Tabletop Mini Crane Idea

[Northeast Amusements]

i bought this miniclaw tabletop For $400 its from china its coming in sunday i need to put it on a stand of some sort any ideas it takes quarters also free shipping and its a commercial machine not plastic its metal and glass its legit for please dont hate im 16 trying to get into amusements i do bulk vending at the moment 

[AZVendor]

You have to expect the "hate" because you went all googly eyes over some import machine without asking for advice first.  Just an observation.  Don't expect it to work and don't expect to be able to find parts or anyone who has one of them already.

[RoadDogAmusements]

I wouldn't build a stand for it, because it'll probably be too top heavy. Best thing to do would be secure it to a counter top. If you do use a stand you'll have to secure it to a wall like a change machine.

and yes, don't buy junk sight unseen for $400 that no one has recommended. Someone selling you an item doesn't count as a recommendation.

[gumball guy]

On 6/7/2022 at 1:12 PM, Northeast Amusements said:

i bought this miniclaw tabletop For $400 its from china its coming in sunday i need to put it on a stand of some sort any ideas it takes quarters also free shipping and its a commercial machine not plastic its metal and glass its legit for please dont hate im 16 trying to get into amusements i do bulk vending at the moment 

Another vendor started a short thread on here last year in regards to mini cranes. I don't know if he ever pulled the trigger and bought any. The thing that makes these machines attractive is the small footprint. They can fit into crowded bodegas and convenience stores where you often couldn't fit a full size crane and I'm sure they would get plenty of play in places like that. The down side is that with such a small size they can be tipped or stolen pretty easily. As stated in previous comments, you will undoubtedly need to bolt this to a wall or stationary surface like a bar or they will simply turn it upside down and clean you out. They sell these with a base that includes a bill acceptor (bill acceptor is a must have in my opinion) but even with those you would still need to bracket them to the wall or floor. The playing field appears very shallow so make sure your machine set up is efficient or you will probably need a short service cycle to maintain inventory in the machine.

I agree with the other guys that you probably should have run it by people on here first if you were unsure but that point is moot now. I would focus on getting it out on the street making money so you can recoup your investment. Do some research and testing on what items do well in it, make sure you set it up correctly (a lot of testing before you put it out there) and learn from the experience. Good luck and let us know how it works out for you.

[tblake05]

Nate, applaud your motivation once again.

my advice is to try and not get too big too fast. Your only 16. Time is on your side! Find some more bulk machines locations!

Anyway, good news is it’s only 400.00. Not a huge amount of money. You shouldn’t take too terribly long before it’s paid off. Or you can always find a buyer on Craigslist or FB marketplace and cut your losses.

bad news is it’s 400.00. You could have found a decent full sized single price soda vendor on Craigslist if your patient. Then could have gotten your start in full line vending. Which a decent location, I think you would me much happier with.

though I can’t speak to the profit margins of vending vs redemption vs bulk for that matter. I’m only in full vending. Which has also been hit and miss lately.

Like these guys said be careful of it tipping if on a stand. Liability reasons.

What are you stocking in there? It’s pretty small judging by the picture. And do you have a source for product? I don’t know anything really about redemption.

Did you ever find a spot for your Golden T arcade game?