Top 5 Ways to Find Vending Machine Locations Found on Reddit

Good vending locations are places where people spend hours with nowhere quick to eat: warehouses running night shifts, gyms, apartment buildings and offices without a cafeteria. Finding them is a list problem. You want every one of those places within driving distance of your storage unit, and a name to ask at each. These are the five ways to find them we found on Reddit, in r/vending and r/sweatystartup, starting with ManyPI because it turns your route area into that list in one go.

The quick list

1. ManyPI Map Search

Vending is local, so the search should start on a map. In ManyPI you draw the area your route can cover and pick the kinds of places you want, like warehouses, gyms, hotels and offices. Every matching business inside the shape comes back as a list. The data comes from OpenStreetMap.

Filter for places with a phone number listed if you plan to call ahead, or with a website if you want to check them first. Save the ones worth a visit and ManyPI finds the owner's or manager's email, checked against the receiving mail server before you send anything. That's the person you'd otherwise spend a walk-in trying to reach.

If you'd rather email than knock, campaigns send from your own Gmail or Outlook inbox, with a follow-up in the same thread that stops when someone replies. The free plan includes 50 leads and 50 email checks a month with no card.

Map Search in ManyPI, with an area drawn on the map and the businesses inside it listed.

2. Walking in

Walking in is the classic answer in vending discussions, and it works because a location decision is personal. A manager who's met you and seen a photo of your machine is more likely to say yes than one reading an email.

Bring a single page: what you'd stock, how often you'd restock, how you handle a jammed machine or a refund, and what the location gets, whether that's a commission or simply a free service for their staff. Ask for the person who runs the building, often the office manager, or the owner at a small business. Avoid busy hours, like the lunch rush at a gym's front desk.

The cost is time. Plenty of visits end with "leave your card", so it pays to walk in with a list of places that are already a good fit.

3. Property managers

One property manager can put you in several buildings: apartment complexes, office buildings, self-storage sites and mixed-use developments. Residents and tenants are there at all hours, and amenities help the manager fill units.

Expect them to ask about service. A broken machine in a lobby generates complaints to them, not you. Lead with how fast you fix problems and how often you restock. Our guide on finding property management companies covers where they're listed and who decides on vendors.

4. Google Maps

Google Maps is the free way to scout. Search "warehouse", "distribution center", "gym" or "hotel" around a town and you'll see names, phone numbers, opening hours and photos. Photos of a break room or lobby sometimes show whether a machine is already there, and opening hours tell you whether a site runs late or around the clock.

It's slow for building a route, though. You copy businesses out one card at a time, and you won't see who manages the building. It's at its best for checking a handful of spots you already have in mind.

5. Paid vending locators

Locating services find a business willing to host a machine and charge you a fee for the placement. For a new operator with more machines than time, it can get a machine earning quickly.

The trade-off is control. You don't pick the spot, and a placement that sells two drinks a week is still your problem once the fee is paid. Before paying for one, ask what happens if a location doesn't work out, and visit the site yourself to see how many people are actually there.

Which places to look for first

Hotels belong on the list too, especially ones without a 24-hour shop. If gyms are a big part of your plan, our guide to finding gyms and fitness studios shows how to list them by area.

Four kinds of vending location and the person to ask at each.

Where to read more on Reddit

Before you pitch any spot, ask one question early: is there already a machine under contract here? Some locations have an agreement with another operator, and finding that out in the first minute saves you a wasted visit.