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How should I acquire this location?


HandfulOHappiness

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So here's the backstory:

 

A month ago, I'm at this buffet, and I see nearly empty machines. The following week I walked in and the manager had placed these signs on the machine song they were out-of-order. On week 3, I talked to the manager, and he said that there's been texting the number on the side of the machine since the forest week of April: he got one response, and then the guy never replied again.

 

I have called and texted the number on the machine myself, telling the guy that I'm interested in buying the location (machines and all), but they haven't even replied to me.

 

Should I just buy some new machines and have the manager move the old ones too the back, or is there some legal way for me to take possession of the machines.

 

I don't know if you can tell from the picture, but both racks are all Beavers.

 

Thanks,19bfb8a87705fde245575783b8f37036.jpg

 

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If i were you, I would tell the manager you are interested in taking over. Purchase your own machines and put them in, take his out and hold on to them; let the owner know you are doing this, and then (check for legalities on this part) tell him he can get them from you in the next couple months because they are at a location you now have the contract for, or you will assume he doesn't want them anymore.

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Should I just buy some new machines and have the manager move the old ones too the back, or is there some legal way for me to take possession of the machines.

I would advise you to leave the other vendors equipment alone. If the manager wants to move them to the back that is his call but you have no legal right to remove another vendor's equipment without permission. There maybe a valid reason that the guy has not serviced the machine such as illness or a family emergency. Make sure the manager has the authority to make the decision to install new equipment BEFORE you buy anything (talk to the owner if possible). I would discuss commission and a possible contract and inquire if the original vendor still has a binding contract before I would buy anything specifically for this account.

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I would just worry about getting your own machines in.   Removing machines that are not yours could get you arrested.  

With that nice of a setup I doubt they are abandoned, either bad judgment of how long the service cycle should have been or family/personal emergency. 

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I make it a point to not touch other vendors equipment on location. I will gladly take over a location once I go through the steps of maxing sure they're not under contract and I have permission from the correct person. As for the other equipment, I leave that to the location to handle. That way if something gets broken or comes up missing, I'm not liable. 

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If I was IN with the owner/manager I would see if he would text (include me on the text) and tell him he has 30 days to remove his machines or the manager will remove them. On day 31 the machines would be deemed abandoned, I would show up and offer to purchase them for a $1000. I would probably get a large part of my money back in quarters. I would get a bill of sale. With the bill of sale and a copy of the text I would feel OK about it. Then I would put my machines in and take the other machines that I purchased and put them somewhere else.

If he does show up and gets his machines, you then have the location and that is what you wanted.

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19 hours ago, BCB434 said:

Not sure if someone can just commandeer machines after a 30 day notice.     May need to check the legality on that one.   

A good idea would be to contact the State Attorney's office and ask how long do you have to store some someone's unwanted equipment until you can dispose of it. 

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I have been in this situation a few times over the years and have always told the location that I can't touch the other vendor's equipment and it is up to them to remove it. Like I said earlier you don't know why there has been a lapse in service. Is the operator deceased, sick, elderly and lost track of locations, in jail, or was it a sold to another vendor and left off the location list? Who knows? What I do know is that I don't own it and I have no right to take property that I don't own. If the other vendor or his family suddenly reappear down the road looking for their equipment I can say honestly that I never touched it, I'm wasn't involved with it's removal and I simply came in as a new vendor at the request of the location. The windfall of taking this equipment and the money inside it is not worth the potential problems and damage to reputation.

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I run into this situation often on full size drink and snack machines , they haven't been serviced and the location can't get ahold of the owner of the machines . I ask the location if they have a place in a storage room or their wharehouse to store the machines, if not , I'll get the owner or manager to sign a release giving me permission to move and store the machines. I'll try anyway possible to contact the owner of the machine and let them know that the machines will be moved to storage and they can reclaim them anytime within 6 months but they will be required to pay the moving fee as well as a $5.00 per day storage fee ( per Texas state law ) . Check your state law on this and whatever you do , go by the letter of the law on this . I did have one guy contact me , he was in the hospital for a few months so I offered to give him his machines back without charging him the fees but he didn't want to run the account so I bought the machines from him .
It really surprises me how many machines are abandoned ( there are a lot of small vendors out there that are a 1 man operation and no one know where the machines are except him or her and for this reason I have a list of locations with there address and exactly what machines are on that location and my family knows where this list is .
Don't drill any locks out until your legally in the clear .


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  • 2 weeks later...

