Seeking advice

[Crimson Tide]

I am at a crossroads in my vending business. I decided early on not to purchase a route or even to buy machines in lots, but instead to buy just a few used bulk candy vending machines here and there, mainly off of eBay or Craigslist, and place them, just to get a feel for the business.

After less than 2 months of doing this, I am satisfied that I want to continue in the business. One of my four machines, a single head, is barely productive at about $5 a month; however, the other three machines (all quads) are doing quite well, at least by my novice standards. To date, I've pulled $138.50 from the 4 machines, one of which has been on location only a week. If I did a pull today, the cumulative amount since 5/7/11 would probably be about $150.

So, what is the dilemma? First, I am not certain whether to continue with candy vending or move in the direction of toys, bouncy balls, plush, etc. Some folks who post on this board are adamant that non-food products are the way to go; I don't care, I just want to do whatever is going to make me the most money for my time and effort.

The second major decision that I need to make pertains to machine type. I want to pick one manufacturer/model and lean into that machine heavily, making it the workhorse of my route.

Double head? Triple? Metal coin mechanism vs. plastic? New machine Used? Separate keying for product and money (so that I can later hire someone to manage my route with minimum risk of thievery)? 25 cent mechanisms vs. 50 cent mechanisms? Ability to vend gumballs? Ease of purchase (i.e., Sam's Club or the like vs. Ebay/Craigslist)?

I assume that many on this board have already dealt with all of these questions, and many others. I would appreciate any advice from those who have been down this road before.

Crimson Tide

[Hillbilly]

I just spent a week working with will.vend on his route. He does it full time. He uses the A&A PO89 for his 1" vendors and the A&A 2001 for his 2". They are really versatile machines. The flat plexiglass sides are really strong and kid resistant. You can add extra capacity panels to both machines if needed thereby saving money on more equipment. If I were to start over that would be my machine of choice.

A toy route with some gumballs machines throwed in here and there is the way to go. Toys do not go bad and you can get higher vend prices for some of them. Gumballs have about the lowest cost per vend you can get.

Good luck.

[havending]

To make the most money and have the better longer lasting locations then rack comm, vending is the way to go. Gum, toys and stickers or tats. To maximize profits you need to push the bar when it come to your vending prices. A product that sells for .25 do it at .50 A .50 do at .50 and .75 do at 1.00. If not the vending suppliers will in slave you to a 30% plus cost. Doing it my way you stay around 20%. Stick with one brand of machines. With you being in MD then it would be best for you to have A&A. Locating racks take practice. Never use a locator unless its a last resort.

[havending]

I just spent a week working with will.vend on his route. He does it full time. He uses the A&A PO89 for his 1" vendors and the A&A 2001 for his 2". They are really versatile machines. The flat plexiglass sides are really strong and kid resistant. You can add extra capacity panels to both machines if needed thereby saving money on more equipment. If I were to start over that would be my machine of choice.

A toy route with some gumballs machines throwed in here and there is the way to go. Toys do not go bad and you can get higher vend prices for some of them. Gumballs have about the lowest cost per vend you can get.

Good luck.

And you didn't swing by Alabama.

[dpvnc]

Remember the choice of locations dictates what you can sell there. If the customers at a location are adults you are not going to put toys there. My Racks have Oaks, eagles and super 60s for 1" Big oaks for 2 ". The biggest jump in revenue that I have seen was converting my racks from candy to toys.

[Crimson Tide]

Remember the choice of locations dictates what you can sell there. If the customers at a location are adults you are not going to put toys there. My Racks have Oaks, eagles and super 60s for 1" Big oaks for 2 ". The biggest jump in revenue that I have seen was converting my racks from candy to toys.

This is a point that I'd like to ask more questions about. With bulk candy vending machines, the range of location types where potentially you could have a productive account if extensive. If you are vending toys on the other hand, it seems to me that you are automatically cutting down drastically on the number of establishments that you would even want to approach about placing a machine. How in the heck do you ever achieve a large enough route to do vending for a living?

[PnutGallery Co.]

How in the heck do you ever achieve a large enough route to do vending for a living?

You are doing just fine. It is just repetion. If you just keep the same pace you are on now you will be doing 6 times what you are now in one year. So that would be $900 per month. Just keep working it for a few years or adding and placing faster and you can see how it ads up.

[dpvnc]

Crimson Tide:

Remember it is always numbers the more locations you have the more you should make. But choosing good locations is the key. I watch locations as I run my route. I look to see how much traffic a location is getting. I try to avoid areas where the businesses come and go a lot. Once you have a location you may have to tune it a bit to find what sells well. Cost of goods ( I hate freight) and try to keep it low. price per vend some good have a higher perceived value. This is all stuff that has many threads in the archives here. This in not my wisdom but what many have taught me in the last year.

[Crimson Tide]

I appreciate the advice. Thank you all for taking the time to respond. I secured another bulk candy vending location tonight, so I guess I'm doing something right!