anyvendingcom Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 Are Apartment Units good? 80 to 120 units? Soda and Snack. Does Anyone have experience with Apartment Units that can share the pros and cons. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJT Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 Are Apartment Units good? 80 to 120 units? Soda and Snack. Does Anyone have experience with Apartment Units that can share the pros and cons. Thanks I did some consulting work for a vending company that "specalized" in apartment vending. Rule of thumb is the following: Lower income units are best (section8 ) Buy decent but older used equipment Put them in a cage type setup with a good locking system. He bolted expanded metal in front of the glass directly on the snack machines and then put them both in a cage. He then ran a flat metal bar across the tops of the machines so he could bot them together. Expect them to get damaged or broke into from time to time. I dont know any exact numbers but all I can tell you he built his core vending business around these apartment accounts. He did say obviously summer months were much better than winter. I would charge premium prices for the products and try and stay away from comission. If comission is required then 10% max. I would have prices pretty much .75 for chips and crackers and $1.00 for candy, pastry, and cookie. .75 for can and $1.50 for bottles. Hope this helps... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mission vending Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 I did some consulting work for a vending company that "specalized" in apartment vending. Rule of thumb is the following: Lower income units are best (section8 ) Buy decent but older used equipment Put them in a cage type setup with a good locking system. He bolted expanded metal in front of the glass directly on the snack machines and then put them both in a cage. He then ran a flat metal bar across the tops of the machines so he could bot them together. Expect them to get damaged or broke into from time to time. I dont know any exact numbers but all I can tell you he built his core vending business around these apartment accounts. He did say obviously summer months were much better than winter. I would charge premium prices for the products and try and stay away from comission. If comission is required then 10% max. I would have prices pretty much .75 for chips and crackers and $1.00 for candy, pastry, and cookie. .75 for can and $1.50 for bottles. Hope this helps... That about covers it. The number of units you are talking about is a fairly small complex. Is there a maintenance guy or office manager living on premises? If so your chances of vandalism will be lower. Without knowing more about the situation revenues could range from something as low as 50-60 a week to as much as 150 a week. I think it would be very unlikely to do much m ore than that. I stopped setting machines at apartment complexes years ago. It was not because I wasn't making money, it was because I got sick and tired of dealing with the vandalism and the amount of time spent on repairing the machines. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NinnJinn Posted July 23, 2011 Share Posted July 23, 2011 I stopped setting machines at apartment complexes years ago. It was not because I wasn't making money, it was because I got sick and tired of dealing with the vandalism and the amount of time spent on repairing the machines. Ditto. I will be pulling my first and second machine off location voluntarily due to vandalism. Except for missed sales, I'm not really losing money, but it gets so damn annoying having to unjam the coin chute because the little shits have learned how to jam it. Plus they like to spray the product chute with liquid then pour 4-5 pixie stix on it to make a sticky ant infested mess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anyvendingcom Posted July 23, 2011 Author Share Posted July 23, 2011 Man, I am glad I asked. This is a great board. I was really thinking of getting the locations and pay the locator. I wasn't even thinking about the vandalism... Thanks Guys Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyinchville Posted July 23, 2011 Share Posted July 23, 2011 HI, For what it's worth the 2 apartment complexes I have are not good in terms of revenue...One is a student location (college) near a weight room and a study lounge (it is a fairly upscale place)....My best week so far grossed $13.00 (snack machine)....I think the big problem here is that the unit is pass key controlled (have to use a special key fob to get in so I think that cuts down a lot on traffic...The office says its slow because it is now summer break.....I'll tough it out and see....I did start during exams prior to summer break). No issues w/ vandals....hopefully it will stay that way. My other apartment location is in a laundry room in a nice but lower income apt complex....the laundry room is only open when the office staff is in so it is fairly safe...on the flip side the $$ are not good since the laundry room is small (3 washers 3 dryers) and has limited 9 to 6 hours....Makes about $20 week gross. The incomes are not great but at least they are on the way to other jobs. Andrew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sphincorp Posted July 25, 2011 Share Posted July 25, 2011 i have a few apt. complexes, these are hiot or miss, low income, u better expect the calls and machine damage, moderate incom...expect the commision and the competition Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogcow Posted July 25, 2011 Share Posted July 25, 2011 I did some consulting work for a vending company that "specalized" in apartment vending. Rule of thumb is the following: Lower income units are best (section8 ) Buy decent but older used equipment Put them in a cage type setup with a good locking system. He bolted expanded metal in front of the glass directly on the snack machines and then put them both in a cage. He then ran a flat metal bar across the tops of the machines so he could bot them together. Expect them to get damaged or broke into from time to time. I dont know any exact numbers but all I can tell you he built his core vending business around these apartment accounts. He did say obviously summer months were much better than winter. I would charge premium prices for the products and try and stay away from comission. If comission is required then 10% max. I would have prices pretty much .75 for chips and crackers and $1.00 for candy, pastry, and cookie. .75 for can and $1.50 for bottles. Hope this helps... if they are both in a cage what good does bolting on the expanded metal over the glass do? