indicates that we'd make about half the profit margin this company implies we can. They are willing to gurantee our income and 100% ROI within 6 months but we have to fax them monthly financials each month for the guarantee to be valid. Is this their way of getting us to price the product out of the market and voiding their guarantee because we did not follow their advice ? We are completely fine with the financials I have projected but also want to feel a bit more comfortable before we invest.

Has anybody heard of Advanced Vending ? What about On-Site Locators out of Idaho ? This industry seems like a great long-term prospect for us but we obviously want to be careful right away. I know there are cheaper ways to get started but I am ok over-paying for a start-up if they can truly back-up their promises. I'd love to hear what you think and thank you in advance.

[jblvending]

Hello everybody.

Wife and I are looking seriously into this and need some expert advice.

We have been talking to Advanced Vending out of Conway ARK. The package is similar to others we have seen mentioned here... 10 combo machines and locations for 30k. They go further and state that we should make, off these 10 machines, 60k + in the first year. The proposal also guarantees the locations are as good as advertised and that we will recoup our investment within 6 months or we will be refunded the difference.

My market research indicates that we'd make about half the profit margin this company implies we can. They are willing to gurantee our income and 100% ROI within 6 months but we have to fax them monthly financials each month for the guarantee to be valid. Is this their way of getting us to price the product out of the market and voiding their guarantee because we did not follow their advice ? We are completely fine with the financials I have projected but also want to feel a bit more comfortable before we invest.

Has anybody heard of Advanced Vending ? What about On-Site Locators out of Idaho ? This industry seems like a great long-term prospect for us but we obviously want to be careful right away. I know there are cheaper ways to get started but I am ok over-paying for a start-up if they can truly back-up their promises. I'd love to hear what you think and thank you in advance.

Walk away from this deal, save yourself some money and just walk away.

[Destined 4 Greatness]

Walk away from this deal, save yourself some money and just walk away.

if it good it usually to good it usually is

[scottgtt]

10 combos shoud cost you no more than $1000 each for quality used machines. 30k is downright stupid money. You will not get any good locations with combo machines because quality locations will require full size soda, snack and possibly even food machines. Combos simply cannot handle the volume. That being said, a good location for a combo might do 300-40 per month. 10 machines puts you at 3000-4000 per month which will net you 1500-2000 per month. Out of that you will have to pay a 10 percent or so commission so your down to to 1100-1600 in profit, and this assumes a 50 % margin which may be a little high. So with that in mind, if you borrow this money your debt service is probably gone and then some after gas etc... eats further into your profit. If your paying cash you probably just wasted a lot of money. Guaranteed locations are rarely truly guaranteed. You are smart to see their little ploy on requirements you must meet to comply with the contract and there are probably more. I have about 80 locations and do between 400000 and 500000 per year. We started with 6 combos and I can tell you that yes they got us started, but they made things more difficult than they should have been and if I had anything to do over, I would buy quality used full size machines and find my own locations one at a time. It can be done, dont fall for the pie in the sky numbers and guarantees these guys are offering. This business takes hard work like anything else, but it also has lots of opportunities. good luck

[jblvending]

10 combos shoud cost you no more than $1000 each for quality used machines. 30k is downright stupid money. You will not get any good locations with combo machines because quality locations will require full size soda, snack and possibly even food machines. Combos simply cannot handle the volume. That being said, a good location for a combo might do 300-40 per month. 10 machines puts you at 3000-4000 per month which will net you 1500-2000 per month. Out of that you will have to pay a 10 percent or so commission so your down to to 1100-1600 in profit, and this assumes a 50 % margin which may be a little high. So with that in mind, if you borrow this money your debt service is probably gone and then some after gas etc... eats further into your profit. If your paying cash you probably just wasted a lot of money. Guaranteed locations are rarely truly guaranteed. You are smart to see their little ploy on requirements you must meet to comply with the contract and there are probably more. I have about 80 locations and do between 400000 and 500000 per year. We started with 6 combos and I can tell you that yes they got us started, but they made things more difficult than they should have been and if I had anything to do over, I would buy quality used full size machines and find my own locations one at a time. It can be done, dont fall for the pie in the sky numbers and guarantees these guys are offering. This business takes hard work like anything else, but it also has lots of opportunities. good luck

Scottgtt, how many machines you have on location?

