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111 Comments
- MEbuDDy6, on 10/12/2007, -3/+68I wish that old coke hack would work on these....
- bryancharles, on 10/12/2007, -2/+36Shouldn't the iPod vending machine sell iPods, and not $50,000?
< /pedantry> - Ninjab3ar, on 10/12/2007, -1/+34I like free stuff...
- goatswii, on 10/12/2007, -5/+31I saw Zunes being dispensed from an old cigarette machine.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+22In the US, try Sam's Club. They'll run you about $2000 - $6000 depending on the size and features.
Of course, you have to buy the iPods, find a good (and safe) location, etc. - timxpx, on 10/12/2007, -0/+20i saw one of these in a macy's at a shopping mall and thought to myself "who would buy an ipod / psp / etc from a vending machine?"
...turns out i have about the same business sense as a cup of coffee. - eizooo, on 10/12/2007, -1/+20does anybody know where i can get such vending machines? and their price?
- capiCrimm, on 10/12/2007, -2/+17chris9902, then whats the point of having the vending machine in the first place? If you can afford someone to stand there then why not dress him up in a chicken suit and have him dance and sing to sell the ipods?
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -1/+15I'd like one too, but I think an airport is pretty much the only place where it would be destined for success.
- funkychikensays, on 10/12/2007, -0/+14ipod vending machine hack,
im still waiting. - williamdyer, on 10/12/2007, -0/+13See, that's the ***** I was talking about. I want the drugs they must be giving this guy in first class.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -9/+21anicejew, why do you even talk anymore? Looking at your history I see that every time you say anything you get buried.
- Lain1k, on 10/12/2007, -0/+12They have one of these at my local mall. Its a HUGE machine. About 3-4 of the treadmill coke machines side by side(groups of 2 back to back). Ours is double sided. One has Ipods and accessories and the other has DVDs. The prices are the same as stores and I have noticed that there were times that the items were all sold out (like the video ipod when it first came out). I like the idea about buying something from a machine but I think it has its downside. I am for anything that removes me from the general public, I hate dealing with people at stores, finding a clerk, checking to see if they have them in stock, if not then checking in the back, unlocking the cabinet, walking you to the front or making you pay on the spot, trying to sell you accessories and extended warranties, waiting in line behind the old lady paying with pennies.
But do these offer returns? What happens if you buy it for a present and find out the person already has one. What happens if its broken in the box? What happens if the machine messes up and gives you the wrong item or you press the wrong key. Are you stuck with what you have? I sure you can contact the company but they will probably send you through loops.
The whole things seems very Japanese ^_^ - capiCrimm, on 10/12/2007, -1/+12apparently digg hates you.
- monergism, on 10/12/2007, -4/+15What's the markup?
- freff, on 10/12/2007, -2/+11Wha...what?
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -2/+11@tonyisbad
the kind of genius who forgets to buy one of their family members a christmas/birthday/havent-seen-you-in-a-while-hope-this-makes-up-for-it present and doesn't have time to go anywhere during their 30 minute layover in the airport and doesn't want to buy a cheap "georgia peach" keychain? I'm probably reaching, but hey, it could happen. - Portwineboy, on 10/12/2007, -0/+8@psygnisfy probably because like most people, I haven't seen any articles about Apple trying to shut down iPod vending machines. Care to enlighten us with a linkee?
- spiderland, on 10/12/2007, -0/+8Link to actual article: http://www.ajc.com/news/content/metro/stories/2006/12/26/1227metipod.html
- Lain1k, on 10/12/2007, -0/+8I would also think that maybe people from other countries would buy them in airports? When I worked at Best Buy I knew people that would buy PSPs and PS2s here because they were so much cheaper then what was offered overseas. Maybe you are here visiting and see that you could get it cheaper here and bring it home.
- thejerm, on 10/12/2007, -1/+9The one I stock marks the ipods up 25-50 dollars. Most places are the standard price.
- chris9902, on 10/12/2007, -1/+8I'm sure they have somebody looking over it. I don't think they would leave than much stuff unattended.
- jmickey, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7I think a more successful vending machine to go along with it (especially at airports where casual travelers don't always have computers with them) would be an iTunes vending machine - just a kiosk with a USB port so you can buy songs for your ipod while waiting for your 4 hour layover.
- monergism, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7Interesting. I'd be interested in some more info on contacts.
If ~$30 avg. markup x 200 peices = $6000 per liquidation. Figure ~$2500 for the expenses, that's not too bad.
My problem would be coming up with the capital to purchase the inital stock. - chris9902, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7they call them "security guards" and I'm pretty sure they make less per day than it would cost to run a shop.
- capiCrimm, on 10/12/2007, -2/+8Wait till someone figures out a hack for the mchine and clears it.
- OBKenobi, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6I think Steve Jobs could convince people to wear asshats. Not just asshats, but asshats with a subscription.
