Industry Tips
Vending Machines, Automatic
Prospective investors in any business opportunity should investigate the offer before making a commitment. Carefully read and fully understand the terms & conditions of any contract or agreement. Discuss it with an attorney, accountant or business adviser before signing; ask for independent records to substantiate earnings claims or projections. Check references to deter- mine their experience; and consult with city, county and state regulatory agencies to determine what licenses or registrations may be required. A vending company may say that it employs an expert locator to find prime locations for its vending machines. Frequently, the company's assistance ends once it finds an establishment willing to have a vending machine on its premises. An operator who starts with poor locations cannot hope to compete with professional vending companies to capture good locations. Poor locations are not only unprofitable for sales but also invite vandalism. Many times the expert locator has no experience with local vending conditions, and even an experienced vending operator would have difficulty finding profitable vending locations quickly in a city other than his own. Vending machine manufacturers usually do not offer to locate machines for the purchaser. Such offers from manufacturers or distributors can be a tip off that the promotion may be fraudulent or that the previous operator of the equipment has defaulted. General Advice on other aspects of purchasing vending machines is available in the BBB’s Tips on Automatic Vending Machines, or by contacting the:
....National Automatic Merchandising Association....
....20 North Wacker Drive....
....Suite 3500....
....Chicago, IL 60606....
....(312) 346-0370....
