Gumball Spiral Vending Machines – Favorites for Kids!

Gumball Spiral vending machines

 Gumball Spiral machines are the large globed vending machines which are real favorites with kids.  These special gumball machines usually cost a quarter and vends the gumball in a “spiral” fashion (the gumball spiraling down the tract to the gumball chute door). 

These gumball spirals come in a variety of colors and a few varying designs on the actual machines.  Many are made now in China with a few still made in the United States and Canada.  They basically consist of:

The large globe holding 1000-2000 gumballs depend in globe size

The machine lid and lock for the product section

The gumball spiral stand

The middle machine section consisting of the coin mechanism and attached gumball tract

The base of the machine containing the end of the chute and chute cover

I have heard mixed results for these types of machines from vendors.  They are harder to place than small

Chiclets - Chiclet Gum - Tab Gum: How to use in Your Bulk Vending Machine

Chicklets Gum for Profitable Vending

Chiclets Gum has been around for many years and is a favorite with bulk vending machine operators.  It is very easy to vend in all types of machines because of its consistent size.  It has better shelf life (will not go stale as fast) than regular gumballs. 

Chiclets are often called “tab gum” because the square shapes of the gum look like “tabs”.  In my experience, it works better in places where a lot of men work like repair shops and parts supply stores.  It might be because the gum is hotter than regular assorted 1” gumballs

The Honor Box and Honor Box Vending Advantages and Disadvantages

Honor Box Vending

Honor box vending has been around for a number of years.  For those of you who don't know what that is, it is a vending concept which uses (usually) cardboard boxes to hold candy to sell on the "honor" system.  In other words, you have a "box" (the honor box) which you put the money into when you get a candy bar or other item.  There is no coin mechanism to place money into and turn.

The main disadvantage of this system is of course those who don't pay for the product.  This is what makes or breaks this vending concept.  If you end up losing money or making no money because people help themselves without paying, this system will have to be passed over for another vending concept.

Vending Jobs, Vending Route Job Questions and Answers

Vending Jobs Image

With the economy is a bad place right now and not looking to improve greatly, many people are thinking about vending as a job replacement.  Vending jobs can really fall into several categories.  Let's look at the main two first:

1. Vending Company Owner.  This would mean actually buying the vending machines yourself and taking on the risk of losing your investment.  In essence, you are "buying yourself a job" including assuming the risk of losing your investment.  Many people start like this, but this is not the only way to go.
2. The second way to think about vending jobs is to try to secure a job with an existing vending company.  Most of these jobs will bein "full line" vending (Cola, snack, sandwich, and amusement machines).  There a

Gumballs for Gumball Machine: Don't Overlook These 15 Important Fact about Vending Gumballs!

Gumballs for Gumball Machine

For those of you with vending machines like me, gumballs for your gumball machine is a core part of your business.  By that, I mean that anything that affects gumballs affects a key piece of your business and its income.  Therefore (it sounds crazy!) you have to become gumball minded and do those things that maximize profits on EACH gumball you sell.

You might not think a fraction of a cent matters, but when you sell one million gumball with your gumball machine then a second million, you see that fractions of a cent amount to hundreds and thousands of dollars over the long term.  Yes, even a fraction matters (1/10 of 1 cent).

The secret I've found that helps me in my overall business is watching these little areas where I can save money.  Yes, I run a large number of machine and it may apply to me more than others, but in truth saving little amounts of money does apply to every operator no matter how large or small.  Here are some other things I do when dealing with gumballs and gumball machines to save

A&A Global: The Toy Company for Toy Capsule Vending

A&A Global is the toy company for toy capsule vending in the areas of price, selection, and safety testing of toys.  I have used them as my lead supplier of toy capsules for over four years.
While no company is perfect (i have had a few small issues with them), they are consistently performing the best for me in providing my bulk capsule toy needs.  What does A&A Global do?  They are bulk toy importers bringing in China toys to be capsulated in the U.S.  Being an importer of China Toys carries with it a responsibility to provide testing and

Vending Times Vending Magazine for Bulk Vending Info

"Vending Times” vending magazine is a must for Bulk vending information.  It is an industry standard.  Besides bulk vending, the magazine also covers full line vending.  Full line vending is usually defined as selling snacks and drinks through vending machines.  Bulk vending is usually refers to selling gumballs, candy and toys from smaller vending machines or racks.
Whichever form of Vending you do or are interested in, Vending Times does a good job covering vital information.  Some of the areas include:

Coin Pushers, Quarter Pushers: Are they Profitable and Legal?

