Renting a soda route?

[gshelton11]

A small bit of background: I have some bulk candy machines right now, and have always wanted to get into the soda business, maybe snacks but for sure soda. I saw an ad with routes for sale via sodaroutesusa.com. I learned hen I was thinking of getting into bulk to do more research before I jumped into a company like Uturn, and I'm glad I didn't get involved in them. I did it on my own much cheaper. 

Anyway, it sounds good on paper. What I want to know is, good investment yes or no and why? Also, considering I am small at this point and don't have the kind of revenue to run out and buy 4-5 soda machines, is it possible to rent soda routes and not have to pay for the maintenance and upkeep on the machines, similar to the deal these guys are offering? Do local Pepsi and Coke bottlers actually do such a thing as they are advertising? I ask you, soda guru's, to please help me know more about this. Thanks!!  

[QuikVend]

I would recommend starting out in full-line vending by buying 1 or 2 soda machines(selling cans to begin with) and finding a few locations for them and reinvest your earnings from them to keep growing, as long as its something you want to continue. There is alot more to soda machines than bulk machines, so starting small let's you test the waters before plunging into a big financial commitment. 

I started the same way, a small 12 location route of bulk machines and jumped into full line slowly a few months later. I learned quite a bit over the next few months and now I'm growing pretty steadily. 

[falls]

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Anyway, it sounds good on paper

Does it?

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What I want to know is, good investment yes or no and why?

I would tend to say NO. It's not the worst deal in the world, but definitely not the best. They are charging you c$1200 per LOCATION to organise your set up with a bottler (no mention of if it is coke, pepsi, or 7up), find you a location, and give you basic information on vending which is probably less than you could get by reading the forums for a few hours. Based on their price for locating a snack machine ($400 if you don't buy the machine from them) you are paying $800 for their 'services. You would be better off talking to your local bottlers to see what (if anything)  they can offer. Alternatively use the $800 to buy a good used machine that you own outright, pay a soda locator $400, and buy drinks at Sams Club cheaper and any variety you can sell.

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 is it possible to rent soda routes and not have to pay for the maintenance and upkeep on the machines, similar to the deal these guys are offering? Do local Pepsi and Coke bottlers actually do such a thing as they are advertising? 

It is possible to have bottlers supply machines to your locations BUT , and yes it is a big but, if you can find a bottler that will work with an unproven vendor, and is willing to set up an account for you, there are usually conditions attached. These can include minimum case purchase amounts per machine (at a fairly high price), maintenance limitations, and being tied to a specific brand of product. 

If you read through the sodaroutesusa site you'll see they kind of mention these potential pitfalls, but don't go out of their way to make it obvious. They are at least honest in saying that what they can do for you depends on your location (because each local bottler has their own conditions what coke will do in one region is not the same in a different coke bottler region.

[AZVendor]

It's likely a ripoff.  While no one on this forum has discussed dealing with them they do advertise on CL around the country.  If they are really doing this then I can guarantee that 90% of the locations are crap.  In order to fulfill the number of machines they would have to commit to means they will get any location they can to place a machine in.  This is even if they are above board.  There is nothing that replaces your own hard work and this is one of them.  The bottlers also don't let their machine be placed at just any location.  

You also don't want to be beholden to the bottlers because you can only put their products in their machines.  You will be required to meet certain volume numbers and you can't just buy your soda wherever you want.  I will have to come from an "authorized distributor."  This is all assuming that you are even approved to be a third party vendor.  The bottlers are not looking for new third party vendors.  They have way too many under-performing assets out there already.  

There just isn't any aspect of this that sounds legit.  I'm sure you'll find it's just a money grab.

[Southeast Treats]

Good used drink machines can be found for sale at reasonable prices.  Look for Dixie-Narco 501E or 276E, or Royal 550, 650, 660 models that are MDB.  If you have a little room in your garage you can take the time to shop for equipment deals and get a machine or two, then go looking for locations.  Mostly cans and maybe bottled water, good long shelf life on those (except for diet drinks - pay close attention to those).  You can shop the sales and get really good pricing as compared to what the bottlers would charge you if you were using their machines.  If you are a little bit mechanically inclined you will be able to learn what you need for most repairs.