How to avoid the risks of running a vending machine?

Writer： Zhongda vending machines Time：2022-11-04 15:30 Browse：℃

For an individual or small team, running a vending machine is a small investment, with most of the risks involved being less than $100,000. Generally speaking, the higher the input cost, the higher the return, but also the greater the risk. Despite the good profitability of vending machines, there are some small risks involved. So what are the what risks of running a vending machine? And how do we avoid these risks?

1.Break-even Risk

Smart vending machines make money in three main areas. The first is sales, the second is high gross profit and the third is advertising costs. However, the key to supporting profitability in this area is choosing the location of the smart vending machine. The first and third points are particularly sensitive to the footfall around them. Even if profits are low, it is possible to make money with high footfall and the advertising business can run smoothly when there is high footfall.

How to avoid this risk:

If you are new to vending, it is recommended that you use only one vending machine for the first time and that you can replicate the success and run multiple vending machines after you have sorted out all the links. If you start with more than one vending machine, the investment cost is high and inexperience may lead to mistakes in some issues that are not easily detected. If you run into some problems in the general environment, it may lead to a total loss and thus you cannot control the balance of income and expenditure.

2.Risk Of Being Refused To Put On The Market

There are some venues that do make money, but for various reasons they may not allow you to continue placing vending machines.

How to avoid this risk:

It is best to sign a contract with the venue first. It stipulates the right to operate for several years to avoid going back and forth for various reasons. You can also look up some other locations. For example, if you are in discussion with a university about operating, you can contact several other similar universities or try to switch to another public location so that when it is true that you are not allowed to operate there, you can move the vending machine quickly to another location.

3.Risk Of Disputes Between Buyers And Sellers Due To Product Quality Issues

You must take care of the safety of the products you sell, especially in the food category, and ensure that you source them from the proper manufacturer. You must not sell counterfeit or poor quality products and must be aware of the shelf life of food items. If a customer’s body is harmed by the quality of a product (not just food products), the dispute can be enough of a headache for the vending machine owner to deal with.

How to avoid this risk:

Keep track of the official channels through which goods are purchased and scrutinise purchases. Regularly check that there are no expired products that cannot be sold, and replace any that are problematic.

Due to the quality of some people, vending machines do run the risk of being smashed and stolen. You can’t expect everyone to have good qualities, and there is no guarantee that some people who are drunk or in a bad mood will smash objects. Especially when the vending machines are placed in a crowded area, it’s fair to say that all kinds of people can be encountered. There is a real risk that someone will smash the glass or break the lock of a vending machine just to get a few drinks, or even just because they are in a bad mood.

How to avoid this risk:

Equip vending machines with high-definition cameras or store them in a place where they can be monitored by cameras. After the vending machine’s camera has recorded a vandal, it can be reported to the police for action. The owner can then recover the loss along with the profit if the vending machine is smashed and stolen. You can also take out vending machine-related insurance, which many insurance companies now carry, to cover part of the losses you suffer if your vending machine is vandalised while operating with their insurance business.