Anybody own vending machines?

odog24

odog24

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Oct 4, 2011
looking to maybe start doing this as a side hustle.

How can i get permission to place one in a park?

how much profit should i expect?

do they often break down?

any other info is useful too
 
My uncle has some of them and he told me its a decent extra income per month. He just asked the owners if he can put them up and they said yes. Im looking to grab one from him soon.
 
The Fresh Sole said:
My uncle has some of them and he told me its a decent extra income per month. He just asked the owners if he can put them up and they said yes. Im looking to grab one from him soon.
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im looking to put one in this park i ball at. people are always driving like 2 miles to the 711 for some gatorade. so i want to know what kind of license or permits i need. all i know is i need a sellers permit. but im not finding much other info online. 
 
I owe a few vending machine like snack and soda.  I also own a copy machine too.  There great small businesses to get into there some good factors and bad like with everything else.  Good factors are consistant cash flow, little or no uncle sam.  Good location+good products=BIG PROFIT that there is just common sense but still needs to be mentioned.  Bad factors- Its very hard to get a spot and lock it down.  If you want to put it in a park you will def have to go thru mad paperwork and legal stuff to get that thru.  Whether it is a local park which is controlled by the town or a bigger park controlled by the county or state mad ish to go thru for approval.  Once approved many pockets to fill before you get ur cut.  And uncle sam will pay u many many visits.  If you dont have a connect on items and costco or some other wholesaler is ur choice money is gonna be hard.  Costco= box of M&M is 26 dollars in order to compete u have to sell for a little less then a dollar.  I sell for 85 cents so 48 bags x .85=40.80.  Now your profit is 24 dollars but out that 24 how much are you walking out with.  Snack business is harder i think to make money unless you got a snack connect.  I get chips other snacks for cheaper so it works out for me.  Soda is the more realistic business.  Supermarkets always have cans of soda on sale.  Sometimes 5-12 packs for 10 bucks.  It will come out to about 22 cents with deposit per can.  Sell for 75 cents ur making 50 cents per can.  Again i dont know who else is going thru ur pockets.  I know many people who flopped in this business but then again i know a equal amount of people who have great success.  One guy told me straight out he makes about 400 a day cash.  Thats 12k a month doing really what he calls "easy work"  So if your gonna do a business make sure you have your connects.  Also a little tip craigslist has all the soda and vending machine you need please dont get ripped off.  Going rate for a good soda machine is about 400, and for a snack machine it is 600 so keep that in mind.  THose prices i gave are for basic machine not the updated ones you see in the mall.  Any questions let me know i will answer as best as i can.  There too much to just write hope i helped.
 
rn23 said:
I owe a few vending machine like snack and soda.  I also own a copy machine too.  There great small businesses to get into there some good factors and bad like with everything else.  Good factors are consistant cash flow, little or no uncle sam.  Good location+good products=BIG PROFIT that there is just common sense but still needs to be mentioned.  Bad factors- Its very hard to get a spot and lock it down.  If you want to put it in a park you will def have to go thru mad paperwork and legal stuff to get that thru.  Whether it is a local park which is controlled by the town or a bigger park controlled by the county or state mad ish to go thru for approval.  Once approved many pockets to fill before you get ur cut.  And uncle sam will pay u many many visits.  If you dont have a connect on items and costco or some other wholesaler is ur choice money is gonna be hard.  Costco= box of M&M is 26 dollars in order to compete u have to sell for a little less then a dollar.  I sell for 85 cents so 48 bags x .85=40.80.  Now your profit is 24 dollars but out that 24 how much are you walking out with.  Snack business is harder i think to make money unless you got a snack connect.  I get chips other snacks for cheaper so it works out for me.  Soda is the more realistic business.  Supermarkets always have cans of soda on sale.  Sometimes 5-12 packs for 10 bucks.  It will come out to about 22 cents with deposit per can.  Sell for 75 cents ur making 50 cents per can.  Again i dont know who else is going thru ur pockets.  I know many people who flopped in this business but then again i know a equal amount of people who have great success.  One guy told me straight out he makes about 400 a day cash.  Thats 12k a month doing really what he calls "easy work"  So if your gonna do a business make sure you have your connects.  Also a little tip craigslist has all the soda and vending machine you need please dont get ripped off.  Going rate for a good soda machine is about 400, and for a snack machine it is 600 so keep that in mind.  THose prices i gave are for basic machine not the updated ones you see in the mall.  Any questions let me know i will answer as best as i can.  There too much to just write hope i helped.
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thanks u did help

what state are u located in? im in Los angeles california

im not looking to sell snacks. only soda energy drinks sport drinks and water.

as for buying i have a connect at this restaurant warehouse where i can get all my supplies.

do the machines require alot of maintenance? when they do breakdown do u need it to be repaired by a qualified person? or can u fix it yourself?
 
