How to Check Your Crane GPL 474 to Ensure That It is In Working Order
Well, I have just discovered that my Crane GPL 474 Selection Panel is not working properly.
I cannot get it to work at all and it keeps showing error messages.
So in this article, I am going to show you how to check your selection panel to see if it is in fact broken or not.
Here is a simple step by step with pictures on how to diagnose the problem.
I went to my location and found out that when you are pressing the keypad on the machine it does not respond and it does not work.
There was price display light on the vending machine, when you insert coins and when you press the coin return it gives you the change.
The problem was there was no response on the keypad no matter what you press.
How do I know the problem is the keypad?
Check to see if there is display light on the vending machine
Check to see if you insert coins the display shows the amount
Press coin return if it gives the change correctly
Open the door of the vending machine
Check the coin mechanism if there are lights and working
Power down
Disconnect the cable from the keypad to the small board
Power On
Press the diagnostic keypad inside the vending machine, if this works then you will be very happy because the mainboard and the secondary diagnostics keypad is still working, SO
the problem must remain to ( 2 ) things: either the keypad outside the machine or the small board connecting to the keypad
Remove the whole keypad and bring it to your local vendor parts
Swap out the keypad membrane and visit your location again
Spend around 5 minutes to install back to the vending machine and it should work!
I only spent $35 for everything!
Note: If there are electrical problems it would be best to solve it on your own and do not call your local vending machine technician.
Calling your vending machine technician will rip you off so much money and it will take a few weeks a couple of months just to cover the expenses.
Here in Vancouver, BC the costs will be :
Technician Visit $125
Technician Parts ( Surely he will overcharge you in the tune of hundreds, I fugure $85 will be the normal charge for parts without you knowing the true cost of a keypad membrane )
Technician Return to Location $125
Your time to change the locks on vending machine so technician has the key to open the vending machine $? ( gasoline to go there, interruption on your routine )
I saved around $125 + $125 + $85 less $35!!!
The keypad is taken out of the vending machine
that is the location of the keypad connecting to the board
you have to remove the screws and all that to successfully remove the keypad
keypad took off from the board
top view of the keypad
the backside of the keypad
Replacement keypad membrane
For all electrical repairs, it is best to do everything by yourself to save money.
Especially in this COVID19 crisis, where the money is hard to come by, by all means, do not call your vending machine technician. They will overcharge you and tell you other parts that need to be replaced and you will end up a big hole on your wallet!
As usual, I was doing my routinely checks on the locations last week. I have a location which I just visit once a month since it is an office building where there are not many customers using the machines.
I was casually entering the location but the doors are locked and there is a security guard in front and was asking questions about my business. The security let me in and I was out in 15 minutes.
Security told me that there was a shooting incident among employees or something.
Sometimes you will be wondering if you need to retain an extremely weak and slow location? Common sense will tell us that if the location is out-of-the-way then better get rid of it and sale it as a discount, but be sure to tell the prospective buyer that the location is slow performing.
You can sell the machines and advertise it as a free location in that way if the buyer is finding location for it then it will act as a free storage and for the meantime generating some revenue.
There was a show in PNE GemShow which I have attended on that Sunday and I bought a singing bowl. The singing bowl comes in different size and shapes and it resonates a certain frequency on a certain size of the bowl.
The singing bowl I got was from Nepal where most of the populace likes to meditate to create a stronger union of the mind and body using ancient sound frequencies. The singing bowl I chose was for aligning and healing the lower chakras. I guess 15 minutes a day will be good to start the day.
I proceeded to a public location which I just visit bi weekly ( every other week ) and I have three ( 3 ) machine in that place and I was wondering how come there was one ( 1 ) machine that there are no sales?
You sometimes know the Healthy Max machines coin return button gets stuck and does bounce back which is a common occurrence with these machines, other than that I have no complaints for the sturdy healthy maxes.
I panicked on that moment and thinking why I do not bring tools with me whenever I go downtown?
This must be essential and compulsory to bring:
Tools
Screwdriver Kit
Change
Extra Coin Mechanism
Extra Bill Validator
Extra Lock
Drill, Drill Bits and Self Tapping Metal Screws
Duct Tape
At least the ones mentioned above is the absolute minimum maintenance tools to bring.
