bbeckl Posted July 11, 2012 Share Posted July 11, 2012 or alot . first off ,thanks to everyone who posts on this forum . ive learned alot , and would not have known where to start , or the direction i wanted to go , had i not found this site . im very new to vending , i started in febuary with 3 doubles ( rhino ,with the front locking cash boxes ) . i wanted to get my feet wet , get some experience self locating ,servicing a few machines ,and learn the ins and out , ups and downs of the industry . since we started ( my wife and i ) , we have added 11 more triples , and 5 singles ( triple shop x10 ,triple pod x1 single head rhino with front cash box x5 ) .we have gone back and forth working with different model ideas . i have read alot of information on machines ,and model ideas , and STILL can not determine which way to go .on either . i usually have faith in myself , and like to think i have all the answers ,and can figure anything out , but , reality is , i dont lol . the questions ,that have been asked a million times , but im going to throw them out again , hope no one minds . machines : we have very limited experience in vending ,and with any of the machines. i know alot of you use oak-northwertern . our favorite so far is the rhino's with the cash boxes . if you havent used the cash boxes , they are AWESOME http://www.gumball.c...with-stand.aspx . i know these machines dont get alotta' love , but we havent had any issues thus far , they have been very reliable . although , if you asked 4 years ago if my g35 was reliable ,i would have said yes i LOVE IT ( i still love it , but clutches and release bearings every 15k miles , and that little issue of having the engine replaced @ 40k miles..off topic ,sorry ) . the point there is , i like them NOW . im not sure i will feel the same in 4-7 years . i have seen mixed reviews . if we went with triples ( which is very unlikely , ive read, and learned first hand they are overkill in alot of spots ) , we really like the triple pod ( 1800 knock off ? ) for the price , removable canisters , and ...price http://www.gumballma...oduct/2154.html . model : i know one size doesnt fit all , but im hoping one ( or two ) sizes fit me . im under the impression that size isnt as much a issue as location . id like to stick with one or two machine types . we have single gb's that do $30 a month ,triples that do $50 a month ,and triples that do $2 a month , so the model is a hard chioce too .at one point ,i was SURE i was going to have one million and 2 single gb spots. one product. simple services ,low overhead ,long shelf life. but ... a big part of me wants to pull the trigger on a small volume order for a ( 60-80 cash boxes doubles ,or 70-90 triple pods , or 100--120 singles) large discount . my gut says yes. the sensible side of me says no, i will end up like the guys on CL with 500 vendstars selling off at 50% .the sensible side of me says order in lots of 5-10 , because MY luck ,id order 100 doubles ,to wake up and see the guy down the street has 200 for sale @ $50ea . again ,at a loss here . oh ,and then there is the question of toys ,candy , of stickers . do the "what if's" ever end ? so far we have only done candy , and have been happy with the results ( after we learned the hard way ,you DONT fill a triple to the top when its in a 3 man auto repair shop ) , but dont want to limit ourselves either . on a final note. i feel like ive seen enough to know some of the ups and downs , and im ready to move forward . im just not sure what direction to go . im not in a HUGE rush ,but i would like to grow quickly form here forward , maybe shoot for 70-150 locations within the next year . we are blessed as far as our area , we are in the middle of the 2 largest cities in oregon ( portland-salem ) , so we have alot of opprotunity . thanks in advance for any advice ,and suggestions . i look forward to growing , learning ,and some day teaching ,with everyone . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToddWebb Posted July 11, 2012 Share Posted July 11, 2012 At the risk of sounding rude, try using capital letters, double-spaces after periods, no-spaces before periods and commas, and break up your message into a few paragraphs. This isn't the place for texting. That was a very difficult read. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbeckl Posted July 11, 2012 Author Share Posted July 11, 2012 no , its fine . i have fairly thick skin . i work swing ,had about 3 hours of sleep . its a mess, i know . im still going to the community college to learn how to write-spell-puncuate . thankfully , neither vending ,or my current employer require any of these skills . if you do get through the "text" though ,im open for non-grammar related advice . thanks ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bullyfrog Posted July 11, 2012 Share Posted July 11, 2012 You keep referencing Rhino, but all of your links show LYPC. I have no experience with their machines, but I have a few Rhino stands. So far they've got the job done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbeckl Posted July 11, 2012 Author Share Posted July 11, 2012 yeah , i assumed they look the same , and i called on it . they have the actual rhino version ,but dont show on their site . being in manufacturing ,im sure 98 percent of the parts come from the exact same place ( rhino an lypc ) with different stamps for each company . but ,the " triple pod " is a lypc , i dont know that there is a rhino version of that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timberframe50 Posted July 11, 2012 Share Posted July 11, 2012 If you deciede to stick with Rhino, send sweetstop a pm, he is an authoerized Rhino seller, I'm sure he will beat those guys on price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbeckl Posted July 11, 2012 Author Share Posted July 11, 2012 oh wow . thankyou so much ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bullyfrog Posted July 11, 2012 Share Posted July 11, 2012 He doesn't sell Rhino any longer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rdendy Posted July 11, 2012 Share Posted July 11, 2012 I have the same experience as you, I started with Rhino, loved that I got both GB/Candy/Toy wheels included for the price. I like the look and they seem fairly heavy duty. Now the bad side, I ordered a total of three batches of them, in 2 of my orders the parts used didn't work or didn't match up right (one the body where the hinge supports were, the support hadn't been formed all the way, it was painted over so it came from the manufacturer like that, another one had the improved mech, which I didn't order, but it was messed up anyway, it rattled so bad in the groove that it was unusable. Gumballs.com fixed everything quickly and though it was a rough start I was happy to get them out. Now that it's been 6 months out in the field I have three of them with locks that are breaking. I have chewed the top tooth of several of the barrel lock keys and am looking for new locks to replace on all of them, just seems easier since they obviously have some flaw in the locks they are using. I am working on getting them all off my route and replacing them with the AA Pm Elites I moved to 4 months ago. I think i am going to reset them all to GB machines and use them as singles if I can find new locks that aren't too expensive. I'm not saying they are bad, just relaying my experiences and picking your routes machines is a very personal decision but better to make it now when you can easily recover then later own when you have to replace dozens or even hundreds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedvender Posted July 11, 2012 Share Posted July 11, 2012 I have 14 triples vendstars. Small locations they work well. I just made a deal with a guy that is moving bought most of his eagles and stands etc.. for a great price. Also found on Craigslist a source for NW 60's bought 2 doubles for 72 each Him and his Girlfriend has several yet still in the boxes. Don't know the prices on your machines but Eagles are 47 on up for the basic cabinet machine NW 60's hold a ton of candy and gumballs are 70 from sam's club. With Craigslist and ebay you can always find a deal on something. Do like I do. On the eagles the seller had another set when I bought my 1st group from him that didn't sell. I worked out a deal to get them Cheaper then he had on Ebay and also bought a extra set of 4 for a total of 8. So I got a bunch of machines for around 30 bucks with shipping to my door. Machines I would work with what you like but look on ebay or Craigslist and pick up a NW, eagle, Oak, AA, or beaver and check them out. See what you like and then use that one or a couple different brands of machines to get rolling and as you start making money slowly sell off the ones your not crazy about and work with the ones you like to deal with. It is all about what works for you. Listening to a guy this afternoon talking on business you have to work on your bread and butter in our case EXISTING CUSTOMERS, but look for ways to expand while keeping your current moneymakers going. KEEP EXISTING CUSTOMERS HAPPY AND KEEP LOCATING MORE MACHINES AND GROWING YOUR ROUTE. That is my main plan for business. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PerformaVending Posted July 13, 2012 Share Posted July 13, 2012 I have used LYPC machines for candy and toys, and they are hardy little machines. Copies of the Beaver RB16, which is a copy of the Oak Acorn. It is what it is. While these machines aren't as tough as their metal counterparts on the market, but they're easy enough to get, relatively inexpensive used, and reliable enough to get the job done at an average location. I would continue with your current plan. Small setups are easy to place, easy to service, and easy to change. If you get a dud, you can swap down to a single, if you get a good spot, swap up to a triple/rack/etc. I dove into toys on a good deal, and I've done alright on the deal, but to really make toys shine you need 50 cent 1" toys. LYPC's can be upgraded to do that, but by the time you factor in all the aftermarket stuff, and the markup from Gumballs.com, I'd think you'd almost be better off buying some quality used equipment set up for toys already instead. Whatever you choose to do, I wish you the best of luck on your endeavor! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbeckl Posted July 14, 2012 Author Share Posted July 14, 2012 thankyou everyone for the advice. ive decided to continue to grow slow with doubles , and see where things take me . i really like the idea of doing toys ,but that will come with time i suppose . thanks to rdendy for the advice on the pm elite's . i ordered 7 doubles from AA , and will take it from there . again ,thanks everyone ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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