[scottgtt]

appx. 150

[jblvending]

appx. 150

So your average collections per machines based on $450,000 a year(you said between 400,000, and 500, 000 a year) is $57.69 a machine, would that be an accurate statement?

[Gabe .Z.]

This is not a good deal. Walk away, and do some research. I am telling you if you buy this "biz-op" you will lose money. Get this book and read it before you do ANYTHING else: http://www.amazon.co...t/dp/0971309957

[scottgtt]

So your average collections per machines based on $450,000 a year(you said between 400,000, and 500, 000 a year) is $57.69 a machine, would that be an accurate statement?

That is probably close to right. Again, I didn't count my machines when I responded, but I have 60 locations. Most have a soda and a snack, some have more and a few are just soda machines. We have 6-10 locations that are really poor that do 50-150 per month, but because of where they are located or because of a relationship etc... we keep the accounts. We have two or three accounts that we are very close to landing, one has said they will notify the other vendor to get out. They will add probably 5000-8000 per month. We are now at a stage of do we go big or stay where we are at. The one thingk I have learned is that you must continue to grow as the big boys will take you out whenever they can and you need to have as many accounts as possible to handle these situations.

[tedk]

Scott:

You have a pm.

Ted

[Eric w/ USEDvending.com]

Hello everybody.

Wife and I are looking seriously into this and need some expert advice.

Also be prepared to lose another $30K trying to sue them when they won't answer the phones while you try to collect on their income guarantees. Of course, that wouldn't change the results, but you would get a great education on vending machine biz-ops.

I hear stories like this everyday from people that bought into these programs and wish they had researched it like you beforehand. It NEVER ends well. If you already know that they are giving you false expectations, why would you believe ANYTHING ELSE they tell you? Even if it is in writing, it is worthless because biz-op companies usually shut down & change names about every 2 years anyway.

They register mulitple corporation names with their secretary of state that they do not use until years later. They pay the $25 yearly fee to keep the corp active so that when you finally hear them using that name, they refer you to the Sec of State to verify which shows that they have been in business for 10 years!! Wow, however, you have no idea that no money ran through it for the first 9 years. It's a dummy corporation just to take advantage of the suckers later. Also, they know that after setting up the dummy corps, all they have to do is call the BBB and do an inquiry on this corp name to open a file with the BBB. Then, if they call the BBB to do an inquiry every 6 months, it keeps the file open to make it look like they have been in business for 10 years here too. So, when you call, it shows that they have never had a complaint in 10 years! Wow, however, they don't know that this company never sold anything in the first 9 years because it was a planned setup from the beginning.

I don't know anything about the companies you mentioned. They may not have done this, but this is how the professional scammers work.

If you can't believe part of it, don't believe ANY.

[tedk]

Also be prepared to lose another $30K trying to sue them when they won't answer the phones while you try to collect on their income guarantees. Of course, that wouldn't change the results, but you would get a great education on vending machine biz-ops.

I hear stories like this everyday from people that bought into these programs and wish they had researched it like you beforehand. It NEVER ends well. If you already know that they are giving you false expectations, why would you believe ANYTHING ELSE they tell you? Even if it is in writing, it is worthless because biz-op companies usually shut down & change names about every 2 years anyway.

They register mulitple corporation names with their secretary of state that they do not use until years later. They pay the $25 yearly fee to keep the corp active so that when you finally hear them using that name, they refer you to the Sec of State to verify which shows that they have been in business for 10 years!! Wow, however, you have no idea that no money ran through it for the first 9 years. It's a dummy corporation just to take advantage of the suckers later. Also, they know that after setting up the dummy corps, all they have to do is call the BBB and do an inquiry on this corp name to open a file with the BBB. Then, if they call the BBB to do an inquiry every 6 months, it keeps the file open to make it look like they have been in business for 10 years here too. So, when you call, it shows that they have never had a complaint in 10 years! Wow, however, they don't know that this company never sold anything in the first 9 years because it was a planned setup from the beginning.

I don't know anything about the companies you mentioned. They may not have done this, but this is how the professional scammers work.

If you can't believe part of it, don't believe ANY.

Great post. It should be required reading for everyone considering the business. Unfortunately, in all too mant cases, people find the biz-op before they find the advice.