Sgolembiewski0903 Posted August 8, 2017 Share Posted August 8, 2017 Hi all! I was just wondering where some of you guys decide to place machines in apartment complexes? It seems like apartment complexes could be hit or miss... You would think the pool area might be good, but then what happens in Winter? Exercise rooms seem good with good traffic, but who carries their wallets to an apartment gym? Etc. Etc.! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZVendor Posted August 8, 2017 Share Posted August 8, 2017 In cages out on sidewalks or close to walkways. That's the only place I've ever seen good sales volume. No exercise rooms or pools because those spots are too secluded for safety. Cages, cages, cages. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vendcobros Posted August 8, 2017 Share Posted August 8, 2017 In my experience most apartments are more trouble than they're worth. High vandalism, usually wants a commission. Gym and pools are not good locations for machines. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cblomqui Posted August 8, 2017 Share Posted August 8, 2017 Depends on the demographic of the complex. If the apartment complexes are a little more high end, then they might perform well. Low income complexes will have a lot of theft and vandalism. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZVendor Posted August 8, 2017 Share Posted August 8, 2017 My experience has been that high income complexes don't buy much from machines because they buy nutritious groceries and all the fridge paks of soda they want. Low income complexes do very well with can stackers as long as they are caged. More kids and a lack of good eating habits there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MVS Posted August 8, 2017 Share Posted August 8, 2017 What does "caged" mean? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vendcobros Posted August 8, 2017 Share Posted August 8, 2017 2 minutes ago, MVS said: What does "caged" mean? Putting the machines inside an anti theft cage. A steel box around them (that can still be broken into regardless). Its costly so the account better be pretty awesome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CapitalCityVendingLLC Posted August 8, 2017 Share Posted August 8, 2017 Yea, they can do alright but they can come with theft issues for sure. We tried one years ago. Put a little 24 column snack machine in the lobby/office next to the gym and pool. We didn't even put a bill acceptor on it. Just coins just to be safe. It was rocking and rolling for a good month or two. Then it got broken into. It was in a really "safe place" inside the office where there was no way we thought it would get broken into. We picked it up the next day. Haven't tried an apartment complex like that since. In my eyes, even the biggest/best ones aren't worth my time with the potential for vandalism factored in. Now we do have 4-5 assisted living/government housing facilities that do really well. Those have 24 hour security, the tenants are on average in the 60's, and the machines are very close to the front desk. In 8ish years, we have only had 1 machine broken into out of 8 machines. It was only about a $50 fix because we have plenty of spare parts. Now those type of accounts can be worth it imo, but I don't think that's what you are asking about. Also, imo, no account in the world is worth dealing with cages. Maybe that's just me and other people might not mind it. There's plenty of accounts out there that don't need cages that I can go find. We also have a "no machines outside" rule. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tc vending Posted August 8, 2017 Share Posted August 8, 2017 Not doing apartments anymore not worth the trouble. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southeast Treats Posted August 9, 2017 Share Posted August 9, 2017 A lot of apartments in my area have decide to get rid of all vending, too much trouble for them as well. I have one account that is a large complex aimed at college students. I have machines inside both clubhouses and no commissions. They do about 75% cashless and are bottler machines so my risk is low and sales are strong. Adult Living Facilities can be very good if you can get good placement, I have turned down several that want to hide the machines in a hard to find break room away from most of the potential customers.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgolembiewski0903 Posted August 11, 2017 Author Share Posted August 11, 2017 Very interesting responses. I hired a locator and he came back at me with two nearby complexes, right near where I live, the complexes are lower-middle-class complexes, but are right in the middle of a upper-middle-class area... I think I'll try to put just a single-price can machine, or maybe a multi-price can machine so I can also vend energy drinks? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southeast Treats Posted August 11, 2017 Share Posted August 11, 2017 Those could be good, but evaluate the security aspect carefully. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgolembiewski0903 Posted August 11, 2017 Author Share Posted August 11, 2017 I think that out of your guy's responses security is definitely huge! I definitely will evaluate closely! I'm definitely going to take a shot at it, in this part of town I am very confident it's worth it. At my other job I noticed a coke-owned machine at a nice complex nestled in a VERY undesirable area, I saw him wheel in like 8 cases to his one machine and leave... This sounds quite good to me, heck drink-only accounts that have the potential to be good make my risk-taking a little more bold! I know this comment is going to draw all sorts of comments, but snacks are a PITA! Maybe a few less comments if I add on: At my current route size!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngryChris Posted August 11, 2017 Share Posted August 11, 2017 Snacks are a pain. No argument there, but good accounts are worth having snacks strictly from a profitability standpoint. They aren't worth it at slower accounts of course. One of my best accounts does about $150/week in snack sales, compared to the can machine doing $100/week. I probably profit $125/week from this location. If I only had 10 locations like it!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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