Bulk Candy Vending

The search for passive income has lead me to look at bulk candy vending. To what degree this is considered passive is highly debated. It involves active participation in multiple phases of the investment, but it does allow you to make money while you are not present. The returns on your investment are actually quite impressive. Depending on the type of candy you sell, you can get a 150 – 300% net return.

First, comes the search for the right type of machine to use. It is almost a given around the bulk vending industry that the triple headed model be utilized rather than the single or double just so you can maximize your option selection while limiting the space required for placement. The next consideration is which brand to use. Just like anything else the competition for vending machines is fierce. I don’t know the exact the numbers for brands out there, but I know it has to be over at least 40. They all have their own little subtleties that make them unique, but in essence they work the same way. The value of the machines new can run from $120 - $400 dollars. Some have plastic internal parts and others are all metal. The argument for which is better both have valid points. The metal ones are sturdier, but people argue they more easily damage product and can corrode. The plastic ones are more prone to break (especially the coin handle), but they don’t have any of the problems associated with the metal versions.

In my quest to find the right machine for me I went to Craig’s List and searched the Tampa Bay area. I found that Craig’s List was a good choice for purchases like this. They’re a good source for items that are bulky and would require expensive shipping. For over 2 months I checked frequently to find the deal that I thought was best for me. The bulk vending business has a huge turnover of get rich quick schemes from the latest batch of dreamers that enters the business thinking it takes no work and quickly discovers that location placement is harder than they think. I looked for used machines that possibly already had some placements to purchase. I eventually found an ad for 15 machines that were not placed. They were Vendstar3000 triple headed machines and they are the all plastic variety previously discussed. I did some research on these machines at the company’s website. They sell 30 machine packages for $10,000 dollars, that’s right $10,000. That gets you an average price of $330 per a machine with taxes and shipping included. The ad had the 15 machines listed for $1150. I had watched this ad for about a month and the owner had originally posted it for $2000 and had slowly come down to the current price. I offered him $900 and we eventually settled at $975. That gave me a price per unit of $65 dollars which was much more to my liking than the original new purchase price from the company.

Once I received the machines I placed them in my garage which luckily had the room to house them until I could find a business to place them with. The next decision is what types of locations to place the machines with. I figured high traffic, high wait time locations would be best. I also wanted places that have families and youths patronizing the establishments. My first go around will include restaurants and garages. People will always have to eat and now-a-days no one works on their own car so I figure these two types of places will be in high supply.

The trick is actually getting the placement in one of these establishments. My marketing plan is this. I want to first approach the restaurants and offer to purchase gift cards for the business if they allow a machine in their lobby. I will also try and market their business via flyers on my other machines at different locations. Hopefully this gift card will supply the carrot that will allow the garages to let me place the machines with them. Then I will create a contest where the location with the highest sales will get the gift card. If need be I may try the same reverse marketing flyers for the garages in the restaurants. In the end this should create a win-win-win situation.

The restaurants get free advertising and guaranteed business (from the gift cards). The garages get a chance to win the gift cards with no cost to them and I get my placements. The restaurants should easily support the gift cards with the proceeds that I get from the machines placed in their business. This way they are actually paying for their own gift cards and all I have to do is fill the machines.

At this time, I have not yet had a chance to implement this strategy. I will follow-up with how this works at a later time.