Toy Vending Machines

A mainstay of shops and businesses where kids gather in droves, toy vending machines have traditionally been used to sell small, encapsulated toys at inexpensive prices. However, improvements in the lightweight alloys and plastics used to manufacture vending machines, as well as advancements in the technology that powers vending machine payment systems, have allowed both manufacturers and vendors to get more creative. Today, toy vending machines are more versatile, with the ability to offer branded toys, must-have action figures, plush stuffed animals and much more.

Traditional toy vending machines are coin-operated, but nowadays they can also be configured to accept bills of varying denominations and, in cases where the machine’s application makes it feasible, credit or debit cards. While card payments are usually reserved for toy vending machines selling more expensive items, units with bill verification sensors that make change for customers have become the industry standard. Though the old-school machines which require exact change and vend out of a single coin-activated chamber are still around, they’re rapidly being replaced by newer models driven by more advanced technology.

How to Profit from Toy Vending Machines

The first, most basic and most important principle in choosing a location for your toy vending machine is to put it in a location where large numbers of children converge. Recreation centers, game parlors, bowling alleys, malls and child-themed eateries (like Chuck E. Cheese, for example) are all tried-and-true venues. However, creative thinking can also lead to untapped markets. Lobbies of popular family restaurants, where customers face wait times for tables during peak hours, can be a good spot to locate simpler toy vending machines. Anywhere parents might be stuck waiting with impatient children is a good place to consider; parents who want to keep their kids entertained, quiet and happy are more than willing to buy toys from vending machines to do it.

Another method vendors use to increase revenues at toy vending machines is to install token-operated models. Toy vending machine tokens can be purchased from machine manufacturers, and sold at a rate that adds up to be higher than a coin-operated vending machine would charge for the same toy. For example, a toy that would cost a quarter in a traditional vending machine could be sold for a token in a token-operated model, significantly increasing revenues if tokens are sold for, say, two for a dollar.

What to Sell in Toy Vending Machines

Generic toys specifically manufactured for sale in vending machines are readily available, and they are usually very inexpensive when purchased in bulk quantities. Costs per unit for capsule vending machine toys are normally only a few cents, and can sell for anywhere from a quarter to a dollar. However, the future of the toy vending machine industry lies in selling brand-name, popular toys through high-tech machines.

Children want items on impulse, and parents indulge them; to serve the changing needs of toy vending machine operators better, manufacturers have developed models that dispense packaged toys. Now, items that were once only available in toy departments can be sold virtually anywhere kids go, in vending machines that accept bills of varying denominations as well as electronic payments. The bottom line for vending machine operators is opportunity: with creative thinking and wise machine placement, excellent profits can be achieved and sustained.