Buying a New or Used Vending Machine
When you are looking to purchase a new or used vending machine, TBS Service and Vending New and Used Vending Machines are the quality you’re looking for. We offer a full line of vending machines and have been in business buying and selling machines nationwide since 2004.
A common misconception we come across often is that people are overly concerned with the price of certain vending machine. This can be deceiving because though one machine may be newer, it may be less valuable in the resale market than an older used machine. The better brand names in the vending industry are those that have been in business for a long time, and have established quality products in the market. The difference in purchasing a quality used machine from TBS Service and Vending means a lot. We have found that most often smaller manufacturers machines are very difficult to get parts and service for, that’s where we can help.
Some of the manufacturers we provide are: Sanden Vendo, Dixie Narco, Crane National, Automatic Products, GPL, Royal. These are a few of the largest equipment manufacturers with the best, and most well proven products in the marketplace.
Now that you’ve established the type of brand names to look for then you can contact one of our Vending Specialists to help you narrow down your search to the type of machine you are looking to buy. For instance, are you looking for a Snack, Coffee, Cold Food, or a Soda Machine?
You can discuss the following questions to narrow down your search even further:
Snack Machines
Automatic Products, Crane National Vendors, GPL, USI, and Rowe International all make/made quality snack vending machines. First thing to do is to locate one by these manufacturers, then to ask yourself a few simple things such as: Is Size of machine an issue? Do you want a machine that accepts bills and coins? These are two very basic questions that can really narrow down your search alot. Size of the machine is important because many of the full size models are difficult to navigate thru doorways, and they do take up alot of space. Also keep in mind that the average weight of one of these machines is 650 lbs. Whether a machine accepts dollar bills or not also eliminates alot of models from your potential purchase.
Coffee Machines
Automatic Products (RMI formerly), Crane National Vendors & GPL are the coffee machine manufacturers we recommend. Keep in mind that when purchasing a coffee machine, that they are VERY complicated , and expect to spend a few hours getting the machine setup and operational. A coffee machine also requires regular maintenance and cleaning to continue working properly. Keep in mind when looking to buy a used coffee machine that because of all of the internal working parts, and the affect that hard water can have on the machine, that you could possibly end up spending alot of time maintaining this machine. Many newer models are far more convenient by offering many different “Specialty” brews, but along with this, they are more complicated to program. Two cup sizes is also a standard in many machines offered today.
Cold Food Machines
Automatic Products, Crane National Vendors, Rowe International all make/made quality cold food vending machines. The AP model is a glassfront machine that can be used to vend either cold food or frozen food items. Models offered by Crane National & Rowe International are carrousel type machines, which are well proven in vending locations, and easy to get parts for. The Rowe models offer more selections and capacity, yet are more difficult to repair and troubleshoot. Obviously the important factor to check when buying a cold food machine is whether the refrigeration is working properly. Refrigeration repairs are very expensive.
Soda Machines
Dixie Narco, Vendo & Royal all make/made quality machines. Just look at what the big bottlers use for machines and you will see that every Coke or Pepsi machine you see is made by one of these three companies. Most important question to ask yourself here is whether you are looking to vend 12 oz cans or 20 oz bottles. A quick tip is that Newer machines that are designed to handle bottles can also be setup to vend cans, yet the opposite is not true of a 12 oz can vendor being capable of vending 20 oz bottles. Some can soda machines can be adjusted to vend 16.9 oz bottle water, but the bottles will jam from time to time. Again, when looking to purchase a used soda machine, make sure the refrigeration unit is good.
Once you’ve determined the quality machine that your interested in purchasing Contact TBS Service and Vending and speak with one of our Vending Technicians. You want to be sure you are working with an established company, not someone who is just reselling they’re own machines. The reason this is important is because of the difficulty of shipping a machine it is purchased from an individual or residence. TBS Service and Vending has established shipping companies with discounts in place that could save you a lot of money. What you may have saved on a machine by getting it from an individual, you may pay for it on the shipping of the machine. Also keep in mind that if a machine isn’t properly packaged it risks being damaged during shipment. It is very important to ask questions like this before making the decision to purchase a used machine. We’ve been in this business along time, and have seen a lot of people make mistakes in purchasing used machines from unqualified resellers, that it has prompted us to share this guide, to hopefully help some of you out.