I stop bringing these tools after the vandalism incident on my work van. I’m always in panic mode whenever I’m in downtown and generally the vicinity of Vancouver.
I get paranoid if there are a lot of products inside my work van when parked in Vancouver.
Statistically it is where most of the vandalism that takes place even in broad daylight.
I suddenly had a quick fix to the problem so that the coin return button will not stuck again.
Here is the picture that describes by itself.
Solution
You just have to insert a roll of cardboard from your chips box and insert it between the coin mechanism and the lever. See the picture below.
I headed to one of the Goliath location.
And I was surprised why the gigantic snack vending machine was almost empty only within a week’s time? The guy inside told me that they have night shift’s now due to high volume shipments.
It is a good thing also that this location did not call me on stuck Noodles since they took care of themselves. Using a clothes’ hanger on stuck noodles on the delivery bin is acceptable for me.
The people there are quite friendly and honest. Most of them are my fellow country men and never complained about work even thou it is very laborious, long, heavy and a sweaty daily job.
I guess doing this kind of work keeps your body healthy in a way. Just have to know the range of motion when loading, unloading and moving. If you do not know the proper range of body movement then you will surely get back injuries and a lot nerve problems with your hands and feet.
There was a location in North Vancouver that called me several times and complaining loud noise coming out from the vending machine.
I already inherently know that there are just three ( 3 ) probable problems on noisy vending machine:
Compressor
Fan Motor
Ventilation Motor
In most cases according to my experience it is the ventilation motor that is usually giving out a loud noise on a combo or snack vending machine. I also know that the machine is about 10 years old and the probability would be the vent motor.
I reached the location since it is across the bridge in Downtown Vancouver and had a quick fix just by unplugging the vent motor power cable.
Solution
You do not need a ventilation motor to have a functioning vending machine, you can do away without it.
If you buy the vent motor it will cost you hundreds of dollars on parts, labor and especially the time factor in moving the machine to disassemble the re assemble and bringing the motor back and forth your local vending machine supplier.
Simple fix to remove noisy ventilation motor is by unplugging the molex type power cable. See the picture below.
See the picture above that I simply unplugged the ventilation fan motor?
I went to a huge terminal facility that is off limits to the common folks.
There are lots of security in this government facility and the guy told me that when I left the location 2 weeks ago, the Debit Credit Card reader does not work.
I shrugged it off and said : “Of course it works”. I have to be careful on my tone of voice which sometimes my composure is off because of rushing to one location to another. Sometimes you can be bothered from so many locations especially towards to weekend.
I said inside my head sorry for the statement and I do not mean it and was hoping the person would be not that sensitive and should have said: “OK, sir I will check it out and let you know” instead.
Nowadays the populace seems to be extra sensitive in all aspects of things relating to anything. So I have to remember to keep my composure at all times.
May the people in the locations I go understand the life of a vending machine business operator.
You sometimes know the previous location someone was trying to harass you for freebies and prior to that an inspector almost ticketed you at a loading bay for more than 20 minutes and the location before that you are paranoid when you are parked at a location with people staring at your work van and snooping the minute you walk away from the work van.
There are a lot of things that happens in one ( 1 ) day every day for me when I’m out doing the vending machine business. Probably deep breathing exercises should do the trick!
Okay back the location that the guy told me the debit credit reader is not working. I tried my credit and debit card and indeed that it did not work!
I was thinking maybe the there is some hardware and software conflict issues going inside the machine. This will be the isolated problem solving method that will come into play.
I removed the Payrange attached inside the vending machine and re connected the debit credit reader and tested out and everything is perfectly working.
The Payrange is not compatible to Nayax.
By the way Payrange is a device that uses your phone to buy from a vending machine.
I took it out because some people do not like to install apps on their phone and load money to the app by disclosing the credit card details and opt for a TAP and GO easy device instead.
I highly recommend the Nayax debit credit card reader even thou it costs $400 compared to the Payrange’s $85 since it is easy to use and as I have mentioned TAP and GO! Can even use APPLE pay, Android, Apple watch and phone.
