joshlp Posted June 11, 2015 Share Posted June 11, 2015 HI, First of all I wanted to say that I am thankful for the wealth of information that is on this site. I have been reading through all of the topics over the last couple of weeks and have learned a lot in a short amount of time. I originally found this website after doing some research on buying a new vending business op. Through the help of this website I have decided that buying a new business op vending route would probably not be the best direction to go. Although, I do like the idea of having the training and support going into a new business venture. I have been in the construction industry for the last 20 years and have no experience in the vending industry. I am at a point in my life where I like to spend more time with my family and after reading through all of the information on this site, a small to medium size vending route would give me the flexibility to earn income and spend time with my family. I do have a couple of questions for the members on this site. How far is too far to travel to service a route? I have been looking on Craigslist and different websites for the past month and have not seen any promising routes in the area I live, but I have seen some routes listed for sale that are 45 minutes to 1 hour away. Would this be too far to travel for a small to mid-size route? Also, I have noticed a couple of resales on some established biz op routes. Should I not even waste my time looking at their numbers? It seems like they can be picked up at a discount from their original purchase price. Lastly, are there any veterans that are on this site that live in the San Diego area or know of someone that lives in the San Diego area that are looking to sell off a route/locations? Thank you in advance for all of your input/suggestions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orsd Posted June 12, 2015 Share Posted June 12, 2015 Most guys on this site in the SD are area are rookies, there's 65tremecgt, sweetLvending, Wallstreeterww, myself, if you want experienced guys the closest guy is going to be Moondog in LA/IE, then 30 yr vet AZvendor in Phoenix, also our resident tech support. About that route, you are probably talking about the one up in Ramona/ East county, we actually discussed it here: http://vendiscuss.net/index.php?/topic/23428-vending-route-purchase-advise/ Your main competition for the big accounts here is Canteen, they have their head up their asses half the time, their criteria for hiring is somewhere along the lines of piss clean and have a pulse. BTW, what area of SD? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJT Posted June 12, 2015 Share Posted June 12, 2015 Most guys on this site in the SD are area are rookies, there's 65tremecgt, sweetLvending, Wallstreeterww, myself, if you want experienced guys the closest guy is going to be Moondog in LA/IE, then 30 yr vet AZvendor in Phoenix, also our resident tech support. About that route, you are probably talking about the one up in Ramona/ East county, we actually discussed it here: http://vendiscuss.net/index.php?/topic/23428-vending-route-purchase-advise/ Your main competition for the big accounts here is Canteen, they have their head up their asses half the time, their criteria for hiring is somewhere along the lines of piss clean and have a pulse. BTW, what area of SD? I think I am more than qualified and "experienced" to help if he needs it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orsd Posted June 12, 2015 Share Posted June 12, 2015 Yes, RJT is very qualified but not local. He can walk you thru for a fee, also has an ebook. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJT Posted June 12, 2015 Share Posted June 12, 2015 Yes, RJT is very qualified but not local. He can walk you thru for a fee, also has an ebook. Or dig through the many post her by me or others. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moondog Posted June 12, 2015 Share Posted June 12, 2015 HI, First of all I wanted to say that I am thankful for the wealth of information that is on this site. I have been reading through all of the topics over the last couple of weeks and have learned a lot in a short amount of time. I originally found this website after doing some research on buying a new vending business op. Through the help of this website I have decided that buying a new business op vending route would probably not be the best direction to go. Although, I do like the idea of having the training and support going into a new business venture. I have been in the construction industry for the last 20 years and have no experience in the vending industry. I am at a point in my life where I like to spend more time with my family and after reading through all of the information on this site, a small to medium size vending route would give me the flexibility to earn income and spend time with my family. I do have a couple of questions for the members on this site. How far is too far to travel to service a route? I have been looking on Craigslist and different websites for the past month and have not seen any promising routes in the area I live, but I have seen some routes listed for sale that are 45 minutes to 1 hour away. Would this be too far to travel for a small to mid-size route? Also, I have noticed a couple of resales on some established biz op routes. Should I not even waste my time looking at their numbers? It seems like they can be picked up at a discount from their original purchase price. Lastly, are there any veterans that are on this site that live in the San Diego area or know of someone that lives in the San Diego area that are looking to sell off a route/locations? Thank you in advance for all of your input/suggestions. San Diego is a tough area in that you don't have a lot of big blue collar locations there, especially in north county. I'd focus more on any smaller blue collar accounts down around Chula Vista or National City as this will be your largest concentration of Latino accounts which demographically are your best customers. A larger Coke machine in an auto body shop can do surprisingly well for something you could probably service once a month (with a big machine). Keep an open mind when looking at prospective accounts. Some of those Biz op locations might be very good if they weren't limited by the small equipment they're stuck with. Currently my best account, which I paid 3K for with a soda and snack machine in the break room of a tire distribution center wasn't doing squat but after I installed a couple more machines out in the warehouse, it's doing about $1,500 a month. Today I wouldn't take 12K for that account. Which brings me to accounts for sale. The first thing I can tell you about this is that nobody is selling their "cash cows" unless they're retiring. What they are selling will be their bottom feeders so they can free up time for more lucrative accounts. I'd personally rather have a string of soda machines grossing $200 a month each than waste my time with many of these locations. If you load yourself up with a lot of accounts doing less than $500 a month you probably won't make it in this business. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimoutside Posted June 12, 2015 Share Posted June 12, 2015 San Diego is a tough area If you load yourself up with a lot of accounts doing less than $500 a month you probably won't make it in this business. Especially in California, where your expenses are so high. Here in the southeast (not including Florida and Atlanta) You might be ok with accounts doing a little less than $500/month. But thanks to the good people on this forum, I was wisely, I think, able to see that snack and drink vending is not for me at this time in my life (though open to it in the future if it works out). I am very interested now in getting into bulk vending, but listen, pay attention to these people on here--it can be done if you have a will to make it happen, a strong back (or access to help moving machines and lifting cases of drink all day), a business-savvy approach, and the big-picture vision to see what's going to work. Listen to these fellows and ladies here who've been at it, they'll save you some grief my friend--be sure this is something you want to do--and if it is, after you get all the advice you can get------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- follow it as much as possible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJT Posted June 12, 2015 Share Posted June 12, 2015 Especially in California, where your expenses are so high. Here in the southeast (not including Florida and Atlanta) You might be ok with accounts doing a little less than $500/month. But thanks to the good people on this forum, I was wisely, I think, able to see that snack and drink vending is not for me at this time in my life (though open to it in the future if it works out). I am very interested now in getting into bulk vending, but listen, pay attention to these people on here--it can be done if you have a will to make it happen, a strong back (or access to help moving machines and lifting cases of drink all day), a business-savvy approach, and the big-picture vision to see what's going to work. Listen to these fellows and ladies here who've been at it, they'll save you some grief my friend--be sure this is something you want to do--and if it is, after you get all the advice you can get------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- follow it as much as possible. So what changed your mind the drink snack business is not for you at this time? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimoutside Posted June 12, 2015 Share Posted June 12, 2015 Because with my blown out back, I felt that the bulk candy route idea was better. Also I do not have real great mechanical skills, but I believe I have enough skills to repair bulk candy machines when they blow up. It just seems simpler, so I'm looking to start bulk candy. Low entry level cost, and relatively simple to keep going compared to the drinks and snacks. Lower pressure, more flexibility. That will probably be important for me in the years to come. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joshlp Posted June 12, 2015 Author Share Posted June 12, 2015 orsd- I am in North County San Diego. You are correct, I did look at the Ramona/ East County route but I am also thinking, because of my location, of heading North to Orange County/ Inland Empire. Not sure if it would make sense though. Moondog- I am in North County San Diego, what are your thoughts on me traveling north to Orange County or to the Inland Empire? There seems to be more routes available in those areas. I am concerned with the distance and the price of gas to service those areas efficiently. Is this something I should look into or should I try to stay closer to home? RJT- I have spent a lot of time reading your posts and will continue to do so. Thank you for taking the time to respond to my post. I appreciate all of the input. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BorderJerry Posted June 12, 2015 Share Posted June 12, 2015 "Because with my blown out back, I felt that the bulk candy route idea was better." ---------------------------------------- With soda vending, you get about 50 cents gross profit from every pound vended (16.9 oz bottle sold for a buck, bought at 50 cents cost). With 850 ct gumballs, you get $11.25 gross profit from every pound vended (17# box of 850 sold @ .25 each, bought at .025 cents cost). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngryChris Posted June 12, 2015 Share Posted June 12, 2015 "Because with my blown out back, I felt that the bulk candy route idea was better." ---------------------------------------- With soda vending, you get about 50 cents gross profit from every pound vended (16.9 oz bottle sold for a buck, bought at 50 cents cost). With 850 ct gumballs, you get $11.25 gross profit from every pound vended (17# box of 850 sold @ .25 each, bought at .025 cents cost). Maybe your math is correct, but with full line, you are dealing with WAY more weight at each stop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moondog Posted June 13, 2015 Share Posted June 13, 2015 orsd- I am in North County San Diego. You are correct, I did look at the Ramona/ East County route but I am also thinking, because of my location, of heading North to Orange County/ Inland Empire. Not sure if it would make sense though. Moondog- I am in North County San Diego, what are your thoughts on me traveling north to Orange County or to the Inland Empire? There seems to be more routes available in those areas. I am concerned with the distance and the price of gas to service those areas efficiently. Is this something I should look into or should I try to stay closer to home? RJT- I have spent a lot of time reading your posts and will continue to do so. Thank you for taking the time to respond to my post. I appreciate all of the input. Like you, I live in a bedroom community with few good opportunities nearby. So I drive out to the Inland Empire - just the cost of doing business. Orange county would be okay but you might find some better opportunities in the Riverside, Corona area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orsd Posted June 13, 2015 Share Posted June 13, 2015 Anaheim or Chula Vista. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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