christirose Posted November 14, 2011 Share Posted November 14, 2011 Hi Everyone, I'm still searching for a route and came upon something with Antares Combo machines. Can you tell me your experience with them? Are they any good etc..... I will be watching for your responses with great anticipation. Thanks, Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngryChris Posted November 15, 2011 Share Posted November 15, 2011 The easiest answer is no. The more complicated answer is "it depends." Here is a list of disadvantages to antares machines that comes to mind immediately: -Difficult to change prices (compared to a control board that can be done in seconds) -ONLY ACCEPTS *EXACT* exact change, meaning that it not only has to be the correct amount, but the correct type of coins too!!! 50 cents is 2 quarters only! -Limited capacity for larger accounts ( approximately 175 cans which is about seven 24-packs or one 24-pack for each flavor ) -Limited display ability (you must show an image or title of what the selection is before they buy it so they know what it is) -Have to open 4 or 5 locks to unlock/relock everything!!! SUPER annoying/time-consuming Here is a list of advantages: -Takes up very little space -Cheap -No electronic troubleshooting, everything is virtually mechanical except the powered compressor and the change machine -Good for smaller accounts that want a variety of selections -Somewhat reliable if the machine is in good working order Basically, here is my general opinion on antares machines. They are only good for very small accounts of the following criteria: -The account is expected to do $15-$30/week -The account is a secure location with no risk of vandalism (as these can be easily broken into) -You need a small machine at a location that is part of another, larger account (such as a business that you have with full-size equipment and they want a separate vending machine at their "other location" which only has 10 employees). -Your customer MUST be willing to accept higher prices than usual. I set up my remaining antares machines for $.75 cans and everything else for increments of $.25 ( .50, .75, 1.00 ) in order to set my change machine to give 4 quarters for every dollar and avoid complicated exact-exact change situations as explained earlier). Since most locations spend most of their money on soda, I make sure that this markup gives me at least 50% of my overall revenue in profit. If a location is expected to do $15/week, you profit $7/week (not including fuel expenses), you should come out with $350/year. You can get an antares machine for this kind of a price and do this... but $15/week just isn't worth it as a stand-alone account. I have upgraded my larger accounts from antares machines to full-size snack and soda machines and have done well because of it. I am going to place one of these machines into a new location soon as it is part of an account that does pretty decent at another location. I am not going to spend $1000-$1500 on a good combo machine which would never pay for itself and I don't want these customers to have a full-size pop machine as it would be too much and probably a burden to even bother getting it into their break room. These machines have their places... but unless you want to do this as a hobby or you can get some killer deal on an antares machine route, I wouldn't bother. Been there. Done that. As my personal advice for any business for sale with these machines, I would pay 35% of the gross annual revenue ( make sure they can prove the revenue too, approx $20/week is a reasonable amount for these machines to make in a week) and I would not pay for the equipment. If an account with 10 of these machines is grossing $200/week or $10,000/year, I would offer $3,500. This is because these machines have virtually no resale value and they just aren't something you want to put into new locations if you ask me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
christirose Posted November 15, 2011 Author Share Posted November 15, 2011 Thank you. A fabulous well thought out articulate answer...... Appreciate it ! The easiest answer is no. The more complicated answer is "it depends." Here is a list of disadvantages to antares machines that comes to mind immediately: -Difficult to change prices (compared to a control board that can be done in seconds) -ONLY ACCEPTS *EXACT* exact change, meaning that it not only has to be the correct amount, but the correct type of coins too!!! 50 cents is 2 quarters only! -Limited capacity for larger accounts ( approximately 175 cans which is about seven 24-packs or one 24-pack for each flavor ) -Limited display ability (you must show an image or title of what the selection is before they buy it so they know what it is) -Have to open 4 or 5 locks to unlock/relock everything!!! SUPER annoying/time-consuming Here is a list of advantages: -Takes up very little space -Cheap -No electronic troubleshooting, everything is virtually mechanical except the powered compressor and the change machine -Good for smaller accounts that want a variety of selections -Somewhat reliable if the machine is in good working order Basically, here is my general opinion on antares machines. They are only good for very small accounts of the following criteria: -The account is expected to do $15-$30/week -The account is a secure location with no risk of vandalism (as these can be easily broken into) -You need a small machine at a location that is part of another, larger account (such as a business that you have with full-size equipment and they want a separate vending machine at their "other location" which