lurtsman Posted January 29, 2009 Share Posted January 29, 2009 I had a craigslist post up for a while inquiring about gumball machines. I received an e-mail about a month back from a guy saying he had 5 table top machines and 2 free standing machines. He wanted 300 bucks for the batch, claimed all were in great shape and working properly. He had bought them a few years back and put them in his trailer and they had sat there since. I e-mailed him back tonight asking him to call and tell me more about the machines. It turns out these are not bulk machines after all. (I had thought the price seemed high for bulk) Now I'm thinking this might be a great opportunity to go full line, and at these prices I feel like I might be able to even resell them for a profit if it did not work out. He said he will look for pictures of them tonight on his hard drive, and if he doesn't have them he will snap a few pictures tomorrow and upload them to me. He was unsure of the brands. One of the free standing machines had lights inside aimed at the product. He said some of them didn't require electricity though... which seems strange for a table top machine. He explained they had the coil that turned -- and in my experience those have been electric. After getting the photos I should be able to get more clarification on how they work, and could upload the photos here for identification. I have to think if he had these vending boards, he would've been able to get his machines out into the field. Thoughts? Ideas? Did I find a great opportunity, or is it not so great? Should I be suspicious? He just seemed like a guy who did not want to do vending after he got the machines. Currently I just have a few bulk machines and don't have much of an idea how I'd go about working these machines and finding locations. Any help is appreciated. I understand full line is more time intensive, but I've got the time to invest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G-man422 Posted January 29, 2009 Share Posted January 29, 2009 Lurts, the machines he is refering to are like this: They don't require electricity because you just put in the coins and turn the knob. If he only wants $300 for everything I say you better buy them all tomorow. I was looking at machines like this and they seem to go for between $75-150 each depending on condition. I'm not sure what he means about the "free standing" ones though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lurtsman Posted January 29, 2009 Author Share Posted January 29, 2009 Interesting picture and thanks for the price check. I had never seen one of those--but that sounds exactly like he was describing. The free standing ones -- one of them that we discussed had lights inside pointing at the product and he estimated it to be 4 and a half feet tall and 3 feet wide. Said it reminded him of old time cigarette machines. I don't know what those look like. I really appreciate your quick response Gabe. Since I don't have any experience and only a little research on full line/snack machines, I'll be relying heavily on the more informed opinions of others. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ANDERSONVENDING Posted January 29, 2009 Share Posted January 29, 2009 lurtsman, Those machines are basic starter types,they are easy to cheat,I've had people put chucky cheese tokens cardboard quarter size slugs and even coffee stir sticks used to cheat the machines.they are also lower revenue drawing machines that will over work you for the money you make out of them.I ended up selling mine on ebay for thirty each and up 9I even got seventy for some of them. If you decide to go that route you may find yourself changing to full size in a few months.Whatever you decide to do,good luck. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quotealex Posted January 29, 2009 Share Posted January 29, 2009 Lurts, the machines he is refering to are like this: They don't require electricity because you just put in the coins and turn the knob. If he only wants $300 for everything I say you better buy them all tomorow. I was looking at machines like this and they seem to go for between $75-150 each depending on condition. I'm not sure what he means about the "free standing" ones though. Do you need to anchor these machines to a wall or to a stand? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lurtsman Posted January 29, 2009 Author Share Posted January 29, 2009 I think those are meant to go on top of a counter, similar to bulk machines I'd be hoping no one tried to pick it up and run--and that I could find a table to place it on. The free standing one should be tall enough to just be placed on the floor. I'm still very questionable about it. Photos have not came through yet. It opens up doors to having to supply far more products and possibly more legal work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quotealex Posted January 29, 2009 Share Posted January 29, 2009 I don`t know about you, but I would buy such little chachine if it can't be anchored to something. Just puting it on a counte wouldn't be good enough for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lurtsman Posted January 29, 2009 Author Share Posted January 29, 2009 "I don`t know about you, but I would buy such little chachine if it can't be anchored to something. " What? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ANDERSONVENDING Posted January 29, 2009 Share Posted January 29, 2009 That machine was designed to be mounted on top of the drink machine called drink time, or the optional stand.It weighs about 40 pounds so its not that easy to pick up and take. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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