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VenDesign Machines


Guest betty51

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Guest betty51

I bought 4 of these from Ebay and I can just kick myself for it .

First off. Its to heavy,just way to heavy.

Then to get to the money tube you need to remove all 4 cansters( I am all way scared that I spill them all over the floor)

Hot tamiles do not vend in those machines .(And that is what alot of people wants!!!)

The door that you open to get the candy,gum from will come off the hinge easy .:XI can not put it back so I have stop what I doing and go out to the car and get my Dear Dear Hubby to fix it 

 

Edit to say ,I cant spell worth a darn!!!

How do you edit the topic line for goodness sake!!!LOL!!!

betty

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  • 2 months later...

Hi, just wanted to share my impression of the Vendesign 4 selection units I just purchased. These are the carousel style where the head spins, similar to the Uturn machines. Please keep in mind that I'm a complete newbie to the vending biz. I just picked up the machines and have not placed any units , so I can't say about reliability or problems yet. 

I got these on Craigslist. 12 new in box, 2 slightly used. All for $1,550. I don't think I would buy new, from the factory, at about $450 each. A little much, I think.

 A quick word about dealing with the Vendesign headquarters (I think they're also called Carousel Vending?).  When I was researching the various machines on the market, I called their headquartes and spoke with  Richard, the owner, on 3 seperate ocassions. He seemed friendy and proffesional , but each time he stated that he couldn't give me any info on his machines and that I had to deal with the local distributor. That's fine , except for the fact that the distributor never called me back. 

On to the machines. They look nice and seem solid. Kind of heavy and sturdy. My wife and kids agree that they look good.  13 are dark gray and 1 yellow. I would have picked all  yellow or red, but like I mentioned before,  I got these on Craigslist and this is what the guy had.  Powder coating is good but not show quality. Paint is bubbling, very slightly, on one of the used units.

Things I like:

*Don't know how this compares to other machines but it seems very easy to service. Unscrew the lock on the top lid, remove the lid, remove the 4 candy bins, and remove the locking coin tube that resides inside the stand post. My plan is to carry already filled candy bins ( in one of those Tupperware style boxes) and extra coin tubes and just swap them out when I service the machines.

*All metal case,lid, post, base and coin mechanism.

*Coin mechanism assembly easy to replace once the candy bins are removed. Takes about 2 seconds to slide it out and slide another one in. Mechanism seems solid. I'm going to do a little preventative maintenance by loctiting the various screws, and lubing the coin mech. and the bearings that the head rotates on. (I know, I know, a little anal but I'm a mechanic and just trying to avoid future problems).

*Candy hoppers are adjustable for vend quantity.

Things I don't like/not sure about:

*Candy hopper, gears that turn hopper, and coin chute are all plastic. Wondering if the plastic gears will hold up.

*I'm told that it only vends 6-8 peanut mm's, even on the max setting. Maybe  I can grind out the inside of the hopper for a little more capacity?

*1"gumballs won't fit in hopper. Vends 2 of the next smaller size gumball. I'm told that they offer a different hopper for 1"gumballs and small capsules.

*4in 1  head rotates. I like this. But... my daughter's first reaction was to give the head a good spin to see how fast it would go! Hopefully this won't turn into some kind of problem when they're on location.

Well, that's my 2 cents.  Does anyone else have any thoughts on these particular machines or 4in 1 machines in genearal?

Thanks guys for all the useful info. Hopefully it will keep a novice like me from making too many mistakes. Will update once these machines see a liitle use.

Ernie

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  • 4 months later...

blackbear,

I have a couple VenDesign machines and consider them like most machines to have advantages and disadvantages.  For me the disadvantages out weight the advantages unless the price is very cheap.  The cannisters are quite large but won't vend 850 gumballs or 1" capsules so in most locations that's just too much candy. I wouldn't buy another one unless under $50 in like new condition and prefer closer to $25.

nam

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  • 3 weeks later...

I would recommend 1800vending triple heads.  I recommend them because I think they are a good quality machine that can be bought for $50 to $100.  They are in my opinion probably the nicest looking machine of this type made.  They have removeable cannisters which is very important to me as well as can vend 1" capsules, 850 gumballs, and rubber balls.  They have tubular locks not flat key and have one door on the back that gives you quick access to get the money out.  I'd much rather have a triple head like the 1800vending machine than one single head Northwestern for the same amount of money.  If the location can't support more than a single head just put in 1" capsules.  They won't spoil and you may sell more Zoo Mania or whatever than the candy anyway.

nam

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  • 4 weeks later...

