My son's first vendor

[Vendo Mike]

My son is about to turn 12 and I'd like him to get a better understanding of how business works in it's basic form.  My initial thought is to purchase him a gumball/toy machine and help him find a nearby account that he can maintain and earn a couple bucks on.  I've been a vending tech for about 20 years but have never been involved with bulk candy. I'm thinking a good used machine would give him an opportunity to rebuild/repair as necessary and understand how it works and the importance of maintaining it.  I would appreciate feedback on the following questions if you all don't mind. 

1)  Can anyone give any insight into some does/don'ts for bulk vending?

2)  I am considering leaning him toward vending the small toys rather than unwrapped gum/candy due to covid.  Can anyone point me to the best place to find inventory?

3)  Can anyone tell me what a dependable used machine brand would be and how much I should expect to pay for it?

Any other insights I'm not thinking of?

 

[NYCandyMaN]

1st as i always say, a good vendor will have a good vending experience, and vice versa. Its great that you want to tech your son about the vending business, but i would consider what he wants, and not what you want, we are in 2020, not the 80's or 90's , he might seem interested in it now, or maybe not, or maybe just bc you mentioned it, or maybe bc youve been doing it for so long. kids minds today are not focusing on the smaller parts of the business anymore kids minds are on the bigger things when you show them how to make $.25 will find it interesting to point but eventually he's going to want to do something bigger, but I'm trying to say is that once he's involved in it she may or may not want to stay with if he stays with a great if he doesn't think about the backend of the business who's going to maintain the machine or machines that you guys have set up is going to take take care of them, are you going to sell them what will happen to them? The principle is great, and I completely understand where you're going with this but at this point think about the bigger picture he's only 12 and he's going to want to do other things by you saying to him that the bending businesses great is a good thing but a long-term people don't see it is that we operate with these machines on a daily basis we understand not too many do. When I tell people I'm in the vending business like oh my goodness that's great and then I tell them while I'm in the water business of the vending business idea with little quarter machines and I like yeah but that doesn't make enough might does and then in the long run you tell them that it is a lot of hard work it's not easy and they start to think about it this makes this much money can a vending business with quarters makes so much more than me getting paid 35 or $45 an hour can a vending business actually make this much money and they look at me twice and it always ask are you serious unlike I'm definitely serious. What I'm trying to say is that even though you teaching him and you want to teach him the principle of money he may not understand or may not want to see the actual value of the business in the long term will either abandon it as most people do or you want to take it over because you want to see it fail and for him to see days going to make $10 a month is great but if he wants to multiply that to be greater so just think about that when you're setting up these accounts for him.

Now onto the good stuff. So you can get a decent machine like a vendstar for about 50 bucks, they are plastic they are great for beginners and dependent where you live you probably won't get vandalized too much. The next one the list is probably the rhyno which you can probably pick up for about 50 to 75 maybe $100 the next one the list is probably a three header Northwestern machine which you probably pick up for about 75 to about $150, the next one up is probably you'll have an AA machine, after that you have a Northwestern machine which is about the same as AA, after that you probably have an older machine maybe it acorn which is also in about the same range which you can pick up for about $25-$65 per head and then you have your beavers beavers are top-of-the-line very expensive but super easy to maintain less service calls less coins getting stuck less problems less of everything more money but you have to be willing to spend that crack a brand-new machine running anywhere from I think $79 and up that does not include the shipping also doesn't include the stand but I definitely worth it. All the machine that mentions can be customized to bend any product once you get the machines you would have to take into consideration you want candy what do you want toy wheels, toy wheels are not so easy to find, but most companies still make them you can get 1 inch toy wheel or you can get a 1.25 inch toy wheel. The best place to look for use machines are on letgo, eBay would be a little too expensive, Craigslist, and any other site you possibly get to that cells within your local area. Facebook is great also. Personally I use Letgo and Facebook.

What I have written here is just my opinion you don't have to go buy it I'm not criticizing anybody I'm not saying anybody's right or wrong or if I am right or wrong it's just an idea it's just a thought and it's a thought that needs to be thought about because it is serious you don't start a vending business out of the blue because you want to show somebody something you started because it's a living that you going to make for the rest of your life right now with covid-19, it is super hard to make cash, my income has gone from 100% to about 10% of what I used to make I am slowly getting back into it I have to resort to my backup jobs because this couldn't handle my financial situations at the moment and that's not a good thing. Toys are great for now what I would do is make it to had machine and put a gumball in the toy that would give you two options you will see if the toy vends or if the gumball will vend. You will then make your decision, to stay with the toy, or to stay with the gumball. Don't forget every product is expandable, so if your son sees the actual potential of the vending business in the long-term aching decides that he wants to pursue it as a full-time he will have a great career, then again a few years after you started up he might find out that you can make even more money by sitting behind a desk in the suit and instead of driving a minivan to be driving a Ferrari, we all know vending business will never get your Ferrari then again you never know you only get what you put it.

I guys that you for reading I appreciate you reading I was actually using the Dragon software to write all this and I'm sly wrote so much but yet damn it works pretty good little slow but it works take care, if you need any help feel free to give me a call or feel free to message me anytime, I also have a few machines for sale that will be perfect for for beginner I'm not looking to making money on them I guess a few bucks and cover the shipping the machine is yours.

