Jump to content
Please Login
  • entries
    17
  • comments
    83
  • views
    10,886

About this blog

The refurbishing of used bulk machines.

Entries in this blog

Spiral Roadrunners

I got a Roadrunner spiral in a deal a couple years ago for free, and have had it sitting in my garage taking up space. Then last summer, a deal on 3 of them landed in my lap one day. I bought all 3 for $75. The first one is just the body parts and the globe. The last 3 are complete except 2 burned globes, no locks, and 2 coin doors missing. 2 had rope lighting down the spiral which did not work. The time came to get them ready for the route or sell them for profit. So I disassembled all
Hillbilly

Hillbilly

11

How I'm doing

I have posted very little about my business on this forum. Numbers and things. I've certainly talked a great deal about working it though. With the help of Andy and this forum, I am finally getting close to being cash flow positive. While I have made money all along, you just can never seem to get ahead. There is always something you need to purchase. About August of last year I decided to try a different approach to my purchasing habits. I wasn't buying enough product to get any discounts
Hillbilly

Hillbilly

2

Bok Choy Boy

I was watching a cooking show the other night (well, mainly for some background noise) and they mentioned bok choy. I went to the web and looked it up. Sure enough it is something you eat. A type of cabbage that is from Chinese decent. With a name like that it couldn't possibly taste good. I tried to put 2 and 2 together to figure out why they are a toy and I am still clueless. Are they a superhero? Maybe a mutant form of a little boy who swallowed some cabbage and turned into a half boy
Hillbilly

Hillbilly

6

Third Times A Charm

Well, just a year ago, I was in the middle of a divorce wondering where I was going with my life. Seemed I was having a hard time getting a date. I never told anyone but I was getting a little lonely after 2 or 3 month's of living alone. I had my pet chihuahua's, Ellie and Rocky, and my son's cat Jester, But they were feeling like more of a burden than companionship. The bar scene and nightclubs were not, nor ever have been my style, so meeting single women was a problem. Maybe I was a li
Hillbilly

Hillbilly

7

I Wanna be a Pirate

I have been daydreaming about this for quite some time. It came to me the other day while I was counting quarters. I had just had my largest pull yet. The quantity of quarters made me think of pirate treasure. A couple of days later I drove past a location of an early Civil War battle and reminisced about my metal detecting days. I always used to get excited any time I found coins. The thought of the pirate loot and treasure re-entered my mind and here we are...... This has been about 2
Hillbilly

Hillbilly

10

Life without a Wife

Well, It's been a month now since my wife and I separated. I have to say that it's not been that bad. I was worried about things that she always did like paying the bills, most of the cleaning, laundry, etc. I mean, I'm not a slob or anything but she did most of those things. My help was pretty much delegated to the manly tasks like fixing plumbing problems, cutting the grass, cleaning the siding, washing the vehicles, etc. Here are some things that I have learned in the last month. 1
Hillbilly

Hillbilly

7

Does Size Really Matter?

Does size really matter? We've all participated in those conversations. But what about gumballs? I've often wondered if people buy the gumball because it is big? What if they had say, 2 smaller gumballs at a lower price? Which one would they choose? I decided to find out for myself. I bought 6 chicklet wheels from Ebay that only vend 2 at a time. I bought some 1/2" gumballs and tried them in the wheel. Works perfectly. Every time. I can get the 8500ct gumballs for $26.90 and I'm g
Hillbilly

Hillbilly

10

Used Machines

What are the benefits of buying new machines? I pondered this question as I purchased my latest machines. The warranty is pretty much mute. Who is going to pay shipping to return a machine? Its probably much cheaper to just fix the problem yourself. I guess a special color is a benefit. What I have found though, is that having all your machines one color works to your advantage. If you have a problem or a damaged piece, you can just swap out with another if they are the same. A coin t
Hillbilly