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJT Posted July 25, 2011 Share Posted July 25, 2011 if they are both in a cage what good does bolting on the expanded metal over the glass do? Double layer protection. Without it they would break the glass and then fish the snacks out. This way they realize breaking the glass does them no good and it keeps them from breaking the glass. Even with that they still will break the glass sometimes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogcow Posted July 25, 2011 Share Posted July 25, 2011 Double layer protection. Without it they would break the glass and then fish the snacks out. This way they realize breaking the glass does them no good and it keeps them from breaking the glass. Even with that they still will break the glass sometimes. so the whole cage isnt made from expanded metal? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mission vending Posted July 25, 2011 Share Posted July 25, 2011 so the whole cage isnt made from expanded metal? I've seen several different versions of cages, some have expanded metal across the front, some are just bars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJT Posted July 26, 2011 Share Posted July 26, 2011 so the whole cage isnt made from expanded metal? Are you going in the apartment vending business?? Yes, the cage is made of expanded metal. The snack machine has expanded metal bolted in front of the glass direct to the machine using carriage bolts. It just is a double layer protection. He has apartments in some pretty rough areas of town.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Technivend Posted July 26, 2011 Share Posted July 26, 2011 RTJ, What type cages do you use? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJT Posted July 26, 2011 Share Posted July 26, 2011 RTJ, What type cages do you use? I dont currently have any machines in cages. I have a local welding shop that has a design I gave them that is based on using expanded metal. I try and stay away from accounts that would need a cage unless I thought it was a wammy of an account. Why do you ask? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogcow Posted July 26, 2011 Share Posted July 26, 2011 Are you going in the apartment vending business?? no someone locally i know did great doing construction sites once the power pole goes up he had cages locked to a pallet. got a site here near my house i was thinking of talking to the foreman about putting a beater drink machine there and just seeing what happens without a cage, they sound kinda expensive Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJT Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 no someone locally i know did great doing construction sites once the power pole goes up he had cages locked to a pallet. got a site here near my house i was thinking of talking to the foreman about putting a beater drink machine there and just seeing what happens without a cage, they sound kinda expensive Yes, construction sites can do VERY well. A company I used to work for is doing one right now that is doing around 5K a week in revenue. His is not "typical" but I would say that most could do well. I even thought about doing a trailer of sorts with a setup of equipment that could be delivered on site. I have seen actual trailers like this for sale. I think the last time I checked it was like $800.00 total for drink and snack cage. A local welding shop should be able to put it together for you. I have some pictures if you need them. Here are a few examples: http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2626/4027053701_422e1c247e_z.jpg http://www.valiantproductsinc.com/images/Vending-Machine-Cage-small.jpg http://images.search.yahoo.com/images/view?back=http%3A%2F%2Fimages.search.yahoo.com%2Fsearch%2Fimages%3Fp%3Dvending%2Bcage%26ei%3Dutf-8%26y%3DSearch%26fr%3Dyfp-t-701&w=300&h=345&imgurl=www.valiantproductsinc.com%2Fimages%2FVending-Machine-Cage-small.jpg&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.valiantproductsinc.com%2Fvending-machine-cage.html&size=138KB&name=Vending+Machine+...&p=vending+cage&oid=56396a91ceee4d13d6ce8da4b3d19691&fr2=&no=2&tt=488&sigr=11rv2h00v&sigi=12095067d&sigb=12q0aiprd&.crumb=tE9rr.9vzLs#FCar=20ae9729b212d6afb11ecbeb4fa283a2 http://vendingsecuritycages.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Technivend Posted July 28, 2011 Share Posted July 28, 2011 I dont currently have any machines in cages. I have a local welding shop that has a design I gave them that is based on using expanded metal. I try and stay away from accounts that would need a cage unless I thought it was a wammy of an account. Why do you ask? We've had some inquiries from Carwashes about machines. There is always the security concerns at these places. Apparently throwing a chain around the machine and dragging it down the street is not uncommon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NinnJinn Posted July 28, 2011 Share Posted July 28, 2011 We've had some inquiries from Carwashes about machines. There is always the security concerns at these places. Apparently throwing a chain around the machine and dragging it down the street is not uncommon WTF?? Dang! now that is something I have never heard about before! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJT Posted July 29, 2011 Share Posted July 29, 2011 We've had some inquiries from Carwashes about machines. There is always the security concerns at these places. Apparently throwing a chain around the machine and dragging it down the street is not uncommon Yep, seen that. I saw one one time that was hooked to a chain and pulled out of a laundry area of an apartment complex. I had a guy take a forklift to an entire bank of equipment in a location. I would team up with a local welder to come up with some designs you can offer. Try to make it modular so you can ship it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mission vending Posted July 29, 2011 Share Posted July 29, 2011 WTF?? Dang! now that is something I have never heard about before! Wanna see it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.