I even had remote emailed from the credit debit reader monitoring software that everything is doing great and sales have more producing for the debit credit Nayax device.
Do you have existing vending machine locations that you need to boost sales ?
How do you determine which locations that is deserving to have a debit credit card reader?
Is your vending machine a contender that needs to be upgraded to the debit credit card reader? Here are the rundown on my opinion as a real vendor that runs and maintains vending machine on a daily basis.
It would be wise to listen an advise to a real vendor who do this for a living and not from someone who just speaks from news or scraping information from sources in the internet which I sincerely think what is happening presently on most flashy websites earning from affiliates and commissions that tries to dry you hard-earned $$$.
Do not be so naive to listen to any credit debit card supplier or seller that pushes you to buy a lot of debits credit card readers.
I understand that everyone has to make a living.
It would be best to get advise from a vendor that applies it to his business and real facts on how beneficial it would bring to added increase on sales on the vending machines.
I’m in no way endorsing a product or earning affiliate on writing this article.
It is thru this article that I wanted all the vending operators out there to know if this debit credit card do really increase in sales
Here are the rundown on several factors to be considered when installing the debit credit card into existing machines.
Here are my experiences on the sales of my other locations with debit credit card readers.
Public locations such as hotels
are a must installing on debit credit cards, my observations is that the sales of coins and credit/debit is around 50%. Common sense tells us at tourists who visits Vancouver, BC are naturally equipped with credit card but most of them carry cash with them.
So my sales is around 50% cash and 50% credit card with a tolerance variation of 20% on cash / credit ratio
Private locations depending on demographics.
Millennial all carry plastics with them and you can safely assume that you have the option without having the cash handling capability. I have several locations which doesn’t have any cash whenever I visit the location, but needed to visit at least once a week.
Generation X such as myself carry plastics all the time, but since the Generation X is a transition or in between from the traditional old ways to the new changing landscape, I always carry at least 5 dollars in loose change and at least $5 dollar bill inside my wallet.
This reasoning is perhaps some generation x are taught by the old hard-working Baby Boomers to always carry some form of cash in case there is a natural disaster e.g.earthquakes, blackouts or worse case War !
Generation X is torn between the old and the new I would say. Generation X have some form of paranoia and have to be always prepared and alert.
Baby Boomers always carries cash with them and locations need not to be upgraded to credit debit card system. But of course a large proportion also have credit debit cards but hesitate to use them because in believing that it is a rip off and have a notion that these plastic companies steals their hard-earned money if skipped a month’s payment and get charged for 2%.
Mixed Demographics
If your location has all sorts of age brackets and people using the vending machines then it would be best just to install a debit credit card reader on your machine.
Is purchasing a debit credit card reader justified even if the sales is like $30 a month ?
I have these kinds of locations which I still service some very small locations because here in Vancouver, BC is hard to look for a vending location. If the small location is on the way or in a group of other 10 locations within the vicinity then ill just swing by and service the small location even if it is just $30 a month.
The products that are mostly close to expire but is still good can be placed in other strong locations which is fully aware what kind of products are placed in the vending machine and not very finicky and picky.
What are the requirements in the vending machine that can be qualified to equip the debit credit card reader ?
The vending machine has to be MDB capable. Vending machines that are non MDB complaint and super old like 15 years old cannot qualify.
You know that all vending machine operators do not have a majority of brand new machines at their locations so that leaves you maybe only 30% to 40% of the remainder that is worth upgrading to a debit credit card reader capability.
It is will be very ambitious for me to start with a project to buy maybe 1 or 2 debit credit card readers every month until all my MDB complaint vending machines are upgraded.
I noticed that if there is a credit debit card reader on my former machines which I have upgraded have resulted in more frequent visits from me, for instance : my monthly will turn into bi weekly and my bi weekly will turn into weekly visits.
Vending Machine Credit Card Processing Fees ?
Unfortunately doing business again here in Vancouver, BC is at a premium. I get charged for $15 for the older debit credit card readers every month and $7 for the newer 2018 debit credit card readers every month. A debit credit card reader here costs around $500.
In USA the monthly processing fees ranges from $7.5 per month and debit credit card readers are just around $350. guess the used ones will be a lot cheaper in USA since vending machines are in proliferation.
