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Beaver talking vendor Gumball machine


Guido90095

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Does anyone know anything about the Beaver Talking Vendor? I know it was put out in the early 80's. does anyone know what they are worth. I have one that is in working order with a record player device that tells jokes when the coin is inserted and the handle turned. Very cool. Are these rare?

Thanks,

Rob

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I had two broken ones that a location gave to me. They belonged to a previous operator in that location; somebody vandalized them. I also have two on my route that I purchased from the same that same operator. I have no idea how rare they are, but they sure look weird.

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I had two broken ones that a location gave to me. They belonged to a previous operator in that location; somebody vandalized them. I also have two on my route that I purchased from the same that same operator. I have no idea how rare they are, but they sure look weird.

There must have been a huge route of them at one time. I find them all over Iowa collecting dust. There is (or was a short time ago) someone still running a route of them north west of you.

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There must have been a huge route of them at one time. I find them all over Iowa collecting dust. There is (or was a short time ago) someone still running a route of them north west of you.

I rarely travel more than 30 or 40 miles, so I never see what other operators in nearby towns are using. I wonder who had them? I know that the operator I purchased mine from operated primarily south of me, so I doubt they were his.

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  • 2 years later...

I'm bringing this post back from the dead because I am hoping some of you might have some info (please?)

I just found a machine on my local craigslist that tells jokes. I think this is different than the actual "beaver talking vendor" - it looks like a Beaver Northern machine with a stand that has a speaker in it. Not sure what brand the stand is. The seller seems to not know very much about the machine - said the battery inside is dead but potentially rechargable so I've been doing some googling to try to find more out about this thing before I drop $90. I've seen some pictures where they're calling it a "Kooky Kid Joke Machine", but not having much luck finding any more info.

Does anyone have any experience with these at all? Will the battery recharge or am I gonna have to find a new one before I go check the machine out? Any info about the battery or how these stands actually work would be much appreciated! 
Attached is the photo of the machine & battery from the ad + another pic I found on google of some of these stands.

post-8013-0-61319700-1442873594_thumb.jpg

post-8013-0-88376200-1442873715_thumb.jpg

post-8013-0-64625400-1442873893_thumb.jpg

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I'm bringing this post back from the dead because I am hoping some of you might have some info (please?)

I just found a machine on my local craigslist that tells jokes. I think this is different than the actual "beaver talking vendor" - it looks like a Beaver Northern machine with a stand that has a speaker in it. Not sure what brand the stand is. The seller seems to not know very much about the machine - said the battery inside is dead but potentially rechargable so I've been doing some googling to try to find more out about this thing before I drop $90. I've seen some pictures where they're calling it a "Kooky Kid Joke Machine", but not having much luck finding any more info.

Does anyone have any experience with these at all? Will the battery recharge or am I gonna have to find a new one before I go check the machine out? Any info about the battery or how these stands actually work would be much appreciated! 

Attached is the photo of the machine & battery from the ad + another pic I found on google of some of these stands.

attachicon.gifhearjokes.JPG

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attachicon.gifbattery copy.jpg

 

These machines were, as I understand, manufactured by a 3rd party using the NB-30 as the foundation. A lot of 3rd party manufacturers from BayTek to ParSal all used Beaver gear as their "core" machines at one point. Who made this one, I do not know at the moment. Hopefully someone else can shed some light on that one.

 

Beaver mechs are very versatile- judging by the pictures it's probably just a switch wired up through the bottom, with all the "talking" functions in the base. So, it's a 2" single unit with an added attraction function. The batteries are a big X-factor. Without a charger, or knowing their history, I'd be leery to try them. Old batteries aren't something to play around with.

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thanks for the insight Performa. I've only been vending for a year and a half, recognize these from when I was a kid (I'm 27) but have no real background info about who used to make what and when.

I did some more searching and there is a battery manufacturing company here in Toronto that makes one that I believe will work for about 25 bucks. I definitely don't want to try to charge a sketchy old battery and end up with some kind of lead and acid explosion, I'm totally not trying to play around with that aspect of it.

Even if I can't end up making the speaker work I figure 90 bucks for an NB-30 is a pretty good deal. Throw a $1 or $2 mech in there and I'll have my money back in a few weeks. Seller couldn't even tell me if it was a 1" or 2" unit, I think he just wants the thing out of his house. I'm going over there Wednesday night, will update this post with what I find out in case someone else is searching.

 

In the meantime - anyone else have any experience with these things? Are the jokes even funny?

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$90 for a complete 2" single unit isn't too bad as it's a Beaver unit. There's a TON of great products you can run in there and make a good profit on a very limited piece of floor space. Good luck!

Definitely, I'm not too worried about getting the beaver filled up when I get it - just got my fingers crossed that this joke thing will work! Although its a little discouraging noone seems to have any info about it.

Beaver said the company that made the stands went out of business (no surprise) but had nothing else to offer. I've got a regular stand I can swap it out with if need be.

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Definitely, I'm not too worried about getting the beaver filled up when I get it - just got my fingers crossed that this joke thing will work! Although its a little discouraging noone seems to have any info about it.

Beaver said the company that made the stands went out of business (no surprise) but had nothing else to offer. I've got a regular stand I can swap it out with if need be.

 

Can always paint em' if they don't work either. Fingers crossed you can get them to work though, I'd be curious to know more myself.

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I've got this thing going and the jokes that come out of it are supremely annoying! It plays the Loonie Tunes theme song before and after all the jokes, if I was working at a location I wouldn't want to have to listen to that all day. It's a basically a wide stand with a walkman inside so I'm hoping I'll be able to figure out a new tape.

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

I've got this thing going and the jokes that come out of it are supremely annoying! It plays the Loonie Tunes theme song before and after all the jokes, if I was working at a location I wouldn't want to have to listen to that all day. It's a basically a wide stand with a walkman inside so I'm hoping I'll be able to figure out a new tape.

 

Ah, so more like the old Toy N' Joy style of things. Very interesting!

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  • 3 years later...
  • 2 weeks later...

I saw a talking joke machine a few years ago on ebay and I wanted it, but I missed that auction. I have been hunting for one ever since and have not seen another for sale. I still want one so if anyone out there has one for sale please contact me.

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