I swear NT has knowledge about everything
Got me thinkin about gettin a vending machine now :lol:
 
I own a store. And feel like gettin a small fridge with drinks or something
 
Hey thanks guys anything that will help.  Machines breaking down thats a akward question because there is no correct answer.  Like a car breaking down, there oil changes which many people can single handled change then there is engine breaking which u want a certified person touching.  Vending machine have problems like that too.  Some are changing a light bulb bc the light bulb blew out and now people cant see ur machine at night.  Very easy fix.  Then there are problem with the motor.  Which can lead to dispensing problems.  Customer comes pays 75 for a can picks pepsi, and waits nothing comes out.  Motor problem can be as easy as just a little adjustment or can lead to heavy repairs.  Customer comes pays 75 cents for pepsi and waits oh S&*^ i got 2 sodas for the price of 1.  Great for customer bad for u.  Again motor problem can go either way.  Now u say u wanna sell energy drinks and sports drinks.  Well my estimate for a machine was off for u then.  Those are 20 oz plus drinks, those machine start on craigslist at about 7 or 8 hundred.  You can adjust the 12 oz cans to fit CERTAIN bottles like there is a vending size water bottle.  Poland spring has a 16 oz vending bottle.  The ones in the supermarket are 16.9.  Whats the difference is that you lay 6 of the 16.9 oz bottles one on top of the other, now the bottles crush.  They are made of a softer more environment friendly plastic that they crush.  That can lead to the motor problem.  Most important thing to look for in a machine is #1 soda machine make sure it can get cold.  Nobody wants warm to hot gatorade after playing ball.  U wouldn't buy a fridge if it couldn't get cold same here.  Next is the electrical system.  When going to see a machine i saw on craiglist this is what i did use this and it will help.  Call the person the DAY BEFORE your going there.  Make appointment to see the machine the next day.  I asked the seller to fill the machine with anything coke, pepsi, sprite, i dont care just fill the machine with at least 6 items in each row.  Next day when i went i would bring a lot of change at least 10 dollars worth of change assorted.  Quarters, dimes, nickels, and bring 10 singles with you too.  Test out the machine here is why i said to call early and bring money with you.  If the soda is 85 cents put a dollar worth of coins.  See if it gives change if it dont u have a malfunction in the change release.  Those can get costly.  Second when it does drop the soda u called yesterday the soda should be cold if not bad fridge thank you and walk away.  Keep repeating this for all the choices with both change and single.  It can save u alot of time and money.  Let me know if this helped ask me any other questions i will gladly help.
 
As i finished typing i see more, well here it is.  Snack in a machine is very simple.  Top rows usually are the widest so thats where u fit your 50 cent bags of chips/pretzels/doritos etc.  Then comes smaller in width thats where u fit your smaller snacks like gummy bears, sour patch kids, swedish fish etc.  Then comes the thin rows of 10.  Thats where the M&M are stashed/snickers/skittles/twix etc.  Then on the very bottom is ur sideway stash.  Thats where u put gum the 35 cent ones, i put that and halls cough drops they do justice.  But it all depends on what you want.  In some machine i have grandma cookies in some i dont.  You have to get a feel for it.  Next little advice go to the nearest store by ur machine price check the entire inventory.  Sell for 10 cents cheaper trust me word gets around.  Again feel free to ask questions i will help as much as i can.
 
so you just ask store owners if you can put it on their property? what about the profits?
 
okay...what about security and securing your machine from theft...we dont want a "barbershop" crooks tryna come up on a small business... and also how often do you make your runs when it comes to checkin profits made?
 
Great info m23

I'm very curious about protecting your machine from theft and vandalism and also profit sharing. How much of your profit do you have to throw to the business or property owner? Typically negotiable?
 
Ok first the property search, thats all you.  Like i said before there a lot of rules and regulations to follow when you put a machine in a park or something controlled by tax payers.  I put my machine in small or any INDEPENDANT businesses.  Barbershop, pharmacies, auto shops, the mega goal in the industry is a laundry mat.  Barbershops, pharmacy, and auto places are great.  Think about it when getting a cut u wait, when getting a rx filled u wait, when getting ur car fixed u wait. Oh lemme grab a soda and a bag of chips.  Laundry mat is the ultimate goal bc many of them are open 24 hours and all u do is wait.  Now how do u get in, thats were business sense u would think plays a big part HELL NO.  Remember its not what u know its who u know.  I know a couple of barbershop owners pharmacy owners and auto shop owners.  Conversation goes something like this, "hey i see u got some free space here i was wondering if i can put a vending machine here and i can give u a percentage.  You wont have no responsibility at all, all u have to do is RENT me the space.  I will fill the machine, i will take care of any problems with the machine."  Now all the owner hears is im getting money and i dont have to do anything.  Thats what u want them to hear.  Its all about sweet talking the person.  Now price comes into effect.  Remember in soda if your making 50 cents per can thats great tell him that u get 10% of profit sounds alot but its only 5 cents or say 20% its only 10 cents u still make off.  NEVER NEVER NEVER use the cent system "i will give u 5 cents per soda"  owner thinks man this is a rip off.  Percentage sounds much more just a mind trick its works though.  Security wise people really dont mess with a machine thats indoors.  Especially if the owner or a worker is right there.  If the machine is outdoors man its fair game to anybody.  There are pieces you can buy like a fence around the front of the machine which only allows u to put money in and make a choice thats it.  But those can get costly.  Ive had machine for the past 3 years not once knock on wood have i had a problem with vandals or something like that.  Let me know any other questions u have.
 
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