Understanding Cost Of Vending Machines
To buy a vending machine, you will have to consider various aspects. Firstly, you must understand your business goals and needs. According to this, you can decide the kind of machines, products and locations for vending equipment. When you start searching for vending machines, you can choose from a wide variety of machines and products.
It is imperative to find a reliable vending machine supplier who offers good quality vending machines as well as after sale services like refilling, repair and maintenance at a reasonable cost.
Planet Antares Inc provides high-end vending machines at competitive price and helps you in servicing and location of machines as well.
The different types of vending machines and their cost have been listed below:
Candy and Sacksthese are available to dispense candies, gumball, nutritional bars, twisties, mars bars, etc. the range of products may go upto 40 products and a single vending machine can store about 650 items at one time.
Beveragessoft drinks are very popular among all types of customers. Can vendors are the type that is commonly used and the capacity of such vending machines is 200-600 cans with 6-10 selections. The cost of machines varies from $4000-$8000.
Hot beverage vending machines use instant ingredients and provide coffee, tea, soup and chocolate. Usually, a cup size of 6-8 oz is used. You can also purchase a vending machine which dispenses freshly brewed beverages. Make sure that water is available in close proximity of your vending machine. The cost of these vending machines is $5000 or more.
Other ProductsCigarette vending machines are found in many locations vending popular brands of cigarettes. All these machines are controlled by electronic systems and cost about $5000 or more.
Other products include washing powder, tickets, lighters, condoms, phone card, etc. vending machines can have coin acceptacle or bill validator for payment through cash or notes. You can also go for new cashless vending machine technology that lets customers pay through credit card or debit card. The coin mechanism has been replaced by card readers and note changers in most vending machines.
When you select a vending machine, make sure that suits the needs of target customers,
products, locations and your budget. There is need to place your vending machines at appropriate locations to ensure higher sales and profits.
How To Beat The Competition In Vending Business
For individuals seeking opportunities for self employment, vending business is a great way to do so. With rising number of small and large players in the vending industry, this market has become very competitive. If you plan to enter this industry, the best way to make a mark would be to offer quality service.
To create a niche for your vending machine business, you need to be creative and smart while formulating strategies. There are various steps that can ensure an effective and competitive vending business.
#1: Do-It-Yourself LocatingInstead of hiring a vending machine locator, locate the vending equipment on your own. It is a good idea to call or visit the premises owners where you want to install your vending machines. Assure the prospective location owner that you will provide continuous service as they don’t prefer frequent changes.
While locating your vending machines, it is important to convince the premises owner about the benefits of placing your vending machine in their office or store. It may enhance the ambience, provide quick-fix meals to employees or just offer products to customers.
#2: PersonalizationTo give a competitive edge, you need to offer personalized service to your customers as well as business owners where your machines are located. Big companies are not able to do that for types of customers but as a beginner, you can score well on that point. this also helps you in building strong personal relationships with business owners and employees.
#3: StockingPlan your time schedule to enable regular stocking of vending machines at different locations. Monitor the usage of products to determine the popular ones and replace the unpopular ones. Also, make sure that only fresh products are filled in the machines. There should be no wastage of resources on idle inventory. You can do such analysis yourself or get it done by a good vending machine supplier like
Planet Antares Inc.
#4: ServicingIt is imperative to keep the vending machines in good working condition. A broken vending machine can cost you sales, profits as well as reputation among customers. Give contact numbers on the machine so that customers can call you in case of breakdown. Once you are aware of a problem, it must be fixed as soon as possible to keep the customers from going to a competitor.
#5: VarietyThis implies that a customer will come back only when you offer him something new every time. Apart from new products, you can also use updated technological features like cashless payment system to attract more and more customers. Take care of their health concerns and offer healthier product options too.
In short, a vending machine operator that delivers on the promises made by it is the one which can survive the competition.
Vending Business Minutiae: Knowing The Ins And Outs
Starting and running a vending machine business is not as complicated as it seems to be. If you know how to go about it, operating a vending business can be a very lucrative investment. To get a better insight into the fine print of vending business, you must analyze its various aspects carefully.
Before you select a vending machine, you need to know the product which has to be sold through it. These may vary from small items like toys or candy to large products like snacks, beverages, stationary or even digital products. find out which product sells best in which location and buy the vending machines accordingly. For example: snack and beverage vending machines are suitable for offices, hotels and airports while candy vending machines are suitable for primary schools, doctor clinics and children parks.
Location is a key component for the success of your vending machine business. Look for the best, most visited places where abundant people are there. Common vending locations include hotels, restaurants, offices, supermarkets, malls and airports. Explore potential locations for placing your vending machines and try to find untapped locations for installing your vending equipment.