Coin pushers, also known as Quarter pushers, seem to carry a real fascination with people.  Lately, I have run into several people who have been putting them into places where I do bulk vending.  From reports from store owners, they seem to do really well. Store owners tell me of commissions that are quite good.

Japanese Vending Machines

I hate to admit it, but Japanese vending machines beats American machines hands down in one area: CREATIVITY!  From other fellow vendors, I have heard that American made machines perform much better than Japanese vending machines in actual use on the field. 
The better performance of American vending machines really come to the forefront in:

Sprinter Van / Sprinter Diesel – My Perfect Vending Vehicle

If I could have any vehicle I wanted for the Vending business, it would be the Dodge Sprinter Diesel Van.   A Sprinter diesel is great on fuel mileage, especially compared to other vehicles in its class.  You may have noticed several freight companies and delivery companies moving to this type of vehicle in the last few years.  I believe a big reason for this is the fuel mileage of the Sprinter diesel.

Vending International – It’s not Just a “USA Thing”

Vending is an international business, which may come as a surprise to some.  My first  experience with discovering international vending was when I saw some of the strange and cool bulk vending machines coming out of Japan.  Japan is not the only international vending source, but certainly a country that has contributed to the many types of vending machines.
I don’t know much about the full service side of international

1 Inch Gumballs - The Most Popular for Bulk Vending Gumball Routes

1 inch gumballs are the industry standard in bulk vending.  Beginning vendors might be confused by the different sizes, but 1 inch gumballs are the most popular. 

Be aware though, you can buy smaller gumballs (and larger too.)  Most vendors  buy smaller gumballs to save a little money on their cost per vends.  1 inch gumballs have a good all around profit margin and are fine for most gumball routes. 

Toy Claw Machines, Crane Machines, Toy Plush Information

Toy claw machines (also known as “cranes” or “crane machines”) are extremely popular with kids and many adults.  I’m sure you’ve seen these machines in grocery stores, restaurants, and even many Wal-Mart stores.
Toy claw machines are often classified with the bulk vending machine category as they really are a super-sized bulk vending machine selling toy plush articles.  There are some great advantages and disadvantages to this area.  Let me say I do NOT

Vending Tips – For Bulk Candy and Gumball Vending in the Summer

I thought some vending tips might be in order related to the summer season.  Warm temperatures bring a special set of circumstances to vending operators.  These will help you be effective and save money in the process.

Vending Tips on Candy Vending In Summer

Prepare for high temperatures by keeping your bulk candies temperature controlled.  This is especially a problem in the south where the temperatures are warmer year around.  You can put M&M candies and Reese’s pieces in ice chests if your vehicle doesn’t stay cool enough in summer.

What About Vending Jelly Beans?

Vending Jelly Beans may sound like a good idea, but the problem I have found with it is buying the product at a low enough price.  Sam’s Club is the place I have found that consistently sells bulk candy the cheapest.  They sell Jelly Beans which I have used in a couple of machines.
The Jelly Beans sold fair, not great, but the cost to vend them was very high – about 6 cents a vend at the smallest setting I could use in my machines.  If you can find a blowout location you may be able to make enough to justify using them.

Peanut M & M’s: Vending Tips for Best Results

Peanut M & M’s are very popular with people who use vending machines.  It can make money for you as a bulk vendor, but it is one of the top 3 hardest items to vend for several reasons.
First of all, the M & M Peanuts have a short shelf life.  In other words, they go bad quickly if your sales are not high enough.  Therefore, to effectively sell this type of candy you must use it in a place where the sales are high enough that your product can cycle through.

