VBVending Posted August 20, 2011 Share Posted August 20, 2011 To all my vending peeps, I have tried NW machines. [LOVE THEM] (I have a 7 and 9 way racks) about 20 assorted Beavers [LOVE THEM] (singles, Shootin Hoops, etc...) but had a huge problem with my first AA order [still working out kinks] (Sent me bad mechs) I picked up 2 - 4 way Uturns on a whim from CL for cheap and some extra parts on eBay. (I Like to actually see and test every type of machine I can find, I'm a tinkerer) I set them up, got them both on location and I love them. Why do some operators seem to hate them so much? Is there something that I'm missing? The store owners like the small floor profile, the employees love them and they seem easy to service. Please infuse me with all your UTurn wisdom. Thanks, Robert Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sherlock Posted August 20, 2011 Share Posted August 20, 2011 I don't own any u-turns, but I own several 4-way Vendesigns on location. My 4-ways are exactly what I need for the locations I have them in. Brisk sales, but little floor space. Like any other bulk machine, 4 ways have their limits. Nothing wrong with having at least a few niche machines for those unique locations. My Vendesigns have held up well and I could never earn the cash I earn with these 4ways had I installed the A&A and Oak machines I usually use given the limited floor space. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antoniocinisi Posted August 20, 2011 Share Posted August 20, 2011 imo even a uturn has it`s place in the vending biz.I had a location that had only room for a 8 way machine.I had toys in the tall top canisters and candy in the shorter canisters on the bottom.a little tip for you,cut a square out of styrofoam or similar material and slide it down the rod so all the coin boxes stay in their place even if the machine gets spun wildly.the you turns do take a little longer to service,especially the bigger ones.they may break more often then some other machines because of the plastic mechs,this depends on how much abuse it gets,it wont even be an issue in some locations.I have an 8 way and 3- 4 ways I kept from when I had many more.I might sell another one or two,but I will keep a couple for the location that has no room. I also tried many machines and went with northwestern as my prefered brand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JLM Vending Posted August 20, 2011 Share Posted August 20, 2011 I own 40 U turns and profit over a thousand dollars a month with them. I average between 20-100 bucks. I don't have any major problems but also worked hard to really get it right. You know they can be a pain the golpher at first, but you really have to know what you are doing otherwise you will waste your money. Making money with U turn is hard at first, but if you do it right you can make something out of it. I think the main reason people hate U turns are not just the actual machines, but the fact that the sales reps will rip you off if you by it directly from them. I bought most of mine from Craigslist for only 65-100 bucks and was given good advice from the person I got them from who had previously owned 230 of them and was doing the business for 10 years. The company will actually sell you U turns for about 600-1000 bucks and try to get you on a 25 machine deal. That is sad how they make money like that. The other reason people hate the U turns, especially the 8 selects is that they do have too many product options. The 8 selects are only meant to be placed in very high traffic spots, otherwise you are gonna have to relocate a whole lot. But the U turns are a bit tricky. They are hard to collect money from if you don't have the proper equipment to hold the coin boxes in place. You also need to have a good locator and you need to know what kind of products to offer. The trick is to NEVER fill your products more than half way the first time you load the machine. Also, as a rule of thumb always make 2 of your selections PMM since that is by far the most popular product. If a product does not sell in 2 months, you MUST change the product or replace with BBB or Skittles. That is one big mistake people make. They see a product not moving and don't change it because it seems like a a lot of work, but that is really one of the things that can make the difference. I will even use bouncy balls if it is in a place with some kids, that way it saves spoilage. My best spots are really just break rooms or places where blue collar people work and the candy caters towards adults. I have mine in companies such as Orchard Supply Hardware, Kelly Moore Paint, L & L BBQ, etc.. You cannot just put these machines in some small random shop or you will be taking a huge risk. If you use hard candy, fill halfway to test, use the freshness seal and put the machines in well air conditioned places, then you should do fine. So locating is real tough and takes a lot of time, but it is so necessary when dealing with the U turns. I have put mine in Japanese restaurants and Fancy Office Buildings and only made 2 dollars in a month and I had to pull and put it somewhere else. The Vendesign machines are actually easier to manage but I can't find many used ones that sell for 60 bucks like the U turn, since they are not as common. Also, I probably spent about 2 hours working on each machine, just refurbishing them, painting them, brightening