We humans like to over think things; we have even coined the expression analysis-paralysis to explain just how bad it can get. When it comes to the vending machine business, don’t let analysis-paralysis keep you from getting started on your dream of self employment. Vending isn’t something you need to spend tons of time studying or reading about, the best way to learn about vending is to just jump in. Yes, you’ll make some mistakes when starting out, but as long as you don’t get involved in a biz op scam or overpay for an established route, you’ll eventually land on your feet OK.

Biz ops or business opportunities are usually anything but. They promise to sell you a ready-made vending business that they promise will start making you money almost immediately. Seriously, the claims of these companies should light up your bullshit detector and have you running for the hills, but an amazing amount of people still get sucked into these deals. The biggest problem with these ‘deals’ is that you end up paying way too much for machines. A lot of people learn the hard way that there is a lot more to being successful in vending than these companies would have you believe.

The only other way to go really wrong when just starting out is overpaying for an established route. When you’re new to the business, you don’t have enough experience to know how to value an established route. Sellers always want top price and as a buyer it’s our job to pay the minimum. When you’re new to vending, you should only pay the market value of the used vending machines, don’t place a value on the locations themselves. The reason for this is because the value of the locations really can’t be proven; basically the seller is just asking us to believe what they tell us. Unless they can provide tax documents proving earnings, stay skeptical.