kiwi Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 Perhaps I should consider a counter-top model such as a Colibri or Necta. If you are still considering a Colibri I have found a couple of secondhand machine available on Craiglist in Ohio for a reasonable price. http://cleveland.craigslist.org/bfs/4807214716.html http://cleveland.craigslist.org/app/4822427747.html You would need to confirm which models they are because the first seller doesn't indicate which model he has & the second indicates that he has a C3 model but the model code would indicate that has a C5. The C3 model does not have a cup dropper or sugar canister so would not be suitable unless it was being placed at a site that were going to use their own cups. I am 99% sure that it is a C5 model though because I don't think Vendors Exchange sell the C3 model in the USA. I would also check to see if the second machine come with a base (can't tell by picture) as it may be worth purchasing both as the first machine comes with a spare base. I am a fan of Necta equipment so I am a bit biased in my opinion but if I was you I would be pushing for this solution as an option. You would be able to charge a premium price/cup because it's a fresh bean option. We operate most our machines on FREE vend here because we invoice our customers at the end of the month for the products they use. But do have some in public areas where they charge for the coffee. The normal charge here for a fresh bean coffee is $2.00 but I have seen people charging as much as $3.00-$3.50 per cup. This may seem high to you but to purchase a coffee from a cafe here cost $4.00-$5.00 per cup. To me the other advantage of using Necta equipment is that you are based in Ohio... I am not sure where but Vendors Exchange who are the US distributors for Necta are based in Cleveland. This should mean that there should be more secondhand machines available in your area compared to other parts of the US if you were looking at purchasing more machine at a later date. Do you deal with Vendors Exchange or do you use a different distributor in your area? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngryChris Posted January 30, 2015 Author Share Posted January 30, 2015 I have several distributors that I go through for various things. Vendors exchange, D&S vending, Area Wide, Shaffer Distributing, and Douglas Distributing. All are based out of Ohio except Douglas. I buy machines from them sometimes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwi Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 I have several distributors that I go through for various things. Vendors exchange, D&S vending, Area Wide, Shaffer Distributing, and Douglas Distributing. All are based out of Ohio except Douglas. I buy machines from them sometimes. I have heard of VE & D&S before but not the others... are you already doing coffee equipment as I looked at the Douglas website & they seem like they are a coffee company. Have you had any of your distributors show or recommend a particular brand/type coffee machine to you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngryChris Posted January 31, 2015 Author Share Posted January 31, 2015 I have heard of VE & D&S before but not the others... are you already doing coffee equipment as I looked at the Douglas website & they seem like they are a coffee company. Have you had any of your distributors show or recommend a particular brand/type coffee machine to you? There are many Douglas Distributing companies out there. I don't think that this company actually has a website and no, they are not a coffee company. They do sell some coffee items but they are a full-line distributor of products and equipment. As for recommending me things... most distributors tell me what I want to know -- what is the most popular model? I'm no trend setter when it comes to vending equipment. I like to use what everyone else uses. If there are thousands of AP-7600's out there and people SWEAR that they are some of the best machines of their time, then I will fully accept the consensus on that. That doesn't mean that I go out of my way to purchase AP-7600's but I understand how reliable they are and how easy they are to work on, upgrade, etc... As for coffee... I am pretty much told the same things no matter who I talk to. I am told that AP's and Nationals are what I want and some of the older models are easier to setup and adjust but parts are harder to get. One distributor told me that the AP 223 is a good machine (as did other people) but he doesn't know how long parts will be available and he also warned me that I may need a consultation so that I can be taught how to operate the machine. He never even brought up the idea of having to learn how to work with something like an AP 213... so that tells me that he's being honest and this guy has never lied to me so... I actually feel pretty confident that I could figure out how to work on an AP 223 but I would rather get away with never owning a full-size machine if I can. