rhiker Posted August 1, 2018 Share Posted August 1, 2018 I purchased an OAK double $.25 Vending machine at an auction. I had to replace the locks but found 20 bucks in the machine which was about what I paid for the unit. I have a couple of questions. They had been selling raw peanuts and plain M&M's. The peanut side had all the money. They unit was in a bar so that makes sense. I am going to put this unit in our booth at an Antiques store and probably will not resell the unit, but I wanted to try to sell candy out of it. How do you handle the peanut allergy issue? I am probably looking to vend runts, skittles or PMM since they seem to be popular. I was intrigued by someone that mentioned an old A&W candy that seemed to vend well in adult locations. I think I want to stay away from gum. It I wanted to sell gumballs, I believe I would have to change out the rotating wheel at the bottom of the hopper? I have no clue what portions they were selling and I need to research how to adjust it so I am not giving out too much or too little. Am I missing anything? Thanks for the help! Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
petersvending Posted August 2, 2018 Share Posted August 2, 2018 First of all gum is your best seller and best profit margin at .02 per gumball, dubble bubble sam's variety. If you have to sell Peanut M&M's make sure you are only vending about 6-8 pieces per vend at .25 because you wont make any money at almost $11.00 a bag/container or Pnut MM. Yes, you will probably need a gumball wheel for your machine. Ebay is your best source but you need to know make and model of your machine to get the correct one. They are not all interchangeable although some are. If it is in fact an Oak machine you should have no trouble finding parts on ebay. Peanut allergy issue? I would thoroughly clean your parts with a mild soap solution, (all the non metal parts) and clean the metal parts with windex and wipe it dry. *Dont spray the back of the mech with windex* To lube the working parts I would use wd40 or lithium grease in small doses. I would also put labels on my machine that indicate this product or machine has come in contact with peanuts and to be mindful of that, that gets you out of a jam if that ever materialized which I doubt, BUT you never know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhiker Posted August 2, 2018 Author Share Posted August 2, 2018 Thanks! Since I have side by side machines, what would you recommend to vend in the other machine, if I put gumballs in the other one? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
petersvending Posted August 2, 2018 Share Posted August 2, 2018 My opinion go with tab gum (chicle type) or skittles. Profit margin is all this is about. Pnut M&M may not go well in your antique store since you probably do not run the AC much, may melt the chocolate. I know some vendors who run chocolate and some that do. It is all down to preference on profit margin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhiker Posted August 3, 2018 Author Share Posted August 3, 2018 The place has AC so that is not an issue but I agree that skittles might make more sense. I read that gumballs seem to out sell chicle gum most of the time. I assume with chicle gum I can use the same wheel as nuts or piece candy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orsd Posted August 3, 2018 Share Posted August 3, 2018 Don't run tab gum, doesn't sell, expensive, hard to find. Skittles are about the only candy I run anymore, cheap, widely available, sells well, reasonably durable. +1 on gumballs. Skittles should be about 10 pieces or a third of an ounce. Decent margins and a decent portion. To clean wash everything with soap and water. Mech blast it with some carb cleaner, then use silicone or preferable Teflon spray to lube. NO WD40, gums stuff up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhiker Posted August 3, 2018 Author Share Posted August 3, 2018 Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
petersvending Posted August 3, 2018 Share Posted August 3, 2018 Everyone has an opinion. I can get tab gum all day at Sams and it is cheap. Sells well where I live. I guess thats location/region specific. I run lithium grease on back of mech because, orsd is correct WD40 WILL gum stuff up for the most part, but not everyone has lithium grease or silicone sitting around. Skittles do the best as far as candy is concerned, from what I've seen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orsd Posted August 3, 2018 Share Posted August 3, 2018 For me the bigger problem with tab gum is that you have to buy an entire case from sams. And for me it’s a dud. Probably regional, like you said. Skittles come in the nice 54 oz bags that are perfect for filling a head. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhiker Posted August 5, 2018 Author Share Posted August 5, 2018 Does one 54 oz bag fill the head? I just noticed that staples of all places has them for 7.99 not sure about shipping as they are not carried in stores. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhiker Posted August 5, 2018 Author Share Posted August 5, 2018 10 bucks to ship two packages. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
petersvending Posted August 9, 2018 Share Posted August 9, 2018 Sam's Club has free shipping to members. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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