Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Vending Machines For Stuffed Toys

Have you ever wondered how much money one of those claw toy vending machines in a restaurant makes?

What seems like a simple way to entertain kids at a restaurant or grocery store can turn into a money making machine for you. Many people are already making substantial all-cash income through these Planet Antares vending machines.

A crane toy vending machine is large and bulky in size. Therefore, you must ensure that it is placed in a location that has adequate amount of traffic and generates about $100-$200 income per week for you. You wouldn’t want to put it in a location with very less customers and have to relocate it after a few days. This means that you will have to try and place your vending machines at one of those high-end locations which will provide returns worth your investment.

Basically, a claw vending machine consists of prizes such as teddy bears, inside a glass cage with a claw attached to the top of the cage. To play the game, the player will have to insert coins into the machine and manipulate the joystick for 15-30 seconds to move the claw or crane back, forth and sideways.

At the end of this time period, the claw drops down and makes a gripping attempt. After such a move, the claw moves over an opening in the corner and releases the contents. If the player succeeds, the prize is dropped into the opening and dispensed through a chute for pickup.

You may also go for an alternate version which has two buttons: one marked with forward arrow and the other with a right arrow. In such a machine, the crane starts near the front, left side of the machine and the user presses the forward button to move it towards the back. The user must judge the depth accurately because he can only use a button once. Similarly, the right button becomes active and can be released once only. This is considered to be a more difficult version of these vending machines.

Initially, these vending machines became popular in the United States in late 1980s and eventually spread to other venues. The early 1990s saw NFL advertising their teams with stuffed footballs of each team being placed in some machines. This trend was followed by others like MLB, NBA and NHL.

Currently, Planet Antares toy vending machines have become very popular among people of all age groups and sections of society. These can be found in a variety of locations that were previously occupied by snack or soda vending machines only.

Friday, February 15, 2008

How To Save Money While Servicing Your Vending Route

There’s a lot written about the type of vending machines, products and locations that are best suited for different people. However, very few people will tell you about the importance and benefits of servicing of vending machines. It is essential to keep your Planet Antares vending route well organized and easy to service.

If you place vending machines in different locations and just forget about them, you will make a huge mistake. Make sure that you don’t lose all the time, effort and money invested due to such ignorance. Your profitability depends on the efficiency of your equipment.

If you are tech-savvy, an electronic spreadsheet can be used to list your locations along with any relevant information such as the owner’s name, feedback, comments, etc. this can go a long way in making your business operations more organized. Make the efforts of developing a personalized relationship with location owners so that you get benefit for your vending machines in the long run.

Another advantage of maintaining such records is the ability to track the vending sales and analyzing the product mix effectiveness. You can regulate the kind of products in your Planet Antares vending machines as per customer preferences.

You must also ensure that the vending operators and route drivers know the area well. This will help them ensure service of a number of machines in a short period of time. It also makes your schedule more organized and flexible. There is no wastage of resources by driving round in circles or going out of the way in search of locations they forget.

Take advantage of technological innovations such as the GPS system. Apart from being very reasonable, it is very easy to use and can be programmed for your locations and entire vending route. For any vending machine business with multiple machines, this is highly recommended.

In short, it’s important to keep your vending locations and machines in top condition. The secret to sustained profitability is to be organized while servicing your routes. Take assistance from a GPS while driving around to multiple locations and try new ideas for cutting your servicing costs.