only has 10 employees). -Your customer MUST be willing to accept higher prices than usual. I set up my remaining antares machines for $.75 cans and everything else for increments of $.25 ( .50, .75, 1.00 ) in order to set my change machine to give 4 quarters for every dollar and avoid complicated exact-exact change situations as explained earlier). Since most locations spend most of their money on soda, I make sure that this markup gives me at least 50% of my overall revenue in profit. If a location is expected to do $15/week, you profit $7/week (not including fuel expenses), you should come out with $350/year. You can get an antares machine for this kind of a price and do this... but $15/week just isn't worth it as a stand-alone account. I have upgraded my larger accounts from antares machines to full-size snack and soda machines and have done well because of it. I am going to place one of these machines into a new location soon as it is part of an account that does pretty decent at another location. I am not going to spend $1000-$1500 on a good combo machine which would never pay for itself and I don't want these customers to have a full-size pop machine as it would be too much and probably a burden to even bother getting it into their break room. These machines have their places... but unless you want to do this as a hobby or you can get some killer deal on an antares machine route, I wouldn't bother. Been there. Done that. As my personal advice for any business for sale with these machines, I would pay 35% of the gross annual revenue ( make sure they can prove the revenue too, approx $20/week is a reasonable amount for these machines to make in a week) and I would not pay for the equipment. If an account with 10 of these machines is grossing $200/week or $10,000/year, I would offer $3,500. This is because these machines have virtually no resale value and they just aren't something you want to put into new locations if you ask me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngryChris Posted November 15, 2011 Share Posted November 15, 2011 Thank you. A fabulous well thought out articulate answer...... Appreciate it ! <-----Got me a college edumacation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mission vending Posted November 15, 2011 Share Posted November 15, 2011 I would agree with angrychris. If vending is going to be a hobby and you get a good deal then go ahead. If you are wanting to build a business then don't bother. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogcow Posted November 15, 2011 Share Posted November 15, 2011 no i would use an honor box in any location you have these machines at least its less of a hassle to move and your ROI is 1 service cycle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
venderone Posted December 5, 2011 Share Posted December 5, 2011 We bought a couple of Planet Antares Office Deli combo machines about 2 years ago. They have filed bankruptcy and the warranties we have on the machines are worthless!!! My advice is to stay away from the machines. We will be closing our business in about two weeks with a total loss of over $25,000. Hi Everyone, I'm still searching for a route and came upon something with Antares Combo machines. Can you tell me your experience with them? Are they any good etc..... I will be watching for your responses with great anticipation. Thanks, Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NSXtacy111 Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 Thank you all for the sound advice and experience that you have provided discussing the Antares company and they're machines as a whole. But for me I would like to know of those who have had exact experience with the "Office Deli" machine by Antares. Here is an example of what I am talking about specifically: http://www.planetantarescorp.com/equipment.html I think we all have come to the conclusion that Antares pretty much sucks as a go to brand as a foundation for a successful vending operation. I just want to know what you think and how you would review the Office Deli $250,000 ;-} dollar model. Reason I'm asking is because I'm getting (2) Antares Office Deli's for $1800 dollars that are less than 6 months old and figure it was a pretty good deal. Seller says that he bought them at $10,000 dollars a piece. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mission vending Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 Thank you all for the sound advice and experience that you have provided discussing the Antares company and they're machines as a whole. But for me I would like to know of those who have had exact experience with the "Office Deli" machine by Antares. Here is an example of what I am talking about specifically: http://www.planetantarescorp.com/equipment.html I think we all have come to the conclusion that Antares pretty much sucks as a go to brand as a foundation for a successful vending operation. I just want to know what you think and how you would review the Office Deli $250,000 ;-} dollar model. Reason I'm asking is because I'm getting (2) Antares Office Deli's for $1800 dollars that are less than 6 months old and figure it was a pretty good deal. Seller says that he bought them at $10,000 dollars a piece. Thanks! The price the seller paid is about right. Is that 1800 each or for both? If its both then is a good deal, if you want to deal with and operate second rate equipment. If you do sandwiches and stuff like that the spoilage on the refrigerated part ought to pretty successful at eating all your profits.... pun