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Buying my first vending machine. Yay or nay?


MayorMike

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It's hard to tell from the picture but it looks like it might be a national 148 with a modified opening.  If it is, I think it's not worth it to be honest.  If it's a 158 or 168, the yes.

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147s and 148s are just old. Also, they are not modern enough to have the capability to interface with a card reader. In addition, they aren’t the most robust machines out there.

It’s just like how a 1999 Buick LeSabre isn’t worth much.

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Most full size snack machines have 6 shelves.  The one in the picture only has 5.  I have kept my 148's due to their size but having only 5 shelves would limit a lot of capacity.  If it were a 158 or 168, then we would be dealing with a machine that is credit card ready.   With a 148, you would have to replace the entire board.  To make it more reliable, you may want to add an aftermarket shelf kit so you don't get the "tray unlatched" error constantly.  These upgrades can cost you well over $600 plus a lot of frustration in installing them.  With a National 168 for example, it should have all of the bells and whistles of pretty much any modern machine even if it's been out of production for some time.  There's just some quirks that the machine has that can frustrate even veteran vendors, and it can make you regret ever dealing with it if you're a rookie.

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