them up, etc.. So it is a heck of a lot of work. I am considering trying single or double head toy machines as Im actually looking for something a little more simple. But i don't plan on giving up the U turns that i have because they do provide me with a part time income working only 2-3 full days a month. However when i say they take a lot of work to service them, yes it really is hard work, though can be a little bit fun at times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JLM Vending Posted August 20, 2011 Share Posted August 20, 2011 You fill 2 heads with PMM?....How many do you vend, because they are $10.00/bag most places now. Hmm I get mine for about 9 bucks at Cosco. I fill my 2 heads just halfway, so it makes it equal to only 1 full canister of PMM. And if it does well, then I will fill it a little bit more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
will.vend Posted August 20, 2011 Share Posted August 20, 2011 I dont hate uturns but I dont use them or any other triple/quad style machine because they dont fit my business model, I vend 99% toys and 1% gum, My fleet of machines have very little variance and I can swap or do repairs in the field, if I had uturns, 1800's, selectvends and others I could never keep up with all the parts. I also keep all my machines the same color for swapping parts. A buddy of mine whose initials are "hillbilly" used to paint his refurbed machines every color under the rainbow, they looked cool but he realized swapping them around might be a problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JLM Vending Posted August 20, 2011 Share Posted August 20, 2011 I dont hate uturns but I dont use them or any other triple/quad style machine because they dont fit my business model, I vend 99% toys and 1% gum, My fleet of machines have very little variance and I can swap or do repairs in the field, if I had uturns, 1800's, selectvends and others I could never keep up with all the parts. I also keep all my machines the same color for swapping parts. A buddy of mine whose initials are "hillbilly" used to paint his refurbed machines every color under the rainbow, they looked cool but he realized swapping them around might be a problem. Yes with U turns you always got to have extra parts on hand. I actually bring a checklist with me and follow the same routine and get everything organized the night before i service. It is too time consuming to double back to places because you forgot a spare part. Do you use racks or smaller toy machines? I have thought about getting into toys but like you said then you have to keep up with more parts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hillbilly Posted August 20, 2011 Share Posted August 20, 2011 I dont hate uturns but I dont use them or any other triple/quad style machine because they dont fit my business model, I vend 99% toys and 1% gum, My fleet of machines have very little variance and I can swap or do repairs in the field, if I had uturns, 1800's, selectvends and others I could never keep up with all the parts. I also keep all my machines the same color for swapping parts. A buddy of mine whose initials are "hillbilly" used to paint his refurbed machines every color under the rainbow, they looked cool but he realized swapping them around might be a problem. True, Very true, I still have a few cans of blue left and will paint some that color but after it is gone it is all red for me. Working full time for that slave driver down south taught me a thing or 2. My business model is the close to Andy's. I do have a few triples out there but focus on NW and Oak style machines. I don't really see the advantage of having 4 heads if you're gonna just fill em half way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JLM Vending Posted August 20, 2011 Share Posted August 20, 2011 True, Very true, I still have a few cans of blue left and will paint some that color but after it is gone it is all red for me. Working full time for that slave driver down south taught me a thing or 2. My business model is the close to Andy's. I do have a few triples out there but focus on NW and Oak style machines. I don't really see the advantage of having 4 heads if you're gonna just fill em half way. Your right. The 4 head then turns actually into a triple head. But if you got a good deal on Ebay, then it doesn't matter so much. But more importantly, if the product proves to be a good one on that machine, then i will increase the quantity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
will.vend Posted August 20, 2011 Share Posted August 20, 2011 Do you use racks or smaller toy machines? I have racks and other variations of machines, thats one reason I prefer single type machines, I can make up any configuration that I want and fine tune as I go. Working full time for that slave driver down south taught me a thing or 2. shhh! be quiet, your gonna scare dave into not coming down! I have 2 days worth of work Im gonna get out of him in one afternoon! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crimson Tide Posted August 21, 2011 Share Posted August 21, 2011 To all my vending peeps, I have tried NW machines. [LOVE THEM] (I have a 7 and 9 way racks) about 20 assorted Beavers [LOVE THEM] (singles, Shootin Hoops, etc...) but had a huge problem with my first AA order [still working out kinks] (Sent me bad mechs) I picked up 2 - 4 way Uturns on a whim from CL for cheap and some extra parts on eBay. (I Like to actually see and test every type of machine I can find, I'm a tinkerer) I set them up, got them both on location and I love them. Why do some operators seem to hate them so much? Is there something that I'm missing? The store owners like the small floor profile, the employees love them and they seem easy to service. Please infuse me with all your UTurn wisdom. Thanks, Robert Four of the 6 machines that I own are U Turns (4 canister models). My only complaint about them pertains to the difficulty of removing the quarters. You can use velcro to attach the plastic containers that are supposed to catch the money, but I have found that many of the quarters fall outside of the money containers anyway, so I go without them altogether. That results in quarters being spread out all over the bottom of the machine, adding to collection time. My U Turns gross, on average, about $46 a month (vending M&Ms, PM&Ms, Skittles, and Runts). I will buy more U Turns in the future (but in small lots off of either CL or eBay, never new from the factory). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VBVending Posted August 21, 2011 Author Share Posted August 21, 2011 Do they make 50 Cent Coin Mechs for UTurn machines? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crimson Tide Posted August 21, 2011 Share Posted August 21, 2011 Do they make 50 Cent Coin Mechs for UTurn machines? Yes, they do. I have some. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VBVending Posted August 21, 2011 Author Share Posted August 21, 2011 Yes, they do. I have some. Do you have a link or website that I might be able to find new or used ones? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JLM Vending Posted August 21, 2011 Share Posted August 21, 2011 Four of the 6 machines that I own are U Turns (4 canister models). My only complaint about them pertains to the difficulty of removing the quarters. You can use velcro to attach the plastic containers that are supposed to catch the money, but I have found that many of the quarters fall outside of the money containers anyway, so I go without them altogether. That results in quarters being spread out all over the bottom of the machine, adding to collection time. My U Turns gross, on average, about $46 a month (vending M&Ms, PM&Ms, Skittles, and Runts). I will buy more U Turns in the future (but in small lots off of either CL or eBay, never new from the factory). Totally man. If the coins did not fall out of the U turn, servicing would be twice as fast. Vendesign is actually easier to service. U turn should invent something similar to that if they could. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crimson Tide Posted August 21, 2011 Share Posted August 21, 2011 Do you have a link or website that I might be able to find new or used ones? Unfortunately, I don't. I bought the ones that I have off of eBay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antoniocinisi Posted August 21, 2011 Share Posted August 21, 2011 the newer machines have taller coin boxes that help with coins all over the place Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jax Snacks Posted August 24, 2011 Share Posted August 24, 2011 I started with Uturns 11 years ago and bought my first 10 machines brand new. I bought all the rest used. In 2006, I had 165 candy charity locations consisting of about 110 Uturns and 55 NW doubles. Very simply, that model was not sustainable! No bulk vendor can make it on candy alone. It is really not necessarily about the machine itself, but rather having a viable business model and a machine functionality that supports it. Single modular heads will give you the best flexibility in terms of controlling the number of heads and product selection. I have since sold off almost all the Uturns and only have 2 left on location and 1 in storage (in need of canisters). Here is a list of some Uturn cons in no special order: Can not vend 2-for-1 gumballs. Canisters are too small for those hot toy locations. Gumballs seem to never do well in them. Kind of strange. But I think it is due to the next point… You can only ever see 2 products at a time, so the impulse factor is reduced when you can’t see some specific product (like gumballs). Why do retailers place candy and gum right next to the checkout? No see, no impulse, no buy. Just an opinion that I can not really prove. But another much respected vendor from another board (who also started with Uturns) also verified that gumball sales out of Uturns generally sucked wind. Plastic coin mechs are easy to cheat with slugs and tokens. The plastic product flaps break consistently (just like the vendstars do). Always forced to sell 4 or 8 products. Who ever said 4 or 8 products were the optimal number of products to vend? Can not vend 2 inch toy products. Can not vend flat sticker/tattoo products. Usually a waste of candy. 