Mechanical Vending
Machines

Requires Exact Change & Does
Not Accept Bills

Mechanical machines were designed back in the 1950's when vending machines took just change. These machines have individual plastic coin mechanisms for each product (see picture below). Exact change must be used for each selection. The maximum amount you can sell a product for is $1.00 - so you are missing out on the entire energy drink market along with sports drinks and many other popular products. Companies selling these kinds of machines sometimes sell a dollar bill changer that you can attach to your vending machine. It usually will not accept $5 bills. It hangs off the side of the machine and not only is very unattractive, but also takes up even more space. The machine owner is responsible for the drilling, sanding, etc. involved in the installation of these optional bill changers.

• Cheaply-made plastic coin mechanism for each product
• Must use exact change
• $1.00 maximum price
• Each coin must be placed in the right slot - or it will jam the mechanism
• Some machines have as many as 16 plastic mechanisms that can jam up, break or malfunction

Advanced Bill Acceptor/Changer

The 1.800.VENDING Refreshment Center is an electronic machine that accepts change or bills (see picture below). It is one of the few machines on the market that accepts $1 gold coins. It not only accepts $1 bills and $5 bills - but it even accepts the new $5 bills introduced in March of 2008. Very few machines on the market are ready to accept this bill. The Refreshment Center can also vend products for up to $99.95 so you are not restricted in product variety. The bill validator/acceptor is built right into the machine - as opposed to an afterthought hanging off the side of the machine (common with mechanical machines).

• Fully electronic
• Pricing from .05 cents to $99.95
• Easy touch selection pad
• Individual electronic pricing for each selection
• Computerized sales record
• Customer friendly LED display
• $1 & $5 Bill Acceptor
• Coin Changer

Jams Very Easily

Each product in a mechanical machine has its own plastic coin mechanism. Exact change must used in product selection. There are even slots for each individual coin (see picture above). For example, on a product requiring sixty-five cents, there will be two Quarter slots, one Dime Slot and One Nickel slot. Each coin must be placed in the correct slot. If a Dime is accidentally placed in the Quarter or Nickel slot, this will jam the coin mechanism. The coin cannot be retrieved so the money is lost and the product cannot be purchased. The customer then complains to the location owner who puts an out of order sign on the machine. The coin mechanism must be disassembled to retrieve the jammed coin.

Anti-Jam Coin System

The 1.800.VENDING Refreshment Center doesn't require customers to carefully place coins in certain slots. Your customers can use any combination of coins or bills to purchase any product. They simply select their product choice using the electronic keypad (see picture above).

A Nightmare To Change Pricing

Each plastic coin mechanism uses a complex combination of disks and spacers to configure the mechanism for the exact coins that must be used. To increase the cost of a product, the machine owner must completely disassemble the coin mechanism and rearrange the disks and spacers to the new price configuration. Raising the price from 70 cents to 75 cents involves replacing two Dime disk/spacer sets with a new single Quarter set of disks/spacers. Setting a new price on just one product takes about 10 minutes. Therefore, if you are changing prices for six products, the process will take about one hour.

"Easy Touch" Pricing System

With the refreshment Center, product prices are entered and changed on the electronic key pad - the same key pad your customers use for product selection. Once you enter your maintenance code, you can easily change product prices in seconds. In contrast to a mechanical machine, you can change prices on six products in less than one minute - as opposed to an hour.

Difficult To Locate - Perceived As Old Fashioned

Modern Machine - No Location Problems

The 1.800.VENDING Refreshment Center is exactly what location owners are looking for - a modern looking, fully electronic machine offering a variety of products. Professional locators will be the first to tell you that they can always get an electronic machine located to replace a mechanical machine. The bottom line is location companies love working with the Refreshment Center because it is easier to locate than older style machines. Distributors love them because they can get into higher-end locations.

Machine Is Too Wide For Most Locations

Most mechanical machines are too wide for most locations. Most vending machines - whether soda, snack or combo - are about 36" wide. This is the standard in the industry. Most mechanical machines are 55" wide. If you add an optional bill changer, the machine becomes nearly twice as wide as a standard machine - much too wide for many locations. The reason the machine is so wide is that it typically has only one row of snack choices. One row of snacks causes the machine to be wide and also cuts down on the snack options. Modern/electronic machines have at least 12 snack choices and have 4-6 wide spaces for chips. Mechanical machines have only three spaces for chips and only nine total choices.

The Perfect Size - The Perfect Machine

The Refreshment Center is the perfect size machine allowing you to capture the best, hightraffic locations. Because it features two snack rows, the width of the machine is reduced to a slim 32.5" - about half the width of a mechanical machine with changer. Your machine will not be rejected because of its size. Your machine offers 13 different snack options with six wide spaces for chips. These spaces are wide enough to vend Hormel Compleats - which are non-refrigerated, microwaveable meals. Many of these meals sell for $4.00 or more in vending machines nationwide