# I want to operate a vending machine... **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 4, 2018, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-operate-a-vending-machine/811835 "2018-04-04T22:07:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2018, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-operate-a-vending-machine/811835/21 "2018-04-06T18:41:23Z")
But other than that, what have the Romans ever done for us? ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2018, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-operate-a-vending-machine/811835/22 "2018-04-06T18:43:03Z")
Old vending machines are often restored and sold. They are a fun addition to a man cave or family room. You can stock them with whatever you like. Keep a jar of coins nearby. Dump the used coins back in the jar occasionally. Or, (I think) the coin mech can be turned off. ---
**Author:** ![DavidwithanR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3bc359/32.png) [@DavidwithanR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidwithanR)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2018, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-operate-a-vending-machine/811835/23 "2018-04-06T19:38:07Z")
I have only recently discovered Amazon’s utility beyond just books. Amazon’s other shopping category besides books seems to be “Things That Exist”. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2018, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-operate-a-vending-machine/811835/24 "2018-04-06T19:42:49Z")
You can’t just buy a BIG bag and dole it out in Ziploc bags? Less cost, less waste, trivial amount of time to do. ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2018, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-operate-a-vending-machine/811835/25 "2018-04-06T20:01:02Z")
How is having a bunch of Ziploc bags and a big potato chip bag to throw away as opposed to a bunch of little potato chip bags to throw away ‘less waste’? ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2018, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-operate-a-vending-machine/811835/26 "2018-04-06T20:05:03Z")
Plus as soon as you open the big bag of potato chips, they’re going to start to get stale or absorb moisture. Putting them in ziploc bags isn’t going to prevent that. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2018, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-operate-a-vending-machine/811835/27 "2018-04-06T20:17:37Z")
> [@Kimballkid](#): > > How is having a bunch of Ziploc bags and a big potato chip bag to throw away as opposed to a bunch of little potato chip bags to throw away ‘less waste’? Those little bags come in a bigger bag, or in a big shrink-wrapped cardboard box, and Ziploc bags are reusable. ---
**Author:** ![DavidwithanR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3bc359/32.png) [@DavidwithanR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidwithanR)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2018, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-operate-a-vending-machine/811835/28 "2018-04-06T20:58:52Z")
If you’re saving plastic but wasting chips and creating work and inconvenience, the benefit is questionable. Chips in a Ziploc don’t keep. If you know for sure that the chips are all getting eaten very soon, then this works - except mostly then you should put them in a big bowl and skip the bags altogether. ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5ac83/32.png) [@Doug\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_K)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2018, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-operate-a-vending-machine/811835/29 "2018-04-06T21:44:57Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I still think of Amazon as a bookstore. > [@DavidwithanR](#): > > I have only recently discovered Amazon’s utility beyond just books. Amazon’s other shopping category besides books seems to be “Things That Exist”. 🙂 ??? Amazon hasn’t been thought of as a book site for well over 15 years. If you look at their front page, listings for books are usually conspicuous by their absence. ---
**Author:** ![DavidwithanR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3bc359/32.png) [@DavidwithanR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidwithanR)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2018, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-operate-a-vending-machine/811835/30 "2018-04-06T22:27:46Z")
> [@Doug\_K](#): > > … If you look at their front page… Exactly. 🙂 I didn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2018, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-operate-a-vending-machine/811835/31 "2018-04-06T22:52:16Z")
> [@Doug\_K](#): > > ??? > Amazon hasn’t been thought of as a book site for well over 15 years. If you look at their front page, listings for books are usually conspicuous by their absence. Yeah, I bought my first digital camera from there in 1999 or 2000. ---
**Author:** ![DavidwithanR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3bc359/32.png) [@DavidwithanR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidwithanR)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2018, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-operate-a-vending-machine/811835/32 "2018-04-07T00:07:26Z")
Amazon’s front page is so crammed with “stuff” that I have long ago given up looking at it. I type into the search box while averting my eyes to avoid distraction-overload, seriously. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2018, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-operate-a-vending-machine/811835/33 "2018-04-07T01:21:00Z")
