dapoopta Posted March 6, 2013 Share Posted March 6, 2013 I'm going to post a few machines I am looking at/considering. Please give me some feedback. Thanks for all your help! I'm looking for something small for a potential oil change place. http://cincinnati.craigslist.org/ele/3605472069.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bullyfrog Posted March 6, 2013 Share Posted March 6, 2013 I think you've already been given the best advice when it comes to buying snack & beverage machines. Stay away from the combos and stick to the brands listed. They're all tried and true. You may find an odd machine here or there that would work but you're taking a big risk once something does go wrong (and eventually it will). Keep looking, you can find these brands used in great condition for good prices if you just wait and watch. don't buy combo capacity sucks. Also, don't buy from online sites like used vending. Stick to craigslist or manufacturer. also, I wouldnt buy anything other than a full size Crane, AP, USI, or Rowe for snack, and Dixie narco, Vendo, or Royal for soda. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dapoopta Posted March 6, 2013 Author Share Posted March 6, 2013 Alright, I'll stick with these. Any reason to buy new? What are good sites to find parts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bullyfrog Posted March 6, 2013 Share Posted March 6, 2013 There are plenty of online sites for parts. It kinda depends on what you're looking for. I personally wouldn't buy new unless it was a huge account that demanded to have brand new equipment. If this is your first purchase, buy 1 or 2 good used machines and go from there. I don't have a huge amount of experience when it comes to full line, but that's how I got started. I purchased 2 machines and have just continued to grow. Once you get your first machine placed and kinda learn how everything works you'll have a better idea of what you're looking at. If you have trouble with programming or setting up any of the brands listed, usually you can find someone on here that can help you out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moondog Posted March 6, 2013 Share Posted March 6, 2013 I'm going to post a few machines I am looking at/considering. Please give me some feedback. Thanks for all your help! I'm looking for something small for a potential oil change place. http://cincinnati.cr...3605472069.html Beats the hell out of those Seagas you were looking at. It's a Wittern combo, probably a USI or FSi - basically the chevy's of the industry. One K might be okay tf they're location ready. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZVendor Posted March 6, 2013 Share Posted March 6, 2013 dapoopta, Those are good machines to start with, but my recommendation to anyone starting in the business is to keep it simple and start with soda only, single price Dixie Narco or Vendo. Learn the ins and outs of that type of machine before jumping into snacks. One thing about snacks, the fewer machines you have the more stale expired product you will have to throw away. The more snack machines you have, the easier it is to spread out your inventory among several stops. This allows quicker sell-through on your product purchases. Back when I started, I didn't do any snacks until I could put 3 machines out at about the same time and spread my inventory around (but I still had stale products). Keep in mind that you can't just buy 5 of this and 8 of that, you have to buy a box of 12, 24, or more of a single product and with only one snack machine you have to try to sell all of that box before it goes bad. As far as parts go, sources depend on the brand of machine you buy. Some parts are only available through the manufacurer, some only through a distributor, and some are available from several sources. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dapoopta Posted March 6, 2013 Author Share Posted March 6, 2013 Thanks for the tips AZ. Going to try to find a soda machine first... What's a "normal" price to pay? Cans or bottles?? Or both? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reel Posted March 7, 2013 Share Posted March 7, 2013 Yes its a very old USI machine with a separate machine snack and drinks i think from memory the drink machine has a very small drink capacity across approx 6 varieties, if its working ok it should be fine for the kind of location you mentioned and parts should be readily available from USI. As Mr Moondog says it beats the hell out of buying Seagas, than again almost any machine is better than a Seaga lol!. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZVendor Posted March 7, 2013 Share Posted March 7, 2013 Dapoopta, there is no "normal" price for anything in this business, only what the buyer is willing to pay. Craigslist blew up any form of normalcy to used vending machine sales. One guy just posted today that he found a 40 select Rowe 4900 snack for $50 on CL and you have already seen some overpriced machines. Watching CL on a regular basis will give you some idea of what is selling and for how much, but remember CL is also a good place to sell something that doesn't work right. So buyer beware. If you have any vending repair places or distributors around, don't be afraid to visit them and inquire about what they are selling. It will be higher than CL but is likely to work. You might even find a supplier you really like and