Snack Man 2000 Posted August 27, 2016 Share Posted August 27, 2016 Have a new apartment complex near the beach wanting a drink machine by the pool. They don't want a Coke or pepsi mach, so no 3rd party machines. Just wondering if it's worth tje $1000 investment to put a machine there. The complex will have 250 new apartments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZVendor Posted August 27, 2016 Share Posted August 27, 2016 If its lower income or there are children it will do well. If they are high income mostly singles or yuppies then it will do so-so. I would give it a try but you need a super secure machine. Put a cage around it or at least 2 hockey puck locks on the side and a T-handle lock cover. Find a Vendo Vmax with security upgrades on it or one with a robo door. Those 2 will have bottler graphics on them but if bought used you can put what you want in it. A Vmax can still have some of the factory security features added. All of this is why a cage is much better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snack Man 2000 Posted August 27, 2016 Author Share Posted August 27, 2016 The problem is they want something nice and not gaudy looking. So the cage and locks will be a no go. Maybe I should say we can only do a 3rd party machine. I don't want something that will be a pain in the rear, even if it is profitable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZVendor Posted August 27, 2016 Share Posted August 27, 2016 If they won't allow you to cage it or secure it with locks and they aren't willing to put in writing that they take responsibility for any damage to your machine then don't do it. It's only a matter of time until someone messes with any machine in a apartment complex or anywhere outdoors. It's never a matter of if it will happen but when it will happen. By the way, with that many apartments you should have 3 or 4 machines installed around the property. If the only one is at the pool then the pool and it's gate will be worn out from the traffic just to the machine or you will be losing 75% of your sales potential. This is just another example of a location not understanding what drives vending. It's location, location, location even within an apartment complex. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmorris1953 Posted August 28, 2016 Share Posted August 28, 2016 The best outdoor vendor would be a Vendo 721 HVV. No visible locks. Pepsi has them and they are rock solid. You can change the graphics yourself. Peel the sides off and make your own fronts. Also on outdoor vendors, two puck locks work very well for deterring thieves. Also no lock cover. Use a Medco lock. These thieves have only seconds to break in your vendor. Lock covers can be pried off easily. They want to pop the lock or drill it fast you can't do that with a Medco. This is from years of experience of repairing machines in front of grocery stores. You could have a bank of Coke, Pepsi, 7-Up etc and the vendors with Medco locks they would pass them up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sphincorp Posted August 28, 2016 Share Posted August 28, 2016 250 units is not going to be very profitable in my opinion... I have many apartment complexes, I try not to invest much money unless 500 and over, obviously location and walking traffic is a plus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poplady1 Posted August 28, 2016 Share Posted August 28, 2016 If you are in Florida apartments do not do well. I can't explain it but that is what my experience has been from the vendors we have worked with over the years. If you are in Arizona or California they do very well. A 250 unit should bring about $50 wkly winter $75 wkly summer per machine. Near the pool is better than by the pool so you won't be so seasonal. You can buy just about any bubble front machine with waterfall graphics on it. Don't sell glass bottles. We are getting ready to set up 48 apartments in Orange County California. They will do very well but there will be a couple of duds. That happens. Over the years we have probably set up over 3500 apartments. Senior buildings are good. Normally you need to be near the workout area and put in a snack. Good luck with your account. B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SmithBay Posted September 1, 2016 Share Posted September 1, 2016 I'm a newbie. I have a soda machine at a low income 130 unit apartment complex. This is my first and only machine and I've had it there since end of June. My machine is in a community center with Laundromat and a separate room where they can have events or meetings in. This is the tenants only source to wash clothes. The Laundromat has 2 security cameras. I haven't had any problems with people trying to mess with my machine. In the month of July I worked out a lot of kinks. It was out of order first week of July because it wasn't cooling. Then for a couple more weeks I was operating 7 out of the 8 columns because I didn't have proper shims in one column. Had it not been for the expenses of purchasing many drinks to fill it and getting the cooler fixed, I still would have profited $150. August was $176 with all 8 columns working and no major issues. Based on that, I think July could have easily been $200. I live in a small town so my options are limited. So if I can put a machine in an apartment complex in my town, I'll do it. Otherwise, I'm going to have to drive 50 miles to a bigger city that has more location options and that would be silly for starting out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allen watson Posted September 6, 2016 Share Posted September 6, 2016 All my apartment machines have been broken into. Pried, cut, smashed, picked, drilled, cut with a blow torch, disassembled, stolen, etc.. Just sayin'.Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allen watson Posted September 16, 2016 Share Posted September 16, 2016 Here's a new one: Chewed. A rat chewed a wire for the refrigeration deck yesterday. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southeast Treats Posted September 16, 2016 Share Posted September 16, 2016 Rodents seem to love low voltage wiring for some reason. Keep the cabinets in good shape and metal covers or screens over ALL openings.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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