Is it worth it to loosing $7 to $15 on the processing fees ?
If you can increase your overall sales considering and assuming all your MDB capable machine are equipped with debit credit card readers then it is justified.
For a hypothetical computation : Normal sales of $1000 without card reader. After upgrading the sales will be around $1,250 with card reader. According to my experience the sales increase is around 25% conservatively with a tolerance of plus minus variation of 10%. Meaning it may be an actual increase of 20% to 35% variance.
Recommended 3rd party debit credit card reader ?
USA Technologies
I was initially very happy with USA Live Technologies in USA. I had several healthy combo machines that came with the USA Technologies readers and the interface is a child’s play and very user-friendly experience.
I even have daily alerts on emails everyday on specified time can be specified for reports. Which makes you not constantly logging in to check daily reports.
Hands down I really like the USA Technologies, problem is that sometimes when I make an email to new orders, they respond the next day but most of the time they never reply.
I even have to email several contacts just to get a response.
Seems that they always change hands on the sales representative.
I’m not saying anything negative about this customer service protocol, it is just that I normally send a simple email stating that I wanted to buy 1 or 2 units but have no reply.
I used to run my own company mentioning back in Makati City. When a customer calls my Computer Trading company during the Asian surge in computer products hey days, you get a quick favorable and friendly reply. Orders jot down and delivery scheduled.
You know during my stint in Asia, I called my customers every day! I sounded like a broken record! Maybe the Asus 4MB memory chips needs replenishment ? Maybe you needed more I/O Graphics card ( that’s what they are called before the era of super graphics ). How many hundreds of mice do you need? ball type or lighted ones ?
I got really good customer service and my business propelled as a small self-employed businessman. My products are niche and I just carry 20 to 30 different products are micro small which everyone was very hungry during that Golden Era.
I also have Nayax debit credit card readers on some of my machines. I don’t have any problem with the debit credit card reader since it is absolutely the exact equivalent of USA Technologies.
I had fewer Nayax debit credit card readers on my vending machines.
Whenever I was generating daily reports on the Nayax debit credit card readers it was very cryptic and it is very hard for me to read and comprehend.
I have to figure out the menus and navigation and always get lost.
Learning is unending and when you utilize and use it, you get new set of wires inside your brain and go through the learning process and pretty soon enough, you will be a master.
It took for a while to get used to the cryptic menu on navigation.
The great thing about the Nayax debit credit card is that the customer support is lightning quick and very easy to access help and advise.
If you are located in Vancouver, BC or the lower mainland then it would be the best option !
You do not have to deal with basketball running around emails and waiting for a reply. There is no need for the waiting time from UPS all the way coming from the USA and get shocked on added $100 tax for one unit.
and easy and locally available with outstanding support.
Conclusion
I advise you not to get too excited in getting your Nayax debit credit card readers immediately. You have to figure out on how to install it first by yourself on a MDB capable vending machine. Perhaps buy 1 device and install it to your best location and observe it for 1 month.
For vending machine operators that works hard for the money, then maybe 1 or 2 nayax debit credit card readers will be sufficient until all your locations are installed.
You have to consider if the Nayax debit credit card reader will justify its cost.
Buy 1 at a time and observe.
Installing a Nayax Debit Credit Card Reader
I guess actions speaks louder than words. Simply have a magnetic screwdriver set with you and a small set of ratchet for the installation of a Nayax debit credit card reader.
Yes that’s right i was able to secure a new vending machine location and need to have it serviced after installing a combo vending machine 2 weeks prior.
New Vending machine location contract needs to be checked after a couple of weeks to make sure that everything goes well with the location and the machine placement.
With new vending machine contract locations it is imperative that you initially ask the staff in charge what is the most popular product that they wanted inside the machine.
Presently doing office locations is not that as lucrative as like 10 years ago. People are evolving into healthy snacks and drinks.
That’s why here in Vancouver, BC it would be best to offer healthy options since it is gearing towards into that direction, or perhaps offer a mix and match varieties.
It is on a Monday when the rain was pouring very hard ! In the vending service industry, you have to service no matter what the weather conditions. Vancouver is a great place to move about and there is no problem when getting around.
