Vending Machine

[Wesley Williams]

Hey guys. I'm currently a student in university, and I have decided that setting up a small vending machine business to generate some passive income for later investments would be both suitable and manageable. Any tips and advice on how to get started, and what to look out for? I already know that it will require regular check ups and I'm not afraid to get my hands dirty and maintain it to keep it in good condition. Also I'm open to any other potential ideas and small markets to get into and this particular endeavour isn't do or die, so If there are alternate investments I could make I don't mind learning or researching about them

Hope everyone is well and staying safe and most of all staying healthy.

 

[MOIC]

What investment do you have to start the business?

Step 1. I would stick to your first idea and research it thoroughly, before you go to step 2

 

[Mr D]

Vending machine? With electricity?
You pay rent for locating the machine (rent) , you pay for electricity, you get to maintain the machine or outsource it. And you get to deal with repairs or outsource repairs.

For the right products in the right place you can make money. You can lose money if people aren't buying much.

 

[Vending Siting Services]

Hello Wesley

Vending is a great business to get into to give you a passive income and I would suggest you steer away from the larger vending machines as these are bulky and very expensive if anything were to go wrong. Also the market for the larger vending machines is saturated. My recommendation would be to look for a small vendor that you can easily put into your car and one that does not require electricity. Take a look at Tubz Brands who sell small vending machines for confectionery and toys. I would wait until businesses are back up and running though before you start.

Good luck.

Kind regards,

Barbara

 

[Bruce07]

Hi Barbara

You seem to know what your talking about. I live in Scotland and have done a small amount of research on this. Would you say its better to start on your own or with a franchise with the likes of Tubz/hurleys. If i was to start on my own. I would obviously have to get sites myself also find where to get the venders and stock from(any recomendations). Would i also need any kind of insurance?
I see tubz and hurleys are giving 20% commission could that be less if independent? Seems a big chink for just a small bit of real estate.
What sort of top line are you likely to see per machine?

Regards Bruce

 

[Mr D]

Stock? Cash & carry or supermarket.
Yes to insurance, you would be a seller of goods.

 

[Vending Siting Services]

Hi Barbara

You seem to know what your talking about. I live in Scotland and have done a small amount of research on this. Would you say its better to start on your own or with a franchise with the likes of Tubz/hurleys. If i was to start on my own. I would obviously have to get sites myself also find where to get the venders and stock from(any recomendations). Would i also need any kind of insurance?
I see tubz and hurleys are giving 20% commission could that be less if independent? Seems a big chink for just a small bit of real estate.
What sort of top line are you likely to see per machine?

Regards Bruce

Hello Bruce, first of all my apologies for the late reply.

The question you ask is a question that is asked frequently and it's not a one answer fits all. Going the franchise route will give you a good start up and basic understanding of the industry as a whole which is helpful when starting out. Within every sector you will find individuals who work better with a franchise package and those who are more independent prefer to go it alone. At the end of the day this decision will have to be yours and yours alone and it would not be right for me to make that decision or influence you as I do remain impartial. My recommendation would be to carry on with your online research as research is KING.

If you join a Franchise or go independent I can help you acquire the sites as I work with both suppliers in the market. 20% commission is standard in the vending industry for these types of vendors and you can also opt for the charity schemes that both suppliers can offer which will reduce your commission to 10%. If you went independing the commission structure would be the same.

When running any business you will need Public Liability Insurance and for the smaller busiensses whose turnover is up to say £25k the premium is very low around £100 per annum which will give you £1m -£2m cover in the event that someone was injured or died in the process of using one of your machines. (in the 30 years that I have been involved in vending I have never heard of any successful claim being made).

As the tower vending market is mature the machines are now established and turnover can vary from region to region. In Scotland I do have and have had a lot of customers and their averages vary as it is also dependent on how you run your business. From the customers that I have known over the decades the market has settled to an average of £25.00 gross sales per machine per month - please note that this is not the case for all operators and some will have higher or lower averages depending on their size of business and how they manage their sites.

The above information is based on pre-Covid and post-Covid I have no idea as to how the market will perform, but if I were to guess I would suggest that things will go back to normal in time.

I hope the above helps.

Barbara