SSVEND

We may be better off buying the Chinese made gumballs over at A&A

Man, we're in trouble if the only gumball supplier left can't even make a decent gumball.

This is the type of business where a lot of people come and go. The ones that have hung on, can't seem to quite leave! Kinda like the mafia I suppose. haha Since that post over a year ago, the majority of my business has been sold. I'm still holding onto a few locations for the time being. Looks like we started at the same time in the business. Man, those first 5 years sure were the best. I remember growing rapid fire...buying hundreds of machines and putting them out. Looking back it was so much easier finding locations then than it is now. It was a different world. It's been an adventure to say the least!

Absolutely the problem is finding anyone to buy the route outright. I'm in the process of selling piecemeal and should be done selling by years end. Wish it wasn't the case, but at this point i'll take what I can get and be grateful someone is buying the business.

This is what a riser looks like for Oaks. https://www.ebay.com/itm/143595748038?epid=12060587638&hash=item216ef93ac6:g:lioAAOSwnTterzcC&amdata=enc%3AAQAIAAAA0IToX3L%2BEEg5w32ykY88H4M2ZIEiJngZIFdp0Z8tKYxlzTEQO88NKk89sHehKUqN6sM6T7fl16hFGL9cvehWVpiIMMIZqCc32kDXJW8gFMA%2FeQCYHpwnA6uVFfzCRdYgVm3O7HSFIHieyf8RAitE0PSOhq5YzeE8prRoBpCj9degnVcEBjWPV%2F4LWZrcEub527mfJpzuBrsKfbW1nBgXE0qMUt9Dl0Ru9P6PjEpYBgMAT4OExMGqTufAnigRGEyYMtPUF9h%2Bv7%2B%2BwPChDXqVTqY%3D|tkp%3ABk9SR5SB8dTOYg

Yes

You would want the capsule wheel, brush housing and riser to vend gumballs. If you want to vend 1" capsules, same setup minus the riser. https://www.ebay.com/itm/225659015902?hash=item348a5352de:g:WnMAAOSw5WBkpJuT&amdata=enc%3AAQAIAAAAwELqwW4NWkSeISVKtbV8zZnC8CYYx3uIrcfUd6iZ0jsR7l4sEd%2BXp5V5PMsIyMxlH0j7Cc03YFc3OTEpRtJGQeI2n2BzcZ%2B7OM6MiY7buABh6TmPMtwe1xOICJfYYgeU2ljJJ2MtsfMNZwGe%2F4Q50%2FhiZR%2F3CkFU6JI%2BFr21ICD1dTrUle3%2FYfZR3qJQZrgsP35W7LbVIVziztil32uLt1EKkEqkSQoMTO2hsdakeGwm%2BgM37dDR09cqDXlNx%2FHSUA%3D%3D|tkp%3ABk9SR7iVqobOYg

I would just put them out. Unfortunately, we don't have much of a choice anymore when it comes to gumballs. I wouldn't worry too much about it. In my 20+ years in bulk vending, i've learned to let a lot of stuff just roll off my back! Oakleaf gum was always very good. Thankfully I stocked up right before they went out of business and still have some left. I'm on my way out of the business except for maybe 15 or so locations that i'll hold onto for a little while. I've tried ZED gum from A&A, not enough of it to get a good read though.

I've never seen gumballs look that bad unless they have been sitting inside a machine in the sun for a year. You might be able to disguise them some by mixing in with the older gumballs still in the machines.

Good Lord, those gumballs look like crap. Hope that was a mistake and not the new normal for concord.

My bank doesn't exchange currency either. I wait till I get a ton of them and just sell the batch on ebay. You won't get face value, but whatever. Another thing I do, If i'm paying for a soda or whatever at a convenience store, i'll mix one or two in with other quarters. Right now I probably have a couple hundred laying around.

I had a Vietnamese restaurant many years ago when bulk vending was booming and it was a dud that I ended up pulling. That was my only experience with them. Nail salons for the most part are duds, but once in awhile you get some that do really well. It all depends on the clientele. I'm surely not going to put a machine in a nail salon that has all rich white women.

If you're buying gumballs and candy in bulk, I would contact Concord Confections. If your just looking for a couple cases, I would just go with A&A Global.

I also find the foreigners are MUCH easier to locate machines in their stores. I have laminated pictures (3x5) of all my different types of equipment and set ups. I'll bring whichever picture of the machine I am trying to place in the store with me. They'll know exactly what the machine will look like. When I walk in I am already picking out a location for the machine, so I can overcome the "I don't have any room" excuse. Usually once I mention commission money (foreigners love when you start talking money) their head turns and they start to look around the store for a spot. I've already determined the spot when I walk in, so I help them out here. I can be fun and challenging.

Try going into the inner cities. Small mom and pop stores/restaurants. Moving forward, stick to single or double head machines. I started out with triples many years ago and quickly realized it was basically overkill for most locations. Double heads with gumballs and bouncy balls or gumballs and 1" capsules at 50cents. Very good locations you can upgrade to 4 or 5 head racks. Keep it simple and use quality equipment...plenty available on facebook marketplace or craigslist. Oak, Northwestern, Beaver or Eagle are quality machines. Locating equipment is a numbers game. I personally love locating. I tend to have the gift of gab...Become their friend first and then pitch them. Good luck!

Eagle does not a have a website. You have to call them. The contact person is Sharon and the number is (909) 447-7866 They're out in California so that would be west coast time.

You can still get brand new machines from Eagle. $73 for a 25 cent mech machine or $84 for a 50 cent mech machine. Very similar to an Oak machine. I'm on my way out of the business now after 20 years but If I was expanding or just starting out this would be my #1 choice right now.

I just talked to Sharon at Eagle. They are still selling equipment...for how long I don't know. They only carry red machines, no more black. 1-49 machines = .25 coin mech $73.00/.50 coin mech $84.00 50+ machines = .25 coin mech $58.00/.50 coin mech $67.00 If you are looking to buy quality new bulk equipment, I can't recommend Eagle enough. PLEASE support the last company that truly makes quality equipment that will out live all of us. Phone # (909) 447-7866

I got the email as well and I'm shocked this is the first place I have seen someone talking about it. I am on a few of the facebook groups and I haven't heard a peep from anyone. This leaves us with basically Concord and A&A's own brand gumballs. This will have HUGE implications on bulk vending. Gumballs sold in bulk will become a thing of the past in the not too distant future IMO. I'm just here riding it out as long as possible, but the hits just keep coming.

Sadly, no matter which way you look at it, it's a dying business. Going on 20 years now and when I first started I started right off the bat running 2" at .75 and 1" at .50....fellow vendors thought I was crazy, but we were looking long term. At this stage of the game it really wouldn't make much sense to invest in $1 mechs for 2". I'm just here riding this out for hopefully another year or two. Product is getting difficult to find...so many suppliers have gone out of business. Prices are insane, even for gumballs and it's only going to get worse. The business has been good to me, but it's no longer "fun" anymore.

Every pool hall I have had has frowned upon having gumballs in the locations. I always got the "I don't want to be scrapping gum off from under the pool tables" or "I don't want to be re-felting the tables because gum got stuck to the tops".

18 years doing this and I have NEVER once bought from Brand.

I believe it's free freight over 500 pounds.

You can order direct from Sweetworks/Oakleaf. Just in the last couple weeks Oakleaf has done away with several different varieties and sizes of gumballs. I trust the demand just isn't there anymore and they are even cutting back production. Sad times for the bulk vending industry.

I have seen vendors use a rock for weights. The problem with that is after the last sticker is sold there won't be a pin to drop to prevent someone from putting money in and getting nothing.