One of the reasons most people fail is because they fail to realize exactly how many machines are really required to make any decent income. If you start out a solo vendor it is safe to say you could potentially run about 600 machines per month. Locating the machines to vend can take a lot of time though; assuming you have a decently reliable route to cover you could probably service around 3 to 4 locations including the driving time it takes from one to the other. This is usually just a simple servicing like filling the heads, emptying the coins out, and also cleansing the machines. Running a 400 machine route will usually take around 100 hours, with a few exceptions. Add around 25% of that estimate of time to take into consideration doing additional tasks like cleaning, breaking down machines, changing out the product, locating, shopping for the candy and doing book keeping.

This could run the time up to around 125 hours for 400 machines with the exception most machines require intense servicing every 45 to 60 days. The absolute hardest part of this business is building and maintaining decently sized vending routes of 400 machines or more, which can often take a ridiculous amount of time. That is the number one reason most people in this business fail. Starting this kind of business takes quite a bit of money to start, if you are not able to work hard now to be able to succeed later, you probably will not succeed in this business.

While many well-known vending machine manufacturers once stood alone, or were controlled by several major corporations, they are all now controlled by just a few big conglomerates. Other companies moving into the industry are specialists catering to very specific segments of the market. For example, Solectron (Flextronics International), was named the vending machine manufacturer for the Red Box DVD rental systems. Following are some of the major players in vending machine manufacturing.

Aramark: If you have ever put money in an office coffee vending machine, it was probably named Aramark. Its history dates back to 1936 with peanuts and a warehouse that was in the backseat of a car. Founder Davre Davidson always had the vision of putting vending machines in offices.

Automatic Products International: Automatic is the leading U.S. manufacturer of glass front food and beverage vending machines. Automatic is located in South St. Paul, MN and has been in the business since 1949. Crane acquired Automatic in 2006.

Deutsche Wurlitzer: Wurlitzer was the world’s first manufacturer of spiral vending machines. Although, Wurlitzer made its name in vending with cigarette machines, the general public usually associates the name with classic jukeboxes. Deutsche Wurlitzer is located in Salt Lake City, UT.

Diebold Incorporated: Capitalizing on its reputation for safes and ATMS, Diebold now manufactures movie rental machines, credit card gas station pumps, and ticket vending machines. Its history dates back to the Chicago Fire. Diebold has formed partnerships with Nelson Vending Technology and IBM to produce strategic products in the vending market.

Dixie-Narco: A leader in the chilled beverage vending market, Dixie-Narco got its start when Dixie Foundry acquired Victor Products in 1957 and then Narco Sales Group, 10 years later. Dixie-Narco was also acquired by Crane in 2007.

Stentorfield: Stentorfield was originally a UK company, Stentorfield was acquired by Crane in 1998 as another addition to its hot and cold beverage and snack vending machine business. Crane has its European headquarters in Chippeham, Wiltshire, UK, the former Stentorfield Ltd. site.

Sanden: With 70+ years experience in the beverage vending industry, SandenVendo America is the largest distributor/producer of high capacity, chilled beverage vending machines. According to its company information, it was the first to develop the vended beverage machine in 1937.

Other manufacturers with a portion of the U.S. market share are:
A&A Global Industries Inc.
American Changer Corp.
American Coin Merchandising Inc.
American Vending Distributors Inc.
Automated Merchandising Systems
Cafection Enterprises Inc.
Coin Acceptors Inc.
Danaher Corp
Folz Vending Company Inc.
Interlott Technologies Inc.
Mars Inc.
National Vending LLC
PepsiAmericas Inc.
Rowe International
Seaga Manufacturing Inc.
Slim Line Designs Limited
Standard Change-Makers Inc.
The Wittern Group

The first thing you need to look at is your budget. A vending machine is not going to be a very cheap item, even if it is used. If you want to get a used vending machine that works well, you need to shell out some money. Take a look at how much you can afford and go from there.

After you have done the number crunching, you can easily narrow down your vending machine search. If you search within your price range you are not only going to save time, but money as well. Make sure that you look for the best deals that you can find.

Getting online to either an online auction site or a classified site is going to be your best bet. These sites will offer the lowest prices. If you are looking through an online classified ad all you need to do is arrange payment and pick up. For online auction sites, make sure that you try to get the best shipping rate available.

It is very important to make sure that you ask questions before you buy. When buying a machine such as this you need to ensure that the seller is not trying to rip you off. Find out if you can inspect the machine before you buy.

Buying used vending machines can become quite the investment venture. As long as you know how much to spend and what to look for, you should be in business. Start looking right now online and find all of the best used vending machine deals. You can easily get started today!