nam Posted May 22, 2009 Share Posted May 22, 2009 I've had alot of people ask me what kind of machines they should buy to start their vending business. Then in the next sentence tell me they either have no money or not much money to spend. So I'm starting this thread for the benefit of those that don't have much money and yet want to get into the vending business. My thought is to have members post what they would recommend as we certainly don't all have the same opinion. I will start off saying the best machines for quality are Beaver, Northwestern, Eagle and Oak so we don't have to argue about what is the best. Really, most everyone would probably say they agree on those four being at the top of the list. The problem of course is people out of work, layed off or just plain don't have any money can't afford the best. So that is the purpose of this guide. Hopefully, we can also post the going price for these machines on the used market. Some of our members prefer running single head machines with nothing but gumballs. Some prefer single and double head machines while yet others prefer triple head machines. You can even buy machines with 4 or 8 heads. There are machines to vend sticker/tattoos, balls, toys/capsules and yes even condoms. Hopefully, we'll grow this guide to where we have something for everyone in a price range to fit your budget. nam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BruceRehm Posted May 22, 2009 Share Posted May 22, 2009 Nam, Great Idea. I am still new, very new but the Vendstars so far are working out for me. I am beginning to look at the NW and other machines but as long as I can get great deals on new Vendstars, they are filling the need for me. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nam Posted May 22, 2009 Author Share Posted May 22, 2009 I'll start off by suggesting the 1800vending machines. Yes, that is the name of the machines. lol These are triple head machines with three removeable cannisters. The machines are for the most part all metal not plastic and hold up very well out on location. The are quick and easy to service by simply changing cannisters. They have a door on the back of the machines to access the quarters which makes it super fast and easy to get to your money. The machines generally will come with 2 candy wheels and 1 gumball wheel. The machines are capable of vending candy, gumballs, 1" balls, 1"toy/capsules. Most vendors and locations like the appearance of the machines as well. One last thing is the machines also have a sun screen on the back to help stop the sun from heating up the candy as badly. The unique shape of the cannisters provides a larger than normal display area and product can be seen from the front as well as the sides. These machines can be found ebay and craigslist from a low of $50 or even lower once in a while. Often you can find brand new ones for around $100 or less. These may be a little more expensive than Vendstars but a higher quality machine but still not breaking the bank. The triple head gives you more choices for product and the customer more choices as well. Often locations cannot support 3 different heads of candy without having some of the candy go bad. This machine will allow you to sell only 1 candy, and use the other 2 cannisters for toy/capsules/balls/gumballs, etc. none of which will go bad. The pictures will give you a good idea of what the machine looks like and how it works. You can see how the back opens to access the coins. You also can see how the cannisters are easy to remove and change. Some have even taken the machines and built racks with all toys in the machines. The yellow machines on the rack are 1800 machines. The company is no longer making these machines but they are so available and inexpensive I wouldn't be concerned with needing parts. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nam Posted May 22, 2009 Author Share Posted May 22, 2009 The next machines we'll talk about are Vendstar 3000 machines. This is one of the most controversial machines on the market. They are sold as a business opportunity most people believe way over priced. Because so many of these machines have been sold there are a ton of them on the market for sale. The machines are all plastic rather than steel which makes them appear cheap in most peoples eyes. This may be an advantage for you if you're wanting cheap machines to start into vending. These machines are usually the cheapest you can buy on craigslist and ebay. Often new for only $100 or less and used there seems to be no low - lets say often you can buy them for only $20 to $50 each. Hard to beat the price for starting out cheap. The machines have removeable cannisters which is a big plus in my book. The back door removes to access the coin trays - one for each cannister which is nice for tracking purposes. The machines can be trasported in three sections, pole, base and cabinet. These are one of the easiest machines to carry several in a small car unassembled until you're ready to setup on location. Alot of vendors will knock the Vendstar because it is made of plastic but that being said alot of vendors use and like them. Many using them for years that have no more problems than with other machines. It's all about price. As long as you can buy them cheap you just can't go wrong with these machines. I"ll post the pics and let everyone jump in with they're good or bad opinions on these Vendstars. The machines have 3 cannisters or heads for different product. Not all locations can support that much candy so you need to be careful not to fill those cannisters with too much product. You'll see several photos here of the machines from different angles and different sections so you'll have a good idea on what they are. