Complaint Review: Table Top Vending

In all fairness to the owners/distributors of Table Top Vending, let me say that I was ripped off due to my own ignorance.

I was seeking a way of earning additional income and had been investigating the vending industry. The Coin Shooter looked like a pretty good opportunity and at the time seemed like good value for my money. I now realize that my own naivety about the vending industry as a whole lead to my loss.

I bought 24 of the units @ $140 each without traveling to see the units in operation in another state. My eyes were wide shut as I had never been taken advantage of in this fashion before. When you order something for $140, you expect to get equal value for your money. When the UPS truck arrived, I hurried out to help the driver unload the 2 boxes. He said he didn't need help, that they were quite light.

I couldn't imagine that $3,360 worth of vending machines could be that light. Upon opening the boxes, my heart sank and I guess all the blood drained from my head, because I suddenly realized that these were nothing more than cheap plastic toys of the type that you might expect to find at Toys-R-Us for $10 at the outside.

Well, I sucked it up and called the locator. I'll have to say that they did hold up their end and had all 24 units located within a week, 12 in one sports bar and 12 in another. I went out and installed the units using the screw-down security cable provided.

These units were on location for about 3 months before the Arizona Liquor Board inspector ruled that they were gambling devices and had to be removed. I had recovered about $700 of my investment at that time. I brought them home and tried to sell them on e-bay for $20 each. No bids. I finally threw them in the trash out of disgust.

I'm writing this report so that the rest of you out there will learn something about the vending business. There is no equal value in what they sell you with ANY vending company. It's all "on the come". I now know that the only people who are making any money from vending are the people who provide these "business opportunities" to unsuspecting dummies like me.

If you're going to try to make any money with vending, you must buy the machines yourself (used) from a company that deals in this type of commodity and locate them yourself. You should also have a certain mechanical aptitude so that you can repair them yourself.

My friend was over today and reported that just today vending machines in the K-8 schools have been deemed illegal, so there will be some units for sale here in Arizona. High Schools were exempted. That's also why I'm writing this today, because it's back on my mind. "Let the buyer beware".

Richard
Tempe, Arizona
U.S.A.