deb Posted October 14, 2014 Share Posted October 14, 2014 Hi all- I'm an artist living in a small arty-tourist town. I've been wanting to "curate" a single vending-machine gallery that can sell small prints/whatnots for 5-10 bucks ea in order to promote and support local artists, and to give a healthy percentage to our local school's art program. So I sort of jumped and purchased an old-school snackshop 5000 from a local bowling alley that is closing.. cool thing and in good shape, but immensely heavy and without a bill validator, as it turns out. I do not want customers bugging local businesses for change. My question is: What exactly do I need in order to have this machine accept $5 bills.. and is it even possible? I'm able and willing to sink a few more hundred bucks into this venture to get it going, but I'm staring up at a formidable learning curve. Worst case scenario is that it will end up in the woods on my property next to the exercise equipment.. but I'd really like to persevere! Any and all suggestions are appreciated, cynicism is no problem. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orsd Posted October 14, 2014 Share Posted October 14, 2014 if your willing to sink hundreds in just get a used mdb capable machine with c reader Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deb Posted October 14, 2014 Author Share Posted October 14, 2014 Hi orsd, do you mind extrapolating for me a little? I'm trying to find out whether I can modify the machine that i have. I'm completely new to this, which is why I posted.. what is mdb capable and c-reader.. ? Only able to spend about 300 more.. should I just find another use for this machine? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZVendor Posted October 14, 2014 Share Posted October 14, 2014 Welcome to the forum deb! Your hope to have your AP5000 selling for you can be accomplished. The computer board (logic board, or just board) in you machine is not capable of accepting a $5 credit, so there are several conversion kits to allow bill acceptance. To achieve the $5 acceptance you will spend anywhere from about $475 to $850 with the more expensive option giving the smoothest operation of the machine. You see, all of these kits were created to overcome the age and old technology your machine was built with. The AP5000 was manufactured in the mid 80's before bill acceptors were being used. If you have a minimal investment in the machine and want to move forward with upgrading it then the least expensive option will require you to install a kit that will plug into the existing machine, be wired into power in the machine, have a bill validator installed in place of the existing gum and mint display window and will use the existing credit display. This assumes that your coin mech is functioning correctly and this kit will accept $5 bills. If you don't have a gum and mint option on your machine then the kit price will be a little less expensive to install. You can PM me if you'd like to proceed with this upgrade. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moondog Posted October 15, 2014 Share Posted October 15, 2014 Hi all- I'm an artist living in a small arty-tourist town. I've been wanting to "curate" a single vending-machine gallery that can sell small prints/whatnots for 5-10 bucks ea in order to promote and support local artists, and to give a healthy percentage to our local school's art program. So I sort of jumped and purchased an old-school snackshop 5000 from a local bowling alley that is closing.. cool thing and in good shape, but immensely heavy and without a bill validator, as it turns out. I do not want customers bugging local businesses for change. My question is: What exactly do I need in order to have this machine accept $5 bills.. and is it even possible? I'm able and willing to sink a few more hundred bucks into this venture to get it going, but I'm staring up at a formidable learning curve. Worst case scenario is that it will end up in the woods on my property next to the exercise equipment.. but I'd really like to persevere! Any and all suggestions are appreciated, cynicism is no problem. Thanks. I'd sell that machine and go for something much newer with MDB capability. By the time you sink the small fortune into this project to get it where you want it. you could easily afford a much newer machine like an AMS that would do exactly what you need it to. With something like this, selling products in the $5 to $10 dollar range, I'd also install a credit card reader if your location has WIFI access. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orsd Posted October 15, 2014 Share Posted October 15, 2014 Hi orsd, do you mind extrapolating for me a little? I'm trying to find out whether I can modify the machine that i have. I'm completely new to this, which is why I posted.. what is mdb capable and c-reader.. ? Only able to spend about 300 more.. should I just find another use for this machine?Mdb is the current protocol for communications in vendors and will support credit card readersA used machine should run 800 Refurbed 1200 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deb Posted October 16, 2014 Author Share Posted October 16, 2014 Thanks, all, for the advice. Time to do research and determine the best way forward.I have a friend who has knowledge about upgrading this machine and has offered to install it if I can find the part. Of course I need to weigh this as an investment (and it does weigh 550 lbs) Otherwise, maybe we'll keep it to quarters and find a spot for it.. could be my kids' job and savings plan. : ) Or a simple way to raise a few funds for their school. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moondog Posted October 18, 2014 Share Posted October 18, 2014 Thanks, all, for the advice. Time to do research and determine the best way forward. I have a friend who has knowledge about upgrading this machine and has offered to install it if I can find the part. Of course I need to weigh this as an investment (and it does weigh 550 lbs) Otherwise, maybe we'll keep it to quarters and find a spot for it.. could be my kids' job and savings plan. : ) Or a simple way to raise a few funds for their school. See if you can sell it - operating a single snack machine is an uphill battle in that it's very difficult to keep it stocked properly without a lot of products going stale prior to selling them. You need to be operating at least five machines to avoid this pitfall. We always advise new, small operators to start with a soda machine as you'll have less stocking problems (ten items max) and very low stale rates. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZVendor Posted October 19, 2014 Share Posted October 19, 2014 Thanks, all, for the advice. Time to do research and determine the best way forward. I have a friend who has knowledge about upgrading this machine and has offered to install it if I can find the part. Of course I need to weigh this as an investment (and it does weigh 550 lbs) Otherwise, maybe we'll keep it to quarters and find a spot for it.. could be my kids' job and savings plan. : ) Or a simple way to raise a few funds for their school. Leaving the machine to operate as coins only will be the quickest way to kill any sales potential. There are no people with pocket's full of change walking around and you need to accept bills or you won't sell anything. Since you have someone who can install the upgrade like you said, then if you're going to keep the machine I can send you the parts for the upgrade. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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