Metro Coin Machines Posted July 17, 2012 Share Posted July 17, 2012 Hello, I started in the bulk vending business in 1975, with three Oak machines. in four years, I had over 600 machines, and I was selling over 250 pounds of penny ( yes, it was a penny then) gum a month. I branched out into juke boxes, pinball machines, foosball tables,wrigley stick gum, machines ( remember those? you got two 7 stick packs for a quarter?) payphones ( legit Western Electric baby bell payphones with simulated central offices in the base) and rack jobbing. I sold all of it,over the years, to both existing vending companies, and newbies. Over the years, I also had canned drink machines, glass front snack machines, cigarette machines, and I have sold all kinds of stuff through bulk machines: condoms, stamps, edible nuts, breath mints, tums...tiny sets of playing cards.....even tiny machine tooling at a tool company. I have watched the business opportunity sellers pratically ruin the bulk vending industry, Ive watched locations that could reasonably support maybe two heads have 10 onsite, operated by 5 different people. Ive also watched as these super cheaply built machines jam, fail to vend, and otherwise give the whole industry a bruised image. I have always operated professional, reliable, commercial equipment, ( well, except the crazy stick gum machines, that was my low point) and I hardly ever see Northwesterns or Acorns or Victors or Beavers fail either on my routes or others. I have watched 60 year old machines, hopped up to accept quarters, that are probably worth maybe $5 each, operate without failure for thousands of vends, and right beside it is a shiny new plastic machine that cost the owner almost $900, including the cost of the location and the first fill, that vends...sometimes....and it will even vend for a dime if you jiggle it just right. Now, after 36 years in the business, I have sold everything, and Im starting over. This time, I am going to try to specialize in nut machines. Why on earth would someone do such a stupid thing? Beacuse nuts are so demanding, no one wants to really fool with them on any kind of scale. Oh, some will have a few machines with peanuts,or cashews, I sure did, but Im going "whole nut" with this thing. Its too hard to do otherwise. My inspration? the New York Nut man. He has hundreds of nut machines, and I believe my planned operating procedures are almost the same as his: 100% machine change out each service cycle, 30 day service cycle, if the location cant support 60 day cycle, it gets pulled. No, I do not intend to make a living doing this, it is a sideline. Am I nuts? certifiably, I believe. But, others have been able to make this work, so Im gonna give it a try and see. My theory is, nuts are poised perfectly, and there is a low barrier to dollar and 75 cent vends with nuts.Also, there is no competition, period. Ill post my progress, or lack of , here as I go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caserri Posted July 17, 2012 Share Posted July 17, 2012 Well welcome! It certainty appears that you will be a great asset to our community. You should fit right in with the rest of the nuts around here. I look forward to reading more from you. Sent using Tapatalk 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PerformaVending Posted July 18, 2012 Share Posted July 18, 2012 Welcome aboard! Good to see a new face, and I look forward to learning from someone of your experience! Welcome! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rdendy Posted July 18, 2012 Share Posted July 18, 2012 Cant wait to see how this goes! Welcome to TVF Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mission vending Posted July 18, 2012 Share Posted July 18, 2012 Hello, I started in the bulk vending business in 1975, with three Oak machines. in four years, I had over 600 machines, and I was selling over 250 pounds of penny ( yes, it was a penny then) gum a month. I branched out into juke boxes, pinball machines, foosball tables,wrigley stick gum, machines ( remember those? you got two 7 stick packs for a quarter?) payphones ( legit Western Electric baby bell payphones with simulated central offices in the base) and rack jobbing. I sold all of it,over the years, to both existing vending companies, and newbies. Over the years, I also had canned drink machines, glass front snack machines, cigarette machines, and I have sold all kinds of stuff through bulk machines: condoms, stamps, edible nuts, breath mints, tums...tiny sets of playing cards.....even tiny machine tooling at a tool company. I have watched the business opportunity sellers pratically ruin the bulk vending industry, Ive watched locations that could reasonably support maybe two heads have 10 onsite, operated by 5 different people. Ive also watched as these super cheaply built machines jam, fail to vend, and otherwise give the whole industry a bruised image. I have always operated professional, reliable, commercial equipment, ( well, except the crazy stick gum machines, that was my low point) and I hardly ever see Northwesterns or Acorns or Victors or Beavers fail either on my routes or others. I have watched 60 year old machines, hopped up to accept quarters, that are probably worth maybe $5 each, operate without failure for thousands of vends, and right beside it is a shiny new plastic machine that cost the owner almost $900, including the cost of the location and the first fill, that vends...sometimes....and it will even vend for a dime if you jiggle it just right. Now, after 36 years in the business, I have sold everything, and Im starting over. This time, I am going to try to specialize in nut machines. Why on earth would someone do such a stupid thing? Beacuse nuts are so demanding, no one wants to really fool with them on any kind of scale. Oh, some will have a few machines with peanuts,or cashews, I sure did, but Im going "whole nut" with this thing. Its too hard to do otherwise. My inspration? the New York Nut man. He has hundreds of nut machines, and I believe my planned operating procedures are almost the same as his: 100% machine change out each service cycle, 30 day service cycle, if the location cant support 60 day cycle, it gets pulled. No, I do not intend to make a living doing this, it is a sideline. Am I nuts? certifiably, I believe. But, others have been able to make this work, so Im gonna give it a try and see. My theory is, nuts are poised perfectly, and there is a low barrier to dollar and 75 cent vends with nuts.Also, there is no competition, period. Ill post my progress, or lack of , here as I go. What a great story to go with a lifetime of experience. Welcome to TVF, looking forward to the rest of the story. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lowcountry Dan Posted July 25, 2012 Share Posted July 25, 2012 That is quite a story. You are right to pursue a unique position in the market. Smart, but challenging. You have vision. For that, I salute you. Do you know how much better most of us are than the average Corporate robot? They are held back by their dogma from their business schools. While they are dreaming up mission statements, people like us are getting things done. Many big companies have become bloated and out of touch. They have tons of highly educated people who are inept. Good luck, and look forward to hearing of your success. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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