[gumball guy]

21 hours ago, Vendo Mike said:

My son is about to turn 12 and I'd like him to get a better understanding of how business works in it's basic form.  My initial thought is to purchase him a gumball/toy machine and help him find a nearby account that he can maintain and earn a couple bucks on.  I've been a vending tech for about 20 years but have never been involved with bulk candy. I'm thinking a good used machine would give him an opportunity to rebuild/repair as necessary and understand how it works and the importance of maintaining it.  I would appreciate feedback on the following questions if you all don't mind. 

1)  Can anyone give any insight into some does/don'ts for bulk vending?

2)  I am considering leaning him toward vending the small toys rather than unwrapped gum/candy due to covid.  Can anyone point me to the best place to find inventory?

3)  Can anyone tell me what a dependable used machine brand would be and how much I should expect to pay for it?

Any other insights I'm not thinking of?

 

Unfortunately I am not a big proponent of these type of learning experiments because it is usually the parent who does most of the work and the child loses interest quickly. Add to it that we are dealing with a pandemic and a coin shortage so things will be a bit tougher for your small endeavor. If you are only going to put one machine out there is a chance that you will make nothing or next to nothing. So ask yourself, is this going to be worth the time and effort if we walk into service the machine after a month and there is only 75 cents in it? We actually had a guy on here years ago that was doing the same thing you want to do. They placed a machine and went back a couple weeks later and there was zero quarters in the machine. The kid was completely dejected. So dad would stop by the location multiple times a week and put quarters into the machine then take the kid back to service the machine later. That's alot of work and expense just so the kid can get bored with the whole scheme in short order. If you still want to do this here are some answers to your questions:

1. Find a location with high traffic, out of the direct sunlight who is willing to let you place the machine without commission. You can also choose a local charity to donate part of the proceeds to and display that on the front of the machine. A charity affiliation generally helps you place the machine as well. If you have any friend, family member or acquaintance who owns a retail business close by you may want to ask them to place the machine in their business and explain why you are doing it. Service cycles are generally 1-3 months.

2. Gumballs, Skittles and Reece’s Pieces or Peanut M & M’s. The profit on Reece’s Pieces and Peanut M & Ms are slim but generally they are good sellers. Using gumballs and Skittles will also help offset the overall product cost. Buy them at Sam’s Club. Mike & Ike, Hot Tamales & regular M & Ms are also options. DO NOT USE PEANUTS as they are a mess, don’t sell well, stale quickly and they will corrode any metal they contact in the machine. If you choose capsules (1") then go to A & A Global online and you can order some there. 

3. Buy used Oak, Northwestern or Eagle machines locally so you can test them and save on shipping costs. I would buy a double head so you can increase your odds of selling anything but a single gumball might me easier to place especially if the location is tighter on space. Prices vary. $30 to $75 on a single with a stand or $50 to $100 for a double with a stand. Check Craigslist, Nextdoor or Ebay. If you are doing gumballs, capsuled toys or bouncy balls you will need a gumball wheel. Candy needs a candy wheel.

If you do decide to go this route remember that the location did you a solid by letting you in there so once you son loses interest in this business lesson, and he will, please maintain the machine or remove it from the location so they aren't stuck with a machine full of rotting candy.

Either way good luck and kudos to you for being a good dad who is trying to raise a child to be self sufficient and productive.

[Vendo Mike]

I appreciate the feedback and advice very much.  If/when he loses interest, I feel like that will be time spent out doing something productive and learning a little bit about the world that I have a little bit of control over without spoon feeding it to him.  I hope to spark something in him that he's not going to find in his electronics...elf sufficiency, pride and a  sense of accomplishment.  

If/when this project falls on it's face, I will pull, clean and resale or store the unit.  I feel like during these times, anything edible would be off the table so I'll probably try to lean towards the 1" capsules.  I'm sure I will never recoup all of the cost but at least they won't go stale or make anyone sick.

It's kind of you to share such in-depth advice with a stranger.  It's obviously knowledge learned over time and experience.  If there's anything I can help you with, please say the word.

 

[Vendo Mike]

I have to add...Vending has paid my bills for the last 20 years and it has purchased my last 3 homes.  I started in vending wiping down coin mechs and rebelting CBA2's, VFMs, and BA30B's and now I'm a Regional Manager for a major vending manufacturer.  I have been to almost every state in the union and 2 other countries to work on or sell vending equipment.  It was a choice I made only hoping to making a living wage in a trade and I absolutely realize he may or may not want to follow my path.  Honestly, I hope he learns a couple things about maintaining equipment so that might carry over to his bike, motorcycle, car, etc but I also hope he finds something in it that makes him happy.  I enjoy being a technician but that's how I'm wired.  He still has to figure that out but I feel it's my job to make sure he can count change, change a flat tire, look at someone in the eye when they're talking to him and have a firm handshake (or whatever we're supposed to do now) and to be a man of his word.

As a father, I've fallen short several times, I can only work to right the scales and teach him what I can.