FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Can I do this part time?

Yes. You may figure your time in the field to be approximately 15 to 20 minutes per machine including your travel time (3-5 minutes servicing the machine and 10 minutes between locations). These figures will vary depending on your
individual speed and distance between locations.

Can I operate from my house?

Yes. There is no need for an expensive office or warehouse. Many small operators use their basements or garages to store equipment and products. If you have continued growth and your business is successful, you may outgrow the capacity of your home and have to consider moving your business or at least a portion of it elsewhere. That is a great problem to have and an exciting one to say the least.

Are there tax advantages?

Many tax advantages are available. To determine the best plan of action for your particular situation, we suggest that you discuss this matter in more detail with your accountant, CPA or tax representative.

Will I need a special permit to operate the vending machines?

Every state has different laws and require you have one kind of a permit or license in order to operate your business. The best thing is to check with your local City Hall and consult with them to see exactly what is required of you.

How good is the cash flow?

Excellent. This is an all cash business. There are no receivables. You don’t need any more than your original investment. However, the more machines you place on locations, the quicker your cash income increases. Profit margins are fantastic whereby you double your money and in many cases the margins are even higher depending of the sort of vending machines you choose to operate.

Once I am in business, how long before I start making money?

The nice thing about this business is that from the first day your machines are on location, they are working for you. Your vending machines will begin making money immediately. There is no need to work and wait for months or years while you build a clientele. Your machines are like “silent” salespeople working for you. They are on the job constantly, day and night, summer and winter, Sundays and holidays. Vending equipment caters to everyone; rich, poor, male, female, young and old.

Do you have Brochures/Flyers of the various machines?

Depending on the machine you have an interest in we may be able to email you a PDF brochure or it may already be available with the listing on our website. Usually if you need a picture of the machine for purpose of making a presentation, you may be able to pull that from our website as well depending on the quality of the image we have available to us.

Can you provide us with a full featured vending machine catalog?

Back in 1997 we published Volume 1 edition of the world’s first ever full blown 52 page color catalog in the history of the vending machine industry. The catalog was distributed globally and was in very high demand. It was an incredible success and lead us to publishing a second and final Volume 2 edition in 1998 with overall distribution of several hundred thousand copies. We discontinued producing the catalogs due to the fact that they were extremely costly. Furthermore, there are constant changes to the vending machines, new models, price adjustments and so many other variables too numerous to mention making it very difficult to keep the catalog currant. We then decided that the best and most productive way to continue taking our products to the market was through building the best websites possible. By doing so, we are able to present the most modern and up to date equipment with all there description, features, specifications, warranty, shipping information, multiple images, options and accessories, video clips and so much more in real time.

Do I have to sell & advertise?

No. You will not be selling like sales people on a show room floor or on a telephone or door to door. Your vending machine is your sales person. We recommend that you try to find your own locations.  If you are not afraid of knocking on doors and soliciting new business then you are one of the very lucky ones who will not have to depend on a locating service to do that for you. You may usually start by speaking with friends, family, neighbors and business associates. Ask them about where they work and do some investigating as to what the vending service is like. They will usually be a good judge of how happy the employees are with the service. If they are not happy suggest that they give you the contact's name and you can offer to submit a no-obligation proposal of your machines and services and what you are ready, willing and able to offer. Before you know it, you are landing some great accounts. If on the other hand you are not one to go knocking on doors and making cold calls, you can always hire an outstanding and credible “Appointment Setting Locating Company” to make the calls and to set appointments and get your foot in the door. By doing this, you will now have an opportunity to bypass the unpleasantness of the cold calling and go directly to meet the buyer face to face and present your sales pitch. There is no replacement for looking at someone eyeball to eyeball and making that very first impression as well as building that very important thing called “Rapport” with your potential customer. It is great rapport and excellent service that will help you keep your accounts indefinitely and accelerate your success. Customer account retention is key to your success and growing your business. As for the actual product sold in your machines, the manufacturers have already spent a fortune on advertising and have created a huge demand and following for their product. You are taking advantage of the billions of dollars that all the big name brands have spent and continue to spend on promoting their product lines.

Is the market saturated? Are there enough locations for me to expand?

Although you can see many vending machines everywhere, there are so many established vending accounts who are very dissatisfied with their current services. This has always been the case and always will be. Many vending companies land great accounts, but after a while they get lazy and begin to slack on the goods and services they offer until the customer finally grows tired of the sloppy service and start shopping for a new provider. That is where someone like yourself steps in and take advantage of such a predicament.

Where do I buy my products?

Depending on what area of specialty within the vending business you decide to get involved in, there are usually numerous outlets for you to procure your supplies. If you choose to get into the food and beverage aspect of the vending business you may purchase your snacks and beverages from the larger wholesale clubs such as Sam’s Club, Costco or any of the larger more popular wholesale clubs in your area. You may do this to get started as there prices are quite reasonable and competitive. Once you get to the point where your company has grown larger, you may set up accounts with companies such as Coca Cola, Pepsi Cola, Seven Up and others who provide snacks, food and other products and basically go direct. There are other nationwide wholesale distribution centers who may also cater to your needs.