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nam Posted May 22, 2009 Author Share Posted May 22, 2009 Here's another example of what can be done with the 1800vending machines. This is a double 800 machine installed on a rack that one of our members built himself. This was made by Jeff up in Medford, Oregon and a great example of what can be done with these machines. Of course again you'll see Jeff is vending toys in capsules from these machines. Nice considering you can buy this machine for like $50 each! Beautiful machines aren't they! So for a very low price you can have a triple head selling candy, gum, toys or whatever. Here he's got 6 Heads with different products being vended for $100 cost in machines. Wow http://www.vendiscuss.com/forums/attachment.php?id=1062 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nam Posted May 22, 2009 Author Share Posted May 22, 2009 Let's do a U Turn now. U Turn offers bulk vending machines with removeable cannisters on a revolving pole stand. They come with 4 cannisters or 8 cannisters - even 12 now! Wow! I like these machines but that's too big for me. U Turns are also sold as a business opportunity for some very serious prices new. But if you're willing to look you can find these machines used for around $50 for the 4 cannister and $75 to $100 for the 8 cannister machines. I've managed to find some of these for as little as $10 and $30 as well. This can be true with any of these machines. Often people just want them out of their garage believe it or not. Like the 1800vending machines above these can vend alot more than candy. In fact very few locations could support a 4 cannister machine let alone one of those big 8 cannister machines. I think of my 8 cannister machines as vertical racks for selling all kinds of toys/capsules, balls, rings, collectibles and what ever. You can have 8 Heads selling all this in a one foot space. Pretty good to my way of thinking. One of the biggest issues in locating is finding the space for your machine. The big racks with all the heads selling toys/capsules are great but most places just don't have space to put one. Up goes the big 8 cannister U Turn in one little spot vending tons of toys! These cannister are removeable so that's another big plus in my book. The draw back with these machines is they are harder to service than most machines. You have to remove all these cannisters to refill and get to those quarters which can be time consuming. Anyway, again alot of heads for very little money if you're a smart shopper! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nam Posted May 22, 2009 Author Share Posted May 22, 2009 Super Bounce Ball Machines are yet another bulk vending choice. One nice aspect of vending these is they don't spoil with age and don't require servicing as often as the candy machines. The best in this class for free standing machines would be the Bounce a Roo made by Ok Manufacting and it sells for around $400 - $500 new. This can be found in the range of $100 on the used market. They have alot of great graphics to make the machine really stand out to the kids. The machine with the big globe is the Bounce a Roo. Another machine set up to vend the super bounce balls are the Mega machines. These are nice machines as well but don't have the display area for the balls as nice or as good of graphics as the Bounce a Roo in my opinion. These machines can also be found for around $100 on the used market. The Bounce a Roo is the top machine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nam Posted May 22, 2009 Author Share Posted May 22, 2009 Sticker/Tattoo machines are yet another bulk vending choice. These machines vend stickers of all kinds for the kids, sports collectible cards, stickers for their school books, it's endless. The most popular thing do sell today is the temporary tattoos. All the cool kids buy temp. tattoos! Anway, the same machines vend stickers and tattoos out of cardboard holders called sleeves. The machines have anything from 1 column to several columns. So you can buy a 2 column, 3 column, 4 column, 6 column or 8 column. If you look at my avatar it has my 8 column machine in it. The idea here is the columns are similar to the heads in the other machines. The more columns you have the more product you can offer. The 4 column is probably the most popular and it's nice to have the 4 so you can do 2 for girls and 2 for boys. Or two stickers and two tattoos. The 4 column machines can be found from probably a low of around $50 to no more than $150 in like new condition. These would normally be on a pole stand but sometimes they will be mounted on racks and have no stand with them. A big advantage to selling these is they don't spoil or melt in the sun. You can service the machines less often as well. The most important aspect of the machine are the coin mechs which also pull the sleeves out of the machines. Most have either ESD or Greenwald mechs. both of which are great. These can be good money makers in a good location. