Check out our online catalog of vending machines.
We've got the best selection of bulk candy vending machines and gumball machines in the vending business. Looking for new & used snack machines and drink machines? We've gottem'! 1.800.311.2142
Note: The following is believed to be the best consultation you'll ever receive in helping you start the right vending business. Skimming this section would be a waste of time. Read each section carefully. After doing so, feel free to call us for additional counsel.

There are only two important factors to consider: Rate of return on your time & money invested.
The Best Vending Program?
There are many vending programs on the market. The following is a comparative analysis between the snack and soda business, or any similar type vending program, and the bulk candy business, more specifically, the U-Spin Spacesaver (the best in the world). This Consultation page will clearly point out which business serves as the best use of your TIME & MONEY. TIME & MONEY, by the way, are the only things that are important. Furthermore, you will learn why the U-Spin Spacesaver (4 & 8 Selection bulk candy merchandiser) is the best merchandiser in the industry and why it makes finding locations easy and servicing efficient.

The U-Spin Spacesaver is not a "snack" machine. A snack machine is a merchandiser that dispenses candy bars, potato chips and pastries. The U-Spin Spacesaver is a "bulk" candy vending machine. This vending machine dispenses handfuls of candies such as Skittles, M&M's, peanuts, Fruit Tart Chews, mints, gum balls and more.

Although the snack and soda vending business is a good sound business and at times very profitable, compared to the properly built bulk candy vending business, there is no comparison. After 10years of being in vending, we no longer sell snacks, drinks, coffee or sandwiches. The biggest reason for this is that it's not very efficient. You have to stand there and stock one item at a time. The most average profit one is able to pick up in an hour's time is around $75.00. That's stocking about 225 items in about 45 minutesr to 1 hour including setup and drive time. The average profit per sale is around 35 cents.
A large capacity will give you the ability to collect a large amount of money when visiting the merchandiser. The U-Spin Spacesavers hold between 650 & 1100 servings. That's twice as much capacity as the LARGEST of snack and soda machines. This is crucially important to me because this means I SERVICE THE MACHINE WHEN IT HAS COLLECTED OVER $100.00. In fact, we average around $125.00 per visit less 20% food cost leaving us with $100.00 GROSS PROFIT per visit. Instead of wasting our time plopping one gum ball at a time into the machine, like snack & soda, we poor 500 servings of candy in and do 2 to 4 STOPS PER HOUR. That's impossible to do with snack and soda especially since the profit margin is terrible compared to bulk candy. We run a 20% food cost with bulk candy while snack & soda vending averages around 45%-50% cost.

If a machine has this much capacity, there is no need to service it until there is at least $100 plus in it. If it's doing $69 per month, which is what we average, simply wait 6 weeks between service time. This means with 100 machines doing $6900.00 per month, you only need to visit around 17 of them each week. [100 machines divided by 6 week service cycle] This equates to about 5-10 hours per week. Want proof? Come here and run the route with us.

Something to consider: If a good location, like a restaurant, allows machines, they probably already have them. Why should they let you in the door? No reason. With the typical bulk candy merchandiser, you wouldn't have much success. If you're lucky enough to get in the door, you'll be set beside all the others and do a measly $15.00 per month.
THE DIFFERENCE
THE ONLY TYPE OF LOCATIONS THAT I LIKE TO CALL ON ARE ONES THAT ALREADY HAVE MACHINES. Why? If a location has a machine or two or three, that means they allow them in the first place. With the U-Spin Spacesavers, we show them a merchandiser that has as many, IF NOT MORE, selections as ALL 2 OR 3 OF THEIR MACHINES COMBINED, without taking up any more space than any ONE of their machines, let alone all three of them cluttering up the place. Location is everything and the machine will make the difference. You couldn't give me the typical, or many not so typical, quarter merchandiser for free and expect me to find locations. The work itself is more than I would want to do in finding locations. The volume produced and the money collected per hour, due to small capacities, would make it even worse. We've been down that road.

My opinion is very strong because I know how hard I used to work on the route for 'peanuts'. Now I can service 10 machines in less than 5 hours, including going to the wholesaler to pick up product, and collect $1200-$1300.

In the event you choose snack and soda, medical or any other program or equipment,, please let me know. We have nearly everything from snack and soda combos as low as $1000.00 to medical merchandisers and full size snack and soda machines. Some of our customers that we have successfully "set up" in business started with 2 or 3 different programs at once. Whatever you want to do, we're here to help you. Feel free to call us at 1.800.311.2142 or 402.895.9685.

We make available a variety of vending machines. Below you can navigate to each vending machine category like bulk candy machines and gumball machines, or you can go directly to the specific vending machine of your choice in the respective vending category.

