Body Fat Vending Machine

[yxes]

I'm still in the research stage but they have some pretty good machines out there for determining body fat percentages.  If they have a vending machine that does the same thing, I know of a couple gyms in the area where I could make a killing.  A quick search online only produced:

http://sonka.en.alibaba.com/product/240920772-209410681/Body_fat_scale.html

(and several links to the same product)

I'm intrigued by the idea of having no inventory (maybe paper to display the results) and I know of several gym rats that would use this continuously.

Has anyone heard of anything similar or done anything like this?  Is this a good business to start with?

Thanks!

[lurtsman]

If it turns out to be a good idea, the large gym chains will do it themselves and boot you. If it's a bad idea the gym chains will boot you. Either way, this machine ends up in your garage or a sub-prime location. I love that you're doing research though.

In part my assumption is based on how few people would actually want to know this information about themselves. Some gym rats may use it, but I don't know if you could get a big enough following.

[yxes]

I understand what you're saying about the gyms doing it themselves if it's successful and if it's not they want the space back.  Aren't there a lot of businesses that start up with an exit plan (ie without long-term viability)?  I suppose if I want to protect myself I setup a contract with the gym that allows them to buy the machine from me after a certain amount of time has passed, etc.

Additionally, any suggestions as to how to do the market research to see how many people might actually use the machine?  These gyms have a lot of personal trainers in them and I'm thinking that might be a place to start.

[TheBiz]

I usually see these types of machines in gas stations when I am traveling.