joebob051977 Posted March 25, 2010 Share Posted March 25, 2010 I just purchased a route of 12 machines +2 pick-ups. I haven't been out to the locations in a while (I checked them out last time I negotiated for the route 6 months ago). This route has the appearance of being neglected. It is what inspired me to call the number on the machines. It consists of some nasty looking Vendstars, a SSF, and a couple of Eagles or Oaks. I have a goal of turning this route a around to an awesome route. The Plan: 1. Paint the Vendstars Red 2. Rotate machines for a new ownership look 3. Clean, Clean, Clean 4. New labels 5. 2 for 1 Gumballs 6. Upgrade best locations to a racks (get the Vendstars out of there) 7. Add toys/superballs as needed 8. Use popular products (ie. PMM, Reeses, etc.) If you have any other suggestions to help me bring this route out of the dark I'd appreciate any ideas. The route is currently pulling in about $100/mo. I want to get it up to 150. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whaletail116 Posted March 25, 2010 Share Posted March 25, 2010 Looks like a good list to me. Hope everything works out for you. It's exciting to get a nice addition like that! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Falcon Posted March 25, 2010 Share Posted March 25, 2010 Sounds like your on the rite track I bet you'll have that route up and running in no time. Just remember keep your machines clean and you'll keep them coming back, By the way don't forget Skittles got to have Skittles. Good Luck and Good Selling! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tooldini Posted March 25, 2010 Share Posted March 25, 2010 sounds like your doing well I would be you could turn it into a 150++ with a little cleaning and switching products like you say. Some people just try very hard on product selection. I see some weird stuff around here. I switched one of my shootin hoops from Dubble bubble to Nerds and did $20.00 more for the month Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markvend Posted March 25, 2010 Share Posted March 25, 2010 These are some really good ideas, especially rotating the machines out and changing to popular products. Good luck! Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joebob051977 Posted March 26, 2010 Author Share Posted March 26, 2010 Today I orded a couple of 2 for 1 gumball wheels. I am going to attempt to repair a broken SSF that was a kick-out, so I can swap machines and start cleaning and painting the Vendstars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lisa vending group Posted March 26, 2010 Share Posted March 26, 2010 Hi my name is ron,and was wondering if there is a formula for buying a route. i have 6 1800 out and 6more and 2 u-turns the route im interested in is 40 locations,incl machines and product all double heads seaga or provends. any suggestions thanks ron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joebob051977 Posted March 26, 2010 Author Share Posted March 26, 2010 There is no magic formula for buying a route. I think the best advice I've heard so far on this is, "Don't spend more on a route than what you could do by yourself." Generally, you can pick up a used machine for about $50ish and if you use a locator, add $35. If there are accurate records and the route isn't neglected you pay a premium. The value of a route is approximately 1 year of gross income. I would probably never pay that since I am a cheap bastard and looking for deals. Another method is to value each machine on the route...say about $50-60 ea. Perhaps a mix of both methods can be used. My route of 22 machines would be valued at about $2400 in my first calculation and only $1100 in the second. Averaging them out you get $1750. If I were to sell my route (not happening) I would list it at about $2400 and $1750 is what I would take. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lisa vending group Posted March 26, 2010 Share Posted March 26, 2010 thank you. this is more than a starting point. thanks for your time,and info it will be helpful.the owner of the route says his average is $12.00 a location. thank you ron oooooo I love this forum. hope I get to see some of you at the orlando conv. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JEREMYTINA Posted March 27, 2010 Share Posted March 27, 2010 Just remember that an average of $12.00 a location means that he probably has a few that run $5 a month. You are going to have to move all of those low volume locs either by yourself or with the help of a locator. We purchased and sold a route this year, because of dog locations. We were only into it for the used price of the machines, so we were able to pull the machines we wanted to keep and sell the remainder of the route for what we paid for the entire route. Don't rush into it even if you get excited. There aren't that many people out there looking to buy routes so don't think it will get snatched up right away. Just my two cents. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lisa vending group Posted March 27, 2010 Share Posted March 27, 2010 great info. again thank you ron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joebob051977 Posted March 27, 2010 Author Share Posted March 27, 2010 That is true. I contacted a guy about 6 months ago about buying his neglected machine and his route. The deal fell through since he wouldn't come down to my terms. He called me up 6 months later and asked if I'd still be interested in buying his route. Knowing your area also will help determine how quickly routes will get snatched up. A Chicago route will get picked up faster than say a route in a city of about 50,000. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joebob051977 Posted March 31, 2010 Author Share Posted March 31, 2010 Yesterday I went out to service my new route for the first time. I had already picked up, cleaned and repaird a broken SSF from this route.Thank you Double Bubble Epoxy! I exchanged this SSF for my NW Triple Play at the Humane Society which is one of my worst performing locations. They say, "Oh wow! We get a nice, fancy machine now! I would've started laughing on the spot if I could've. Next, I go to a hotel, which is supposed to be a pick-up (one of the "free" machines). They moved the machine to the lobby! I had to dump out all the skittles which had turned in to several blobs of melted candy. and clean off nastiess. I dumped the all cracked PMM and and refilled the machine after adding new labels. The machine was pretty gross, and will be one of the next to get pulled for a refurb. I drive toward my next stop, but for the heck of it, I decide to stop at a tire shop which was on the list last time I negotiated for the route. Low and behold, and double Eagle which my key fits. Chock up a freebee for me. I go on to my original stop which is ghetto-like carpet store. my vending machine is packed in with stacks of carpet and tile, yet has a fair amount of money in it for a po-dunk store. I go across the street to the next location, a car dealership. I thought I had a Vendstar where the coin mechs were replaced with metal ones. I was suprised to find that this machines was not a Vendstar, but in reality was an Eagle Triple. Everything about it said Vendstar. The color scheme was the same and the locks were even in the same place. Next door to the dealer is an auto parts store where a machine used to be. With my luck so far I went in, and in their backroom was the nastiest, ugliest Vendstar I have ever seen. It was indeed part of this route (but not mentioned). I put the freebee in my truck and left. I swapped out a Vendstar and put in the NW Triple Play at a recreation/fitness center since I understood it to be the best location on the route. They were quite happy to have a nicer looking machine there. I went off to Midas Muffler, my last stop of the day. I went in and no machine! They thought the owner took the machine. I was a little disappointed, but I explained my predictament. "I just bought the route and there was supposed to be a machine here. I have an extra machine in my truck, can I replace the one that was supposed to be here?" I got the yes I needed and put the Nicest Vendstar I had in my truck. 1 - Found Machine on location 1 - Found Machine 1 - Missing Machine 2 - Saved Locations Route turned into 12 location with 2 pick-up into 14 locations with 1 pick-up. I only serviced about half of the locations, but will get the rest soon. I am getitng a good feel as to what I need to do to improve this route. I have a nasty Vendstar which I will post refurb pictures soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joebob051977 Posted March 31, 2010 Author Share Posted March 31, 2010 I've attatched a few pictures of the nasty Vendstar that I picked up yesterday. I spent about 3 hours cleaning it last night and prepping it for paint. I didn't realize what a pain it could be to clean a Vendstar. I will have pictures of the Refurb job shortly after I finish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
agrantha Posted March 31, 2010 Share Posted March 31, 2010 Are you sure those are Vendstars? Those look similar to Vendstars, but I think they are something else. I have 6 Vendstar 3000s on location. Are those an earlier model Yes, they do look bad. The good news is they are plastic, so the drying process is easier and rust is not an issue. Anton Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
agrantha Posted March 31, 2010 Share Posted March 31, 2010 And one more thing. Get those nasty machines out of your kitchen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joebob051977 Posted April 1, 2010 Author Share Posted April 1, 2010 Vendstar?! I had a hard enough time even calling that thing a vending machine. It is well on its way through restoration. I expect to finish it tonight. I finished servicing this new route for now. The old route owner used the really small gumballs 1/4" maybe, and Chicklets. I don't have them, but they seemed to do well at some of the locations. I also discovered there are machines that I have no clue what they are. I'll post pictures eventually to get help identifying them. I have come to this conclusion. I have 3 other competitors in my city, excluding rack operators. Of the 3, only 1 is in the position to compete with me. I think I should've kept track of which ones were where so I could've developed a plan of eliminating the competition. Is it wrong for me to want to have a monopoly? Many of the locations I serviced today have other machines. That is okay with me. I enjoy this opportunity to smash the competition. At these locations I have opened the candy wheel all the way, added nice labels, and "Big Handful" stickers. I will also pull out my secret weapon, 2 for 1 gumballs!. Besides that, I am bribing the employees with MM's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
agrantha Posted April 1, 2010 Share Posted April 1, 2010 JoeBob I am glad I do not live in your town Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joebob051977 Posted April 1, 2010 Author Share Posted April 1, 2010 I finally finished refurbing that old nasty Vendstart I picked up. I attempted to bring the lens back to life with headlight restorer, but it just wasn't happening. The dividers have yellowed but for the sake of food safely I did not paint those, and I am not reinstalling the catch tray. I like the sleek look of the machine without the tray. I can't say that I did a perfect job on the machine, but it l can at least use it now. Has anyone here attepmted to mimic the color scheme for locations you are at. For example, Midas Muffler is black and yellow. McDonalds is yellow and red. It seems very limiting, but it would set your machine apart from the competition. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whaletail116 Posted April 1, 2010 Share Posted April 1, 2010 The machine looks great, Joe! What kind of paint did you use? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joebob051977 Posted April 1, 2010 Author Share Posted April 1, 2010 The machine looks great, Joe! What kind of paint did you use? Thanks. I used Krylon - Banner Red Gloss and Black Gloss. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whaletail116 Posted April 1, 2010 Share Posted April 1, 2010 Did you leave the poles alone? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
agrantha Posted April 1, 2010 Share Posted April 1, 2010 JoeBob Paint the poles black and you have a great finished product Anton Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joebob051977 Posted April 1, 2010 Author Share Posted April 1, 2010 I did leave the poles alone, I was unsure about using gloss black on the stand. Perhaps I should go ahead and paint the stand for a more finished look. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sherlock Posted April 1, 2010 Share Posted April 1, 2010 Machine looks great joe. But, yeah, you can paint the stand to give it an even greater appearance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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