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Across Australia, thousands are diving into the bustling trend of purchasing and managing snack vending machines, a venture that can prove to be quite profitable for some.

The catch? To see real financial gains, you may need to operate more than just a couple of these machines.

Entrepreneurs Constable and Collett have successfully scaled their vending machine side projects into thriving enterprises, complete with warehouses and, in Constable’s case, a dedicated team.

However, Karl Hayes, the director of KeDazz Vending, cautions those eager to make “easy money” with just a few machines to reconsider their strategy.

“I manage various sites and machines across the Gold Coast,” Hayes shared. “I frequently receive calls, like when someone rings up at 11 a.m. to say, ‘My drink’s stuck,’” he explained.

“You’ve got to be able to react to that and go and fix it.”

Hayes, who supplies vending machines to construction sites across the Gold Coast, has noticed online sellers trying to offload machines generating a little over $100 a week in sales.

If you did the math, he explained, that wouldn’t be very lucrative.

“A machine that’s doing $120 a week, once you take the GST off, you’re down to roughly $110,” he said.

“Then you minus probably $56, $57 in [stock costs] and then what you’ve got left is your gross profit.”

Collett agreed – he also discovered the vending machine industry was all about volume.

“If you buy one or two and the sites are only doing like a hundred bucks a week, then it’s going to be way more headache than it’s worth,” he added.

“And you’re probably going to end up selling them anyways.”

Constable said many people bought a machine with the thought that it was “free money” but ended up being disappointed or out of pocket.

“There is so much that goes into it,” he explained.

“I started with $15,000 – IsaVend is now in the seven figures.

The information provided on this website is general in nature only and does not constitute personal financial advice. The information has been prepared without taking into account your personal objectives, financial situation or needs. Before acting on any information on this website you should consider the appropriateness of the information having regard to your objectives, financial situation and needs.