Anybody own vending machines?

My dads friend does it and he does it for a living. He owns so many machines in NYC. It's a great business to be in but you have to be on top of it consistently. Like this dude drives around four like 12 hours a day filling the machines up .. but that's because he owns so many. Usually when you want to put it in a business they want a kick back or a certain percentage. I mean you have to give the store owner a reason for you to the machine there. You don't eat alone. :lol Also, he does everything through contracts with the store owners. I'm actually on the verge of starting just saving up to invest in product and machines. If you're good to go financially I say it's a very good investment with unlimited potential for growth.
 
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Its def got unlimited potential financially.  When i first started a couple of years ago i had 2 machines and it took a lot of work believe it or not running those machines.  I had 1 soda and 1 snack machine, i had to figure out what drinks people wanted and what snacks people wanted.  Believe it or not there is a lot of studying that goes on.  Yes peanut M&M the yellow bag sells every where but thats only 1 of 40 snacks.  Now what else are you gonna put in the machine.  For example i have a machine in a rich neighborhood.  In that machine there is not very many junk snacks.  There a lot of baked lays, baked doritos, peanuts, trail mix, pretzels basically wannabe healthy snacks.  While then in the hood i have sour patch kids, swedish fish, double chocolate brownie cookies and more sugary snacks like that.  It all depend not saying that rich people dont eat that or vice versa but you go by what sells in the demographics.  Another tip is in the rich area you can get away with charging more common sense again.  Slowly and slowly i built up my machines saving money finding used machines buying more products so im not saying i make 400 a day like the person i know.  But it takes time you just have to be patient and study the game wisely.  

Freak destroyer- Putting machine in the club isnt the best area bc not many club owners/bar owners will allow that bc now they are competing with your machine for what.  As a club owner will say y should i give this guy space to sell a drink for a dollar when i sell the same soda for 4 dollars and all i get is a dime.  F that he not gonna let u put it in there.  Recently speaking i have seen many bars put lottery vending machines in there but thats run by the state so not a vending business.  You really have to try to get a location like a barbershop or pharmacy auto shop some place where people stand and wait around.  Then they walk over to the machine boom u got them.  Ask any person in the vending business laundry mat is golden 24 hrs and people always waiting around.  But the problem is is i owned a laundry mat i would have my own machines put in and collect 100%.  

I honestly dont want to detour anybody from this business its great, it really is.  But its not as simple as im gonna put a machine here and just collect and become a millionaire.  Thats how some people mentality works please dont think like that.  When u think like that u will flop trust me.  Basketball seems like a easy game from the outside.  So u mean to tell me all i got to do is put this ball in that hoop.  Hell no it sound simple but far from it.  More detail is involved then just a orange ball in a hoop.  Let me know if you guys have any more questions i will gladly answer them to the best of my knowledge.
 
Meech stay the hell away from combo they are know to break easier.  Ive never had one but i know somebody that has they paid about 800 for it used on craigslist and wound up paying another 500 just to keep it running and fixing.  Now it still dont work and he is stuck with a machine nobody wants to touch.  Thats the problem with them.  If the fridge messes up chances r the candy part messes up too bc they run on the same system.  For soda the popular ones are dixie narco.  Snack has many different ones but try to buy from a american brand company.  All im saying meech is to stay away from combo machines.  Its more headache then anything. Any other questions write them and i will answer them as best as possible.
 
know a girl who had one of those serious vending machines ... talking snacks and soda in one, digital keypad and all that. she had an ill location too, in a elementary school. schools don't even ask for a cut like store owners would. may be harder to get an elementary school these days not with all the child obesity politics but think, a high school or college campus would be popping. she was selling out so fast. she got lazy with it because she had a full time and this was just her side hustle and she got sick of going back every other day to fill up. plus she got her sodas/candy from sams club so she had to keep going back there too. she eventually stopped once some kids broke into her machine over summer break. theres always that risk. but business wise, certainly potential. like dude said above, location is key. get creative if you're trying to do it. know who your traffic will be and get products that they'll like.
 
