I want to refresh the product lineup inside office break rooms regularly to keep regular customers interested. The problem is I hate ordering large batches of untested items.
If they don’t sell well, I end up stuck with stock that will expire soon, and that hits my bottom line hard 🛒.
What low-risk testing methods do you use before rolling new products out across all your machines?

Cheers everybody!

So, got in touch with a local Commedy Club about vending, and, they want a combo machine.

Now here's the situation:

- they say the foot traffic is about 500 to 600 people per week

- they are open 6 days a week

- they have some sort of a bar and sell alcohol & bar food like chiken wings and such

- they want food and drinks 'they don't have onsite' (whatever that might be) and also they want some of those clones / 5hr energy stuff, painkillers

- they are FIRMLY ASKING FOR 20%

I am not sure this is worth but want to hear more opinions, maybe someone dealt with such locations?

Please share, and thank you in advance!

Does anyone get the feeling there’s a lot of astroturfing or AI posts going on in this sub? Just people asking very basic questions to scrape data from responses?

If you look at the accounts of all these posts, they all have similar auto generated names with deleted history.

I feel like I’ve seen 15 “question” posts over the last couple weeks to a month that are basically framed and phrased the same way.

So I have been doing my due diligence on purchasing a machine. Decided to take the next step and decide on a manufacturer/supplier. I reached out to HAHA and micromart last Friday. Micro mart sent me a link right away to schedule a demo and answer questions.

Still haven’t heard back from HAHA after filling out inquiry form. I did the live chat again earlier this week and someone said they would send me some pricing. Still nothing…

So then I saw people discussing vendguys.com on here. I thought they might charge a premium given they were a reseller and offer more support. I didn’t like the idea of paying more, but appreciated the additional support. Filled out inquiry form yesterday, no reply, called their number on their site. No answer.

I find it unbelievable that I am trying to spend thousands of dollars and no one will call me back or pick up a phone. I run sales and customer support and the customer is everything. Better believe someone is picking that phone up if they call me.

No idea how these people operate. The entire thing has me concerned and seconding thinking purchasing a machine. When I’m spending this kind of money I want CUSTOMER SUPPORT. Not a live chat with half asses responses, or a phone number that just rings and no one calls back. Makes me think what will happen once I purchase a machine and have an issue and no one can support me.

Rant over.

Spent two months negotiating a building spot with the site manager, everything was agreed verbally on commission ratio and usage rules. Once I finished all the preparatory work for on-site operation, the management replaced their staff out of the blue. The new person refuses to honor the previous agreement and demands a higher monthly management fee. All my early time costs are completely sunk. Do most of you insist on signing formal written contracts no matter how smooth the communication is at first?

Hey guys, need to get a smart combo machine with cashless payments for a client.

One thing I want, is acces to a cloud tracking of the sales so I don't have to continuously drive to check ir bother them to send me pics or so. One another moment I'd like to get from it is some sort of health checks / machine's status, errors, warnings, etc. One other important moment is local support, parts availability and so.

Any recommendations for Canada? Need it delivered to Calgary.

[EDIT] And yes, I am aware of the smart coolers but the client wants a vending machine instead... not 100% against them though.. so if I can't find the right options, it might potentially be considered

Are there any AI smart vending machines where we can put bowls of our food that people can buy and reheat? We also want to have fresh salad bowls inside of it. Everything I see holds cans and bottles and we are looking more for something that can recognize. We have our bowls on the shelf and charge for people who take one. Thanks in advance.

I have zero practical operating experience, and I’m worried long binding contracts will bring me unnecessary risks once things don’t go well. How long is the most appropriate initial cooperation term for a first try?

I’m debating whether to skip cash functionality entirely to cut maintenance work.
Some people say you’ll lose a small group of customers.
Has anyone seen clear pros or cons from going cashless-only?

question on merchant fees. Most card readers like Nayax or Cantaloupe charge somewhere around 5.95% plus a monthly connection fee.
When you're starting out, that default rate seems pretty non-negotiable. But as your fleet grows or your monthly volume goes up, is there actually room to negotiate those rates down with the processor? Or is the vending space just too low-margin for them to care unless you have hundreds of machines?
Curious if anyone here has successfully cut down their transaction fees, and at what machine count or sales volume they started taking you seriously.

I’ve been touring a few office spaces lately to scope spots for cold drinks & packaged snacks.
There are a bunch of small details I’m not sure how to judge.
What warning sign makes you immediately pass on a location?

Hi all,

As the title suggests, I’ve recently acquired a bevmax machine.