So, I ended up buying a rack of 5 Northwestern's of Amazon and I set them up at the location today. Prior to doing this, I made sure to ask if the previous vendor had a contract with the business (they said no). I didn't touch the other machines-- the location moved them to their back room somewhere.

Compared to the ~15 machines that were set up in the same spot, my rack of 5 looks positively tiny... As I was finishing up, I talked to the manager, and she told me she needed more racks, to fill up the space. She wants me to bring in 2 more racks of 5 and provide a change machine.

I'd be happy to do this if I had the capital on hand, and I'm willing to apply for a small loan, but I'm wondering: if I'm going to be investing in more machines, should I ask the libation to sign some sort of contact?

Does anyone else have experience with a location making requests like this?


Thanks,


(Pic of the current setup-- the change machine isn't mine)

378d49a38aad951a6ae9b98ef760dee2.jpg

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  • 4 weeks later...
On 5/17/2017 at 6:56 PM, HandfulOHappiness said:

So, I ended up buying a rack of 5 Northwestern's of Amazon and I set them up at the location today. Prior to doing this, I made sure to ask if the previous vendor had a contract with the business (they said no). I didn't touch the other machines-- the location moved them to their back room somewhere.

Compared to the ~15 machines that were set up in the same spot, my rack of 5 looks positively tiny... As I was finishing up, I talked to the manager, and she told me she needed more racks, to fill up the space. She wants me to bring in 2 more racks of 5 and provide a change machine.

I'd be happy to do this if I had the capital on hand, and I'm willing to apply for a small loan, but I'm wondering: if I'm going to be investing in more machines, should I ask the libation to sign some sort of contact?

Does anyone else have experience with a location making requests like this?


Thanks,


(Pic of the current setup-- the change machine isn't mine)

378d49a38aad951a6ae9b98ef760dee2.jpg

how much do you need? i might be able to front you the money if you can double my investment :)

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I ended up finding a 9 head rack for less than I paid for that 5 head in the photo. I spent a week refurbishing it and got it installed. I'm looking at breaking even on my investment in about 3 more months.

I did more belly-aching than I should have considering I'm much better off now that I have more machines.

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On 5/17/2017 at 8:56 PM, HandfulOHappiness said:

So, I ended up buying a rack of 5 Northwestern's of Amazon and I set them up at the location today. Prior to doing this, I made sure to ask if the previous vendor had a contract with the business (they said no). I didn't touch the other machines-- the location moved them to their back room somewhere.

Compared to the ~15 machines that were set up in the same spot, my rack of 5 looks positively tiny... As I was finishing up, I talked to the manager, and she told me she needed more racks, to fill up the space. She wants me to bring in 2 more racks of 5 and provide a change machine.

I'd be happy to do this if I had the capital on hand, and I'm willing to apply for a small loan, but I'm wondering: if I'm going to be investing in more machines, should I ask the libation to sign some sort of contact?

Does anyone else have experience with a location making requests like this?


Thanks,


(Pic of the current setup-- the change machine isn't mine)

378d49a38aad951a6ae9b98ef760dee2.jpg

If it's a good spot you best fill it up or someone will drop stuff on you.  No Cranes?

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I asked the manager about other machines and he didn't even want a shootin hoops machine. I did, however, buy another 9 head, which is now installed.

I think I'll start another post with updates, but here's the current setup:

98a5424ee4665cc699b0eee1898befb6.jpg

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2 hours ago, HandfulOHappiness said:

I asked the manager about other machines and he didn't even want a shootin hoops machine. I did, however, buy another 9 head, which is now installed.

I think I'll start another post with updates, but here's the current setup:

98a5424ee4665cc699b0eee1898befb6.jpg

Those three heads on the bottom right look pretty crammed in... I could be wrong, but pay extra attention to those to make sure they are locked tight and dont end up breaking.

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Yeah. I asked the guy I bought those from about that, and he said that the machines were actually be bolted into the legs as opposed to how I currently have them secured with a metal cross-beam underneath... The only problem is that when I unscrewed them, I couldn't find the homes in the frame for the screwed to be threaded in to.

It's a tight fit, but it works until I can figure out how to do it the right way.

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That bottom shelf on the small rack is designed and sold by Oak and should only be able to hold 3 of their Vista's. You should probably remove one of the NW's before there is a big mess to clean - one of the reasons I don't care for those racks is the front support cross bar....it's just an invitation for kids to start climbing...sits there like the first rung of a ladder...

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