JM i think that the redboxes machines are a very expensive hustle to start.  I looked into getting into that part of the vending business.  But the start up cost is EXTREMELY high.  The machine itself can go for about 4g's and then you have to stock pile it with videos which cost about 10-15 bucks per dvd.  If you look at the way technology is going my prediction is that redboxes will not be around in 5 years. All the movies and vids will be on this cloud business.  Netflix also single handed took out chain stores like blockbuster and hollywood videos so there also looking for the next thing.  If your listening to reports verizon is gonna team up with redbox to provide a netflix like service.  And you know where ever there is money google cant be far behind.  Overall redbox business is ok but startup cost can start at about 5gs.  Plus every month or week you have to buy updated dvd/blu ray to compete.  Lemme know any more questions i will answer as best as possible.
 
Yo rn23 you must have live quadruple your rep points because almost all your posts I repped :lol

Also very true about your statement about Google... whereever there is money they are not far behind... my man.

I had a friend that used to stock the machines... he used to work in Whitestone, Queens NY, but that's just like the warehouse where he would fill up his van and then go on his routes and fill up the machines.

Then he started stealing, both money from the machine and his leftover supply that he didn't fill up the machines with, and he would steal a couple dollars from the machines, but he'd make a lot of money selling the leftover supplies to corner bodegas in NYC.

His mistake was teaching his other coworkers about his extra stealing hustle and then when they got caught they snitched on everyone.

Owners got smart and started putting GPS tracking on all of the work vans.

Get that money though rn23 8)
 
Putting vending machines in schools is possible, although slightly more difficult and you will have to find healthier products to stock it with. A teacher of mine in college invented the first 100% carbonated juice beverage called The Switch and had it placed in schools in California.


Go for it.
 
Let's say you drop a machine off in the park without any paperwork or anything. What's the worst that could happen?
 
been looking into getting one and putting at the part where i hoop at. sell gatorade and other drinks.
 
Son is comin through no doubt. I thought about a vending machine but figured an ATM would be more my speed since I could put em in more spots
 
Putting in work you said ur boy does it in whitestone queens right, there a huge wholesale distributor over there jetro or restaurant depot.  Its the same company thats usually the huge wholesalers store that people check yes its a great store but price wise not so much.  Honestly here the key to getting stuff for cheap.  Check the circulars, thats the key.  Pepsi will be on sale one week usually around holiday times 5-12 packs for 10 or 12 bucks.  Now you cop the 5-12 packs and fill all the machines u need to.  Here is the key, go back to the supermarket after you filled ur machine and get rain checks for the pepsi or coke or what ever u want to fill ur machine with.  Rain checks dont expire till 60 days and u dont have 40-12 packs of soda taking up space.  RAIN CHECKS are the key, i do it ALL the time and it helps a lot.  Now at Jetro or restaurant depot they have a 36 pack of pepsi that cost 12 bucks plus deposit.  Technically speaking by getting it at the supermarket ur getting 12 more cans for 2 dollars less.  Understand something when its UR BUSINESS every penny counts.  As far as ur boy scheming yea people do that all the time with any job not just this.  The key is do it yourself why pay somebody to fill up ur machine and drink a couple a cans here and there and take money here and there.  Do it urself.

Little penny vending machine in a school is another gold mine but the loops u have to jump and the amount of people in ur pocket is crazy unless u are best friends with the superintendent then u weasel out but thats really hard connect to come across. 

Kiing believe it or not a condom vending machine does exist go to a cheap *** motel and they are there.  If you go to some premium outlets they have vending machines for advil, tylenol, maxi pads, basically pharmacy needs.  But condom machine do exist havent seen one in a while but trust me they are out there.

To everybody who wants to put a machine by a court or park or whatever.  Great great great idea but a million other people thought of it the paperwork and loopholes and people u gotta pay off deter u from doing it.  Again anything dealing with a public property, park, library, school, etc has to get approved by a board. Unless u know the big dog of the board you will be doing alot of paperwork.  In long island there is a park eisenhower park in east meadow i know the guy  that has his machines everywhere on the park premise.  He said it literally took him 16 months of paperwork to get approved.  Now that doesnt count the amount of times he didnt get approved.  Its not like he got it on the first try.  There are many many cases that are more important then a soda machine in a park, there property tax meeting, sales tax meeting, police meeting, chances r there not gonna push those meeting to the side for a vending machine proposal. Unless you know somebody big in the community then its a entire different ball game.  Any other questions i will gladly answer with the best of my knowledge.

Now a question for you guys what does rep points do, i was on nt before with a different name (rnoory) but since the change i had to restart everything whats it all about?
 
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