Hello all:

I am a complete newbie to the vending machine world. Recently, an opportunity presented itself where the owner of a adult school is allowing me to place a snack machine in his school. Namely, I am not looking to purchase any routes or existing accounts. I am only looking to purchase an inexpensive new or used snack machine that is under $1000 (if that is possible). I will be doing the restocking of the machine myself.

I tried searching online, and as you can imagine, I came across a ton of different machines; some looked archaeic, and some were just too ridiculously expensive for me at the moment. I would love your expert advice on which brand/model I should select from and perhaps which ones I should steer away from. Btw, I live in the Los Angeles Area. As I mentioned earlier, I'm not looking for anything fancy, but the machine needs to be as problem-free as possible, while being under (or close to) $1000. Ideally, the machine will hold 30+ different items (candy bars, cookies, chips, etc.). Should I not purchase machines that are older than X-number of years?

Furthermore, I know that the owner of the school is going to want to split the profit with me. What is the "standard" split? I want to offer him something reasonable but am not sure where to begin. Does a 50-50 profit split sound reasonable?

I apologize for my ignorance on this topic. Any suggestions or advice are much appreciated!

Thank you!