Vending Machine Placement: Locating Your New Vending Machine

Vending Machine Placement is one of the great skills of a good bulk vending company (and full-line vending for that matter).  If you are new, you may feel overwhelmed by the prospect of the placement of your vending machines.
I have found many places and types of businesses can be good provided:
1) The business has at least minimal traffic
2) Several Employees
3) Seems a reasonably secure place for the machine

Depreciating Assets and Your Bulk Vending Machine Company

What does depreciating assets have to do with your bulk vending machines?  Plenty, but it’s not all bad!  Depreciating assets can really help you at tax time, as my accountant has often discussed with me.

I am NOT an accountant and am not giving financial advice in this article, but since I have written in places about your vending machines being income-producing assets, I wanted to mention the depreciating assets side of it too.

Its not that your bulk vending machines are depreciating necessarily to you, but as with any equipment, the equipment wears out (depreciates) with time.  Thus, the term “depreciating asset”.  If you think about it, you are replacing globes, mechanisms, chute doors, or other parts as they get broken on your vending route.  Over time, it stands to reason that effectively a bulk vending machine can be completely written off because its effective age has reached the point of no more use in the business or to the individual.  This may or may not be the actual case in use in the business, but for tax purposes, the asset has reached its end and you have a systematic yearly deduction for the expense. 

This is the benefit of a depreciating asset for you the business owner.  Contact your accountant and have them explain the tax benefit depreciating assets can be to you.  Even though I have talked about depreciating assets in the context of bulk vending, it applies in many other businesses.  I encourage you to really understand this area as a business owner.  Depreciating assets carry several important rules to be utilized properly, so please seek professional help to fully utilities their use.

© Christmark Enterprises, LLC

Toy Capsules, Tattoo, and Bouncy Ball Bulk Vending: How to Use These Bulk Vending Products to Diversify Your Vending Business

Lately I have been changing my bulk vending strategy a little to sell more toy capsules, tattoos, and bouncy balls.  Even though my profit margin is lower, better sales overall have been higher. 

Don't get me wrong, I still sell a lot of candy and gum, but I am slowly  doing more and more with toy capsules, tattoo and sticker vending and bouncy rubber balls to diversify a little more away from candy and gum.  Diversifying keeps me from relying too much on one product area for my source of income.  Sometimes selling the new products gives me competitive advantage against other vendors.  Some vendors care nothing about these toy products.  I didn’t either for a long time,  but after a few changes here and there, I am tweaking my product offerings.

The other area I am diversifying in is with rack locations vs. single/double head locations.  Some of the new rack locations I have been getting have been extremely good.  The advantage of a good rack location is that you typically have a longer account lifespan than with a single or double headed charity machine.

Just a few things for you to think about as you build your bulk vending business.  Hope this helps you!!!

Bulk Candy Vending: What is the Best Candy to Vend?

Bulk candy vending can be one of the biggest money losing areas in bulk vending.  And, it can be profitable as well.  What is the best candy to vend?  There is not one product that will work the best in EVERY location.  The best candy is the one which you find will sell the best and still has a good profit margin for you.

What are the factors to be successful at bulk candy vending?

1. The cost of your product.  You must find the cheapest place to regularly buy product.  For me, that place is Sam’s Club.  You may also try Costco or BJ’s Wholesale.
2. The amount of candy you dispense per vend.  This is absolutely critical and you must control this to make much money at all in bulk candy vending.  I have written a helpful article on how to figure your cost per vend at my vendingarticles.net site.  I highly recommend you read this article.
3. Finding bulk candy which customers like. It’s amazing how a product change can take your collection from $3 to $30 in one collection!  If customers aren’t buying, it’s time to change product and keep trying until you get acceptable sales.
4. Bulk candy labels.  Having classy looking bulk candy labels invite the customers to check out your product.
5. Fresh product.  This is important to keep sales high.  If product is going stale in your bins or bulk candy heads, it’s probably time to change products or at least put in fresh product and throw away the old.

These tips will help you get started in the bulk candy vending business.  Best of success to you!
Mark Evants
© Christmark Enterprises, LLC