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZVendor Posted February 1, 2015 Share Posted February 1, 2015 Like I said, if you don't want a super complicated machine then look for a 213 or one of the older Nationals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russ Posted February 1, 2015 Share Posted February 1, 2015 Though I've been out of the business for a long time I found this thread very interesting and would like to add (or second) a few comments. First - I am surprised to see the opinion that a coffee machine won't make money, but perhaps that came from a place where the weather is always warm or the locals prefer fancy stuff like special flavored coffee. Back in my day (and I hate to sound so ancient) a coffee machine that didn't make money was the exception to the rule. And I've never owned a coffee machine (nor seen one personally) that became 'bug infested' but again that may depend on the location of the machine. That is a disgusting image. Second - I totally agree that a coffee machine must be kept CLEAN. That means every servicing you take out the mixing bowl or trough (whatever it's now called) and scrub it down to clean plastic. You pull the rubber hoses and run a skinny brush through them. You clean the place where the hoses connect to the cup stand and make sure those tubes are also clean. You don't just run a flush cycle through the system and let it go at that. You're making a product that people are going to drink - have the conscience to make a good-faith effort that it will follow a clean path to their cup. Third - an account that sells a hundred cups of coffee a week would have been a real dog back when I was in the business; I'd have never thought about placing a machine at that sales level. Evidently some of the accounts I had then were real gems, selling an easy 800-1200 cups of coffee per week from a single fresh brew machine. Finally - if you want a new machine cheap, check out that Seeburg I posted the ebay link to elsewhere in this topic. I have no connection with the machine or the seller, I just thought it was an amazing find and cheap besides. No, it won't do credit cards or even dollar bills, probably a fatal shortcoming these days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZVendor Posted February 1, 2015 Share Posted February 1, 2015 Second - I totally agree that a coffee machine must be kept CLEAN. That means every servicing you take out the mixing bowl or trough (whatever it's now called) and scrub it down to clean plastic. You pull the rubber hoses and run a skinny brush through them. You clean the place where the hoses connect to the cup stand and make sure those tubes are also clean. You don't just run a flush cycle through the system and let it go at that. You're making a product that people are going to drink - have the conscience to make a good-faith effort that it will follow a clean path to their cup. Third - an account that sells a hundred cups of coffee a week would have been a real dog back when I was in the business; I'd have never thought about placing a machine at that sales level. Evidently some of the accounts I had then were real gems, selling an easy 800-1200 cups of coffee per week from a single fresh brew machine. Sound advice here Russ. The vending coffee business has changed dramatically for the worse in the last 15 years or so. The popularity of Starbucks and all of the "gourmet" coffee houses that followed has killed vending coffee. There has been a resurgence in workplace coffee by using the "single cup brewers" like pod machines or Keurig machines, but those are nothing like the we used to crank serious coffee from in the old days, eh? The four C's - coffee, cup soda, candy and cigarettes. By the way, there's no way I would ever believe that a Seeburg coffee machine would be untouched and brand new, but anything's possible. It would be quite a find though it would need all seals and diaphragms replaced which are impossible to find. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russ Posted February 1, 2015 Share Posted February 1, 2015 Sound advice here Russ. The vending coffee business has changed dramatically for the worse in the last 15 years or so. The popularity of Starbucks and all of the "gourmet" coffee houses that followed has killed vending coffee. There has been a resurgence in workplace coffee by using the "single cup brewers" like pod machines or Keurig machines, but those are nothing like the we used to crank serious coffee from in the old days, eh? The four C's - coffee, cup soda, candy and cigarettes. By the way, there's no way I would ever believe that a Seeburg coffee machine would be untouched and brand new, but anything's possible. It would be quite a find though it would need all seals and diaphragms replaced which are impossible to find. My dad got into the vending business when I was in grade school and I was his built-in route helper. I think he drank more cups (or half cups) of coffee than anyone on Earth. Every time we left one of his accounts he would vend himself a cup of coffee (all were fresh brew, most were Seeburgs) and say how good it was. He was pretty insulted once when we pulled into a 7-11 in his vending truck, which was lettered with the company name, and the clerk inside asked him 'how would you like to have a GOOD cup of