Hello everyone

[Quinch]

I am very interested in starting a vending business and have looked at vending tower franchises but I am also interested in finding out how to start up as an independent operator, I would greatly appreciate any advice on where to find towers and stock to fill them. I would also appreciate any general advice on vending.

[green army]

I am very interested in starting a vending business and have looked at vending tower franchises but I am also interested in finding out how to start up as an independent operator, I would greatly appreciate any advice on where to find towers and stock to fill them. I would also appreciate any general advice on vending.

Hi there
Where are you from?
Im new to vending myself so cant offer much advice but i do think You should not go down the Franchise route,
Im totally invependent and can then do my own thing, IMO its the best way to go but its up to you.
This is the best place to be for a newbie, You get loads of advice and can make your own mind up!! some good contacts on here too. Also always guys selling stuff to.....
Good luck...........
If i can help with anything just ask but mite be best to speak with the pros on here...lol...

[Quinch]

Thanks for replying green army.
I am from the North East of England so am hoping to start a business in the Newcastle/Gateshead/Sunderland area. What sort of vending machines do you operate? I need to find some suppliers of towers and stock to compare the margins with the tower franchisers I have looked at, some advice on what is typically paid in commission to site owners would be helpfull and whether poaching of sites is a big problem.

Also, from what I have read on these forums it is general etiquette not to put machines into a site that already has similar machines, is it ok to put tower vendors in next to traditional 'big' vending machines selling Mars bars, crisps etc?

[Snackmore]

You can buy towers from Hurleys (new) stay away from the Chinese ones I would only say buy Clenport. They also come up on here on a regular basis and ebay regularly has them. If you want to stay independant I would say there are 3 suppliers, tubz vending Hurleys and Sweetfix, all are around the same price you will see prices advertised at the top of this forum, dont forget to add on postage and VAT. I would say that with a 20% commision you are averaging 40p a pot profit (before depreciation, time, petrol and indemnity Insurance. I have not found poaching a problem but there are horror stories. The rule of thumb is that should a venue have a tower stay away, I think anything else is fair game whether it be a bulk machine, large vendor or anything else you wish to consider as vending including washroom equipment.

Oh I should add that some people are self filling pots too that may be an option to keep costs down? I have to say its not for me as I dont have the time and unless you are buying big the savings are small
Good luck

Steve

[Quinch]

Thanks very much for the help it is much appreciated, I have contacted Hurley's to ask for a price list for their Clenport machines and sweets/snacks.
Is it possible to buy stock from tubz vending without being a franchisee? I also clicked on the Sweetfix ad at the top of the page but they don't appear to have a website yet, it would be nice to see what their products look like before buying. I had hoped to be able to buy mini-cans or tubs with the proper brand name on, does anyone know if any supplier does this apart from Snack-a-Can?
Thanks again for the help Steve.

[Snackmore]

Yes you can buy from tubz vending as an independent but then they bug you for later sales. Sweetfix are quite new and dont have a website yet but give Glenn a ring and I have no doubt he would send you some pics and prices if thats what you want. You wont get branded pots from the three I have mentioned, the label does state what the contents are and you can get the stickers to put on your towers too. I understand that the contents all come from the same supplier anyway. My understanding is (not that I have every bought Snack A Can products)that they are moving away from this and there has been an issue with Haribo but I do not know all the details or who is at fault.

[Rossi fan]

Hi,
I think you have been given some good advice above.

If you are going into tower vending, it is good that you have found this site first as you can get answers to all manner of isues.

My advice is this. Do some research in your area, before starting. Look around local pubs and see how many towers you see. If you see none, then get in quickly, but if you see lots, be more careful, as the best sites may already be taken.

Stay independent and start off with 5 to 10 machines and see how they go for a month. Never borrow money to get into vending.

Avoid siting towers in staff rooms, as they never produce good sales over the longer term. Make sure that whoever does your site finding is aware that you dont want this type of site. Go for Pubs, Recriational Clubs and any site that has families and younger adults in frequently are likely to be good sites. If you are good at approaching people, then go to prospective sites with the fully stocked tower and ask the site if they want to try it out.

Remember though that it is your responsibility, if someone gets hurt, so you will need Public Liability Insurance. Try Simply Business for this. You also have to take full responsibility for the tower and if its is damaged, you have to sort it out youself. These things do get stolen, so be careful and chain them up if you think there is a risk.

If you have a job, dont give it up. You will need over 100 ,machines to get a decent income and this can take time to achieve.

I hope this is helpful,

Thanks,

Paul

[FlintVending]

yep agree with all of that sound advice!

[dorsetvending]

if you can, try to provide a range of machines - say sweet towers, pringles towers and few toy machines. This is useful as you will find siting machines that little bit easier. Being one machine operator is fine but that can have its limitations. One site one machine. If you have 2,3,4 machines in one site you can refill all machines and pick up 2/3/4 times the money only using the same fuel. Also as mentioned in another thread you can build a route around this one hub site which has multiple machines - 1 days driving / servicing brings you decent income rather than hopping from one single machine site to another. you can do say 2/3 towers an hour by time commission is paid or jam ups are sorted. You could do 5 machines in that hour if you use hub site plus 1 other single tower site.

[Quinch]

Thanks very much to everyone who has contributed to this thread, I really appreciate people taking the time to give advice.
I am going to have a drive around my local area and see how many machines there is, to see what the competition is like and maybe speak to the owners of some potential sites. I like the idea of being an independent operator but I'm really not sure how easy it is to get sites and whether it might be better to join a franchise and use their site-finding services, I intend to do a bit more research into the pros and cons of each method. I have to say-a couple of franchise contracts I have looked at so far look a bit one-sided.
Will let you guys know how I get on.
In the meantime, any more tips or advice is greatly appreciated......

Q