How to Start a Gumball Machine Business (2024)

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If you are looking to start a gumball machine business the following advice is for you.

At Gumball.com, our purpose is to help you start and maintain a successful gumball machine business.

People constantly ask, “how much money will my gumball machine make every month?” To quote you a number of how much a gumball machine will make a week or a month would be misleading. It all depends on the location. Some bulk gumball machines make up to $350 per month and other gumball machines don't even make $2 per month. The national average revenue for gumball machines, according to Vending Times Magazine, is $1 per machine per day. So a single head candy machine will yield about $30 per month and a double head gumball machine $60 and so on... but these are national averages and may not reflect what your gumball machine will make. As long as you place your candy machines in high traffic locations , you are bound to have a successful gumball and candy business, as our gumball machines are very dependable in converting high traffic locations to money in your pocket. Profits that will hopefully help you grow your gumball business with us in the future.

So why choose Gumball.com to start your vending business? We would love to have you as one of our valued customers and we pride ourselves in going the extra mile. We offer an unbeatable lowest price guarantee on all our machines. It is rare that a customer comes to us and says that they found a certain vending machine at a lower price somewhere else and would like a price matched. However, when that happens we do our best to even go lower than our competitor’s price as a way of showing our dedication to low cost startup which is a very important factor in starting a successful vending machine business.

Call us at 1-800-260-0010 to discuss discount options with one of our sales associates if you are looking to start a vending business.

So decide on which machine you are want to start your business with (ex. Triple Head Vending Machine) and our recommendations are:

1- Order your vending machines and assemble them in your garage or whatever the case might be.
2- Fill them with fresh product, test the bays to ensure a good vend.
3- Take 2 machines at a time in your car or more if you have a van or a truck. When you get to a potential good vending location, bring one of your machines down and ask the manager in person what they think of the machine and if they have a spot for you to leave the machine at.

You have a much higher success rate this way as the machine very often sells itself. A nice machine with candy in it does a lot more than a printed picture no matter what. 2 Things can help you secure locations for your vending machines faster. Our vending book, "Locating Your Vending Route" and an affiliation with a charitable organization. When participating in those programs, you will pay a royalty of around $1 per vending machine per month for decals of missing children you place on your vending machine. You will get a letter of authorization from that charity you can present to business owners who will then be more likely to donate a spot for your machine. This not only saves you money as commissions paid to the store you have your vending machine in are more likely to be more than $1 every month, but precious time as you don’t have to count quarters inside the store. An example of a charitable organization you can contact and a very popular vending operator’s program is from Child Search. You can view their vending program by clicking here.

Thanks for taking the time to read our “Starting Your Vending Business Advice” and we hope to hear from you the future.

Comments on this post (18)

• Oct 16, 2023

  Do your machines accept Malaysian coins pls?

  — Soalen

• Aug 29, 2022

  I wanna try to make a gumball machine side business but don’t know how to start or what a safe way to start would be. Any tips or advice would help greatly

  — Sam

• Jan 10, 2022

  how do I get your book Locating your vending route?

  — Rick Higgins

• Sep 21, 2020

  great content solid no fluff advice keep up the great work.

  — MICHAEL BLANFORD

• Sep 21, 2020

  I have a 10 year old daughter that wants to start a gumball/candy/toy vending empire. She has saved about $1000 for startup. I will help her with the licensing and the operations until she is old enough to run it herself. My question is what would be the safest way to start? I was thinking a few machines to start maybe the 3 towers. She wants a website, business cards, logo and maybe some fun branding in the future. She loves those giant machines that can be custom branded (by us) for ice cream shop locations or something. Any guidance you can offer would be appreciated. I run a medium sized business in the service industry and would love to see her grow to a few hundred machines by the time she can drive. What’s the best next step.

  — Benjamin Hawes

• Sep 21, 2020

  I’m looking to start a gumball machine business as a side project. Any information you can send me would be greatly appreciated!

  — Joshua Violanti

• Oct 20, 2020

  Hello, this was some helpful information and I am looking to get started in this vending business!
  Looking forward to speaking with you soon!
  Thanks Shad, (Driven to Execute Company)

  — Shad Fuller

• Oct 14, 2020

  Hi , Is the shipping available in Singapore ?

  See Also

  Size Matters! Your Comprehensive Mason Jar Size Guide

  — Zulkifli

• Oct 13, 2020

  ty for the info love it

  — robert hafey

• Sep 21, 2020

  I am looking into buying these machines for my son. I want to teach him about investing and starting at an early age.

  — Demetria Jenkins

• Oct 13, 2020

  I am English can you fit a 20p coin mechanisms on a gumball candy machine.

  Best wishes Rory

  — Rory Brooks

• Sep 21, 2020

  would I be able to call and ask some questions on starting my bulk machine business ?

  — Fernando Alvarez

• Sep 21, 2020

  Also— what’s the shelf life on most candy before it looks nasty. I know some gum ball machines have product inside that looks like it’s been in there since Nixon was in office.

  — Nick W

• Oct 09, 2020

  Thanks for answering my question. I was wondering— how do you know if an area is open to the public vs private? Some high traffic areas aren’t directly in front of stores, but are presumably owned by SOMEBODY. So I’m just sorta wondering if there are any laws or regulations in regard to when it’s okah vs not okay to place your machine in a space. Thanks!

  — Nick W

• Oct 09, 2020

  Want to start learning about the business.

  — APRIL TANYA BURNS

• Sep 21, 2020

  Good information, thank you.

  — Bryce Kreikemeier

• Oct 08, 2020

  Do I need any permits to sell gumballs?

  — Jacob

• Oct 06, 2020

  Getting ready to start vending machine business

  — Carl Ervin

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