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nam Posted May 22, 2009 Author Share Posted May 22, 2009 Spirals are another machine you can buy reasonable on the used market. These normally have 850 gumballs in them but could also vend assorted 1" capsules if your location didn't like gum. Gumballs are our highest profit item so anytime you can sell alot of gumballs thats good! Your cost should be between 2 to 3 cents per gumball and it is selling for 25 cents. Pretty good profit here. The Spirals are big and stand out above heads and shoulders so the kids see the machines at a distance. Good for asking mom and dads for that quarter. Of course they like to watch the gumball roll down the spiral too. These machines are made by several companies but the two big ones that stand out are Wizard and Roadrunner. Make sure you buy a fiberglass machine and not plastic. Most of these machines have Beaver mechs. on them and sell for 25 cents but a few have 50 cent mechs. The machines will sell new for a low of $400 and go up to $800. They can usually be bought on the used market for $100 to $150. Sometimes if you're lucky you can catch one for as little as $25 to $50. Just keep watching and be ready when one comes along. They're big but light weight - probably less than 30 lbs. empty. No big deal to pick one up and move it for sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post shvend Posted May 22, 2009 Popular Post Share Posted May 22, 2009 Nam has asked to me to throw my two sense in on this subject so here I am. If you are new to the vending business you want to keep it simple and cheap. I would suggest ridding around and looking at different vending machine to see what catches your eye. Look for machines that are made of all metal, YOU DO NOT WANT PLASTIC VENDING MACHINES. After you find a machine that catches your eye you will be able to find the name of it on the machine. Do some research online and see what you can learn about that machine. Ask any of us, check ebay or craigslist, or call the manufacture. Get prices on them. In one of nams post I believe it was the first one he stated Eagle, Oak, Northwestern, and Beaver are the top 4 machines on the market and I will heavily agree on that. Northwestern and Oak are my main runners of a fleet of 1,200 machines so I put alot of faith in them. Find the machine you want to use and stick with that machine. Don't by three vendstar and turn around and buy 1 1800. Reason being is parts. You normally will have a machine that will be used for spare parts well guess what if the machines don't match the parts will not match. That is what I love about the 4 top machines on nams list You can take almost any part of a Eagle, Oak or Beaver and interchange them. Northwesterns are slightly different with the way they are set up and they rely on there own parts to function. I suggest also buying extremely used machines. Just make sure they are metal machines because they can be sanded and painted and washed up like new if you don't trust me check out the pics here: acrons thar around 25 to 30 years old. So don't tell me they are in to bad of shape. You know the best part of that I have a total of $5.00 in fixing those machines up, I have seven just alike. So you take seven machines referbed that is 71 cents apiece in them to get them on location (not including product). So vending is a very good a profitable business to get into if you act like you have a brain in your head and think a little before going out and getting caught up in some biz op, that you end up paying double or triple for your machines. Look around shop around and get your hands dirty and you will be able to see big profits in the near future. And remember if you have any questions don't hesitate to ask anyone on this forum. I promise you will get a very straight forward answer. The only stupid question is the one that is never asked! 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post JPVendCo. Posted May 22, 2009 Popular Post Share Posted May 22, 2009 i would not say that vendstars are bad machines there guys. I only own 100 or so of them! heres the lowdown on vendstars: canisters are interchangeable. anything can be fixed on them with a Phillips and flat head screwdriver. what you get is a machine that has the ability to vend 3 types of items, without eating up much space, for a cheap price. they have individual coin trays, so you can track performance. they are easy to service, you don't have to deconstruct the entire unit to get the coins out. they are actually pretty reliable. out of 100, i only had one that had anything wrong with it this last go around. so don't necessarily rule them out. -jp 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shvend Posted May 22, 2009 Share Posted May 22, 2009 jp, I am not ruling them out all together I am just recommending buying a machine that fits the buyers eye. I do know though that Vendstars are all plastic (for the biggest part) and just wear out a lot faster then an all metal machine would. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dperry Posted May 22, 2009 Share Posted May 22, 2009 I suggest also buying extremely used machines. Just make sure they are metal machines because they can be sanded and painted and washed up like new if you don't trust me check out the pics here: acrons thar around 25 to 30 years old. So don't tell me they are in to bad of shape. You know the best part of that I have a total of $5.00 in fixing those machines up, I have seven just alike. So you take seven machines referbed that is 71 cents apiece in them to get them on location (not including product). I will say that I have to get a very very good deal on a used machine (oak, nw, eagle, a&a) if I am going to buy one of them used. It has to be in the $10-$20 range IF IT IS IN GOOD CONDITION. It should be less than that if it's damaged in any way. I'm sorry, but most of the used machines I see for sale are about $35 or more. The problem with that is that the new item is only about $40-$55 (depending on the model). When you buy used you have to do so much referbishing, and maybe buy replacement parts because it's a candy wheel when you need gumball wheels, or the mech is for a dime instead of a quarter, or the lock is missing, or the globe is broken, etc. So buying the replacement parts eats into your initial savings. And the time it takes to refurbish your new purchase has to be taken into account as well. When you buy new, you can always get exactly what you want. You can get them keyed all the same, and if there is any damage in shipping or some other error in the sale, you can go back to the mfg/seller to have it made good. And you've saved yourself alot of time, money and headaches trying to refurbish your recent CL or ebay deal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shvend Posted May 23, 2009 Share Posted May 23, 2009 I suggest also buying extremely used machines. Just make sure they are metal machines because they can be sanded and painted and washed up like new if you don't trust me check out the pics here: acrons thar around 25 to 30 years old. So don't tell me they are in to bad of shape. You know the best part of that I have a total of $5.00 in fixing those machines up, I have seven just alike. So you take seven machines referbed that is 71 cents apiece in them to get them on location (not including product). I will say that I have to get a very very good deal on a used machine (oak, nw, eagle, a&a) if I am going to buy one of them used. It has to be in the $10-$20 range IF IT IS IN GOOD CONDITION. It should be less than that if it's damaged in any way. Darryl, You bring up some interesting points and yes I do agree with you but if you set and think about it for a minute you will still be cheaper to refurbish a machine then buy a new one. 1. Buy NW super 60 from ebay $20.00 (including shipping) 2. NW super 60 needs replacement product wheel and globe $16.00 for both A&A 3. Spray paint 2 cans (1 primer and 1 color your choice) $2.00 plus tax Walmart After the math you have $38.00 plus product ready to go on location A brand new super 60 from sams club will cost you $61.02 plus tax and candy http://www.samsclub.com/shopping/navigate.do?dest=5&item=111877 That is a savings of what roughly 40 to 41% cheaper right. I am not saying you are wrong darryl but we are wanting people to get started as cheaply as possible. Yes buying brand new equipment does make the best since but you get more bang for your buck with used equipment. Also you have a spare gum or toy wheel were you just replaced your product wheel there is always a plus referbishing your machines. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shvend Posted May 23, 2009 Share Posted May 23, 2009 kelly I was just using darryls price range for what he would buy if he bought used machines. I do not know if they are on there for that cheap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antoniocinisi Posted May 23, 2009 Share Posted May 23, 2009 Luke please send me a link for a super 60 on ebay for $20.00 (shipping included). I have never seen them that cheap.usually 20 bucks is for shipping. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shvend Posted May 23, 2009 Share Posted May 23, 2009 Once again I was just using what is darryls price range in his post!!!!!!!!!! plust the nw super 60 was just an example you can find oaks on there for cheaper I do know. Also I think it is westlake vending that is always advertising oak machines for $37.50. I don't know if that is referbished or not. IT's ALL AN EXAMPLE!!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dperry Posted May 23, 2009 Share Posted May 23, 2009 I suggest also buying extremely used machines. Just make sure they are metal machines because they can be sanded and painted and washed up like new if you don't trust me check out the pics here: acrons thar around 25 to 30 years old. So don't tell me they are in to bad of shape. You know the best part of that I have a total of $5.00 in fixing those machines up, I have seven just alike. So you take seven machines referbed that is 71 cents apiece in them to get them on location (not including product). I will say that I have to get a very very good deal on a used machine (oak, nw, eagle, a&a) if I am going to buy one of them used. It has to be in the $10-$20 range IF IT IS IN GOOD CONDITION. It should be less than that if it's damaged in any way. Darryl, You bring up some interesting points and yes I do agree with you but if you set and think about it for a minute you will still be cheaper to refurbish a machine then buy a new one. 1. Buy NW super 60 from ebay $20.00 (including shipping) sh,You make good points too, but item #1 is where your argument breaks down. Finding a NW super 60 for $20 (including shipping) just doesn't happen to me. I've never been able to find deals like this, and if you find them on ebay, somebody always outbids me. It's just not worth the aggrevation to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shvend Posted May 23, 2009 Share Posted May 23, 2009 Read post 19 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nam Posted May 23, 2009 Author Share Posted May 23, 2009 Luke, Looks like you're gonna get a POTD for what you had to say here. Good advice and I understand you were using an expample. Gotta listen to a man with as many machines refurbed and bringing in those quarters as you've got! Actually, I think we have a large group of machines in St. Louis right now that would