coffee.' When we serviced his machines, every time they got the mixing bowl / trough cleaned out and the hoses scrubbed under running water til nothing but clear was coming out of them. Back then office coffee was not so pervasive and there were not the Keurig type machines everywhere, so we sold a LOT of coffee and made money doing it. The photo of the Seeburg on Ebay shows the powder canisters all taped together as I remember new machines being taped... too bad it's not a fresh brew though. I can still remember what that Seeburg brewer sounded like. We always used the filter paper setup, never the mesh filter. If that Seeburg really is unused, you're right - that would be a real find. Lots of changes have happened which must make it a lot harder for vending machine operators than it used to be, that's for sure. Keurig machines, cheap microwaves (I have one in my own office nowadays), and other things provide alternatives and competition to what a vendor has to offer. And we made money on cigarettes too - I don't think you can sell them most places anymore, and fewer people buy them. Unless I had a very good account and nobody would be allowed to bring in coffeemakers, if I was doing coffee today I think I'd go strictly freeze dried and not count on making big money at it. Keep the machine clean so the customers would at least know there's an acceptable product available. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwi Posted February 1, 2015 Share Posted February 1, 2015 There are many Douglas Distributing companies out there. I don't think that this company actually has a website and no, they are not a coffee company. They do sell some coffee items but they are a full-line distributor of products and equipment. I actually feel pretty confident that I could figure out how to work on an AP 223 but I would rather get away with never owning a full-size machine if I can. This is the Douglas Distributing website I was referring to but I guess it's not the same company your talking about... http://douglasdistributing.com/ What is your reason for never wanting to own a full-sized coffee machine? Did you give the Colibri's I mentioned any consideration.. if I was you I would be leaning towards the Colibri for this site over a full-sized AP or National. I would actually consider buying both & placing 1x machine at the location while having the other machine placed at your home/office so you can get a good idea on how they operate. This would give you a spare machine in-case something happened to the other machine on-site or you could also place both machines on-site in the future if the demand became to much on the other one. You could also use the spare machine at another location if they were interested in you doing the coffee their.. if worse comes to worse you should be able to get your money back if you changed your mind & sold them. Just my 2 cents... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwi Posted February 1, 2015 Share Posted February 1, 2015 - an account that sells a hundred cups of coffee a week would have been a real dog back when I was in the business; I'd have never thought about placing a machine at that sales level. Evidently some of the accounts I had then were real gems, selling an easy 800-1200 cups of coffee per week from a single fresh brew machine. How much were you charging per cup? I can't imagine ever being able to sell 800-1200 cups per week... but things operate slightly different in my part of the world. Companies have to supply FREE coffee to their employees here by law... so it's a hard sell trying to get staff to pay for it when it is available for FREE on the bench. How we make money in coffee here is by replacing bench style coffee with an automated vending machine either serving fresh bean or freeze dried coffee ect.. we do have sites that do 2000-4000 cups per week but the people using the machines are not paying for the coffee... the company they work for are getting invoiced at the end of each month. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngryChris Posted February 1, 2015 Author Share Posted February 1, 2015 Well... I don't drink coffee so keeping onwle around is just tied-up money. Randy, I'm looking for a 213 but I haven't had someone tell me if they have one yet. A lot of companies aren't even taking coffee machines on trade. Kiwi, all signs point to full size machines being a thing of the past. I'm very confident that OCS isn't going anywhere so I am more than willing to bill my customers for supplies. Another reason is that food and coffee machines require annual licenses per machine. They are subject to inspections and there are a few additional hurdles. Selling boxes of coffee supplies is way easier IMO. I really don't think your current business model would carry over here for so many reasons. I'm sure you could make a good business but it wouldn't be like what you have now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwi Posted February 1, 2015 Share Posted February 1, 2015 Well... I don't drink coffee so keeping onwle around is just tied-up money. Randy, I'm looking for a 213 but I haven't had someone tell me if they have