Thank you very much for your offer of help, Doug! I am excited to get some experienced advisors. I will definitely check out your website and probably follow up with a phone call in a few weeks to a month down the road. Thanks again!

if you are looking to get into vending, the most successful operators are doing exactly what you are. developing a business plan, market strategy, product cost, equipment etc. need to be mapped out first.

I have been in the industry since 1972 and thru the years it has always been a reliable income for me. Unfortunately i learned some things the "hard way"

the web based monitoring equipment is here and as a new operator it is wise to investigate it. currently i own a distribution center for all major brands of equipment and parts, both new and reconditioned, but i physically operated until 2004

my reason for posting is not necessarily to sell you equipment, but to invite you to visit our website at www.vendohio.com there you will find services that are free such as business consulting ,technical assistance etc. to help you decide which way to go.

if you would like to contact me directly feel free to do so, regardless of what the question entails and i would be happy to help. we spend a great deal of our time here doing nothing more than discussing with vendors the whole range of vending issues... from route sceduling to marketing ideas...

Doug

what are some good sites to check for used vending equipment?? Any ideas?? I'd love to get a bit more info on the machines... the more up close, the better.

Well... when you find a remote access machine let me know. What your looking for is a telemetry system... and they start at about 30-35k + the cost of the hardward and wireless to get the data. If your a start up guy... I'd worry less about that than, how to get and service customers, where to buy product, how are you going to deal with service calls if you have a job, etc. Sounds like the franchise guys did a number on you... there are plenty of part time guys in this business, I take locations from them everyday. I'm full time vending and have been for 5 year... Its a constant struggle... lost money, machines breaking down... clients want this and that. I'm not trying too discourage you... Its a great business, and I love it. But the reality of it is there is a lot of hard work that goes into making it successful. One thing you should look at is how are you going to track your sales, inventory and location sales and services. How are you going to track your sales tax payments (I just picked up 3 machines at a tax auction, guy didn't pay his sales taxes and it caught up with him).

Look harder... your not asking the right questions yet... when you do... you'll be ready young jedi...

Thanks a lot for the input. I honestly hadn't thought of sales tax at all. Also, I could probably design something to go into a vending maching to track all the stuff i'm interested in, being an electrical engineer myself. I'm also considering teaming up with people who have "off" days different than mine such that someone can manage a service call any day of the week if it comes in.

As for where to buy product, I've heard of wholesalers like Sam's Club, BJ's, and Costco. Does this sound good?