We're Your only source for vending machines!
***Ask about our Personal/On-Site Training***

We are a very successful, privately owned and operated vending business. In addition to this, we specialize in helping others start and grow their own vending business. We provide:

  • FREE Consultation about the vending business to help you determine which vending programs are the best;
  • A large variety of the best vending machines on the market;
  • Ongoing, professional consultation to help you grow a profitable and efficient vending business of your own

Vending Business Guidelines---How to choose the right vending business

gourmet gumballsFor a vending business to meet my standards, it MUST fulfill the below requirements or I will not invest any of my hard earned money in the vending machines nor my time in the overall opportunity

  • The ability to secure top notch vending machine locations is the most important issue. If the machine or concept isn't special in the eyes of the location, you're not going to get in the door of great locations because, if they allow machines, they already have them. Give them a reason to want you.
  • The vending machine must have a great capacity. If I'm going to service the machine, I want to collect over $100. If there's less, I either went there too early, or the machine is running low because the capacity isn't great enough. As long as the machine is easy to service, i.e. poor in 500 servings and leave, then I can service 2 to 4 stops per hour. This is why I'm in vending.
  • The machine needs to draw attention to itself, especially if there is competition. So What if #1 and #2 are in order if the competition is killing you. You may be in a location that is generating $100 per month and the other 3 vendors are getting there "fair share" and you're stuck with $20. I want my machine to get a large share of the revenues.

    Look at every vending business in light of the above most important factors. Don't listen to fluff. The bottom line is time and money.

The best vending machines in the vending industry are found right here.

Looking for vending machines? Well, you found them. We offer the best selection of the best vending machines in the vending industry from gumball machines and candy machines to snack vending machines and drink vending machines. We also offer exciting interactive gumball machines like the sportszone vending machine sportyball and the shootin hoops vendor. You may want to start your own medical vending business or prepaid phone card machine business. We even have combinations of snack and soda machines called snack and soda combos with optional dollar bill changers. If there is a vending machine you want and don't see it at our online vending catalog, just give us a call. Vending machines are what we do and vending is our business. Before deciding which vending machine business you want to start, be sure and check out our vending consultation page. This is the best consultation you'll receive in helping you decide which vending business gives you the best return on your money and time invested. That's why we're in the vending business. Vending machines help us leverage our time. Pick the right vending business. Then pick the right vending machines. It may be bulk vending, bulk candy machines or gumball machines, whatever you want. Buy a quality vending machine and place it in a quality vending location and you'll have a quality vending business. Happy vending.

Check back for new vending stuff anytime.

Service, repair, parts, manuals for PBS, Fawn, Federal & USI snack and drink vending machines

Article written by 101Vending 2002...

Remember the three “Q” ‘s:

  1. Buy a Quality vending machine….
  2. At a Quality price…
  3. Place it on a Quality vending location…

And you’ll have a quality business.

The first step is to determine which vending business gives you the best return on your money while taking the least amount of time.  You want a good balance.  Here’s what I mean.  Let’s say you find a business that generates a great amount of money but takes a great deal of work.  Well, anybody can make a lot of money.  What good is the money if you don’t have the time to spend it?  On the other hand, you may find a business that takes four or more years to earn your money back but little to no time at all.  An example of this might be investment securities, the stock market etc.  That’s a great way to leverage your time but with slow results, not to mention high risks.
There are many types of vending businesses that produce a healthy return on your money, however some are very labor intensive.  A perfect example of this would be the snack and drink business.  The snack and drink business is a great business.  However, regardless of how good your locations are, there is just too much work involved to make it worth my time and effort.  Picking up $200.00 at a location that has a snack and drink machine will take 1 to 1 ½ hours including drive time.  After your 50% food cost, that’s not leaving much to pay the rest of your expenses.

Let’s contrast this with another vending business.  Let’s say you own one giant gumball machine.  The machine holds 3500 gumballs.  Once that machine sells out, it will have $875 in it. Don’t go to it until it has sold 80% of the product.  It doesn’t matter if it’s a good location or a bad location.  Understand, this is just an example.  How long it takes for a machine to sell out depends on the amount of customer traffic in the lacerations. Under normal circumstances, you should be able OT service 3 stops per hour. Do the math. Now, that's worth your time! By the way, gumballs cost around 2 cents and cell for 25 cents. Pretty good, huh?