- Kappa3, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6I found a decent pic, apparently this one sells PSPs too
http://homepage.mac.com/tcherna/iblog/C498653361/E44989771/Media/IMG_6531.JPG - williamdyer, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6I dropped $100 (some models were up to $300) on in-ear isolating headphones at the airport a couple trips ago. Granted, I was on my way to China, and a Benjamin was a small price to pay not to have to hear anything for 14 hours. Nobody discounts iPods, so if I didn't have one already, I would not even be thinking of the "didn't plan ahead" cost. I highly reccomend it, by the way: Sensory isolation is the only way to travel. I just wish they had Valium in addition to red wine on the cart.
Compared to a $30 hard cover book, an $80 Shuffle is a good deal, and well within the range of an impulse purchase at the airport. Heck, I see people buy that crap turquoise jewelry. - pinky24, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5@thewaz
there are other things in stores that cost money, other then employees... like rent for example.. - manical, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5Lain1k has got a good point. In France they sell 5G 30gig Ipods for 249 Euros. If they come into an airport with these things at US prices, it is actually a bargain.
249US * tax (8.25% at LAX) = 269.54US
249EURO (current exchange rates 1.3127US = 1E) = 326.86US
That is a significant savings.
These things may not be for all of you savvy diggers, but for the average (actually above average) middle class person, it would be rather convenient. - goatswii, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5It's so the guy in the seat next to you will see you're wearing headphones and hopefully won't be inclined to incessantly yammer about god-knows-what for the duration of the flight. That's worth a bill 20 at least.
- dpcamp, on 10/12/2007, -4/+9I hope these vending machines have some kind of arm or mechanism that carries the item down to the door where you get it, like the newer coke vending machines..
I like my $300+ items handed to me after i purchase them, not dropped 6 feet for me to pick it up.. - totorototoro, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5Given all the incredible crap they sell at the other airport "stores", the iPod vending machine is probably like manna in the desert.
- EricJD, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5Isn't that only like 6 iPods sold per day?
- Markers, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5Tyler Durden.
- williamdyer, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4It's the floor space. Ask about the rent for a 100s.f. kiosk as the airport. Be sitting down when you get the answer.
- yoursh, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5An airport makes the most sense. I've heard of more than one case of someone going on a business trip and forgetting their ipod at home. They don't want to go a week+ with all their music stuck on their laptop, so the say 'f*** it' and buy a lower end model while traveling. My guess most of the sales come from lower end models like the shuffle.
- pinky24, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4@dpcamp
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifwesPfLCYc&mode=related&search= - salinemist, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Figure they sold about 250-300 ipods at about $175-200 a piece plus their markup. Starts to look good if you can charge an average markup of $20-40 and the airport isn't reaming you to have the vending machine there.
- nicepants, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Coming soon, MacBook pro vending machines.
- williamdyer, on 10/12/2007, -2/+6@mongerism
Who isn't good for $50 in unsecured credit? That'll get you a mix of about 300 iPods. @ $55k/mo they are netting about $5-$10k, more if they sell headphones, too. The cost to rent the space is probably no more than $2k (for 6 s.f. the airport kiosk rental agent is raking in a nice commission, too). The cost of money is about $1k/mo. So that nets out $2-7k per machine per month.
Shiiiit. Gotta get me summa dat. - freff, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4My first thought was that people were buying them to listen to music on the plane, and I wondered who that would work. They would have to come precharged and already loaded with music (which would be problematic, to say the least). But, now that I think about it, people probably bought it as a Christmas gift while waiting at the airport. Still surprised that it turned that large a profit though.
- GunbladeVIII, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4I don't know. I've always wondered why things like high-end leather shops and jewelry stores are in airports, and for the record I've never seen an airport without them. The only difference between them and the iPod vending machine is the delivery mechanism, yet both deal in roughly equal, or at least high, amounts of cash. But either way, purchasing from either one requires an on-the-spot decision, since you're there primarily to fly if you're inside a security checkpoint. I don't see airport leather shops going out of business, so why wouldn't this do well?
- MrFoof82, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4I'm curious as to the motivation of the person that buys a $150-250 item from a vending machine. I could see folks buying the gift cards, and using the airport WiFi to stock up on songs or TV shows or whatnot from ITMS while you're there. Or maybe new earphones or a case.
The iPod itself though? That's where I'm failing to find a motivating factor where I'd drop that kind of cash on the spot, especially at an airport (at least at a department store I'd be home soon), aside from gift-giving. Anyone able to provide some insight? - DCMacHead, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4I don't know, but I bet you'd need lots of quarters to buy an iPod through the vending machine.
- williamdyer, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3My laptop goes about 4 hours in optimal conditions. Just getting an iPod to offload the music playing makes sense.
- psygnisfive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Yes, that's really very little in terms of iPod sales. And by very little I mean single digit percentages of a small Apple Store's sales for the same day.
- Phatt138, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4I live in the Atlanta area, and NorthPoint Mall in Alpharetta has both a vending machine -and- (about 100 yds away) an Apple Store; amazingly, both are doing very, very well.
- timing, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3The Vending Machine could be monitored from another location. With a web-based interface or so. If something weird happens (like 10 iPods in 10 minutes, without any money coming in), they could just shutdown the system.
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