vlavoie44 Posted January 9, 2013 Share Posted January 9, 2013 Hi all, I'm new on the forum, this is my first post. (My main language is french so I may make some english mistakes) I was searching a way to invest around 10k and I didnt know where to invest it to get some good returns. I did some reasearch and found that vending machine business could be a good way for me. I went on craiglist and local websites to find some used machine for sell. I found a guy selling 29 pringles/candy/peanuts with a supplier for 11.6k. The only problem is that they don't have any emplacement right now. The machines are working perfectly. With this supplier, I can buy each item in them for around 0,70$ and sell them for 2$. I think these are pretty good margins. I called the guy to see if he could sell me less machine. He said that he can sell 15 of them for 6k so half the machine for half the price. Each machine are worth around 1k and he is selling them for 400$. Is this a good investment? How hard is it to find emplacement for 15 machines? Thank you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GagesVending Posted January 10, 2013 Share Posted January 10, 2013 Those sound like full size machines. If so, they are pretty difficult to place. Almost always the full size machines require a commission to pay the owner at the venue. If the machines use electricity, expect to pay around 20-25% commission. I do believe that there are locating companies that will place those machines for you, but it won't be cheap and it certainly doesn't guarantee to be a great location. It's risky, it could pay off, but I'd do some research in locating them before you buy them because if you can't place them, then they will just sit around and cause you to lose money. Personally, I wouldn't go for it. I would look for an existing route to buy from the owner, that way it's a turn-key business and all you have to do is service them regularly. Those full size machines are heavy and difficult to transport. Also, you may need permits or some sort of licensing to operate them. Check with your state, as the laws are different state-to-state. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moondog Posted January 10, 2013 Share Posted January 10, 2013 Your best bet is to check out the "full line" forum for the type of machines and locations you're talking about. there's a massive amount of info there. I can tell you that Pringles machines are not too popular as you can only sell Pringles out of them - that whole deal seemed way too expensive considering none of them were placed. Take a couple of hours and read that forum and then ask some specific questions before spending a nickel on anything (wish I had). And don't worry about the language barrier - most of the members of this forum either can't spell or can't type so we all do a lot of interpreting Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vlavoie44 Posted January 10, 2013 Author Share Posted January 10, 2013 Hi, I saw another offer which is 15 machines that sells pringles and other stuff for 2,5k so around 165$ each. They already have a supplier for pringles, cadies and peanuts. The supplier has 125 different choices of candies/chips/peanuts to put in the machine. They are all mechanical so I don't need electricity. I will make a lot of call this week to try to place these machine before buying them. If I can't place them all I wont buy them all. The price each item are almost the same with this supplier : 0,70$ for candies, 0,65$ for peanuts and 0,75$ for chips. I live in Canada and I checked with my province (state) to see if I need some license. They said it depends of the city. I checked with my city and I need to pay a tax of 92$/machine/year. If I place the machine out of my city, it will be around 30min of car, maybe less (I live in a small city) and I won't need to have licenses. Now I will call at my school, at some bowling center, billard room, garage, laundremat, etc. If you have some idea of where you think I could place them I would appreciate. What do you think? Thank you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moondog Posted January 10, 2013 Share Posted January 10, 2013 Here in the States, you'll seldom see a Pringles machine. I know they're big in the UK but I'm not that familiar with the Quebec market. They appear to come in 3 sizes and I've seen the biggest ones go for $350 used. It sounds like you're more focused on the bulk side of the biz which has a higher profit margin than full line but usually doesn't make as much money. You will find that securing good locations is the hardest part of this business - which ever way you go (bulk vs FL). If they grew on trees everybody would be doing it. In general, the most common mistake virtually everybody in vending has made was to jump in too soon. I know you're hot to get started (been there, done that) but "cool your jets a little" and learn as much about this biz as you can. At some point you do have to "pull the trigger" and jump in. You'll still make some mistakes (I sure did) but they won't be as big or as potentially disastrous as the ones you'll probably make at this point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treadmill Posted January 12, 2013 Share Posted January 12, 2013 Sounds like these opportunities are biz-ops and sound like they are a little expensive to me. Having to buy product from that supplier sounds high to me IMO. I would not do this deal and look for others and over time you will find what you are looking for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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