Now, I used two examples that are extreme opposites just to make a point.  Some vending businesses are simply a much better use of your time than others.  Bulk candy, gumball and similar type vending machines that have large capacities, are easy to service and are extremely impressive to the location, give you the best chance to make the most money with the least amount of effort.  The fact is, the profit margins are much higher since the food cost is 50% less than snack and drinks, the capacities of the machines are much greater if you operate the machines we suggest, and the method of service is much more efficient.  Hey, don’t plop in one gumball at a time like you would a coke, candy bar or potato chip.  Grab 500 quarters.  Lift the lid and poor.
Let’s look at the most important issues in vending, location, location and location.  The fact is the market in the U.S. is fairly saturated with machines.  If a location allows machines, they probably have them.  If a location doesn’t have machines, they probably don’t allow them.  The question you need to ask yourself is, “why in the world would they let me in the location?”, especially if they have vending machines already.  The answer is “if you don’t show them an impressive vending machine, they probably won’t let you in the door”.  This is why we only operate impressive machines on our local vending route.  Here’s what we’re talking about:
The most impressive vending machine in the world is the U-Spin Spacesaver.  This merchandiser comes in two different models.  The 4-Spin and the 8-Spin Titanic.  Their names reflect the amount of selections offered to your customer.  No other single merchandiser offers this many selections of bulk candy, gumball, mints, toys and gum while standing a mere 10 inches wide.  Wow!  A location may have a single, double and a triple selection bulk candy vending machine and still not offer as many selections as the 8-Spin Titanic.  The three machines may stand 4 feet wide while the 8-Spin Titanic stands only 10 inches wide.  There are other great machines on the market and most serve a special purpose. Most vendors that use these machines have simply found them to land the great locations and dominate the competition.

What would your rather say when calling on a local restaurant that has a few bulk candy vending machines?

“Pardon me, but I don’t suppose you’d want another two or three selection bulk candy vending machine to help add more clutter to your locations, would you? -(sarcasm)

Or

“Hello.  We provide after-dinner candy services to many restaurants in town with a vending machine that is offers 8 selections of candies, mints, chocolates, toys and more, but stands only 10 inches wide. I’d like to get your opinion on it.  Let me bring it in and tell me what you think about it.” (As you show them a customized color brochure which we can design for you)

The purpose of this Consultation article is simply to help you think about the topics that are most important in order that you may be more qualified to make the right choices.  Most people don’t know what questions to ask let alone which business to start or which vending machines to buy. We’re here to help you with every part of starting your vending business.

Finding Locations--Establishing Your Vending Route

The three most important things your vending business requires to be successful are:

  1. Location
  2. Location
  3. Location

This is paramount to your success in the vending business.

The best and most economic way to establish your route is to do it yourself.  If you’re like most people, they want to start a vending business because they work too many hours already and want to leverage their time.  Having said this, they don’t want to spend additional time finding locations on their own and choose to hire an outside source.  A qualified Professional Location Company is just one method you may choose to have your locations secured in an efficient manor. 

There are several different methods that can be used.  Depending on the type of vending business you’re growing, you may use any of the following methods:

  1. Bulk mailer
  2. Fax mailer
  3. Hire location Company (in person)
  4. Hire location Company (via phone sales)
  5. Hire (subcontract) local individual (friends etc.)
  6. Do it yourself - door to door or via telephone (Recommenced)

One important factor when establishing your vending business is the vending machine you are presenting to the location.  For example:  If you decided to start a bulk candy vending business, you would want to make sure that you purchase a bulk vending machine that impresses your potential client.  If you call on a good location that already has machines, you may want to show them something with multiple selections like the 8-Spin Titanic.  This bulk candy and gumball vending machine offers 8 selections while only being 10 inches wide.  If you were to call on the busiest locations in town that already have machines, you’ll find getting in the door of locations to be very effective with this vending machine.  Remember, the most important opinion is the one of your customer.

When using a Professional Location Company, make sure you find a company that isn’t promising you some “too good to be true” story.  If they claim they guarantee some great revenue in each location or they’ll “replace it for free”, ask them first how many times and for how long they’ll replace that one location for free.  Also, if they say they’ll do it for free, they’re either charging too high a price to begin with or they’re not going to come back out and do it for free.  Understand that the actual locator that does the job retains half of the locating fees.  He or she is independent and locating companies contract the work out to the locator.  They will not come out for free.  The more reasonable guarantees are the ones that say they’ll replace the location for half price.  Look for lifetime warranties.  They can do this because 100% of the funds go to the actual locator so he or she is working for the same amount as they were when the secured the original locations.

The best way to secure great locations:

  • Buy a very impressive machine (Think like your customer. Your opinion doesn't matter as much has his/her opinion about the machine)
  • Call on the best locations yourself (In person)
  • Bring the machine with you (Let the machine do all the selling. Just ask for their opinion)

Happy Vending!

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