one yet. A lot of companies aren't even taking coffee machines on trade. Kiwi, all signs point to full size machines being a thing of the past. I'm very confident that OCS isn't going anywhere so I am more than willing to bill my customers for supplies. Another reason is that food and coffee machines require annual licenses per machine. They are subject to inspections and there are a few additional hurdles. Selling boxes of coffee supplies is way easier IMO. I really don't think your current business model would carry over here for so many reasons. I'm sure you could make a good business but it wouldn't be like what you have now. I think you may have misunderstood what I meant by setting up a machine at home to learn how they work.. you don't have to like coffee to learn how a machine works. I don't really enjoy coffee as I am more of a tea drinker.. may have something to do with me being brought up by my grandmother who never drank coffee but always had a cup of tea every day. So even though I am not really what you would class as a coffee drinker I still know how to setup & critique a machine to get the best coffee out of it. I guess its a different story if you can't stand coffee & wont ever drink coffee... but in saying that I worked with a guy who because of his religion could not drink coffee but he could still adjust a machine through using other techniques to improve the taste of the coffee. I am sure that my business model may not work in the US as companies their may not have to supply FREE coffee to their staff by law. Likewise we tend to see less & less OCS here especially when in involves larger companies because of the theft issues. Also.. where you are talking about supplying a coffee service to keep a customer I more tend to offer a vending service to keep a coffee customer. I am working on an account at the moment that has 450 staff.. they want a frozen food machine but I am only willing to provide one if I can also secure their coffee vending services. This customer should generate should $6000-$8000 in hot beverage sales per month. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngryChris Posted February 1, 2015 Author Share Posted February 1, 2015 Around here, coffee, food, snacks and soda will probably generate over $5 per person per week. So 450 staff should do over $2250 per week or about $10,000 in total revenue per month. That's a very good account and any vendor would give them what they wanted as long as prices were fair and commission was low. I have an account that seems to generate $1 in profit for every employee per month in OCS sales. That coffee is free for employees. If prices were too high though, they could cancel OCS or look elsewhere. And no... I didn't miss your point about learning how to operate the machine, but you may have missed mine about having money tied up. My business doesn't generate what your business does. I need all equipment on location. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwi Posted February 1, 2015 Share Posted February 1, 2015 Around here, coffee, food, snacks and soda will probably generate over $5 per person per week. So 450 staff should do over $2250 per week or about $10,000 in total revenue per month. That's a very good account and any vendor would give them what they wanted as long as prices were fair and commission was low. You are correct in your estimates... I have another building directly opposite with around the same staff numbers which was generating $2500-$3000 per week (excluding coffee). What I didn't mention was that a convenience store opened late last year directly outside the building which dropped our sales by around 70%... things are slowly increasing again but I don't think they will go back to the numbers they were doing previously. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cvending Posted February 1, 2015 Share Posted February 1, 2015 Hot drink vending IS profitable. We operate AP 213's as well as National 675's. We only operate freeze-dried vendors. Finding quality machines is key. Along with coffee we also vend decaf, hot cocoa, up to 3 different cappuccinos (all very profitable). As suggested by others, if you keep the machines maintained and CLEAN, they will be big profit makers for you. Our machines hold between 600-750 cups. FD coffee can run you between 3 1/2 cents to 13 1/2 cents per 10 oz cup. With cream, sugar and cup your cost per cup will be run somewhere between 9 1/2 cents to 18 1/2 cents. Of course this is product cost only. Selling price of course would be determined by you, but we try to keep it between 50 & 75 cents per cup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwi Posted February 1, 2015 Share Posted February 1, 2015 The convenience store is so close... its like they have a micro market on their ground floor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngryChris Posted February 1, 2015 Author Share Posted February 1, 2015 Thanks cvending. It deems like anything under 50 cents is silly. That's what I was thinking. However, my vending friends in this area all recommend fresh brew so I will stick with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.