8 selections are extreme over kill and even 4 selections can be over kill. Adult break rooms will usually only support 2 bulk products. I used to place 4-selects in break rooms, but got sooooooo sick of swapping them out for doubles that I finally saw the light and stopped placing them in break rooms. That was the beginning of the “great Uturn sell off” starting in Jan 2009. Two candy selections are enough in most cases! Those 2-heads in the break rooms generated just as much (and in some cases more) revenue as those 4-selects did. Especially gumball sales. Again, I believe it was due to the impulse factor of having a larger stationary globe filled with bright shiny gumballs staring them in the face all day. Rather than a smaller canister hidden on the “dark side of the moon” half the time. Candy is getting expensive and will most likely not sell for 50 cents. I have not heard a single peep from anybody about successfully vending candy for 50 cents. Candy can go stale and attract bugs and make a mess on the floor. Parts are very expensive, even on eBay. Want to upgrade your candy wheels to toys? Need to replace parts due to vandalism? Be prepared for sticker shock! Well, I better stop here and not pull a lurtsman on you! Ha Ha – just razzing you lurts. And one more point... A bulk machine should not be looked at as a miniature snack machine. Products that sell in a snack machine may not sell well in a bulk machine (like M&M plain for example). I think that many Uturn prospects are duped into thinking that an 8-select bulk machine loaded up with candy will compete with a traditional snack machine. So after paying $600 for one machine, they load it up and place that beast in a break room. Only to find out later that the MM Peanuts sold out and the Mike & Ike sold pretty well (but were gummed up a bit). Gumball sales were not impressive and everything else generally sucked. They then try special flavored gumballs (like Green Apple gum) and generic candy (like Cry Babies) and other Sam’s Club duds (like Boston Baked Beans or Hot Tomales). But to no avail, they end up being the cry baby! Only 2 or 3 products really sold and the rest just sit there waiting to be thrown out! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JLM Vending Posted August 24, 2011 Share Posted August 24, 2011 JaxSnacks what kind of vending machines to you have now? With the U turn you actually have to spread the hot 2 products out through the whole machine if nothing else is selling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jax Snacks Posted August 24, 2011 Share Posted August 24, 2011 JaxSnacks what kind of vending machines to you have now? With the U turn you actually have to spread the hot 2 products out through the whole machine if nothing else is selling. Northwestern double heads in all break rooms. I now only have 3 candy/gum products to offer. And they still all make the same amount of money as before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JLM Vending Posted August 24, 2011 Share Posted August 24, 2011 Cool. I assume PMM is one of the 2 candies you offer. How many do you own now? Are you doing this full time? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gumball guy Posted September 3, 2011 Share Posted September 3, 2011 Bought a small route (less than 20 locations)earlier this year and they were all U Turn Terminators. I really can't stand them and have been swapping them out with Vendstars where I can. They are just a bad design with sub par construction. I have had more U Turn globes crack than on any other machines. The coin mechs are the worst and when I compare them with Vendstar's plastic mech, Vendstar wins hands down. I have some locations that warrant 8 selections and do well with them. I also like them in unattended foyers because they are heavy and less likely to be stolen. Even with those positives I like three head machines like the triple play or the vendstar becuase they are quick and easier to service and to me time is money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JLM Vending Posted September 3, 2011 Share Posted September 3, 2011 Bought a small route (less than 20 locations)earlier this year and they were all U Turn Terminators. I really can't stand them and have been swapping them out with Vendstars where I can. They are just a bad design with sub par construction. I have had more U Turn globes crack than on any other machines. The coin mechs are the worst and when I compare them with Vendstar's plastic mech, Vendstar wins hands down. I have some locations that warrant 8 selections and do well with them. I also like them in unattended foyers because they are heavy and less likely to be stolen. Even with those positives I like three head machines like the triple play or the vendstar becuase they are quick and easier to service and to me time is money. isn't vendstar plastic? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gumball guy Posted September 3, 2011 Share Posted September 3, 2011 isn't vendstar plastic? Yes and I have very few problems with them especially compared to the U Turn. Like I stated in my first comment the vendstar's plastic coin mech is better than U turns plastic coin mech. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JLM Vending Posted September 3, 2011 Share Posted September 3, 2011 Yes and I have very few problems with them especially compared to the U Turn. Like I stated in my first comment the vendstar's plastic coin mech is better than U turns plastic coin mech. well maybe now. but hopefully they will hold up for the long run. Vendstar i heard went out of business I love uturns I like them too but realized i hate servicing the 8 selects. Although in some of my spots they look savy. But profit is more important than the look. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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