Any outdoor drink vendors here?

[NinnJinn]

Since I now have 1 full line machine, I have been reading all I can about them.  all I find is machines that are placed in factories, offices, etc.

Are there any members here that have drink machines placed outside that are open to the public that would happen to be walking or driving by?  I would like to strike up conversations with these members and get the ups and downs of these type of placements and how you prepare for sales and product protection in the summer and the winter months, etc 

In my small neck of the woods,  the few work places are already taken by bottlers that pay an insane commission percentage. So I'm thinking of checking into renting outside areas and build a nice little area that the machines can sit under and just vend to whomever.  At 50cents for cans and 16oz bottled water, I am the cheapest in town by a minimum of 15cents.  But obviously in order to increase sales, I will need to get more machines and a way to transport them since the closest mover to me is over 50miles away and basically laugh at me when I call them inquiring about if they would move machines for me.

you can either post here or pm me. 

[mission vending]

I gave up on outdoor machines years ago for many reasons. Vandalism, hassle factor, increased maintenance, did I mention vandalism?

I`m sure there a few guys around here that do outdoor placements that will chime in soon.

[coinvestor]

At 50cents for cans and 16oz bottled water, I am the cheapest in town by a minimum of 15cents.

Please don't do this. Especially in the outdoor locations that your talking about, people buy from a vending machine for convenience not value. Many of your customers will be one time buyers regardless of the price, so don't give away your profit. Cheap prices will never translate into the volume you need to make up the margin. You don't want to be the cheapest vendor in town. They always have the old broken machines with bad service because they are not making enough money to fix or upgrade and service there locations with a smile. Also, soda prices will not stay where they are and will be back in the .32-.35 range soon, then what do you do?

JD

[NinnJinn]

I gave up on outdoor machines years ago for many reasons. Vandalism, hassle factor, increased maintenance, did I mention vandalism?

Thanks for the comments Mission!  I truly appreciate it.  Would you be willing to elaborate on the increased maintenance portion of your thoughts?

Thanks again!

[NinnJinn]

Please don't do this. Especially in the outdoor locations that your talking about, people buy from a vending machine for convenience not value. Many of your customers will be one time buyers regardless of the price, so don't give away your profit. Cheap prices will never translate into the volume you need to make up the margin. You don't want to be the cheapest vendor in town. They always have the old broken machines with bad service because they are not making enough money to fix or upgrade and service there locations with a smile. Also, soda prices will not stay where they are and will be back in the .32-.35 range soon, then what do you do?

JD

Thanks for your reply JD!  I guess I really never thought of it in the way you just explained it.  I guess I need to look at it from a Seller stand point and not a buyer stand point.

My thinking was, If I see a can machine for 75 or 80cents a can, I think "Holly cow!  I am NOT going to pay that much for a drink!  I can get a fountain drink for 15cents more and have twice as much drink!"

Plus I remember when I was younger, me and my friends would be out "cruising" and get thirsty.  One of us would always say "hey lets go to Greenwell's, their sodas are the cheapest in town"  and there was usually someone already there getting one and as we would be leaving, about 50% of the time someone would be pulling up to grab a drink.

And now, I am the cheapest in town.  However, to compete with them, I would definitely have to learn my machines and how to fix them quickly etc.  plus they have 6 machines sitting outside.. 3 can and 3 bottles...  Pepsi, Coke, and RC  brands.

[Quarter Master]

NinnJinn,

              Don't forget you're not only supplying a product, but you're also providing a convienence.

[G-Vending]

Right now drink price should be 75 or 80 cans.

When i bought my route one machine was on 60 i raised it to 65 ASAP it is hard to raise prices when on location

Owners want you to keep prices low..Start off with them 75 to start with.

I am going to replace this machine in Sept. with another machine it will be on 75 when it gets there.

[WillisNYC]

I currently have soda vending machines at 15 outside locations.  They are all in service stations that do not have convenience stores.  In the summer these machines do VERY well.  All but two of my outside machines sell 20oz bottles at $1.50.  My product cost is anywhere from 38 cents for water to 75 cents for Coke.  I also pay a commission that is generally 10-15% of gross to my station owners.  My best week for one machine has been $249.  One location that has two machines did $250 as well.  My average machine does about $75 in summer and $40 a week in winter.  These are busy service stations that have lots of traffic and the soda machines are ideally located close to the pumps for convenience and easy visibility.    I have also had a couple of bad outside locations that only did $5/week or worse.  I quickly moved these machines to new locations.  

Now the downside.  Two of my locations have been vandalized in the past 12 months.   Each time, the thief smashed the bill validator and then stole the currency.    Each location had two machines and so I had to replace two smashed bill validators both times.  Lucky for me the door was relatively undamaged.    However each validator cost me $100 to replace and I lost the revenue for the week in question as well as the lost sales while I replaced the validators.      Each location makes me profit of around $200/month so I can afford to replace the validators and move on.  If it starts to happen more frequently, I will have to rethink how I deal with these locations.    

Additionally, when it rains a lot, or snows, the machines frequently get water in the 'system' and short out somehow.  It usually just takes having the machine get plugged back in to restart it after it dries out.    However it is a pain running around to all these locations when it rains to check that they are not shorted out.  Most of my service station guy now know how to restart the machines for me but some are lazy and don't care so I still find the occasional machine with no power when running my route.  

As for can machines, I only have one and it is priced at $1.  (I am in New Jersey a short distance from NYC and $1 is pretty much the norm for cans, but there are VERY FEW of the can vendors in service stations.  Almost all are bottles and the profit is higher on bottles anyway.)

I am also trying to locate my machines at trailer parks and condo swimming pools, but so far with no luck.   I also run a lot of 3rd party machines so that not all of the repair bills are mine!    So yes outside machines can be profitable, but you need to look at all the problems and how you will deal with them before putting out a lot of these machines.  And just like real estate, it is all about location, location, location!   So ideally put them in high traffic  places where  the staff is around 24 hours a day to stop vandals.   If the machine is uncovered for even 4 hours at night with no staff, the above is possible.  

[caserri]

Great post Willis. Thanks for taking the time here.

[NinnJinn]

Now THAT! is what i'm talking about!  thank you so much Willis!

As for the DBA, it makes me wonder if that is why there is a slot for one, but there isn't one in it on the machine I just bought.

guess we will find out, I got one on ebay last night...

Thanks again everyone for their input..  others are more than welcome to join.

[tedk]

I agree with Coinvester. You don't want to be low priced with transient traffic or outdoor machines.

Check with your insurance company. Some companies will not insure outdoor machines.

You might want to look into cages for your outdoor locations to cut down on vandalism.

[mission vending]

Willis explained it pretty well about about the increased costs. One thing to add is the need for additional cleaning on the compressors or you can kill it really fast and replacing a compressor gets expensive really fast.

[NinnJinn]

. One thing to add is the need for additional cleaning on the compressors or you can kill it really fast and replacing a compressor gets expensive really fast.

Since I am new to full line, how would I go about cleaning it?  Is this the item in the bottom of the machine that has a vent in the back of the machine?  or is it the one that sits right under the product?

[mission vending]

Both, one part is the evaporator the other is the condensor. You need to keep the "fins" clear of obstructions and dirt. Compressed air usually works best. Also outdoor machines tend to suck in leaves and paper and get caught in the fan behind the condensor (the bottom part). Rodents also like to get in there and build nests and to get at the water fromthe condensation line that drains from the machine's cabinet so you have to check on a regular basis to keep it clear.

[NinnJinn]

Thank you very much for the info Mission Vending!  I will definitely check on that tomorrow!

Is there anything else I should check out?  Routine maintenance?