The change machine
I was so lost in the warm fuzzy bliss of imagining and researching that I forgot to seriouly envision the real-world workings of my setup.
Suddenly it occurred to me, [color=#0000ff][i]Will kids have any quarters on them?[/i][/color]
Initially I assumed I would collect the change from kids' pockets as they left the vendor area, having spent cash at other vendors. But most vendors at these shows wisely price their items rounded off to the nearest dollar. So there may not be as much change-in-pockets as I had first thought.
I would need a way to get quarters into the hands of would-be customers. And assigning a staff member to babysit the machines was not an attractive thought. The whole point of this venture was to add something new to the event that did not require a lot of babysitting. I wanted [u]easy to operate[/u], super-fast set up, etc.
I would need to get a change machine. Ugh. That's yet big budget item added to the ever-growing up-front cost of my plan. But I see no way around it. If kids are walking out of the vendor area with a few wrinkled $1 bills in their pockets, that's what I'll aim for.
Googling around, I finally found this one from Gulf Coast Vending Service. Among the best priced at $650 including shipping. It is battery operated, which is kinda nice. But even better, it holds a [i]whopping $400[/i] in quarters - which means less refilling by me (or a staffer). The next best machine I found held only $250 in quarters (and cost more).
So now my row of 5 vending machines has turned into a row of 5 vending machines and one change machine.
Suddenly it occurred to me, [color=#0000ff][i]Will kids have any quarters on them?[/i][/color]
Initially I assumed I would collect the change from kids' pockets as they left the vendor area, having spent cash at other vendors. But most vendors at these shows wisely price their items rounded off to the nearest dollar. So there may not be as much change-in-pockets as I had first thought.
I would need a way to get quarters into the hands of would-be customers. And assigning a staff member to babysit the machines was not an attractive thought. The whole point of this venture was to add something new to the event that did not require a lot of babysitting. I wanted [u]easy to operate[/u], super-fast set up, etc.
I would need to get a change machine. Ugh. That's yet big budget item added to the ever-growing up-front cost of my plan. But I see no way around it. If kids are walking out of the vendor area with a few wrinkled $1 bills in their pockets, that's what I'll aim for.
Googling around, I finally found this one from Gulf Coast Vending Service. Among the best priced at $650 including shipping. It is battery operated, which is kinda nice. But even better, it holds a [i]whopping $400[/i] in quarters - which means less refilling by me (or a staffer). The next best machine I found held only $250 in quarters (and cost more).
So now my row of 5 vending machines has turned into a row of 5 vending machines and one change machine.
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