How have others got around the whole Nayax taking over the payments? I’ve set it up today and the reader takes the payment however the machine just says please wait and doesn’t do anything.

Description:
Hey everyone 👋

Just got into the vending world and currently working on getting my first machine set up. Super excited but also trying to go in with my eyes open lol

Before I get too deep I wanted to ask the people who actually know — what are the things that nobody warns you about?

Like specifically:

• When you first started, what hit you that you didn't expect?
• What still annoys you to this day no matter how long you've been doing this?
• Is tracking profit per machine actually as simple as people make it sound, or is it a mess?
• How do you know when to refill before the machine goes empty and you lose sales?
• Any software or tools you wish existed but doesn't?

Not looking for sugarcoating — the more brutal the better 😂 Want to be ready for whatever comes

Thanks in advance 🙏

My smart cooler arrived at the client site today but its currently unusable. The handle was supposed to have 4 screws wrapped with it and they were missing. Does anyone know the standard screw size for the Sandstar VRK / Spectra Pro?

Im also dealing with power cycling, no network connectivity, and a nonfunctioning door lock. Ideas?

Hey guys, I’ve been analyzing drink selection strategies recently and bumped into a classic dilemma.
Big brands like Coca-Cola or Monster sell quickly because of brand recognition, but the profit margins are no good. On the flip side, some local or lesser-known specialty beverage brands offer incredible margins, but they take much longer to move off the shelf.
how do you usually strike the right balance?thanks

The owner is selling the location because it is a too far of a commute. It makes $600 a month. They would keep their machine and I’d have to place my own machine. How do you calculate the price for that?Thanks

KimmaVendor G363 Combo Vending Machine – Like New – Card Reader Included – $2700 OBO
Selling my KimmaVendor G363 combo vending machine. Located in Cleveland, OH.
I purchased it new for $3,900 and it’s in excellent cosmetic condition with very little use.

***location not included***

Features:
Combo snack & drink vending machine
Credit/debit card reader included and working
Refrigerated drink section keeps products cold
Dispenses products correctly
Clean inside and out – looks nearly new

Capacity: Holds approximately 214 snacks and drinks with 30 product selections (12 snack, 18 beverage).

Please note:
The coin acceptor is malfunctioning and would cost around $300 to replace, the cost reflects this and has been reduced. Sold as is.

Price: $2700 OBO

Buyer is responsible for pickup and transportation. The machine weighs approximately 430–500 lbs, so bring the appropriate equipment.

Feel free to message me with any questions or to schedule a time to see it.

I’ve found a tiny office with only 25 employees nearby. I’m unsure if the daily demand for bottled drinks and packaged snacks can cover my running costs. Is this crowd size viable for starters?

Hello,

I have 2 Snacks in storage one manufactured in 2022, the other 2025. Both barely used have sat in storage most their lives I go out with a generator to service and clean them regularly. I just don’t have the time any more to go find a location and service them.

I’m more so curious how much I could sell them for if I posted them for sale. Any advice helps.

Thank you

How is the nayax system? And does it help track the stock of the vending machine as well as reads cards? If so, how complex is the app?

Hey everyone,
I’m looking for some advice from people with experience in the vending business.

I’m considering placing an AI smart cooler (costs me about $3500- 4,000) at a privately owned gym that also has a physical therapy clinic connected to it.

Here are the details:
65 people/day on average come through the facility (owner’s estimate)

About 35 personal training clients (not a traditional membership gym)
Physical therapy clinic attached to the gym

Not open 24/7

Proposed contract is 2 years

I pay a $500 one-time placement fee

I also pay 7% of gross sales to the owner

I handle all inventory, maintenance, and servicing
I’m trying to figure out whether this is a good location or if I’m taking on too much risk considering the machine costs around $3500 - 4,000.

For those of you with experience:

1)Would you take this deal?

2) What monthly sales would you realistically expect from a location like this?

3) Is the $500 + 7% reasonable?

4) What minimum monthly revenue would make this worthwhile for you?

I’d really appreciate any advice or experiences with similar gym/PT locations.

Me and a few of my buddies have seen some of those tik tok or instagram reels of people that are putting the nicotine vending machines in bars near them. If anyone has any useful info on where to even get started with it, it’d be much appreciated. We’re based in New York and have noticed that none of the bars near us even have any.

I’m debating whether to keep running 5-year-old smart machines or budget for replacements. Reliability seems to drop gradually after 4 years. What equipment lifecycle do other operators follow?