New Vending Machines
New vending machines are not necessary to start a vending business.
I know starting out you want a brand new machine that is clean and looks good.
Don’t get me wrong I love the smell of brand new machine fresh out of the box, just like anybody else but it is not necessary.
Buy new machines, but not from companies
I have bought plenty of brand new machines, but they were people on eBay, and craigslist.
I never have bought one single machine from a vending company. They just charge too much.
When I started in vending I almost made the terrible mistake of buying 20 bulk vending machines for 16,000 and that was just for the machines no candy, or locations.
Look for deals
Try not to buy from vending companies, because they charge too much for machines.
Always check your local paper, eBay and craigslist.
This is a great way to start your vending business and you can get a lot of great deals this way.
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Vending Machine Parts
If you plan on going into the vending business you are probably going to need some extra vending machine parts.
Depending on the vending machine you chose these extra parts can get pretty expensive.
The best way to handle this is to buy extra parts before you need them.
There is nothing worse when your machine breaks down and you have to go out and buy something right away.
The price is always higher.
Where to find parts
There are tons on websites that offer vending parts, and I will not recommend one of them.
I can’t because there are too many types of machines out there for an all in one site that carries everything, so do a Google search to find companies that have parts for your particular machine.
Ebay
eBay has saved me a lot of money when purchasing vending machines.
eBay has also saved me a lot of money when I look for extra vending parts for my vending machines.
When looking for extra parts or vending machines, I would always check eBay and craigslist first.
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Vending Machine prices
Vending machine prices is probably the most common question I get when people ask me about my vending machine business.
Most people are shocked when they hear the prices I pay for most of my vending machines.
Prices will vary
The most I have ever paid for one vending machine is 150 dollars.
I was just starting out and since I almost paid 16,000 for 20 vending machines this seemed like a steal.
Now today I try buy vending machines for under a 100 dollars if I can.
If the machine is brand new the 150 dollar price tag is worth it.
Avoid fly by night companies
I have never bought a vending machine from a company and I don’t plan to. They just charge too much.
How are you and I going to make money if we are paying 300 and 400 dollars for one machine?
It’s impossible to grow your business quickly.
I always suggest check eBay, craigslist and your local paper.
Even avoid companies that have been around
There are companies that have been around for awhile as well uturn, vendstar etc.
I would still not buy from these companies, because why not find yourself a nice used machine for under a 100 dollars.
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Vending Machine Locks
Depending on what machine you decide to use the vending machine locks might be the same as your competitors next door to you.
Don’t be alarmed, I just wanted you to be aware and keep your eyes open.
Ebay
There are a lot of keys to your vending machine on ebay.
Some dishonest people might buy vending keys to your particular machine, and try to cash in on your hard work.
There is a very easy way to avoid getting ripped off.
Create relationships
Let the owner of the business know that you are the only one that services the machine.
If the owner sees anyone else trying to open the machine to get candy out they know that they are not authorized.
The second thing is you can change the vending locks and get new ones made.
But that is expensive and probably not necessary.
I would just not be a stranger and say hello to the owner or receptionist, or whoever you talk to when you go to service your vending machine.
Just let them know you are the only one authorized to service the machine.
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Vending Software
There is a lot of vending software out on the market today for vending. I have tried plenty but I only recommend one software solution. The vending software I use is Vend-Trak.
Web Based
I love this software because it is totally web based. I can log on any computer as long as I have my login information. This was huge for me due to the fact that last month my hard drive on my computer failed. Luckily my most most important information, my vending business information was safely secure at vend-trak.
Route Management
The second coolest thing about vend-trak is the route management features. I was really surprised when entered all my addresses and information into the system.
Vend-trak has this really cool feature that optimizes your vending route based on your vending locations. I thought that I had my route optimized and nailed down.
I was surprised when the system gave me even a quicker route to finish my vending route. I have over 300 machines so this is essential to get my route done quickly.
Reports
If you love reports and data then you need vend-trak. This vending software gives you so many ways to look at your data, with excel sheets and graphs and earnings by month.
You can really take control of your business and see what you need to work on.
Keeping Track of Your Candy
Before I used this software I just use to eyeball what candy I needed and estimated. With Vend-Trak I have a complete list of all the candy I use and I have reports on how much candy I have and what candy I need.
Keep Track of Your Mileage
Keeping track of all of your business expenses is so important. Before vend-trak I would always forget to write down my mileage or accidentally throw out my mileage log. Not any more. With vend-trak I never forget because I have to log in my collections so its real easy to keep track.