Starting a vending business will require buying of vending machines. These may be new, used or rented from a reputable vending machine company like
Planet Antares Inc. go for the best deal according to your business objectives and budget. Make sure that you get a guarantee on the chosen machines for refund in case of errors or problems in working order of the equipment.
Use the internet to benefit from special offers, discounts and great deals on both new and old machines. You can also learn about the vending business through online portals and forums.
Verify the working condition of the features of a vending machine. the coin acceptor, currency detector and product dispenser must function properly. Test the technical support staff of the vending machine supplier before you actually purchase the equipment.
Generally, metal machines are more durable than plastic ones. It is also easier to repair them and prevent wear and ear due to stronger parts. Place good quality machines in accessible, high traffic areas where the target customers can purchase the dispensed product.
Like any other business, it is important to plan the profits that you want to earn from your vending machine business. Estimate all the expenses regarding cost of machines, products, transportation, location and vending commission to get a reasonably accurate figure.
Another option is to go for an already established vending route. This can save a lot of time, money and energy for you but make sure that you visit the vending locations and check the equipment before buying the route.
By careful evaluation and implementation of all these factors, you can setup and run a successful vending machine business.
Milk Is The New Soda For Vending Machines
Recent times have seen the emergence of a new option for soda vending machines – milk. With more and more people opting for healthier food items, the soda vending industry has come up with new products like juices and milk to face this challenge. It has definitely been a successful move with respect to the rise in consumer demand and new regulations for healthy vending products in schools.
Initially, Milk vending machines started as part of the food vending industry. Later, it has moved on to become a part of the soda vending industry. Many vending machines now include different beverages along with milk. As a vending machine operator, you will benefit substantially by adding milk to the range of soda types offered by your vending machines.
The majority of locations prefer milk vending machines over traditional vending products. In response to this rise in demand, almost 40% of the total vending machine operators in the United States offer milk items. Not only schools and colleges, but also factories, convenience stores and industry locations form a significant portion of the milk vending market.
You need to create a balanced product mix of the conventional soda items and the milk items. While some operators are able to switch to milk vending completely, most vending machine operators can maximize profits by effective combination of traditional beverages and milk. With time, new milk products have been designed for soda vending machines. You can choose from a variety of milk flavors and packaging to stock your vending machines. Even good vending machine suppliers like
Planet Antares Inc are taking note of this trend by offering new milk products along with the existing range of branded products, to the vending machine operators at reasonable prices.
There has been an increase of 900 million units in the sale of milk units in the past year. As more and more people enter this relatively new market, you can reap the benefits from milk vending too. The potential for growth is great and can be explored at various levels. In secondary schools, milk vending machines have not been used much until now. Thus, it is an untapped location that can be explored by the new entrants.
Unlike popular belief, healthier food and soda options are not a bane. Rather, it’s a boon to the vending industry that allows scope for growth in new areas and gives an opportunity to generate even higher revenue. If you plan and implement your vending business carefully, milk vending items can be a fruitful investment in the long run. After all, the sure shot way to success is to embrace the changes in customer demand and mould your business accordingly.
Improving the Image of your Vending Business
When acquiring new Planet Antares vending machine location, you should constantly optimize the products and pricing of your vending business. However there are vending operators out there that neglect to update their vending machine business image. Updating your image would help you secure more locations, since doing that will allow you to possess some quality which can set you apart from competitors.
One way of updating the image of your Planet Antares vending business would be by hiring professional marketing help. This takes time and money but would be very beneficial. Giving your vending business a facelift will help you win bids for new locations and of course getting more referrals. The three main goals that you should set for your Planet Antares vending business are as follows:
1. Improve and update the logo, website and brand identity of your vending business. This will make you more competitive.
2. Raise the awareness of the capabilities of your vending business.
3. Increase the locations of your vending business and the networking potential.
An easy step that you can take to improve the image of your vending business would be to create new printed materials. Printed materials are usually the first impression given to potential vending machine clients, so this means that your
Planet Antares vending machine brochures and portfolio should represent your vending business fittingly. New vending machine materials should include new graphics and updated soda machine content. Try to also create a new logo for your vending business. These kinds of changes would give any vending business a more professional appearance and it will make you or your representatives more confident when going out to secure locations.
Another great way of revamping your vending business would be by creating a new business website or updating your old website. When you are doing this, you can use search engine advertising to attract potential locations.
All in all, even though you can make the changes on your own, hiring a marketing professional to make these changes would be the wise thing to do. An outside person can offer a fresh and objective point of view which would be exactly what you would need to improve the image of your vending business.