The vending operators here are very fortunate because even there is a heavy downpour of rain, you can still continue to do business and the city is very forgiving. There are no floods, no problem with transportation system and everything is very well laid out.
Doing business here in comparison when i was in Makati City was a nightmare. I have to trust my hardy motorcycles to do the job in my deliveries including my team members where they have their own motorcycles which i have to provide. If you are dealing with computer hardware parts in Asia, the best delivery system is via motorcycle.
In Makati City, when it rains the roads are almost impassable and unforgiving. You have to cancel all your appointments and flooding of streets are a common occurrence and you have to live with it.
Enjoying the heavy rain downpour in Vancouver, BC while im taking a lunch break.
I thought that towards winter there will a halt in renovations.
Seems that there is no end. I was servicing a location with a vending machine on the 1st floor and the staff mentioned that only the 1st floor will be renovated and there is no need for my machine to be moved.
The duration will take around 3 long months.
I think on my next visit i will try to ask the manager if i can move the machine to the lobby area where there are a lot of guests.
Self employed people always have to be prepared with sudden uneventful situations like this.
So i guess there might be some moving expenses in case it will be moved to the first floor or else there will be no income for 3 months if it stays on the floor that will be renovated.
I also visit a community location where there are some machines which are utilized frequently by kids and parents.
I thought the dreaded out-of-order sign is no more but it seems that this is part of the business.
Coin jams scenarios will never be eliminated especially if most of the consumers are children.
I just cannot picture how the coins gets jammed inside the coin mechanism. It is actually common sense that you have to insert the coin one at a time while observing the price display that registers or acknowledge on the coin and then continue right ? Not everyone is the same i guess.
Problem :How to solve coin jams in the vending machine ?
Solution : Most cases is by flipping the coin flap inside the coin mechanism thereby releasing the accumulated coins.
See the video which i have made to show you exactly how the coin jam was resolved.
I did a lot of work on Monday since it is always a busy start of the week for me. It is always the first day of the week that i need to start the momentum to work.
Statistics of New Canadian Coin On A Cash Collection
I headed down to a coin counter that day since i have some bills to pay. The coins during that day was mostly from a coinco coin mechanism which accepts new loonies. That means all the coins that i have gathered includes a mix of new and old loonies.
I have tried this several times on the coin counter to see if the new loonies is already mainstream.
If the new loonie is mainstream and if a lot of them are around then of course i have to bring my MEI and CON LUX coin mechanisms to Broker House here in Burnaby, BC to have it re calibrated to accept the new loonies or else i will be loosing sales every day.
So what i did was to make a trial sampling computations on the statistics and ratio of cash collection’s on rejected new loonies to the overall collection’s.
Surprisingly the total cash collection’s ratio of finding a new loonies is only 0.41% on every collection’s.
For example : If you have a cash collection’s of various coins of $486 then the new loonie will be only 2 pieces
Computation is $486 cash collection’s 0.41% = 2 pieces
So for instance you have a hypothetical large haul of $1,000 cash collection’s for 2 to 3 days then it will contain only 4 pieces of new loonies.
Conclusion : Following my statistical sampling of cash collection’s and computation, it will still be fine to leave the MEI and CON LUX coin mechanisms at its present state without doing any upgrades.
I went to Brokerhouse located at Burnaby, BC and the technician told me that the cost of re calibration and upgrade to accept the new loonies will cost around $50 a piece.
At the moment in time, i chose not to upgrade my MEI and CON LUX coin mechanisms. I will be observing of the % percentage of new loonies from my total cash collection will increase to at least 2% to 5% then it will be time for me to upgrade and re calibrate all my MEI and CON LUX to comply and accept the NEW Canadian Shiny Loonie.
Sample computation :
This are all hypothetical computations. For $1000 cash coins collection, 2% will be 20 new shiny loonies, 5% will be 50 new shiny loonies.
Earning money from vending machines is tough and every expense needs to be dealt cautiously.
See the video i made on the coin counter for a coin cash collection of $486 which i just got 2 new shiny loonies.
At present im also contemplating to install all my MDB machines equipped with a debit credit card reader.