I wouldn’t be surprised if when you buy a hundred bags of only these two snacks that you quickly become sick of them–and the gimmick of a vending machine isn’t going to help with that. ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2018, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-operate-a-vending-machine/811835/34 "2018-04-07T02:10:09Z")
If you really want a snack vending machine you can buy one on Amazon. > **[Amazon.com: Selectivend 742107 Glass Front - 32 Selection Snack Machine :...](https://www.amazon.com/Selectivend-742107-Glass-Front-Selection/dp/B00HM2Z3PG)** > > Amazon.com: Selectivend 742107 Glass Front - 32 Selection Snack Machine : Industrial & Scientific They have several models but they’ll all set you back $4500 or so. And most of them are sized for a variety of snacks ( and maybe a mix of snacks and sodas )- and they have slots for smaller items like candy bars and some of them have beverages, too. But you’ll probably have empty slots, I don’t think I’ve ever seen one that’s sized for chips only. ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5ac83/32.png) [@Doug\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_K)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2018, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-operate-a-vending-machine/811835/35 "2018-04-07T02:38:36Z")
> [@DavidwithanR](#): > > Amazon’s front page is so crammed with “stuff” that I have long ago given up looking at it. I type into the search box while averting my eyes to avoid distraction-overload, seriously. And that’s not a clue that maybe books are not their main focus anymore? ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2018, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-operate-a-vending-machine/811835/36 "2018-04-07T03:54:05Z")
> [@DavidwithanR](#): > > Amazon’s front page is so crammed with “stuff” that I have long ago given up looking at it. I type into the search box while averting my eyes to avoid distraction-overload, seriously. I do the same thing with books. The pages are crammed so full of words how am I supposed to be able to look at any of them. So when reading a book I look away from it. ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2018, 10:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-operate-a-vending-machine/811835/37 "2018-04-07T10:57:47Z")
> [@Kimballkid](#): > > How is having a bunch of Ziploc bags and a big potato chip bag to throw away as opposed to a bunch of little potato chip bags to throw away ‘less waste’? And while the rebagging trick might work for the Cheetos, it might not work so well with the chips. Because the chip bags ( small and large both ) are plumped up with air. This helps keep the chips from getting crushed if you toss a bag in your backpack. ---
**Author:** ![kiz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/7feea3/32.png) [@kiz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kiz)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2018, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-operate-a-vending-machine/811835/38 "2018-04-07T11:58:46Z")
From an insider: Vendors like F-L only stock what’s overwhelmingly the best seller(s) in a given particular market these days. The vendor pays what’s called a “slot fee” to the grocer in order to get their product(s) on the shelves. Huge vendors like F-L often compete with each other in order to acquire the most prominent shelf space _in_ an aisle, which is usually the middle and top shelves. The less popular/profitable brands are always on the bottom. Sometimes the store doesn’t even bother to carry said item(s). This usually happens in the smaller chains. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2018, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-operate-a-vending-machine/811835/39 "2018-04-07T12:12:04Z")
> [@DavidwithanR](#): > > I have only recently discovered Amazon’s utility beyond just books. Amazon’s other shopping category besides books seems to be “Things That Exist”. 🙂 You’d think that, wouldn’t you? But just the other day, I tried to order something really simple like bomb-grade uranium, and they had nothing even close. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2018, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-operate-a-vending-machine/811835/40 "2018-04-07T12:31:21Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > You’d think that, wouldn’t you? But just the other day, I tried to order something really simple like bomb-grade uranium, and they had nothing even close. 😛 Oh, come now. Surely you know of the [Uranium Ore](https://www.amazon.com/Images-SI-Uranium-Ore/dp/B000796XXM) for only $39.95. And have read the reviews (samples: “I purchased this product 4.47 Billion Years ago and when I opened it today, it was half empty.” and “I left this product next to my pet lizard, unfortunately now he’s 350ft tall now and is currently destroying Tokyo, Japan.”). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-operate-a-vending-machine/811835.md?page=1)