Another newbie

[RealGumby]

Hello,

Glad I found this forum. It has been very helpful in evaluating whether to make a small start with bulk vending. My 12 year old daughter is already working on saving money for college, and we hope that we can gather a little extra for that effort. She also has a goal for a Girl Scout Silver Award, and is looking for ways to help a local pet-oriented charity or shelter with a percentage of the profits.

I am just enjoying the research and set-up so far. Bulk vending is like store-front retailing in a way! You get to have the fun of learning the "psychology of selling products" without some of the worries and expenses of a store-type business. I know nothing is easy, though! I run several other small businesses in the service sector.

I found a very good deal on 1800 Vending machines from someone closing their operation. I could've bought a lot of them, but being somewhat cautious, I just took 4. They are in great shape, fairly new. I like to start out small and affordable.

My only regret so far is I noticed on another forum that you can't get parts for these machines unless you bought them from 1800 directly! Of course, I noticed that AFTER I bought the machines. But, the price was so good, I figure I can make the investment back sooner than the machines might break (crossing fingers)! If anyone knows a source for parts and info on these machines besides 1-800, please let me know! If I expand the number of machines at some point, I will probably look at other brands.

Thanks for setting up this forum. I look forward to reading all the great tips available here, and hope I come up with some good contributions myself along the way. Just got the machines two days ago, so haven't placed one yet. So far I am just experimenting with wheel settings and product choices, and cleaning up the machines (which is easy - they really are in good shape). Best wishes to all the vending entrepeneurs here on the forum! May all of your canisters be emptied quickly with your money boxes filled just as rapidly!

RealGumby, SoCal

[caserri]

Welcome RealGumby!

Its great to have you here. There are a few members here who run 1800 machines so maybe they will be able to help you in your search for parts.

Keep us updated on your progress and best of luck to you!

Steve

[jimbo]

Hi, Im up North of you. I have an 8 year old son who helps me sometimes and he has a few machines of his own out there so I think you will find this real fun way working with your daughter and saving some money for college. Using a local charity is a great way to go.

Jimbo

[davidsurvz]

Welcome to the forum!

I too got a good deal on (4) 1800 machines and I will finally have them located soon. They are excellent machines in my opinion. Good luck on your venture!

This a great forum! You'll find tons of useful information here.

David

[RealGumby]

Hey, everybody -

Thanks for the kind welcomes!

Jimbo, cool your son has some machines of his own! I think that is a great way to teach kids about work and responsiblity.

And David, I had read about some of your posts on 1-800 machines, and your opinion was part of the reason I snagged some myself. They look nice and seem very solid... and the price was a real bargain (I think).

I will let you guys know when the first machine is placed. Thanks again for all your helpful posts and info on this forum.It has  helped my decision to buy some machines and give it a go. I've been wanting to try and "sell a product" for a while now, and bulk vending seems an interesting and low-key way to get into that.

Best wishes to all -

RealGumby