What kind of products sell best?

Again, this will depend on the type of vending machines you are going to be operating. In the case of the most common and popular vending machines found in break rooms and lunch rooms across the country as well as public areas such as public transit, hospitals, malls and shopping centers just to name a few, the snack and beverage vending machines are most popular. You will usually find national name brand products in the Snack Vending Machines such as Frito Lay Chips, Snickers, Famous Amos and other popular brands such as these in most of these machines along with some healthy choices such as Fat Free Pretzels, Granola Bars, Fiber One Bars and more. As for the most popular items usually placed in Beverages Vending Machines you will find a wide range of products depending on the actual beverage machines. Because these beverage machines can vary from having 4 selections to 45 selections you will have to consider very carefully what to place in the machine. If you have limited selection and you are catering to a smaller audience and only have 4 to 12 selections available to you, you may have to take some special requests from your customer and then add a few other popular items such as Coca Cola, Diet Sodas, bottled water, gator aid and similar product depending on the capability of the machine.

Should I use name brands?

There is no substitute for quality. Name brand products are household favorites nationwide and are recognized by millions each day. We recommend using name brand products. You will find that your customers will use your machines repeatedly when they see quality products in them and healthy choices.

Can my family service vending machines?

Many individuals who own and operate a small route may absolutely train and educate their teenage children to help service the vending equipment. This not only allows the operator to expand and have access to quick and reliable help, but it also allows the teenager to learn a business while earning pocket money. There are so many great benefits to having family help in the early development of a small business and continuing into the future.

How many machines can I service or put out?

It depends on how much money you want to make, and how much time you are willing to invest. Larger routes also include managing other people. We will gladly discuss your individual business plan and help you determine what would be necessary for growth and achievement of your goals. You may also refer to “Free Consultation” for more information or Contact Us.

How much money can I make?

It all depends on the quality of your locations and type of vending machines. The more traffic at the location, the more dollars you make. If for example you are operating Bulk Vending Machines you will need to place more of them than you would if you are operating say for example Combination Snack/Soda Vending Machines, Snack Vending Machines, Beverage Vending Machines, Coffee Vending Machines or other full size vending machines that generally sell bigger ticket items than a bulk vending machine that usually vends .25 cent products. While bulk vending machines generally have a higher profit margin than the full size machines, you must place more of them in order to generate a strong income. You may also place and operate none inventory machines such as Impulse Vending Machines or Scale Vending Machines which are also very lucrative when placed in the right venues.

What would I do if I need parts or service?

All parts are easily accessible and readily available. Parts and components are always available for the equipment we sell on our web site. However, we do not usually sell parts for equipment which we do not sell.

Do I need a truck or a van?

No. Most people service their route from their existing vehicle. Once you have grown to the point that it becomes totally uncomfortable to continue operating in this manner, you take the next natural step. Therefore a minivan or a small commercial work van. This is actually a very exciting progression as it means your business is growing and you are experiencing growth and success.

Where are vending machines placed?

Because of their attractive designs, vending machines can be placed in almost any business or office location that you can think of. You may also look at public areas as well as Hotels, Resorts, Shopping Centers, Malls, Theme Parks, Zoos, Amusement Centers of all types and much more.

How long does it take to get started?

If you have not already created your own personal business plan, we strongly suggest that you put your plan in writing. An effective plan must include a clear, measurable statement of goals and objectives. It must assign specific action oriented responsibilities to members of your family or organization and provide a time-table for implementation and completion. With these thoughts in mind, you are ready to begin.

Can I order vending machines and supplies on your website securely?

Absolutely! We recommend that you review our information on Security as well as our Privacy Policy. This has always been one of our top priority for decades and have never had any security breach of any sort ever.

Why should we buy from your company?

That is a great question. We have extensive knowledge of the food and vending industry and have done it all from the ground floor up for over 40 years. You may learn more About Us and a more in depth writing on Why Buy Here.

Do you offer Financing?

We sure do. We offer financing to start ups as well as established vending companies and independent companies who would like to purchase their own vending machines to place in their own company and use it as a convenience to their employees and profit center. Please refer to “Financing Available” for more detailed information on this very important topic.

Do you accept Purchase Orders?

Yes, but we only accept Purchase Orders from schools, colleges and universities as well as all other educational institutions. Payment is not necessary before shipment. We have been serving tens of thousands of these schools and iconic Universities and  institutions for decades such as Princeton University, Yale University, John Hopkins University to name a few.

Can you offer custom graphics for the vending machines?

No problem. We have been doing Customized Graphics and Branding long before it became popular or was even widely used. Today we can do just about any custom graphics that you may imagine and complete vending machine wraps tailored to our customer’s needs.

I see references to DEX and MDB in vending machine specifications. What does it mean?

This is a question that we have been asked for decades. You may want to refer to: What is DEX & MDB.