Pepsi/Coke Vending Machines
- Thread starter gshick
- Start date
mjwalsh
6 bay SS w/laundromat
We purchased our 52+ AMS refrigerated large vending machine back in 2007 with a KR des moines Heartland Show Deal. The Coca Cola Bottling Company ... even with us storing & stocking ... after the original local owner of the local franchise passed away ... a different ownership dynamic occurred ... the profit split gradually got worse & worse for us.
Maybe others had a different experience ... not sure??? It does take more in-house man power ... so a payroll factor then needs to be kept up with.
Maybe others had a different experience ... not sure??? It does take more in-house man power ... so a payroll factor then needs to be kept up with.
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Waxman
Super Moderator
I had a machine owned by coke. What a miserable failure. The checks came but were tiny. You can make some money vending soda, I think. But what you're getting paid for is: stocking the machine, buying the soda, trucking it to your wash, emptying the money and maintaining the equipment. There's no such thing as easy money.
Never again! At one time we had a Coke machine at every car wash, they were owned by Coke. The return on the machines was pretty dismal to say the least, I think the power consumption was more than the revenue we received. Then the thieves decided that the Coke machine were a gold mined, they had bill validator on them and they started to destroy them. Coke would bring out a new Coke machine and a couple of days later, bingo another one destroyed. The last Coke machine, Coke dropped it off on a Friday afternoon, on the front of the machine there was a sign that said “NOT IN SERVICE NEEDS TO BE FILLED” on Saturday morning the brand new $3900 Coke machine was destroyed to the point that it was not repairable. Coke won’t bring out anymore Coke machines now.
MEP001
Well-known member
I've done it both ways, definitely made more with a machine supplied by Coca-Cola that I filled. I don't think I ever got a check when they serviced it, and half the products would be sold out before they'd refill it.
I know you don't want to mess with it yourself, but if you're considering it only for the money the best way is to buy a used machine and do it yourself. I'm sure I could make $200-300 a week buying cans from the grocery store to sell them for $1 considering I was making $50 a week buying cans from Coca-Cola at 65¢ each.
A friend bought two refrigerated spiral vendors in metal cages and sells about $1500 a month out of each of them, mostly sodas.
I know you don't want to mess with it yourself, but if you're considering it only for the money the best way is to buy a used machine and do it yourself. I'm sure I could make $200-300 a week buying cans from the grocery store to sell them for $1 considering I was making $50 a week buying cans from Coca-Cola at 65¢ each.
A friend bought two refrigerated spiral vendors in metal cages and sells about $1500 a month out of each of them, mostly sodas.
PaulLovesJamie
rural 5 bay SS
I had a machine owned & operated by coke. After a few months they unilaterally reduced the commission to the point that I was paying more for the electricity to run it than I was making. Yes I measured the electricity usage, it was a dedicated circuit so easy to do.
I just bought a reconditioned soda machine and plan to install it this week. There's a Sam's Club 2 blocks from my wash where I can buy sodas cheap. Stocking and cash collect will be easy. Will report in here in a few months and let y'all know how it's going.
We started with a "Coke Owned" machine and hated it. It was a 20oz bottle machine. They set the price at $1.25 and sold us the pop for $25.00 a case of 24...So we made $5.00 a case...We weren't allowed to change the price. It wasn't even close to being worth it.
After a few months I had them pick up the machine and I bought (2) brand new Royal Vendors. We now vend 12 oz cans in one machine and 16.9oz and 24oz bottles in the other. Didn't take long to pay for them even at new price. I try to buy the pop on sale and set price to get 60-70% profit...Yea there are downsides with anything...But they do really good. Sometimes when the weather is crappy, the pop machines do better than the wash does. Its nice to have another income stream...
After a few months I had them pick up the machine and I bought (2) brand new Royal Vendors. We now vend 12 oz cans in one machine and 16.9oz and 24oz bottles in the other. Didn't take long to pay for them even at new price. I try to buy the pop on sale and set price to get 60-70% profit...Yea there are downsides with anything...But they do really good. Sometimes when the weather is crappy, the pop machines do better than the wash does. Its nice to have another income stream...
Yep, I'm set for a profit of .72 cents on sodas and .81 cents on bottle water. All 16.9 oz bottles. No cans to attract more trash varmints.
My dad battled for years with both Pepsi and Coke machines inside and outside his tunnel wash. He always filled them and took money etc. My brother who lived out of town for years asked him one day how much he made per hour and after he figured it up it was about $10. He laughed and said probably wasn’t worth the hassle. Make sure gain is worth the pain.
Starrwash
Member
I have had both coke and Pepsi provided machines which I fill with products they exclusively provide. When you take into consideration the electricity cost and wholesale cost of product there is very little profit at my location, maybe break even
MEP001
Well-known member
Same issue I had, the only advantage is they will repair or replace the machine at no cost to you even if it's vandalized, though they usually did a crappy job. I actually had to learn the name of one guy and insist they did not send him since he'd barely get it half-ass working where I'd have trouble with it again a week later.
mjwalsh
6 bay SS w/laundromat
We found that the local Coke Bottling Company would be good about fixing & keeping a new enough machine in our laundromat but like I said they were oblivious to whether or not our margin on the arrangement was sustainable. The outside vendors who had candies etc tended to not be reliable enough maintenance wise like MEP001 explained & there again ... our margin of the receipts was not justifiable for the space-electricity etc required.
We gradually started putting our own in starting back in the 80s but then it does get a bit scary ... like the time we had to pay a refrigeration contractor to put in a new compressor shortly after the warranty was done on the KR AMS machine ... it cost us a little over $1000. Someone told me I could have put the refrigerant compressor-condenser in myself ... but I was spooked by the possibility of being prosecuted for allowing Freon to go into the air or whatever other legality involved.
Anybody here swap out that type of condenser themselves & saved possibly most of the $1000 repair cost???
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Dan-Ark
Active member
I swapped between 2 older Dixie Narco machines, the compressor, condensor and evaporator assembly comes out as a unit, no need to release or charge freon. the new units I looked at on ebay came the same way. I was lucky I had an older machine that still cooled good on hand to rob.
OurTown
Well-known member
What do you do with the old one? I have noticed that many are refurbished but I did not see where they required a core returned.
Dan-Ark
Active member
I put it in a box to keep my "junk" machine "whole" for no known reason.