Most of the populace have debit credit cards and have quite a bit of locations that uses 90% debit credit cards instead of cash. These locations are in the west end where most of the consumers are millennial which makes it better if you just carry a plastic with you than cash.
There will be an article on how i install on existing MDB vending machines with a 3rd party debit credit card device.
What remedy i did was to disable the coin return button so that whenever you press for coin return it will not function anymore and have no other option but to insert more coins to purchase a product.
You see this location is in an extremely busy location where there are lots of children and parents. You will certainly get coin jams in such kind of environment. This is understandable for me because of the demographics.
I always get a surprise call in the middle of the week while im servicing at the far end of another city.
One day I got really tired and just told the person on the phone that just put an out-of-order sign since there is another machine beside to satisfy the needs of the location.
If you got like 10 to 12 locations per day to attend too sometimes you thought that checking the coin mech by merely flipping the coin chute inside the check jams is enough.
I just found out that all these problems and calls to me was caused by a quarter with a gum on one side and it was almost invisible for me to detect on my visits even if i inspect it closely.
I accidentally dislodge the quarter with gum when i flip the coin chute on the side last week.
Since then i didn’t receive any more annoying service calls and all is well.
Here is the Video which i took on the quarter with a gum.
That rainy day started when i was in a location under a tree. Suddenly to my surprise i receive a sign from above from a bird doing its nature call.
I guess it was lucky for me to have found the quarter with a gum after all these calls at lasted for months.
Seems that both machines are churning at full throttle after i accidentally found the culprit.
Was it the lucky gum or the bird ?
I needed to promptly visit a location which i just go every 2 weeks since it is a small location with around 50 occupants in an apartment complex.
At this moment in time, i always prepared the goods ahead of time since i already know what to refill on the machine. When i approached the combo machine, the manager immediately approached me saying that sometimes when people insert coins, the machine doesn’t register.
When i opened the combo machine then there were some coins laying inside the combo machine.
What i did was to figure out a simple solution so that this will happen again.
I noticed also inside the machine there were notes from the previous owner of the machine listings of coins lost with corresponding names on a piece of paper.
So this has concluded that i have to have a quick fix.
Solution on vending coin mechanism not accepting coins
cut appropriate cardboard into the shape of the coin guide
shape and funnel it to the coin mechanism using scotch tape
I took a video on how to cut the cardboard and taped it on the metal funnel in order for the coin to go straight to the coin mechanism.
I tested it with a lot of coins and it seems that the problem is solved.
Please see the video i made and it shows clearly how to do it without needing expensive technician calls or buying expensive parts for a simple quick fix.
This method applies to all kinds of coin mechanism
Conclusion
It would be essential for the vendor to properly check the coin path and coin mechanism since this is the part that has the most usage on the vending machine.
Always check the coin mechanism for foreign materials inserted or small objects that sometimes not easily noticed especially when you are always in a hurry to finish work in a location.
Most of the people in today’s world are interested in investing on vending machine businesses.
Before you invest on a vending machine business, it is important to understand the average vending machine profits.
Then you can compare and see whether this investment opportunity matches with your expectations or not. As a result, you will be provided with the opportunity to stay away from hassle at the end of the day.
First of all, you need to understand what does it look like for you to start a vending machine business? You might think that you don’t need to have any special skills to get started with a vending machine business. This fact is true. But you must also keep in mind that hard work and proper planning is needed in order to end up with profits from the vending machine business venture. If you don’t focus on those aspects, you will never be able to get the results that you want.
Starting a vending machine business is not all about installing a machine. A vending machine cannot generate profits on its own. It is up to you to provide your support to the vending machine and let it develop along with time. Then you will be able to sit back and enjoy the average vending machine profits that are being provided to you.
Should you start a vending machine business?
Most of the people in today’s world are interested in starting their own businesses. If you are a person like that, a vending machine business is one of the best options available for you to consider. In order to start a business, you will have to invest a lot of money as the capital. But if you don’t have such a lot of money to be invested as capital, you can think about starting a vending machine business. You will be able to start the business venture with minimum capital.
Unlike other businesses, a vending machine business can deliver some sort of freedom to you as well. However, it still requires dedication and hard work from your side. Then you will be able to drive your vending machine business towards success in the long run.