The Best Vending Software
If you know me by now I am all about making this business simple and efficient. Vend-Trak is very easy and simple to use. I would give it a try if you have a vending route, whether you are starting out or a veteran in the vending industry.
This the best vending software, now check out my vending locator
Vending license do I need one?
Another reason why I chose bulk vending over the big soda machines is I don’t need a vending license.
Bulk vending doesn’t require a license because my sales are 25 cents or less.
Other Terms
It is also called a vending permit, or a seller’s permit covers everything.
In California the state I live in, you don’t need a permit or a seller’s license which just makes it a lot easier to get started.
If you live in California you have no excuse, go out and buy you some candy, a vending machine and find yourself a location, and then you are in business.
Don’t worry about setting up your business legally until you start making money.
Other States
Just check your local county to see what you need to start a bulk vending business.
You probably won’t need much, if any.
Make that call don’t procrastinate.
You will make money in this business just stick with it.
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Runts
Runts are not my candy of choice when I am vending.
To be totally honest with you I have never used those colorful hard candies in any of my vending machines.
When I first started out in vending, before I bought my machines, I would always look at other vendor’s machines to see what kinds of candy they were using so I could get an idea when I finally got my machines.
What I found was that almost every vending machine I saw that had little yellow bananas in it seemed abandoned.
The vendor was not taking care of the machine.
The second thing is I don’t really like the candy and if I never had another bag, I would be fine.
The benefits
Not to be negative but there are some good sides to the candy if you decide to use them.
Number one they are cheap; they are the cheapest candy you can buy, which will help your bottom line.
Number two is they do not spoil as easy. These candies have a nice little hard shell which will keep them fresh.
It all depends on you
I don’t use the candy and I do well.
It all depends on the location.
If you think the candy will work at your particular location, just try them out, that is the only way you will know.
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Giant gumball machines
People ask me about giant gumball machines and ask me if they are good idea to get into.
It’s funny because that is exactly what attracted me vending in the first place.
It was the year 2001 and I was sitting in Rendino’s pizza in chino hills.
The owner of the gumball machine came in to service the machine. I asked him how much does he make.
He told me when he empties out the vending machine he makes about 500 dollars.
My eyes almost popped out of my head.
My eyes really jumped out my head when he told me he only paid 80 dollars to fill up the machine.
I couldn’t believe it.
Downsides
Now you can’t put that huge gumball machine everywhere, and you better have a lot of traffic where you place the machine.
I think big gumball machines are good if you know what you are doing.
I think 5 or 10 would be plenty to have.
I can’t see anyone with 100 big gumball machines; I just don’t think there is enough places to put them.
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Double Bubble
Double Bubble has been around forever.
What you may not know that are lot of different varieties.
When you go to your local warehouse store Costco, sams club or whatever big discount store that is near you, they will probably only offer the original kind of
Go Online
If you go to tootsie.com you can see all the different kinds of gumballs they have, and all the sizes they offer too.
You are probably looking for 1 inch, but if you want something smaller they offer that too.
If you goto samsclub.com they can order you the different type of gumballs you want, you just have to ask.
Don’t be cheap
I would not recommend using any other gumball than DB.
My advice is to always use name brand candy that your customers can identify with.
Don’t try to save a couple of dollars because it might hurt you in the long run.
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Coin Counter
You are going to need a coin counter after you start making around 500 dollars a month in your vending business.
At first it will be fun counting all of those quarters and packaging them by hand, but after a while packaging quarters will become a real hassle and a job.
Packaging
The counter you chose must also be able to package your coins as well as count them.
It is not good enough to have a coin counter that just counts your quarters.
You need a machine that will help package your quarters without you doing them by hand.
There are a lot of counters out there so picking one can become difficult.
Counter I use
The counter I chose to get buy after some careful review was a Semacon counter.
I chose this type because you can plug it in, or there is a hand crank, great for when my kids package coins for me and I don’t have to worry about them plugging it into the wall.
I believe my model is the s-45 I am not sure I bought it about 3 years ago and it has been solid, and I haven’t had any problems with it.
I bought it off of ebay brand new for around 500 dollars.
I know that is expensive, but I messed around with other cheaper counters and have been disappointed.
Seamacon also makes a coin sorter to for a little bit more, that means it will sort all kinds of change into different bags for you, but since I was only dealing with quarters I decided to stick with just the counter.
Where to find
You can get a counter anywhere, I always check out eBay first and go from there.
Whatever counter you chose I would buy a new one.
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