be in the price range Luke is suggesting here and I know lurtsman got a bunch of Eagle and Oak down in the super cheap price range Luke refers to. A picture speaks a thousand words if you look at the ones Luke just posted that he has refurbed. The idea here is to give advice on how someone new with very little money can get started in this business. Refurbing these old machines and making them look new again is a great way to do it. Check out Luke's before and after pics here. What was an old machine looks brand new again! http://www.vendiscuss.com/forums/attachment.php?id=1174 http://www.vendiscuss.com/forums/attachment.php?id=1173 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jax Snacks Posted May 23, 2009 Share Posted May 23, 2009 I guess it also depends on what the "sweat equity" is worth to you. That's the time and aggravation spent refurbishing the equipment (in addition to the paint and parts). That will vary from person to person depending on their situation. Also it's not just the paint and sand paper! Remember to factor in the amount of money needed for replacements parts, capsule wheels, new locks, new globes etc. Six years ago, I got a super deal on NW60 heads for $12 each up in Raleigh. My dad lives in that area and picked up a bunch and started to refurbish them for me! Well, I also spent many weekends sanding, painting, cleaning, removing stickers, gluing cracked globes, ordering replacement parts, etc. The guy also threw in the stands for free and charged $1 for each double plate! In the end it was worth it, but it was a tremendous amount of work to clean up those 60 to 80 heads. I am not sure that I would have the energy and motivation to do that again. I guess having a partner helps a lot with the refurbishing and some of us have that luxury and others don't. By the way, the biggest hassle was not the rust, but rather the nasty sticker residue baked on to the globes. So now I personally would have to get the equipment "super cheap" in order for it to be worth my while to spend the money AND time fixing them up. Saving $10 to $15 bucks is just not worth it to me any more if I have to spend 4 hours and a lot of money for parts on just one single head machine. For some, it may be a relaxing hobby and for others it's a pain in the butt. I remember spending entire weekends doing this stuff. Do you like doing auto body repair work? If so, you would probably enjoy equipment refurbishing as well. Time, money, expertise, the proper tools and the desire to do it will all come into play on used equipment. Heck, just getting common locks and keys can cost a small fortune for a large fleet of machines. I bought some scratch and dent equipment earlier this year and it was soooo nice to not have to deal with broken mechs, changing locks, rust, sanding, painting and scraping those fracken baked-on charity stickers off the globes! To each his own since there are pros and cons to everything. Jax Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dperry Posted May 23, 2009 Share Posted May 23, 2009 Don't get me wrong. I think that buying used or referbished machines is a great way to go. But there are definately some areas (for me) where it's better to buy new than to buy used. Buying new smaller single-head machines like the oaks or eagles is how I would rather go. Buying used bigger machines like any triple (vendstar, 1800, rhino) is certainly the way to go there. I will certainly buy used from time to time. You all know about my most recent purchase of those Mega Toy venders. However I got those at a super super low price. Granted, they need some 'sweat equity' to make them usable. But the alterations I'm making to them will fit in nicely with the modularization that I'm focusing on these days. But even with the new stands that I'm making for these machines only cost about $10. So the total cost for those used Mega-Toy venders is about $100 each. They cost ~$700 new before shipping. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vendamania Posted May 23, 2009 Share Posted May 23, 2009 Been doing this 17 years and have never refurbished a machine and never will.The only thing I have done was paint a stand, I think it's a complete waste of time especially now since there are so many used machines on the market. Just my opinion. Fred Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dperry Posted May 23, 2009 Share Posted May 23, 2009 Been doing this 17 years and have never refurbished a machine and never will.The only thing I have done was paint a stand, I think it's a complete waste of time especially now since there are so many used machines on the market. Fred, Does that mean you will buy used, but will not refurbish them? So long as when you buy new, they have to be in 'like new' condition? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jax Snacks Posted May 23, 2009 Share Posted May 23, 2009 I really like one of the following 2 options now. 1. Buy "Blemished", "Scratch and Dent", "Irregular" equipment from a supplier if they offer it. Call your supplier and ask. 2. Buy used stuff only in good shape. Sort of an obvious statement since that is what we all want. But you need to obviously inspect the equipment first and when buying from ebay across the country, it makes that impossible. Even the photos don't always reveal how bad the rust and corrosion is. The days of buying really beat up stuff and spending mega time refurbishing them is pretty much over for me. Jax Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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