Hmm... this deal sounds very familar... are you from Southern California?

I know a guy who makes deals like that.

Yes, I am from Southern California. Any input on the guy or the deal?

The number sound reasonable for that size and type location and the machines should handle that volume with one weekly run, maybe two.

Check the non resettable counter on the machines to verify. If the machines were new when put in they should match the sales numbers.

The only thing I see that I would question is the profit margin. It seems a little high. Probable 45% - 50%.

Good luck.

Maybe I'll have him show me the location and I will check the counters. If I am still interested, should I low ball him?

You seem to be on the right track.

All the questions are great questions. You attention to detail will help you to not get ripped off.

As for "proving" income. It will be hard because it is a cash business.

A few ways to check are:

If the machines were new when put on the location you can check the non resettable counter on the machine. There should be on most, if not all machines, one counter that shows total vends since the machine was new.

If the seller is selling the entire route you can look at his invoices from his suppliers to see if his purchases match up with sales.

If he bought used machines or is just selling some locations then checking the counter one week then again the next will give you some idea. Unless the seller just vends the machine himself to run up the numbers for that week.


Your best bet is to run the numbers by the group here to see if they sound reasonable for that type and size location.

Thanks for the input.

BTW, is buying an existing route the best way to get started? Or should I try to start finding locations and then buying used machines?

Also, someone told me that if I am doing snacks that I would really like to have a few machines. The reason being that if I am going to buy in bulk to save on cost per item, I would need enough machines to put the product into or else the left overs will just go bad.