shepherdsflock

What material are you making it from? Most of the 3D printers I've seen don't work with high strength plastics. There are some out there that do, but they're pretty expensive.

Wow, this thread has really grown since it started! Lots of great information. Unfortunately, I'm still no closer to getting my first can machine...

Does A&A have a price list? I really hate having to contact a supplier for every little inquiry when I'm comparing equipment and products. I'd rather have a catalog with prices that I can look at rather than sending an email or making a phone call every time I want to know a price on something.

Fast Food Erasers have been a very low seller for me. I thought they looked pretty cool and that they would sell well, but they've been a dud. Sticky mixes sell pretty well for me. Mustaches do very well. I did have a problem with TNT's Mystery Mustache, though. I think the product display was confusing and made customers think it was a mystery mix rather than mustaches. I switched to Fashion Mustaches (also from TNT) and my sales went up nicely. The product display, in my opinion, made a huge difference. I've had very poor luck getting any of Brand's Squish stuff to sell. I've still got a bunch of it out on my route and a few bags of it in my basement that will probably end up in 25 cent mystery mixes. I have two locations that sell quite a few Acrylic Rings. I'm getting ready to try some Ninja Fighters from A&A and will post an update when I see how they do. I have machine in a Tae Kwon Do place and I'm going to try them there.

They make Boston Baked Beans and those can be purchased in bulk at Sam's Club.

I used to work for J.E. Adams, a manufacturer of these type of machines. There are some major reasons why you don't see typical vending businesses operating these. First, because they're meant to be outdoors, they're built from stainless steel (expensive). Second, they need a dedicated power supply, which makes it hard to locate something like this. It's more something that a c-store or carwash offers as a convenience to customers. It's not really something buy to make a profit (usually). C-stores and carwashes don't want people parking their cars with flat tires on their properties, taking up parking spaces that could be used by paying customers. So, they offer machines like this to keep broken down clunkers off their properties.

NinnJinn, you make a pretty good argument in favor of the can machine. I'm only planning on buying two, plus two snack machines, and it might be a year or two before I make enough off those machines to invest in more. So, maybe the can machines aren't such a bad idea. If I'm looking at a 10 case minimum order, I probably would have a lot of product expiring.

If you were just starting out and could buy either a can or bottle machine, which would you choose? There's a guy who has two can machines on location and wants to sell them to me, but I'm wondering if it's a good way to start. What are the pros and cons of cans vs. bottles? Obviously the can machines are probably a little cheaper to buy and stock, but do bottled drinks sell better or have a better profit than cans? What should I consider in making my decision?

Hey, dogcow, how are things going this month? I'm trying to build up the courage to try honor boxes myself, and trying to keep track of how you're doing with it since you seem to be one of the few out there that is doing it with any amount of success.

Cool. Glad to hear its been profitable for you. I'm even more encouraged now to get out there and try it. Let us all know how the penny candy boxes turn out for you. I'd like to know more about them. I haven't seen much on here from people who have tried it.

How has this working out for you long term? Any updates? I've been thinking about trying it for about a year now and haven't had the courage to commit to it yet.