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10 grand vs 50 grand what would you do


CJvending

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Ok so I'm just at the beginning of my bulk vending career. My goal is to have 300 machines on location. I have 3 out on location as of now and 11 waiting to be cleaned (vendstars) part of me desperately wants to switch from vendstar to a better bulk machine (aa global or northwestern) here's the problem. As I sit here crunching the numbers here is what I came up with, I paid roughly 35$ for each of my vendstars, the next machine up (in quality and relative inexpense) is aa global (wont do Oak I'm on the East coast, freight would cost a ton) double head and even with quill.com's pipe stand (for their free shipping) 40$ + two po89's 93$ + adaptor plate 7$ + 18$ shipping. I would be paying about 150$ per double head machine. Making the difference( in my goal of having a route of 300 machines) 10,000$ for 300 Vendstars vs. 50,000$ for 300 aa global doubles. Am I missing something? I really hate the vendstars for their low quality, the fact that I have to wash and hand dry each one, the plastic parts that are entirely too delicate, lens falling off, no drop through coin mech, etc but am I gonna pay an extra 40,000$ for the privledge of owning a fleet of po89's that many people on this site still have complaints about (fogging globes, crunch turn mech, etc)? If you had 280$ left in your companies's bank account and you were in my position. What would you do?

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If I'm not mistaken, Vendstars are all 3-head machines which can be quite limiting. Many of the seasoned members here have stated that single heads are the way to go becasue you can easily switch between singles, doubles, triples, and racks as the location merrits. I'm not sure how much more any of these experienced folks would value the flexibliity and freedom of being able to adapt each macnie to any given situation, but it's definitely worth something. It may be the difference between keeping some locations or losing product due to spoilage.

 

Granted, I'm just as new at this an anyone, and I'm sure someone else will chime in if I miss the mark, but I've also read in several threads that it's estimated to take a couple years to build up the number of machines it takes to become a personal business unless you're buying routes on your way to speed thiings up. Also, I would assume that brand new isn't your only option. There are a lot of quality 5 or 10 year old machines out there that will do the exact same job for half the price (but I doubt any of those are the plastic vendstars).

 

So I suppose it depends on how long you intend to be vending. if it's just a stepping stone, I'm sure vendstars would be great, but If you plan on doing this past retirement, and are willing to commit. you will probably end up with the higher quality machines down the road and may save money by getting them now rather than replacing vendstars later.

 

But I suppose whatever choice you make, it must be yours because if you make a choice you're not happy with; the chances of you staying in this business for the next couple years (let alone decades) become almost nothing.

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I built my bulk vending business by mostly buying used machines on Craig's List and a lot of hard work. It has taken me six years to build a route of 400 locations that range from single-head to large rack accounts. I stay away from Vendstar machines because they are junk.

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Personally i feel that if you want to build such a large route that you should build it with quality machines. Vendstars are not a good machine to build a large route with. They are crap.Sure they are cheap and you can build faster but  you will end up with a lot of crappy machines. Go the AA way and build with good machines. It will take longer but it will be better in the big picture. My 2 cents

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You can make a lot of money with vendstars. I have for years now. As you grow and make a profit from them upgrade your good places with tougher steel machines that can take a beating from the public. Also there's a guy that sells 1 inch gumball wheels on eBay that I recommend you install in your vendstars to maximize your profit. They vend bouncy balls as well. You won't encounter spoilage if you use nitwitz, bouncy balls and gumballs.

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I agree buying used is good

Also as you grow you'll order enough product and machines to use pallet fright and so you shipping will be very low

Also aa stands are cheaper and if you do pallet freight shipping isn't much

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Heres a couple things to consider in your decision:

1- A single will make just as much, if not more, than a vendstar triple. Beter visability, good location, whatever.

2- You will lose locations if you use crummy gear, they will get tired of people saying they lost money & b*tching.

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That couldn't be further from the truth I've made more from vendstars then racks, singles, and doubles. I had a supermarket that I had a Vendstar but had to switch it out because the owner wanted a machine with a square base so I put a double nw super 60 and have made much less.

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That couldn't be further from the truth I've made more from vendstars then racks, singles, and doubles. I had a supermarket that I had a Vendstar but had to switch it out because the owner wanted a machine with a square base so I put a double nw super 60 and have made much less.

Ive had locations where I swaped out Vendstars and have seen the opposite result.

Vendstars are crap!

They easily free vend with a straw, paperclip even a semi round cut-out from cardboard or plastic. If you use a quarter though they do like to jam up. The plastic chute doors usually pop off after a few days making for an attractive machine. The cheap canisters crack and turn yellow. The rear plastic door can be easily pried open allowing someone to steal your coins. I could go on...

The only positive is that they are light. Easy to put in and easy to bring out when you get that call.

Using Vendstars for bulk vending is like using Yugo's for a taxi fleet.

But since you "made more from vendstars then racks", Id stick with it.

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Should be a pretty simple answer, just using the numbers you provided and that you have $280 in your bank account you could buy one double head for $150 or 8 Vendstars for $280.  I buy 8 Vendstars.  8 working, clean vendstars will make more money that 1 A&A double guaranteed.

 

Seriously, your bankroll is low and goal of 300 machines will take some time so monitor Craigslist in your area and buy whatever you can afford as long as it is working.  Once you get some positive cash flow each month then you can reevaluate your goals.

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Not saying a person won't get a good location right off but 90% of the locations a noob will get will only support a single. The product the average person will through away from a triple in the course of the year will BUY the better machine. Over time product will be your biggest expense and the cost of a machine  (if you buy quality) will be your smallest. I have Oaks and Northwesterns on location that are 30 + years old and they work great. If you want future in bulk vending you need to think of bulk vending machines as savings bonds.

