Out of town route

[thebishop]

Hi guys, I need an opinion. I have to opportunity to buy and out of town single head route of around 200 locations but its about a 6 hour drive from my city. Machines are quality, Eagle and Oaks only, and gross is supposedly $9k/year. Locations have been established for years and a few may need a new home but so far no major red flags.

Does anyone have an out of town or long distance route? Was it worth it? Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance!

[Vendin it]

Different lifestyle, motels, long days. Money wise you got to hit alot in one day to cover expenses. If your goning to be in Bulk  a long time I would do it, if price was right. Good Luck!

[gumball guy]

The farthest I go is 3 hours one way and for me that is actually too far. Take into consideration that is 12 hours on the road not including running the route so you are looking at staying overnight multiple days for a route that size. I assume these are gumball heads so you want to service at least every 90 days so you will do this 4 times a year. Once you get a feel for the route you could possibly stretch it to three 4 month cycles per year but the real problem is when you get an out of cycle service call or the one we all love "We are going out of business and tomorrow is our last day so we need you to pick up the machine immediately!".  There are ways to split up the servicing so it takes you to the area multiple times and that can help address service calls but then you are losing because of the multiple trips back and forth. Honestly sounds like a great little route but in my opinion 6 hours away is a bit too far for a single head route.

[thebishop]

Thanks for the opinion guys. I am going to be in bulk for the long haul which is the only reason I am even considering it. You're right gumball, the out of service call is the major concern here; I dont think its a matter of if but when it happens what would I do? I could see it leading to lot of lost locations and equipment.

[orsd]

I'd be more concerned about the poor earnings.

Avg. about 3.75/mo. Pretty bad IMO even for gumball singles.

 

[Bulk32]

My company covers multiple states. I would say for single heads absolutely not. We do many, many racks, cranes, merchandisers, and arcades so the traveling is definitely worth it. I personally like the travel but don’t see how there is any way single heads would be able to work at that scale. 

[gumball guy]

I agree orsd and that is one of the reasons I never buy bulk routes based on sales. I always buy based on asset value only because bulk vending is so transient these days. I'll add that many times these long established routes have not been serviced consistently in recent years and the candy/gumballs are stale or look horrible. Just putting in fresh product, cleaning the machine up and getting the route on a solid service schedule can really help improve sales. If it doesn't I pull the machine and place it somewhere else. Since I paid for the machine only, doing that is not a big deal. Now doing this with a route 6 hours away is another story. I would never do it because it is just too far away.