ICE Vending

[tobaccofarmer]

Anyone here have any experience with selling ice? I have started looking into some machines and seems the two biggest companies are kooler ice, and Ice house of america? I am wondering if anyone has any success with this business and would share a thought?

 

[txheat]

im not in the business yet but i have talked to one ice house owners. From what i learn ice house owners are territorially reserved. In our area thats all i see is twice ice which are ice house machines. One of the owner who wants to put one on our lot that we are going to build our washateria on. He want to lease the spot for $500/month. He owns 2 in our area, still in red he says. He and his wife still work their daytime job...so that tell ya something.

From my speculation, i rather lease the space out to them. that money is sure to get regardless if it fails or not. Secondly, that is a big investment and regulated by your health department and also sales tax. 3rd, How many bag of ice and water can you sell ? I use to be in retail, even our high volume store, we push out on average 25 bags per day @ 99 cents per bag. Our ice machine cost only $4k. vs this monster. Location is the only factor in any business, he put one next to Ace hardware store, and the other on the outskirt of town. You would think he would make money at the ace location, since it is targeting construction, lawn services , etc...

 

[harleygrant]

Anyone here have any experience with selling ice? I have started looking into some machines and seems the two biggest companies are kooler ice, and Ice house of america? I am wondering if anyone has any success with this business and would share a thought?

I have a one. It does ok. I only live in a town of 1600 though. Ive been putting alot of money into the cooling system for the unit this summer

 

[anilasher]

Ice house owner

Anyone here have any experience with selling ice? I have started looking into some machines and seems the two biggest companies are kooler ice, and Ice house of america? I am wondering if anyone has any success with this business and would share a thought?

I've been in the ice business for 5 years now and just bought my 3rd machine last year. It has been a profitable business for me. Keep in mind that your success will greatly depend on the location.

Also, like any other business it requires work. My other company provides software to monitor these machines so I've met a lot of owners and seen over 300 machines across the nation and am convinced that this is a worthwhile business if you're willing to put in the effort.

Do your homework in choosing the machine and make sure you have a support system in place before you shell out the $100K+ that you will need to get started.

I'm happy to answer any questions frankly - all I ask is you do not put another machine in the vicinity of an existing one - that shows very poor business sense and guarantees your failure.

 

[vila92276]

Im looking into buying a machine from Kooler Ice. Anyone know anything about this company? Anilasher where did you locate your machines?

 

[anilasher]

Im looking into buying a machine from Kooler Ice. Anyone know anything about this company? Anilasher where did you locate your machines?

My machines are located in TX. I just added machine #4 inside a car wash bay. The owner of the car wash and I came to a mutually profitable arrangement which is win, win for both.

I've been doing this for 10 years and find that this business is like any other business, tough! You will have to understand the equipment and maintain it just like you do for car washes. If you have too much on your hands find a local ice house owner willing to lease the space. If you've got time and mechanical aptitude it is a good use of your time.

Just like the car wash business, it is weather dependent and you do have to sell a lot of ice to make a little bit of money.

Big machine or small machine? There is no one size fits all solution, local weather, real estate values and ice usage all affect that determination. In TX we have a short season with high demand and need the large capacity machine to sell as much as we can when we can. The small capacity machines do not profit here. Hope this offers some insight.

 

[harleygrant]

I am thinking about selling my unit. It is an older model but it works fine. I have a beautiful lighted sign that would go with it. Someone could save a bunch of $$$$$ rather than buying a new one. Call or text me for details. 217-246-1996 Grant

 

[harleygrant]

I am goin to ask $9000 for the unit, sign, and ice maker

 

[Brybrew]

I recently Installed a Used 'Twice the Ice' at my Wash. The territory protection is only if you pay a yearly service fee and it only protects you from new unit purchases from my understanding. So far its been a learning experience. The Mechanics of it are pretty simple and if you are used to working on a car wash its not a big deal. The Ice Maker and the HVAC is another matter. Depending on your state, check you local tax codes to see if you have sales tax for it. (KY does not). the Health inspection is pretty straightforward and is 25/yr fee so not bad. I did tie into my existing wash's electric and Air to help consolidate expenses and get rid of the internal compressor in the machine (I hear this can be a problem area for them). I have only been open a few weeks so its really to soon to tell if how its going to.

 

[soonermajic]

We put a Kooler Ice machine on our Carwash lot. It's doing avg. Thank the Lord, we have a Mexican restaurant buy 120 bags/week, or it would lose money. Only avg about 12 bags/day otherwise. Quite often, it take $$, but doesn't give change, or gives a half full bag. Kooler main problem is their bags are too big. It makes their "10lb " bag look half empty, to the customer....even though it contains AT LEAST 10 LBS.

 

[robert roman]

I’ve done some analysis for ice machines.

It’s not a lifestyle business unless you are willing to be a distributor or own and operate a network of sites.

So, great location for single site is crucial. This means excellent visibility and accessibility to traffic and local businesses and homes.

Public need is greatest in warmer climates. Co-location to attractors helps drive demand.

For example, high traffic road leading to beaches, lakes, etc. or parking lot in popular strip center.

As for carwash, I probably would not attempt this unless the site was high volume.

 

[soonermajic]

Carwash is actually usually found in those "high traffic areas", hence that being a great location.
Something not mentioned , if you can get a restaurant to use you daily, change ching. Doesn't work great in affluent areas, cuz everyone there has an ice maker in their fridge.
Hit the lotto, if you happen to gain an account w/ a Quick Stop!

 

[rph9168]

I have seen very few washes that were successful with ice machines. For one reason or another many turned into a nuisance rather than a profit center.

 

[soonermajic]

I don't know but 3 washes that have em. 2 of em make good money, as does mine. However, if I didn't have the Mexican Restaurant signed up, mine would be very avg...

 

[MEP001]

Most of the people I see stopping at convenience stores to get ice look like they're going to the lake. So a good location for ice vending would be on a road to where the vacationers are headed. I really doubt many people come from home to get ice just to take back home.