OfficeHelp Posted September 4, 2018 Share Posted September 4, 2018 Hello, we have 30 full time employees and are looking for a vending machine to put in the office that has a card reader. We are looking at getting a combo to put healthy snacks and drinks in, but I am not too sure which one to choose. From what I have read, people are saying don't get an imported vending machine since the parts are hard to come by. I am looking at spending $5,000 or less on a machine. Thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bvending Posted September 4, 2018 Share Posted September 4, 2018 If you must get a combo, I would recommend AMS. Very reliable and will do everything you need it to. Check out amequipmentsales.com and look at AMS 35 or 39 combo. They have refurbished one for about $3400 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Mage Posted September 4, 2018 Share Posted September 4, 2018 If you are doing it just because you need one for the office you might want to just get a vendor to do it. They will know what machines to put in, they will pay for the machines saving you that $5K, fix them if they break, and keep them stocked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngryChris Posted September 4, 2018 Share Posted September 4, 2018 Are you looking to do your own vending because no vendor will? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OfficeHelp Posted September 6, 2018 Author Share Posted September 6, 2018 Thank you for the advice Bvending, i'll take a look at that machine. Hey The Mage, I am having a lot of trouble finding any healthy solutions that can manage a vending machine here. I am located in Seaford Delaware if that helps. Many of my calls have consisted of "you don't have enough employees" or "we don't deliver to your location". I have been looking into other alternatives that are non vending such as snacknation and naturebox corporate, but those are a last resort at the moment. Hey AngryChris, currently that is the issue I am facing. I talked to healthier4uvending, and they said not only is there no one around us that will service them or restock them, but we would have to put up over $17,000 if we want to get 3 refurbished machines shipped here since that is their minimum amount they sell. That would be impractical for the number of people we have. Thankfully we have a samsclub 30 minutes away so if we do choose to buy a machine it won't be super hard to restock. Thank you guys for the replies! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZVendor Posted September 6, 2018 Share Posted September 6, 2018 Screw the healthy crap and find a normal vendor with normal snacks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngryChris Posted September 6, 2018 Share Posted September 6, 2018 Healthy stuff is a poor seller generally speaking. You and virtually everyone else wants to eat delicious healthy stuff and be healthy, but most healthy pre-packaged stuff just doesn't taste very good. The reason i asked is because i deal with this as small locations want healthier stuff and i explain that it's a bad deal for me (the vendor) and i'll lose money because of it. And yes, every customer disagrees with me and yes, i end up being right. If you have a small office staff, then forget vending machines altogether. You could buy a used refrigerator or cooler, stock it with all kinds of snacks (yogurt, fruit cups, etc..) and simply put some healthy snacks on a countertop and sell them at cost and you will literally save THOUSANDS of dollars that way. If stuff expires, just don't get it anymore. It's better to be out a few hundred bucks than thousands. Plus, you'll likely find out that not many people actually are willing to buy the healthy crap, then you'll understand why it's a bad deal for vendors. On top of that, being a small office has other issues that i won't bother going into. Don't take this personal, but your situation is about the worst situation for a vendor to deal with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moondog Posted September 6, 2018 Share Posted September 6, 2018 5 hours ago, OfficeHelp said: Thank you for the advice Bvending, i'll take a look at that machine. Hey The Mage, I am having a lot of trouble finding any healthy solutions that can manage a vending machine here. I am located in Seaford Delaware if that helps. Many of my calls have consisted of "you don't have enough employees" or "we don't deliver to your location". I have been looking into other alternatives that are non vending such as snacknation and naturebox corporate, but those are a last resort at the moment. Hey AngryChris, currently that is the issue I am facing. I talked to healthier4uvending, and they said not only is there no one around us that will service them or restock them, but we would have to put up over $17,000 if we want to get 3 refurbished machines shipped here since that is their minimum amount they sell. That would be impractical for the number of people we have. Thankfully we have a samsclub 30 minutes away so if we do choose to buy a machine it won't be super hard to restock. Thank you guys for the replies! Most pro vendors won't touch a combo only account much less one with fewer than fifty employees. The AMS will be your best bet and I think that A&M out of Georgia has several refubs for sale under your price cap and they might even install the Card Reader for you (you'll have to set up your own account probably with