Hey All

[FlintVending]

dbv?

dollar bill vend??

[Caserri]

dbv?

dollar bill vend??

Sorry, DBV= Dollar Bill Validator. The products look like they would be in the $1.00 to $3.00 range so the machine would need to be setup to accept dollar bills.

[david@naughtyvend]

i guess the issue is that you swap to paper at one dollar. In an ideal scenario they would be sold at $2 with a $2 coin being used. We have started doing them in crane grabbers for some people.

Problem is, when did you last see a $2 coin...? Seconded by the issue that cards are very widely used in America compared to cash and even then it tends to be paper money, thus bringing you back to more advanced validation... mains power... increased equipment costs and the return upon investment vaporizes (note the US spelling). Many amusement machine operators offer "tokens" which are used in their machines which can be obtained from a central change point, a work around but still...

[david@naughtyvend]

dbv?

dollar bill vend??

Sorry, DBV= Dollar Bill Validator. The products look like they would be in the $1.00 to $3.00 range so the machine would need to be setup to accept dollar bills.

This can be done of course, a coke machine could be converted and there are two machines which spring to mind as being viable wall mouted units but I think starting from scratch would be the best option here, the cost would be highly prohibitive as the machine would be circa $£750 to $1000 to manufacture in serious quantity with of course set-up and design costs to consider.

I have a machine which accepts cards and notes, it can run on battery power but the issue is that the start-up drain on the powercell is considerable and then both the note reader (DBV) or comms modem kills the power in the cell, thus requiring a very short service interval as low as two weeks. The busier the machine the more you need to visit and it doesn't equate to the total capacity of the machine making it inefficient. We've even integrated contactless cards with a 3G modem on the board (near field) but again mains power is a requisite. It always comes back to power and beleive me we have tried everything, even solar trickle charging.

So with the new design and limitation of site due power outlet being required you have to perform extensive diligence to look at the potential in site numbers and return upon investment, on a national scale in the USA the guys at the top would make money but would the operators. On a $2 scan can less product cost, commission and operating overheads how many units would need to be sold...? Thousands.