If you have started looking at a vending machine for your workplace, you know that they are expensive. The sticker price is only the beginning, and the running costs are the part most people do not see coming.
Here is the breakdown of what a vending machine actually costs to own or lease.
Buying a machine outright
A new snack or drink machine can cost up to $12,000. A combo machine or a chilled unit with a glass-front display and remote monitoring can run higher. Buying a refurbished machine means you will pay less immediately, but you take on the reliability risk.
Once you have purchased the machine, then the real costs start.
- Stock – You buy every product up front and take a loss on anything that does not sell before its use-by date.
- Restocking – Someone has to count, order, collect, and refill the machine. For a busy location that is a few hours a week, every week.
- Repairs and parts – A bill validator or a compressor failing is a real cost, and a dead machine earns nothing while you wait for the part.
- Cash handling and card fees – Coin collection, float management, merchant fees on every payment.
Add it up and a single machine you own can cost your organisation several thousand dollars a year to run, before it returns a cent.
Leasing a machine
Leasing spreads the purchase, usually a non-trivial amount every month for years. It makes the upfront cheaper, but it comes with a cost.
You still buy the stock, still do the restocking, still cover repairs once the warranty ends, still handle the cash. And you now have the lease contract – many leases lock you in for 36 to 60 months with early-exit fees, so a machine that is not doing well becomes a bill you cannot easily cancel.
The cost of your time
The biggest cost of running your own machine is not on an invoice. It is your time.
Every hour spent ordering stock, chasing a repair or counting coins is an hour not spent on the work you are paid to do. For most workplaces, vending is a distraction they bought. The machine was a perk that turned into a recurring job.
What it costs with AVC (nothing)
We install a fully stocked machine at your location and run the service ourselves, 100% free. We handle the machine end to end. You provide the floor space and the power point.
Most “free” offers have a catch. This one does not. There is no purchase, no lease, no lock-in contract and no service fees.
What you get for free:
- A premium machine – monitored remotely through our own platform, Sentry, so it gets refilled before it runs empty.
- Up to 60 selections from over 1,000 products – including healthy and dietary ranges through our sub brand, Vendy – Healthy Vending.
- A 24-hour callout if anything goes wrong – fixed by our team, not yours.
AVC has been doing this since 2013. We are Australia’s largest independent unattended retail operator, with over 1,500 machines and micro markets in hundreds of organisations across the country.
How much should a vending machine cost your business?
If you buy one, several thousand dollars a year and a standing job for someone on your team. If you lease one, a smaller monthly bill and most of the same work. If you decide to let us manage, it costs nothing.
Contact our team and we will find a solution that fits your location.