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With your bankroll I vote Vendstars.  You can always upgrade.  Seems like most of the responses in this thread are not allowing for much flexibility. Doesn't have to be an either/or situation.

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Look at the big picture.

 

Because of your financial limitations, the last thing you want in this endeavor is wasted money.

Your biggest waste will not come from the equipment you buy if you buy vendstars.

 

Your biggest waste will be in stale product because you are forced to do only triples with those vendstars.

Even if your machine is in a slow location you still are committed to 3 products (doubling up 2 globes with one selection is a sure way to turn off the customer unless it's a super hot selling product).

 

Some people may post their story of locations that are exceptions to this rule, but the fact is most places do not support a triple.

And if they do, then they would likely do just as good with a double or a 4way rack or something even bigger.

 

Just a couple hundred bucks in the bank tells me you can't afford more machines right now anyway.

Get the machines you have now on location and in a couple months then start buying singles instead of triples.

 

Remember you have to buy enough product to fill AND refill your machine(s) before you actually collect any money.

And spending all of your savings on the front end leave no room for unexpected expenses -- what if your service vehicle breaks down? What if a machine gets stolen? What if an unexpected trip to the doctor requires a co-pay?

 

Why not keep that product cost low by getting a quality single (Oak, A&A, NW) and doing only gumballs?

Doing so will help you avoid machine failures/malfunctions, minimize the chance of spoilage, AND allow you more opportunities to place the machine since more places can support a gb single than can support a triple machine.

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Why are you so focused on doubles? Doubles cost more per head to build than a 4,6,8, or 10 way rack. A rack doesn't cost much more than a double stand. It's just bent steel tubing welded together. Just have 20 or so doubles and use those to find good locations and then focus on upgrading to racks.

 

Double is two heads and a stand, and all the adapter BS and costs $150 for 2 heads that might make $25 per month. You spend $75/head to build it.

 

8 way rack is maybe $150 for the rack by the time you pay for shipping, then you've got 8 heads at $47 each. You've got about $526 wrapped up in an 8 way rack and in a decent location it will easily make $100/month. It cost you $66/head to build it.

 

My point is, racks cost less per head to build and make more money. You should view singles and doubles as "scouts" that are used just to get your foot in the door and find good locations that can support a rack.

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Why are you so focused on doubles? Doubles cost more per head to build than a 4,6,8, or 10 way rack. A rack doesn't cost much more than a double stand. It's just bent steel tubing welded together. Just have 20 or so doubles and use those to find good locations and then focus on upgrading to racks.

 

Double is two heads and a stand, and all the adapter BS and costs $150 for 2 heads that might make $25 per month. You spend $75/head to build it.

 

8 way rack is maybe $150 for the rack by the time you pay for shipping, then you've got 8 heads at $47 each. You've got about $526 wrapped up in an 8 way rack and in a decent location it will easily make $100/month. It cost you $66/head to build it.

 

My point is, racks cost less per head to build and make more money. You should view singles and doubles as "scouts" that are used just to get your foot in the door and find good locations that can support a rack.

So do you only do 1" on racks?

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Most of the time, no. I usually have a flat machine in the mix, too. But, if he's looking to keep cost down and keep things simple, an 8 way 1" rack can do prett well. I had one with nothing but 1" heads doing $100 per month consistently, until I added a 4 column flat machine. Now it does $150 per month.

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Why are you so focused on doubles? Doubles cost more per head to build than a 4,6,8, or 10 way rack. A rack doesn't cost much more than a double stand. It's just bent steel tubing welded together. Just have 20 or so doubles and use those to find good locations and then focus on upgrading to racks.

Double is two heads and a stand, and all the adapter BS and costs $150 for 2 heads that might make $25 per month. You spend $75/head to build it.

8 way rack is maybe $150 for the rack by the time you pay for shipping, then you've got 8 heads at $47 each. You've got about $526 wrapped up in an 8 way rack and in a decent location it will easily make $100/month. It cost you $66/head to build it.

My point is, racks cost less per head to build and make more money. You should view singles and doubles as "scouts" that are used just to get your foot in the door and find good locations that can support a rack.

But with an 8-way rack you have commission and cogs that usually total around 50% plus sales tax in some states. So $50 net, thats 10 months ROI. A double doing $25 with 20% cogs and charity fee, no sales tax candy comes out to $18 net. 4 months. Less than half the amount of time for ROI.

Not saying racks are a bad investment, they're a good one but you'll usually pay off charity doubles quicker.

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Here is my 2 cents.

He or she sounds like their newbies. They have very little to invest. They don't know for sure that this is going too be what they expect it to be.

My advice is too start out slow, place what you have, watch craigslist and buy as and what you can when you can. Once you get the accts they will figure out the good and the bad on each machine. As the money starts coming in they can upgrade if they decide then. You can ask every one on this forum which machine works best for them and you will get a wide variety of answers. When the day is done you have to be happy with what you have and can afford, because unless you have a bank roll, your choices are limited. Run the business for a while and see if you like it and can sale an owner on letting you set up  locations. Then decide what you want from there. You can sell on C L the same as you can buy.

I have u turn, vendstar,  venddesign, oak, a&a, northwest and a few really off brand machines. They all work well on my routes and have no more trouble with one brand than the others.

One of my locations only wants the 2 vendstars that are in his place. I tried to upgrade and he wouldn't go for it. Every month I take out 60 to 80 dollars

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