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I have a vending machine business, bulk candy machines, and i was thinking of expanding into soda machines. So i was wondering how much a soda machine could realistically make a day in gross sales. Also if anyone has any suggestions on a good brand of machine or any other advice i would greatly appreciate it. Thanks
Just incase anyone else is looking into maybe hopping into this business I dont have expereince in it but had a few things I wanted to point out after talking to people who were.
On the surface it seems like maybe a good nice pt job and relatively low startup. Buy a few machines and some candy, soda, etc. Problem is you have to have a huge number of machines to make this worthwhile and in good locations.
If you dont have volume your going to buy candy, pop, etc in bulk and its going to go past date or stale before your too machines get rid of it. Also by having multiple machines you knwo certain things sell bettter at other locations so can move merchandise around instead of letting it go bad.
Aslo it probably not much more of a time committment having 50 machines than it is having 5. Sure more locations to stop by but in terms of planning what to buy, buying in bulk, book keeping, etc.
I knew a kid in college who had a really successful vending machine business. He had a good amount of units but not tons. His nitche was healthy vending machines. Not carrots and crap like that still snack food but like white cheddar pirates boody puffed rice snacks instead of chips, natural organic gummy fruit roll ups instead of candy. Bc of this he got his stuff into the local high schools. High school kids often dont eat real lunch just snack, aslo after school before sportts kids get vending machine food. Schools are a gold mine and by being diff and haveing a diff product it worked for him.
I have no experience in this but find it interesting, who do you currently get your candy supplies and vending machines from?
I buy my candy from Sam's Club and I buy my machines used, usually from ebay. I do it part time, its pretty easy. My advice...research, research, research.
Just incase anyone else is looking into maybe hopping into this business I dont have expereince in it but had a few things I wanted to point out after talking to people who were.
On the surface it seems like maybe a good nice pt job and relatively low startup. Buy a few machines and some candy, soda, etc. Problem is you have to have a huge number of machines to make this worthwhile and in good locations.
If you dont have volume your going to buy candy, pop, etc in bulk and its going to go past date or stale before your too machines get rid of it. Also by having multiple machines you knwo certain things sell bettter at other locations so can move merchandise around instead of letting it go bad.
Aslo it probably not much more of a time committment having 50 machines than it is having 5. Sure more locations to stop by but in terms of planning what to buy, buying in bulk, book keeping, etc.
I knew a kid in college who had a really successful vending machine business. He had a good amount of units but not tons. His nitche was healthy vending machines. Not carrots and crap like that still snack food but like white cheddar pirates boody puffed rice snacks instead of chips, natural organic gummy fruit roll ups instead of candy. Bc of this he got his stuff into the local high schools. High school kids often dont eat real lunch just snack, aslo after school before sportts kids get vending machine food. Schools are a gold mine and by being diff and haveing a diff product it worked for him.
Good points, i have 57 bulk candy machines and they only make me about 750 a month. I am still changing my locations and probably will be for a few years. When i started, i located all the machines randomly and about 1/3 of them were good, 1/3 were alright, and 1/3 were terrible. So i had to move the majority of them. I havent been doing it for very long but i can tell im going to be moving locations for a long time. Finding locations is the hardest part though. I only work 2 days a month on the existing locations, which is $350 a day. Not bad
I had a Royal Vendors Coke Machine for about a year. I live in San Antonio, where it gets terribly hot, so during the summers I made a killing. A Royal Vendors machine can hold about 900 sodas. If you buy in bulk, around .32 cents a soda and sell them for 75 cents each, you do ok. It depends on the location for sure. I had mine inside at an apartment complex near the swimming pool, so between March through September, I would refill around 600 of the sodas about twice a month, which would net me around 350 during the Spring and around 450 during the dead heat of the summer where temps hover around 105-110 degrees.
On a side note, I know the guy that I sold the machine raised the prices to 85 cents a soda and he says he's profiting very well.
How do you find spots to but them, do you talk to the owner and give them a portion?
That can be the hard part. I was able to get locations because of existing relationships I had with either the manager of the apartment complex I had my coke machine, or the furniture stores I placed my combo machines. For the most part, I was able to place them at these places free without contracts. Usually, its customary, to give 10 percent or more, of your gross sales to the owner to compensate for space or electricity.
Be wary of 'locators' that charge you a fee to find you locations. I've heard that they don't help much.
How do you find spots to but them, do you talk to the owner and give them a portion?
Soda machines usually get a commision, 10% like sa dave said, but i dont pay commision on any of my bulk candy machines locations. Instead, i give a dollar a month per machines to charity, which allows the business to wright off 3 square feet of their business as a charitable expense. It saves them a few hundred bucks a year, i think. A dollar a month is about 3% of my gross profits.
Like other posters have said you usually have to pay for the space.
I can't think of any specifics but I'm sure there's some businesses where the owner and employees would actually welcome having a soda machine, gatorade machine, etc.
A buddy of mine for example is a machinist and works in a very hot wharehouse type building. They are always running out to the store to get drinks. If they had a gatorade or water bottle vending machine they could just go to the machine, less time than going to the store and more convenient. The owner and employees may like this so your providing a service to them where they may let you have the space for free.
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