Hillbilly

7

My Trip to Andy's

As some of you know, I spent a week at Andy’s. We planned this trip over the winter. We spent 6 days servicing parts of his routes. We serviced approximately 70locations and drove over 2000 miles. I also drove 600 miles each way. He made sure I was well rested by giving me 7 hours of sleep between work days. We started about 7AM each morning and finished about 7PM. He is a great cook and we ate very well. It is Sunday morning and I am so tired. We worked hard every day. It was als
Hillbilly

Hillbilly

1

Picking A Machine

Picking a machine to refurbish can be challenging. You don't want one in too bad of shape but don't want one already repaired either.[attachment=897:NW Super 60 # 43,44,45.jpg] Sometimes I'll buy a machine even though it is not complete because I know in the future I'll have a need for it. I'll also buy parts lots to use in the refurbishing process. Buying parts lots gives you the spare parts inventory that makes refurbishing more cost effective. I try to make sure the machine has no hole
Hillbilly

Hillbilly

3

A Tip Of The Hat

What continues to amaze me is that I learn something new about bulk vending all the time. I've been doing this for over a year now and my practices just keep getting refined and polished a little more each time this happens. At some point in time, I'll be able to call myself an experienced vendor. I had an issue with an Oak coin mech yesterday and was talking about it to a buddy on here late last night (late for me any way) not him (he sleeps till noon). He suggested I check something on t
Hillbilly

Hillbilly

3

Of Mice and Men

I'm terrified of mice and their bigger cousins, rats. They are right up there with snakes and spiders. I've had run ins with them my whole life. Had one rat that even tried to attack me. Of course he was high on Eagle 7 at the time. I had some acorn capsules siting on my work bench due to capping some product. Had them all together in a neat little pile. Had a 1/2 full box of capped stuff sitting next to them. I kept noticing one capsule would be out of place when I would come in and turn
Hillbilly

Hillbilly

3

Turning Trash Into Treasure

I started my bulk vending business by buying 10 new Northwestern machines and located them. It didn't take me very long to figure out that the growth would be slow unless I could come up with an idea to get machines faster. I thought if I could get 2 machines for the price of 1 it would grow twice as fast. I've got some mechanical ability so I looked on Ebay and started buying old used up machines and repairing them. Since I started with Northwestern's, I looked at those and Oak Vista
Hillbilly

Hillbilly

4

The Gumball Junkie

You've seen them. Maybe not noticing as they briskly walk past you. There eyes fixated on an object on the other side of the room. A glaze in their eyes, not blinking,not even once. They walk across the room and stop with their back facing you. They reach into their pocket and grab loose change by the handful. Quarters, looking for quarters. Slowly they put a quarter in the machine, turning the handle in hopes of scoring not just 1 but 2 gumballs. They only receive 1. In goes another
Hillbilly

Hillbilly

2

The Frankenstein Project

I began changing my Oak flat panel machines to 300 and 450 globes right after I started in the business. The look of the globes were more appealing to me than the flat panels. The flat panels were cheaper on Ebay than the globe machines so I bought them originally. In doing this I amassed a great deal of parts that I had no need for. I started trading for stuff I needed and began to sell some on Ebay and on Vendiscuss. I used that money to buy parts that I needed to make complete machines.
Hillbilly

Hillbilly

4

Tool Time

In this section, I want to list the tools that I use during the refurbishing process. This will be a work in progress as I am always coming up with new ways to accomplish tasks. While most repairs can be handled with common hand tools there are a few specialty items listed because they make the task so much easier. [u]Screwdrivers[/u]-One of the most used tools is a screwdriver. You will need a good selection of Flat and Phillip tips. Long ones come in handy to remove the screws that hold
Hillbilly

Hillbilly

3

The "Junkie" (Part 2)

The Junkie needs another fix. He goes to all his usual places but can't find anything. Sweat pops out on his brow. He shakes uncontrollably. He must have it. After days of looking he spots it. An old model 60 thats been sitting in a barn covered with dirt and rust. Heck, there's even some old stale gumballs still left in it. He bids on it. And again,again,and again. What would anybody want with such a dirty neglected machine he wonders. He watches the countdown clock on the auction site slowl
Hillbilly

Hillbilly

0
×
×
  • Create New...