intended Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coinvestor Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 The price the seller paid is about right. Is that 1800 each or for both? If its both then is a good deal, if you want to deal with and operate second rate equipment. If you do sandwiches and stuff like that the spoilage on the refrigerated part ought to pretty successful at eating all your profits.... pun intended I think on these machines the "food" part is just a snack machine with larger spirals (no refer). So all the food needs to be shelf stable. JD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poplady1 Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 Hi Everyone, I'm still searching for a route and came upon something with Antares Combo machines. Can you tell me your experience with them? Are they any good etc..... I will be watching for your responses with great anticipation. Thanks, Chris I am sure you are aware of the internet remarks by current owners of this machine. If not, a good place to start is http://trustlink.org/Reviews/Planet-Antares-Inc-205711200. These machines can often be found along the side of the road. Between the water leaks and small capacity for stock, I would try to go in another direction. Find a local equipment seller. Work with them. Often they have locations available to help get you going. At least call them or visit them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngryChris Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 I am sure you are aware of the internet remarks by current owners of this machine. If not, a good place to start is http://trustlink.org...-Inc-205711200. These machines can often be found along the side of the road. Between the water leaks and small capacity for stock, I would try to go in another direction. Find a local equipment seller. Work with them. Often they have locations available to help get you going. At least call them or visit them. It sounds like he already bought them but correct me if I'm wrong! As for the question that you never really asked "Is this a good deal?" then I would say, as mission said, it depends on if you got both for $1800 or if they were $1800 each. The idea of them is pretty neat in the sense that you have "everything" right there in one package. However, what they DON'T tell you is that if you had a location that justified having "everything" then it would go through SO much stock that you would have to refill that thing every single day, two or three times a day to keep it from running out. OR... you could get a full-size snack(new), full size soda(new), and a full-size food machine(new) all for maybe $11,000 - $12,000 that you could stock once or twice a week and be able to resell the equipment later or move the equipment to another location if that account did not remain in your hands... etc... Basically, I think Antares machines have their place but you need to be ready to do your own repairs on them or be ready to take them to the scrap yard if they crap out on you. P.S. For $1800, you could easily call just about any distributor in the country who sells used equipment and get yourself a nice snack machine and soda machine for that much and it will have probably 5 times the capacity. BUT.... since you *seem* to have already bought them... I would say... just make sure you get your money back as soon as possible cause you might be stuck with them for a while... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NSXtacy111 Posted December 16, 2011 Share Posted December 16, 2011 The purchase was for 2 at a total of $1800 dollars. This is for a new location in which only has a max total of 40 employees. As far as the capacity of the machine it states that it can hold 350 products so I'm estimating maybe 2 fills a week if the employees really blow through the snacks. Plus, the location is very close to my home, about 15 minutes down the road in case I do need to have the machine filled more often. The business is open 7 days a week with the weekend having a few employees. Both machines are no more than 6 months old and if it really comes down to it, I will sell them off at a higher price than I purchased them and get a full size. I hope that I am pushed to do so due to high demand and not a broken machine. My preference would never to buy an Antares machine but the price is right and the machine does look very professional and appealing to a business, no doubt about that. Also, from my understanding they break down into 3 separate pieces for ease of relocating. I will update this thread to tell you all how it goes. Fingers crossed! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogcow Posted December 16, 2011 Share Posted December 16, 2011 Basically, I think Antares machines have their place the dump? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Husa Posted April 11, 2014 Share Posted April 11, 2014 I just grabbed one of these for our construction yard. Can someone tell me how to get into service mode so I can check all the functions. I dropped just a couple cans in, but all im getting is make another selection Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZVendor Posted April 11, 2014 Share Posted April 11, 2014 Welcome to the forum, Husa. Please don't add a new question to an old thread (this one's from 2011) but rather begin a new post. This thread is about an Antares mechanical machine which has no service mode. Please begin a new post and include the manufacturer and model number of your machine along with your question so we can help you out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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