Now let’s take a look at the most important question that you will get when starting a vending machine business. Just like starting any other business, you must be concerned about the amount of profits that you will be able to receive at the end of the day.
It is better if you can start off the business with just one vending machine.
You will be getting the vending machine and installing it in an area, where there is high traffic. Then people will purchase goods from your vending machine. They can all contribute towards the vending machine profits that you will be able to receive at the end of the day.
At the beginning, you cannot expect the vending machine to bring in a lot of sales. It will take some time for the people to get used to the vending machine in the location. But along with time, you will be able to build up a potential customer base around the vending machine. In other words, some people would purchase goods from the vending machine every single day. As a result, you will be able to increase the profits as well.
On average, a single vending machine installed at a prime location can generate around $50 to $100 per day. When it is settled in for about three months, you will be able to receive a profit of around $1,000 to $1,200 per month.
The statement that i gathered is true for truly high volume traffic maybe in public places where there are foot traffic from locals and tourists.
The figure of $50 sales per day is not very realistic and attainable already here in Vancouver, BC when you are a new vendor.
Im a real vendor who lives and breathe in refilling and servicing vending machines almost on a daily basis.
This figure is true for just around ten machines of mine and the rest is just about $3 to $19 per day on sales and at times no sales on the weekends.
The people here in Vancouver, BC is very conscious on their spending habits since this is a very expensive city to live in and everything seems to count.
Now you might think of this as a non-profitable business. That’s where you need to think about getting multiple vending machines installed. When you have at least 20 vending machines installed then you will just see the income.
The average vending machine profits would change based on several factors. For example, your vending machine profits will increase or decrease during the weekends, based on the location that you have.
We have so far discussed about the gross profits that vending machines can make.
You will be needing to make a spreadsheet in cost of goods and other expenses and compute it accordingly.
The average maintenance cost that you will have to bear in order to maintain a vending machine is in between $1,000 to $2,500 per month if you have around 100 or more machines.
This depends on the condition of the vending machine as well.
For example, if you have an older vending machine, you might have to spend more than $2,500 per month on its maintenance.
Therefore, it is recommended for you to invest on new vending machines as much as possible. Their chances of giving issues is relatively low when compared to the used vending machines.
On the other hand, they come along with comprehensive warranty coverage as well. Whenever you get a problem in the vending machine, you can simply get that fixed without spending money out of your pocket.
Conclusion
Last but not least, you need to understand how much time it would take for the vending machine you install to generate profits.
The time taken for the vending machine to generate profits vary based on several factors. The location holds a prominent place out of them. That’s because the traffic of the vending machine location can directly create an impact on the sales. In addition, you need to make sure that your vending machine is in a location, which is instantly noticed by people. Finally, you need to check whether the goods offered by your vending machine are appealing to the people. Then you can make instant profits out of the vending machine business.
I was getting hungry and was determined to finish off one more location before heading to about three more to call it a day.
This location has been cooperating with me for the longest time already.
I was on my 5th year with this location and i never missed a rental payment on this location and this costs me around $75 per month just to keep both machines inside the building.
It is imperative that i service this location at least once a week
since it is one of the good ever green performers on my vending machine business route.
I immediately entered the premises and took noticed that both machine needed my refilling services.
I was surprised why the tubular lock on my vending machine was vandalized.
This location has been with me for the longest time and the occupants are very honest and don’t dare do such things.
Most of the occupants are partly subsidized from the government on their rental and it is relatively easy for them to pay rent to the government and just have to work minimally to gather other income for personal expenses.
Sometimes when i was even thinking how fortunate they are since everything is provided and being pampered by the government. In comparison to the Philippines, if you are disabled there will be absolutely minimal help from the government and forget about pension, welfare and pay checks.
Filipinos have to work their ass off in order to have a secured old age security.
It is mostly the business class or high status working careers that are able to save up substantial savings in order to continue the lifestyle which can be enjoyed till old age.
Forget about the Philippine government since there is not much financial support. The indigenous tribes in the Philippines also is ignored and left out to themselves unlike here in Canada or the United States where they are pampered, taken care of and offered with a lot of free resources which sometimes i envy.
