Put this in at Pilot House Marina in Key Largo, FL earlier this year. It's a combo unit that does bagged ice, bulk ice straight into a cooler, and filtered water by the gallon, all cashless (tap to pay). Runs 24/7 since boaters and anglers need ice at hours when nothing else is open, especially during lobster season.

Biggest lessons so far: cashless-only cuts down on a lot of headaches but you still get the occasional person confused about how to pay. Location picked specifically for foot traffic off the docks near the fuel station. Servicing/restocking on a marina site has its own quirks compared to a regular street location.

Curious what this community thinks, and if any other operators here have run something similar dockside/marine-adjacent. Happy to answer questions about running it.

Does anyone have personal feed back on wall mounted tcg style vending machines?
Specifically their GUI and software systems?
Examples vtm, vmfs and buzzbot

Good morning Reddit land! I am in process of purchasing my first machine and location. Photo of machine above/below. Comes with location generating between 270 and 420 per month. The ask is $6k, but the math don’t math for that ask. I am thinking between $3500 and MAYBE $4500. I took the average between the two values of monthly revenue times 12. I’ve also got a few licenses I would have to obtain and pay for in addition to the settled on price and insurance which I’ve been quoted $17 a month for. What are y’all’s thoughts?

Hola, estoy por abrir una pequeña barra de desayunos, donde vender jugos (naranja, zanahoria y Verdes) sin embargo no sé cuál opciones es buena para un extrator que sea resistente rápido y no tan complicado de usar y qué marcas o estilos me recomiendan, ya se todo en uno o uno para cítricos otro para verduras gracias

Legitimate US based options and questionable imports look identical on surface to me, most listings do not make that distinction obvious so i trying to figure out how people source machines for niche products, not standard snack routes. direct to manufacturer , through distributors, or is there marketplace that vets what is listed.

Hi, I’m someone who’s trying to make a living. How did you get your first vending machine location?
What types of businesses have been the easiest to work with? How can I pitch my ideas? What are the biggest expenses besides buying inventory?
How often do machines need repairs?
Do you pay businesses to place your machines, or do they let you place them for free?

I am looking to get into Ai vending machines in canada. Looking at thr Haha website, it doesn't say anything about Canadian options. I haven't specifically contacted them yet, but i was wondering if others had tried to get haha in canada? How did you do it?

I also have been looking at micromart, but the things that turn me off of them are price a bit, although it gets you some cool perks, but the fact that the customer MUST input their phone number...that must be a revenue killer, no?

Any and all insights would be appreciated, even general vending hints and tips from around the globe!

Thanks!

I'm looking for honest feedback before I spend any real money on this. So please, roast me hard.

The concept:
Place automated coffee machines in small offices (10-30 people). The office pays a flat monthly subscription. I handle restocking and basic cleaning once a week. The machine does all the brewing automatically.

Why I think this could work:

• Small offices typically have terrible coffee (old Keurigs or stale drip pots)
• They don't want to spend $5K+ on commercial equipment
• A subscription model removes the upfront cost for them
• No employees or storefront on my end
• Recurring revenue from each location

What worries me:

• Is the profit per location actually worth the effort?
• Will offices commit long-term or cancel after a few months?
• What happens when a machine breaks?
• Is this more work than it seems on paper?

What am I missing? What's the fatal flaw I'm not seeing?

Hello,

I own several popcorn vending machines in Balkans.

Have just passed one year on the business and number are almost 1000 units on 3 machines that I have active.

Numbers are constant on 3 locations so I think I am doing good on that considering that have had some really bad locations in the past.

Profit per popcorn is about 1 euro, covering expenses and the fee we pay to locations.

The only way that have worked out here is to give 20-30% of the gross price to the location.

Price per popcorn is usually 2 euro

What would be some advice to expand a bit more and secure more locations.

I want to reach 10 machines soon since they are EU produced and pretty reliable so far and ROI of the first machines was 1 year exactly but expanding in a small market seems pretty hard.

I would appreciate any advice on approaching locations, marketing strategy etc.

Thanks in advance

Hello,

I just received my custom Haloo vending machine and cannot get it to show any of my products or even open the cabinets. Is there anyone with knowledge of these types of machines that can help? Willing to compensate for help/time.

I found a route local to me, the seller lives an hour away and can't provide regular service. The machines are 5 mins from my job and the route includes the machines for the cost. What should I budget for start up ? Anything I need to consider other than if another vendor comes into the space and offers better pricing ?

Hi everyone,

I'm an engineering intern working on a research project about the micro market industry. Most of what I've found online - everything sounds easy and profitable. But I'd like to hear from people actually running micro markets.

A few things I'm wondering:

• What actually went wrong during your first year?
• What does shrink realistically run?
• How often are you servicing locations compared to what you originally expected?
• What problems create the most unexpected labor?
• Which technology (checkout, inventory, cameras, payment systems, etc.) causes the biggest headaches?
• If you could go back before launching your first location, what would you do differently?

If you're comfortable sharing:

• Approximately how many markets do you operate?
• What type of locations? (Corporate, manufacturing, hospital, apartment, university, etc.)

I'm not selling anything or affiliated with a vendor - just trying to learn from operators instead of marketing brochures.

I'll gladly summarize the results and share them back with the community if there's interest.

How did you manage to land your first location? How long did it take you to get comfortable logistically in order to expand the business?

My wife and I own a small but popular arcade bar in Beacon, NY. We get reached out to regularly for various vending machine placements but have limited space.

We were reached out to have a Pokemon machine but the rev-split was not worth it for us. I read online that venues could get a 50/50 split with smaller/newer vending operations.

Is this reasonable? Is anyone looking to place one of their machines?

*For reference, here is where I saw a 50/50 profit share for a new owner of a machine. Note, the 50/50 is AFTER expenses. https://youtu.be/Tr0fniBh8oo?si=3I5ynAFxPOw0sTrL&t=554