Your next location could be a warehouse break room, where 75 people share one lunch hour and the nearest restaurant is a drive away. Public contracts put the median commission at 25% of sales, so here is how to price that door before you knock.
The number
25% of sales. That is the median commission across the 7 public vending contracts we reviewed that name one rate for every machine. The range ran from 10% to 52%. The 52% came from a sealed countywide bid in Miami-Dade, where price alone decided the award, so it is an auction result and not a price for a break room.
Private sites tend to pay less. Our warehouse guide notes that operators commonly report 5% to 15% of gross sales. Source: VendBuddy's Vending Commission Rates report, 28 public contracts from 2015 to 2026, published October 8, 2026.
One location worth pitching
Warehouses and plants. They are the second most searched venue in our Lead Finder. Between April 10 and October 4, 2026, 31 operators ran 68 manufacturing searches across 39 ZIP codes, and manufacturing carries a base score of 75 out of 100, the third highest of any venue family (VendBuddy Lead Finder data, October 4, 2026).
Who decides. The plant manager, the HR manager or the operations manager. Ask the front desk who handles break room vendors. A bigger employer may send you to procurement.
What to say at the door. “I stock break rooms for plants and warehouses nearby. Your people are a long way from lunch, and I'd like to put in a free machine, stocked and fixed by me. Who handles break room vendors?”
What kills the deal. A caterer with an exclusive. A rule against outside vendors on site. Showing up without a certificate of insurance. A site that looks big on paper but runs one shift with no night access. Count heads per shift, not the roster: 75 on a shift fits a snack and drink machine. If a night shift has no cafeteria, that is your opening, because empty rows at 2 am are the pitch.
You do not need a route to start. You need one yes, and one account like this is how a side project turns into weekdays you control. The full warehouse guide covers the rest.
One tool
A Nayax card reader. Budget $200 to $400 for the reader, $7 to $13 a month per machine, and about 5.95% plus $0.05 to $0.10 per card sale. Of the 17 public vending documents we read that address payment, 13 require card readers on every machine, so you will likely need one for the bigger accounts.
The downside is the fee. On a $2.00 item you give up roughly $0.12 to $0.13. Under five machines, Cantaloupe's Seed reader is simpler to run, and our comparison says so. Disclosure: this Nayax link is a partner link, and VendBuddy may earn a commission if you buy through it, at no extra cost to you.
The money side
A worked example, not advice. Say one break-room machine sells $1,200 a month, and your product costs half of sales. Your own cost will differ.
At 10% commission: $1,200 x 0.10 = $120 to the site. Then $1,200 - $120 - $600 = $480 left.
At 25% commission: $1,200 x 0.25 = $300 to the site. Then $1,200 - $300 - $600 = $300 left.
The gap is $180 a month, or $2,160 a year, before fuel, card fees and insurance. That is why you ask what the site expects before you quote a percentage.
From the blog
Vending machine commission rates: more on what sites ask for, useful before you name a percentage this week.
A cold pitch script that works: for the first conversation, once you know who handles the break room.
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