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Owning a Vending Machine Business
Vending machines are practically everywhere
-- and for good reason: they can sell products
to consumers around the clock without the
cost and hassles of a sales staff. The owner
just maintains the machines (restocking the
merchandise and collecting the money) on
their own schedule.
If you're interested in setting
up your own
vending business, here are some
tips:
- Determine what products you want to vend.
Vending machines sell drinks, candy, or snacks.
Money can also be made on non-food items
such as toys, trinkets, and costume jewelry,
and cash.
- Find busy locations where there is a need
for your product such as offices and manufacturing
plants; hotels and motels; retail stores
and shopping malls; waiting rooms (at auto
repair shops and dealers, hospitals, transit
stations, etc.); gyms and athletic facilities,
both indoor and outdoor; parks, beaches,
and recreation areas.
- Determine what government licenses you need
to vend your product as there may be restrictions
on what types of machines are legal in your
area. In particular, be careful with machines
that can be construed as offering games of
chance.
- Convince the owners of the locations you
target to let you set up machines there.
When you are starting out, you probably will
have a higher success rate in dealing with
other small businesses. The people who control
the site may ask for a fixed amount per month,
a share of the proceeds, a share with a minimum
payment, or some combination thereof. They
also may have some input into what they think
is appropriate to sell, and they may set
standards for your response time when machines
are empty or malfunctioning.
- Research your suppliers. Understand what
terms they will offer you, based on the amount
you expect to buy. The less quantity you
sell, the thinner your profit margins, which
will make recouping your investment in the
machines unduly long.
- Before buying a vending machine, understand
the warranty terms, how much mechanical expertise
you will need to keep it in working order,
and what support the seller of the machines
will offer you (and at what cost and timeliness)
if you run into mechanical problems that
you cannot fix on your own. Be wary of cheaply
made machines with plastic parts in key mechanisms
that experience much wear, such as the money
collection system. Trying to cut costs by
using less durable machines can create more
headaches and expense in the long run. Look
for vending machines that offer you maximum
flexibility in interchanging products.
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