I simply cannot open the snack vending machine because someone tried to pick and forcibly wanted to open the tubular lock.
The lock is supposed to look aligned so that the key can freely move. But the lock was turned about 1/4, i just don’t know why the perpetrator took so much time just to steal maybe the most is $50 dollars on the snack machine in case the person is successful in opening it.
Here is a picture on how the tubular lock looks like when the perpetrator tried to try to forcibly open the tubular lock but without success and leaving me frustrated.
Noticed that the picture above shows that it is almost impossible to open the tubular lock using the regular vending machine keys.
In order for the tubular lock to be open, the two grooves has to be aligned so that the key can fit.
The have tried to out the key forcibly into the lock but it doesn’t work. The solution to successfully open the tubular lock is to shave off the protruding notch or metal on the tubular shape key.
It took me around almost 10 minutes! and i hammered the key on the tiles and floor in order to shape to remove the protruding notch.
I hammered the key into the tubular lock and was able to open the snack machine and did my refilling service.
I immediately notified the manager in charge and told me that will try to advise the tenants. I hope they listen and have empathy towards small self-employed businessman.
I did not have enough time to change locks to eliminate this problem. But on my next duty im planning to install both machines with special tubular locks like the ones on my other vending machine picture below.
You know when i was starting out on my vending machine business there are a lot of interactions between me and the seller of the business.
Normally the seller who is getting rid of the locations with customers that are actually seniors!
Do you know that i got quite a few locations that are almost exclusively seniors? They are great locations for me and performing very well.
People underestimate that if your location is majority populated with seniors then you will be wasting so much time in servicing it.
I have written an article that i mentioned that i all locations are inherently different.
Do not judge the location on what kind of people are inside and made quick judgments.
Normally if the location are mostly orientals then the sales will be dismally zero right? But this is not the case for me here in Richmond.
I have locations in Richmond that are largely orientals and have been outperforming vs downtown. It even beats my golden triangle region where most of the people like to buy chips and chocolate bars all the time.
If you are acquiring locations, do not be mislead into thinking that it will not perform according to your own judgment.
I’m quite lucky that i have kept these kinds of locations that are occupied by seniors and they consume my chips and chocolate bars like there is no tomorrow.
I myself grew up in the era where i consume a lot of PX Goods ( this is an American term used in the Philippines ), where they supply to Filipinos from the former military bases in the Philippines.
It was an economy that grew so big that there are shopping malls selling PX Goods. When i was a like 5 to 6 years old boy still clinging my hands to my parents when strolling to the malls most of the time.
There were these Americans on their Harley Davidson and big pick-ups coming all the way from the Clark Air Base when it was still around.
Oh how i miss that era when the business activity is spurred by the goods coming all the way from America !
Everyone likes goods from America in the Philippines. Remember that we are colonial minded. The Filipino culture is a big pool of diverse cultures from Spain, Chinese, Japanese and Americans.
Common sense tells us that we are situated in the Far East, the Chinese assimilation is far more into intermixing with the native Filipinos as compared to Europeans.
When you are venturing into acquiring locations. Let there be no comparison if it is laden with seniors or youngsters.
Generally speaking if the location is younger than the consumption will far outweigh other comparative locations.
I visited one of my vending locations. I found out that there is an out-of-order sign on the snack machine. I immediately took a look on what is happening to the vending machine.
There is a continual clicking and whirling sound on the coin mechanism. I have to put the defective unit out for retirement.
This is another classical problem on most of the vending machine.
You always have to bring a spare coin mechanism with you. This will avoid time and gasoline to come back and forth to location.
This is relatively a short article since this is very straightforward.
I have a location in a public school and normally i service it every 2 weeks. To my surprise the Crane Coffee Model VOCE had a problem on vending the french vanilla selection.
I tried to dispense some french vanilla but the whole machine did a whirling sound and suddenly shut off and shut on unexpectedly.
The problem is the motor inside the machine is not functioning properly anymore. If the motor is broken it will cause a short thereby powering off the coffee machine.
Shown are the pictures and removal of the selection and how the motor looks like.
I just have to black out the french vanilla selection until the motor is replaced.
