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Hi guys, I'm new to this game. I'm a college student and I'm looking to get into vending with my younger brother who is in high school. I am scoring a deal or what I believe to be a deal on some Vendstar 3000's at 20/ea. I know some do not like these machines however, I figure at 20/ea how hard can it be till I see a ROI. So what my question to those of you that have Vendstars... What can I expect to see as far as revenue per machine on Average? I do know that a lot of this depends on location, however I'm looking for your average to get an idea.

Thanks!

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I have plenty of triple heads. It all depends on location whether you make money or not. At 20 dollars a piece I would not turn them down. With triples just make sure you have good traffic and you should make money.

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Yes. We should always look for good traffic. But, if I have a street with say 7 locations and all are good traffic and only 1 of those locations do say 5 dollars. I would keep the location with a single and not a triple.

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I was thinking about buying 100 of them and have LRU place some of them as they seem to be quite superior in the placement business. I work full time and I'm a full time student so I am not looking to make this a full time job. Just something I can profit about 1000 a month with. Is that do able? I eventually will sell the route after awhile.

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With smart work and diligence your goal is attainable, locations are obviously the key...but before you abandon a location try different candies and see if someone has a specific candy they like. A seasoned vendor told me never pull a machine from a location untill you have a new location for it to go in, sage advice. Good luck and keep scouring the forums, a ton a value here. By the way I read all the forums and still went Vendstar heavy, I have 240 out and more to go, no regrets.

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Thanks Ska! If you don't mind me asking, what is your average profit per machine monthly? Also, do you place them or did you hire a locator? Any tips and tricks on how to clean the vendstars? I was reading and I heard car head light refurbisher works pretty well to clean the canister. Have you had luck with anything else?  

 

Also when I go to purchase the  machines I know I should check to make sure only quarters are accepted in the coin mechs. Do you have advice on anything else I should check and look for?

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I use locators, in person and tele. I use a service called a commissary to clean the machines, it a self use commercial kitchen so I use the industrial dishwashers. Gets the really nasty stuff off. I just use the canisters that aren't too yellowed, cracked, or ugly. We tried polishing and other techniques, was not worth our time.

When I purchase VS's I check all the the locks, the candy door flaps ( I flick them up to see if the spring is still working), and a quick look of where the tray connects for cracks or breaks. Then I have an idea how much total work is needed to get the machine location ready and factor that into my price.

Profit per machine is a moving target because of rapid growth ( constantly driving, buying big lots of candy, paying locators, buying more machines, etc) but I gross between 17.50 - 20 per machine on average.

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1st Choice Locators (top notch, fast keeper locations), a local in person locator (low key sales very good with people)... LRU/Kickstart, LRU still owes us several locations from fall of last year. KS did come through on occasion but many more flops than not.

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If you're getting vendstars for $20, then buy 5 or 10 of them and give the business a try. That will be a cheap way to get started and see if you like it. If you like it, spend some money on decent equipment and expand into toys and flat items. Get some 4 way racks going and step up to bigger stuff as finances and locations allow. Bulk vending can be fun, you'll probably enjoy it if you don't go crazy buying tons of machines right off the bat. By the way, I started with 1 used vendstar and now I have a route with about 50 locations with a combination of half a dozen or so 1800 triples, some A&A doubles, a few singles, and a variety of racks in varying sizes. Vendstars can be a cheap way to get started, just don't stay there too long. I've retired my vendstars (had a grand total of 2 at one point). I've found that doubles and 4 way racks are the most versatile, my preference between the two is 4 way rack. The 4 way will usually fit anywhere a double will unless you have a front to back space constraint. I like 6, 8, and 10 head racks, but you need pretty good locations to support that much equipment.

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Just make sure when cleaning the canisters that you use cleaning materials that do not conflict with the candy, you don't want anybody getting sick and then suing you. That will put you out of business quick. When I had my machines I would use soap and water at home and the towelettes that come in a bottle from Sam's club.

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