USATEcH) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OfficeHelp Posted September 7, 2018 Author Share Posted September 7, 2018 20 hours ago, AZVendor said: Screw the healthy crap and find a normal vendor with normal snacks. Normal snacks are great, but we are in the health industry and our office staff does not represent healthy in any way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OfficeHelp Posted September 7, 2018 Author Share Posted September 7, 2018 17 hours ago, AngryChris said: Healthy stuff is a poor seller generally speaking. You and virtually everyone else wants to eat delicious healthy stuff and be healthy, but most healthy pre-packaged stuff just doesn't taste very good. The reason i asked is because i deal with this as small locations want healthier stuff and i explain that it's a bad deal for me (the vendor) and i'll lose money because of it. And yes, every customer disagrees with me and yes, i end up being right. If you have a small office staff, then forget vending machines altogether. You could buy a used refrigerator or cooler, stock it with all kinds of snacks (yogurt, fruit cups, etc..) and simply put some healthy snacks on a countertop and sell them at cost and you will literally save THOUSANDS of dollars that way. If stuff expires, just don't get it anymore. It's better to be out a few hundred bucks than thousands. Plus, you'll likely find out that not many people actually are willing to buy the healthy crap, then you'll understand why it's a bad deal for vendors. On top of that, being a small office has other issues that i won't bother going into. Don't take this personal, but your situation is about the worst situation for a vendor to deal with. I believe you on this. Right now I think we may go with a site like nature box or snack nation for obvious convenience reasons. That and I would personally feel guilty if a vendor lost money because they put it in our office. I appreciate the solid feedback you and everyone else has provided on here. Thank you everyone! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VAVending Posted September 7, 2018 Share Posted September 7, 2018 @OfficeHelp. Get yourself an honor snack box or two and use them in the office. Stock them with 60% nuts, kettle chips, granola bars, Lance crackers, gardettos and then also some less healthy stuff. You want snacks that taste good, but also want healthier options, things like kettle chips and nuts hit that middle ground well. Represent well and make an effort not to serve really unhealthy stuff and people will be happy. Everyone wants a snickers now and then, but they feel better about it if the snickers is surrounded by things that won’t give them a heart attack. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Mage Posted September 8, 2018 Share Posted September 8, 2018 5 hours ago, OfficeHelp said: Normal snacks are great, but we are in the health industry and our office staff does not represent healthy in any way. What health industry are you in? When choosing the “healthy options” is everyone on board? Often when these types of choices are made for people they tend to rebel, often by eating more bad stuff outside of work. (Hey, doughnuts for dinner.) It’s always better to get everyone on board and work together for those solutions. Getting everyone’s input and vote on everything. But there’s another problem with “healthy” vending, it isn’t all that healthier, and sometimes is worse. Healthy vending is more marketing than anything, a buzz word. The healthy aspects are based on what people think is healthy, or what is marketed as healthy, not anything based in science. People see honey and forget that it’s sugar, or fall for the idea that it’s a healthier sugar. One “healthy” bar being promoted on a healthy vending site has honey, glucose syrup, and sugar. That’s 3 types of sugar. These bars are really close to the same calories per gram as a snickers bar. Some are just under, some are just over. The healthiest food generally does not have a long shelf life, and the ones that do are more often than not are only healthy in small quantities. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orsd Posted September 8, 2018 Share Posted September 8, 2018 Honestly, just do the honor system out of a fridge or something. Much cheaper, and simpler. Plus, a lot of healthy snacks have weird packages that are hard to vend. (Especially drinks). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OfficeHelp Posted September 18, 2018 Author Share Posted September 18, 2018 Thank you for your input, we have decided to not get a vending machine and do a monthly box with an honor system. My boss really wants a machine some day, but it is quite apparent that having one is not in the best interest of the company with its current number of employees. If we do ever get a machine we will have more employees and go with a vendor as suggested since we aren't looking to pull a profit on the machine. The mage, you are absolutely right about some of the "healthy" snacks being just as bad for you as normal candy. We will be doing a bulk box where its 40% nuts, 40% very healthy snacks, and 20% healthy snacks. Some of the products include dried pineapple, naked trails mix, salt and pepper pistachios, and mini coconut crisps. Thanks again for the feedback and how responsive everyone is! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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