trust. As for cans or bottles, any beginner should stick to cans while learning the business. They are much easier to handle and the machines are simpler and cheaper to buy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dapoopta Posted March 7, 2013 Author Share Posted March 7, 2013 I met a guy yesterday that had a few machines in his garage. He is a local vending machine owner and has overflow machines he can't place. Very awesome guy with lots of advice! He told me not to buy his machines til he found a location for them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ruff84 Posted March 7, 2013 Share Posted March 7, 2013 I met a guy yesterday that had a few machines in his garage. He is a local vending machine owner and has overflow machines he can't place. Very awesome guy with lots of advice! He told me not to buy his machines til he found a location for them. I would advice the opposite, i found the location and they are waiting on a machine. If you have a machine in the garage before you have a place for it you will have more time to learn the ins and outs of the machine before it reaches the customer. I think if you have a few machines in the garage that will also motivate you more to find better homes for them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TKK Posted March 7, 2013 Share Posted March 7, 2013 yeah buy machines first. if you find a great place they may want your services ASAP! thats when your demand is high and you will normally pay a high price for a machine. having them in your garage, like stated above, you can mess with them and check them as well, and will motivate you to find locations as well. just dont do the mistake of lowering your location standards just because you have a garage full of machines. if i was you, id scout CL look for 2 single price vendos/dixies, and 2 used snack machines like AP, Crane, etc. find good locations (ofcourse no one knows if they are good til you actually check it) but what i mean is dont go to Mr. Chuys muffler shop and drop a snack and coke machine. then get to know the machines, and the business itself. then keep your ees out on good deals on GOOD machines. buy them and get you A$$ out there and start finding them a home. repeat, repeat. Grow. Learn. for example i bought 4 snack machines this weekend for $1200 and 3 coke machines for $600. there is 3 snack machines and 1 coke machine in my storage. when i go i hate seeing them there. im buying like 3 more machines this week as well, actually one just like the one you posted. good luck, just dont pair up with coca cola, or pepsi, or get combos. thats not hard to remember right? keep your eyes out for ROUTES as well. sometimes older people get hurt, or _ NNNN_____NN_____N_______________, and just want out. im actually looking to buy a route asap before i waste my money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mission vending Posted March 8, 2013 Share Posted March 8, 2013 I'm going to post a few machines I am looking at/considering. Please give me some feedback. Thanks for all your help! I'm looking for something small for a potential oil change place. http://cincinnati.cr...3605472069.html That's a USI GF12 and satellite CD6 combo. The drink capacity is 1 1/2 cases of cans per selection and its can only. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogcow Posted March 8, 2013 Share Posted March 8, 2013 forget about the oil change place, if u really insist on it buy a can machine like AZ said , for $250-300 and put it there. If they want snacks forget it. Also i never buy drink or snack machines if i dont already have a loc lined up unless its part of a package deal. around here they are plentiful, local vendor has 70 machines for $200 each, its a pain to have equipment sitting around plus if you look at route ready stuff you have ot move it twice, id rather move it from the owners place to the location unless its super cheap fix-er-upper and needs to be painted. my biggest expense after product, and commission is warehousing because i have a lot of parts and fallow equipment right now. its a bad situation to be in, some months i am just treading water because of the expense but i have nowhere else to put the stuff at this point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moondog Posted March 8, 2013 Share Posted March 8, 2013 forget about the oil change place, if u really insist on it buy a can machine like AZ said , for $250-300 and put it there. If they want snacks forget it. Also i never buy drink or snack machines if i dont already have a loc lined up unless its part of a package deal. around here they are plentiful, local vendor has 70 machines for $200 each, its a pain to have equipment sitting around plus if you look at route ready stuff you have ot move it twice, id rather move it from the owners place to the location unless its super cheap fix-er-upper and needs to be painted. my biggest expense after product, and commission is warehousing because i have a lot of parts and fallow equipment right now. its a bad situation to be in, some months i am just treading water because of the expense but i have nowhere else to put the stuff at this point. Dogcow It seems like not too long ago you were posting pictures of your new empty shop. Don't tell me you've maxed that place out already. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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