I have developed something of a love/hate relationship with vending machines. I love the convenience and the wide variety of sugary snacks that cater to my ever so sweet tooth, but I hate the way those very same machines treat me sometimes. They have stolen my money, simply refusing to drop my treat or offer a refund. They have seared my flesh with a final splash of scalding hot coffee, released just as I am about to remove my cup, but the worst piece of vending machine abuse comes when my delicious pack of greasy, salty chips get wedged between the spiral and the glass, teasing you as it refuses to budge.

I always try to remain calm when this happens, as I am positive that there are hidden cameras all around, filming my reaction. Who else but a sick-minded voyeur would design the distance between spiral and glass at about an inch and a half shorter than the length of a bag of chips? They are watching, I can feel it.

Most of those errors can be chalked up to design flaws and the new machines seem less prone to messing up, but that doesn’t mean that they can’t or won’t. The more fancy and user-friendly we make them, the bigger the possibility that machine is going to go rogue and start acting up. Look at the vending machine advances made in Japan, where the vending machine is king; hungry customers over there can just type a number into their cell phones and, bingo, out pops their order. I’m the first to admit that I am cell phone ignorant, I have one, but I text on it, that’s about all. If I had to rely on my phone to grab a snack, I’m absolutely positive I would mis-dial the product number and end up with $150 in long distance charges to Singapore rather than the 90 cent Twix I wanted in the first place.

Another great technological step forward is the introduction of debit and credit card readers as well as, or even sometimes in place of, the traditional coin and paper readers. Do vending machine manufacturers really believe that all the years of stolen coins and folding and re-folding a one dollar bill so that the machine can read it can be washed away simply by putting in a little digital reader? If a little slot can devour copper and nickel coins, what will it do with a flimsy piece of plastic that falls apart in your wallet when you sit down a certain way?

I complain, but I will probably embrace those new technologies when they show up our local malls, but I will still never resort to vending machine violence when it all goes wrong, because I know they are still watching.

Forbes Magazine recently declared that one of the easiest and most affordable businesses to start up is a vending machine route. The fact that vending machines rake in a combined annual take in the tens of billions, make it all the more appealing. With that in mind, here are a few things you will want to keep in mind before deciding if this is really the business you want to get into.

A good way to start out is to scout locations and businesses in your area. Try to find places that don’t already have vending machines, and then find out if they would be prepared to have one in or around their business; keep in mind, you may have to offer the store owner a small percentage of all your sales, which is a small price to pay for a good location. Once you have secured possible locations, it’s time to start figuring out your costs; to do this, spend some time around the location and see how many people go in and out on an average day. From there you can decide how often you think you might need to re-fill your machines, and which products will sell best. Don’t forget to add in intangibles like gas prices driving to and from the locations; setting up in a store that is out of the way will drive up your gas costs quickly.

If you spend enough time at your chosen location, you will get a great idea of what the customer demographic looks like, which will be a huge factor in deciding which types of machines to place at each location. Spots that attract a lot of kids are ideal for machines that dispense small toys and stickers, whereas an older crowd will want to see soda and snack machines.

Once all your due diligence is complete, then it’s time to make your initial investment by purchasing your machines of choice, as well as the supplies to fill it. Like any new business, starting small is a good way to go, so it might be an idea to start out with a simple gumball machine. The average machine holds around 850 gumballs, and selling them at 25 cents apiece will bring in $212.50 once they are all gone. Take away the price of the gumballs and the cost of the machine and you will still see a small profit. It may not seem much at the start, but the machine is now paid off and your only overhead from that point is the price of the refills. Slowly adding more machines over time will help slowly build your business without breaking the bank.

The vending machine industry is one that seems to be completely recession proof and the annual income from all machines globally continues to rise no matter what the economy looks like. If you are looking for a solid, simple business to start up on your own, then the vending machine route may be the road to follow.

Vending machines have been with us for so long now, that we have grown accustomed to seeing them wherever we go. We use them on a daily basis to get our sweet fix or rent the latest action flick on DVD, but we only really take notice of them when a new kid shows up on the block; things like the iPod and Best Buy vending machines make us sit up and take notice. If something as simple as an MP3 player can surprise us, then imagine how we’d feel when we first get a look at the sorts of vending machines that are popular in other countries.

For example, in Australia where gemstone mining is very popular, you will find converted candy machines that will dispense gemstones for as little as $2 AU. If shiny stones aren’t your thing, then the Aussies will tempt you with fried goods with their French fry vending machine. In Spain there is no need to head down to the bait shop before you head off for a nice day of fishing, instead you can buy your bait from a machine, and in Italy, the Latin lovers have taken those tiny condom machines off the bathroom walls and taken them into the shopping areas, placing them in glitzy, sexy vending machines. The Netherlands have combined the fast food and vending industry to create walls of food called an automaat. The idea is that a number of hot food items are placed in little windows, and once the customer had paid and removed their food, a fresh new item is placed in the spot by a kitchen employee who works in the kitchen behind the machine. One of my favorites can be found in the UK, where they have vending machines where you can purchase new books; think of it as Redbox for bookworms.

If you want to find a true variety of vending machines, then look no further than Japan. Their obsession with the vending industry is the stuff of legend, and they actually have over 30% of all Coke machines located in their country. The Italians may have the condom market cornered, bit the Japanese have machines that sell adult magazines and sexual lubricants. That’s just the start of it; you will also find machines hawking underwear, live lobsters and eggs. Some of these items may seem a little wacky for those of us used to grabbing a bag of skittles, but one Japanese vending machine that I think we could all get behind is the one that dispenses beer and sake; I for one would always have change in my pocket. Always seeming to be on the cutting edge of technology, the Japanese have combined their love of electronics with their love of vending machines by making it possible to use your cell phone to purchase.

While I don’t believe we will ever see the majority of those machines here in the US, there is no doubt that this is a market that will continue to expand and flourish.