Frequently Asked Questions
Startup/General
Where/How do I start?
Begin by evaluating the questions below.. What are they doing well? What are they doing badly? Are there gaps where you can make a difference? If there are numerous competitors already operating in your area, it may be difficult to make a solid entry into the market.
Second, put together a business plan, budget and strategy to launch your business. An ideal budget to get started is $5,000-10,000. Write down your business plan using a MS Word or a service like LivePlan.
Third, find a good partner, coach, or mentor. VendWorks is happy to offer coaching and mentoring services.
How much profit can a vending machine business make?
Vending machines can make anywhere from a few hundred dollars a month to thousands a month. It really varies depending on your investment, machine type(s), product, and most importantly, location!
How can you make your business more profitable?
Most importantly, provide quality service. This goes a long way in making an impact on the location's management and customers. Next, stock the machine with the product(s) that the customers that each location want. It's never a one size fits all situation. Each machine and location will have it's own requirements, interests and more.
Another way to maximize profits at each location is to price your products competitively with your peers and area retailers.
What are the ongoing expenses for a vending machine business?
The largest single line item in your budget will be the cost of goods (to be resold). Next is going to be the costs of parts and repairs. This is often a bill validator, coin mechanism, motor, or accessory to the machine. Another common expense (if you decide to install it) is a credit card reader. These cost about $8-15/month and they charge about 6% of each transaction to have. However, there are processes that you can implement to minimize this expense in your business. It is important to note that credit card readers can drive as much as 80% or more of the revenue of the vending machine.
How big of a region is it ideal to start to service?
Think to stay within 30-40 minutes of your home/office to place equipment. This is most important to be able to regularly service the machines and arrive promptly for service calls?
Where do you source product to go in the machines/market?
The most common place to start can be a wholesale club (like Sam's, Costco, BJ's) or your local grocery store. There are some areas in metropolitan areas that provide product specific to c-stores and vending companies.
There are several other food distributors throughout the country. However, they often require minimum order amounts for delivery.
Vending Machine Specific
What kind of machines are there?
There are many types, styles and brands of machines. The most common are snack and beverage machines. However there are also machines that are specific to:
Ice Cream
Frozen Food
Refrigerated Food
Bulk candy/snacks
Toys
Cosmetics
Electronics
Pizza
Burgers
Fries
Yogurt
and more
There are different styles of each kind of these machines too.
What are the common components of a vending machine?
The most interacted pieces would include the:
Bill Validator - This is what you insert paper cash into to pay for products in different denominations
Coin Mechanism (aka coin mech) - What accepts coins and differentiates the kind and value of each. It also dispenses coins as appropriate too.
Keypad - the buttons that the user would type in what selection they want
Display - Communicates with the user of the machine with directions, confirmation of the selection, value items in the machine.
Power Supply - Powers the machine and converts your local power 110v/220v to the necessary DC voltage that your machine requires
What parts breakdown most often on machines?
There are three parts that breakdown most frequently. They are the coin mechanism, bill validator, and dispensing motor(s).
Micro Market Specific
What is a micro market?
A micro market is an area setup with shelving, coolers, a kiosk and sometimes freezers. They most often look similar to a small convenience store. What makes them different is that they are unstaffed. They provide a huge variety of products that cannot be served in the same footprint of vending machines. These are best suited to businesses with 75 or more employees and not typically open to transient foot traffic.
What does it cost to implement a micro market?
It really varies. A budgetary cost should be as little as $4,000, and as high as $30,000
What kind of technology drives a micro market?
This varies from market to market, but is most commonly a kiosk, security cameras, and an internet connection. The specific kiosks, camera solutions and other parts can be described further with us.
Want expert weekly new and tips to grow?