Start out with single and doubles, that way you dont have to buy as much different candy. If the location proves to be a good one then you can always upgrade. Candy spoilage sucks.

It certainly does. My first location from vending is a total dud. I've had it for 7 months and it hasn't burned through it's initial batch of RP--though it did get them fairly low. I tested the 8way next to me (why didn't I do this earlier?) and it was giving out 24 RP. I opened my wheels all the way and gave the assistant manager a quarter to try it and get his stamp of approval. I was tired of my machine being hardly touched while the 8way RP sold out. Hopefully it becomes decent now.

Back to the original thread. I'm finding the 4ways to be much harder to find locations that actually go through enough product. This may be related to me just not finding hot locations. I'd consider buying the machines if the price was good enough, but over all I'm leaning towards racks / charity GB, and it feels like the 4way machines are frequently caught in the middle. Not enough power for a rack, but too much selection for a small location. With that charity GB it can go to a 3 month service cycle when time gets tight and maintains an excellent return on time. The proliferation of 4 selection machines confuses me as a vendor, because it seems so few vendors would have significant success with this model.

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  • 1 month later...
  • 3 months later...

I have a bunch of these vendesign bulk head units.  They hold four types of candy.  This is great if you have a location that does great numbers.  I started filling them up half way, because a bag of MMP cost about $9 and that fills it half way to 3/4.  So you end up with $40 or so in product just to get the machines half full.  Then 30 days later you return to get $3 - $20 for about half of my locations.  After about 60 days of MM and MMP in the sun they look really bad. 

These units sell for $300 - $350 new.  I paid $50 for them used in like new condition.  For $50 I still wonder if they are worth it.  In a high volume area they hold a bunch of candy and give the buyer four choices, so they area good fit.  They look nice, and the location always likes them.  They take up basically the same space as a single head machine.  But most hair places, Chinese take out, Auto repair, etc. I do under $10 a month gross and these machines offer too many selections and too much product cost.  There is always one product that really does not sell, even in the great locations.  Sams really only sells five bulk items so I carry those, but I mostly stock with: MMP, SK, Mike, RP.

I do like how they are constructed.  The coin mechs slide out, the candy bins lift out, the coins fall into a locked metal tube with a separate key to open the coin tube.  The only pain is you must take out all four candy bins to get to the coin tube.  These bins filled with candy tip over Very Easily and will spill $10 of MM in a second all over your locations floor.  The second you do not bring in a plastic milk crate to hold all four candy bins upright to get to the coin tube, is when it will happen to you. 

The machines are all metal with thick clear plastic candy bins. 

These machines also Only sell Bulk Candy and Bulk Candy cost the most and has the lowest profit margin.

I would love to sell 1" gumballs or bouncy balls or toys, etc.  but you can not with these machines.  They work well in break rooms, and employee areas that want candy for .25.  But again it's a bunch of candy or you fill the machines just a tad and they look empty. 

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  • 4 months later...

I (like HondaMan) also had a not so good experience when I tried contacting Carousel/ Vendesign. I went to the website and researched all I could on my own but I wanted to talk with them directly. I called the number on the Carousel website and was told the 4 in1 machines were $250 each but had to be purchased through a distributor. I called the distributor and he tells me that I have to purchase 2 at a time for $300 each. When I tell him that I had already been quoted a cheaper price he tells me that Carousel was bought out by Vendesign and was no longer in business and whoever answered the phone and quoted the price was mistaken. He went on to explain that they were bought out 10 years ago and that I must've "stumbled upon an old website".

None of that made any sense to me. So, you're telling me that someone's been paying for hosting to keep an old outdated website from atleast 10 years ago up and running with a valid phone number who instructed me to call you to purchase their machines but they're no longer in business and don't know what they're talking about? BS

On a more positive note, I have found that the same machines are very plentiful on the used market in good condition for around $100. I'd still be a little concerned about parts and service if the need should ever arise.

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  • 4 months later...

Personally, I like these machines a lot. So far I own three of them, and they seem to be the best bulk candy machines out there. If yours doesn't have a gumball assembly, you can order one for about $30 plus shipping.

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