Buy vending routes and leads near you.
Two things get bought and sold in vending: existing routes, and locations that actually want a machine. This is where operators find both — and where operators leaving the business find someone to hand it to.
The VendBuddy Marketplace lists vending routes, individual machines, and hand-raised location leads — businesses that asked for a machine on site. Sellers list free with no commission. Buyers join the free buyer list to see them: listings are shared with the operators we can email, and free members see every listing 7 days after it posts. A $49 one-time Priority Pass (included with any paid VendBuddy plan) shows them the day they post and emails you when one lands in your area. Raise your hand on a listing and you and the seller are connected in a private encrypted chat here, immediately — your contact details stay private until you choose to share them. Then we step out: no commission, no markup, and we never hold the money. For anything over a few hundred dollars we point both sides at a licensed escrow company — see how to buy safely. When a seller marks a listing sold we ask once whether they want to tip, and 10% is where most who tip land.
I want to buy
Tell us your ZIP, how far you will drive, and what you are looking for. We only contact you when something actually matches — no drip, no digest of nothing.
Get first access →I want to sell
Selling a route, a machine, or a location you cannot service? List it in two minutes. No listing fee, no commission, and we confirm with you before anything goes public.
List it free →What gets listed here
Three things trade on this page: vending routes, individual machines an operator wants to move, and hand-raised location leads — businesses that filled in a form asking for a machine on site. Listings are shared with the buyers on our list: we email them to you when one lands inside your radius, and they show up here once we know where to reach you. Areas are shown as a city or ZIP prefix, never a street address — sellers get a real introduction, not a scrape.
See what is inside your radius
Tell us your ZIP and how far you will drive — we will show you what is inside your radius and email you when something new posts. Free, one email per match, and nothing at all when nothing matches.
Check your email
We sent a link to confirm the address is yours. Open it once and this browser will show you every listing your access level allows.
How it actually works
- 1Someone lists. A seller fills in the sell form, or a location tells us it wants a machine. Nothing is scraped and nothing is auto-imported.
- 2We confirm it, by hand, within 24 hours. A real person reads every submission and contacts the seller before it goes live. Anything that looks like a broker fishing for leads gets rejected.
- 3It goes live. Priority members are emailed immediately if it is inside their radius. Free members see it here after 7 days and in the Friday digest.
- 4You raise your hand. Hit "I am interested" and a private chat opens between you and the seller on VendBuddy, straight away. No waiting on us for an introduction, and neither of you can see the other’s email address unless one of you shares it.
- 5You do the deal. Directly, between the two of you. We do not hold the money, take a cut, or set the price — for anything over a few hundred dollars, use a licensed escrow company.
Pay safely: use escrow for anything over a few hundred dollars
The buyer’s money sits with a licensed escrow company instead of with the seller, and it stays there until the inspection period the two of you agreed on runs out. The seller ships the machine or hands over the route only once that company confirms the money is there, so neither side is holding all of the risk. The fee runs roughly 1 to 3 percent of the sale price and either side can pay it, or you split it — agree which before you start, not after.
Buying a route: ask for these first
- Copies of every location contract, plus an assignment or consent letter signed by each property manager. A handshake account transfers to nobody, and you find that out in week two.
- Ninety days of sales exports or telemetry, machine by machine. Not a monthly average across the route — the average is exactly what hides the two locations doing nothing.
- Serial numbers for the machines on it. You’re buying equipment as well as accounts, so check it the same way you would if you were buying the machines one at a time.
- A written transition plan. Who introduces you to each property manager, on what date, and what the seller says when they do it.
Buying machines: ask for these first
- Serial number and a photo of the model plate, per machine. The serial tells you the build year and whether the control board is still made. A seller who won’t photograph the plate is telling you something.
- A working demo on video, one take. Tap a card, feed it a dollar bill, watch the product drop. Bill validators are the first thing to fail and the last thing anyone mentions.
- A signed bill of sale. Each machine named by serial, the price written down, and the seller stating the equipment is theirs and carries no lien.
- Who moves it, and who pays for that. A full-size machine is 600 to 900 pounds. Settle the truck, the lift gate and the stairs while you are still negotiating, because it is a real cost and somebody is paying it.
Buying leads: no escrow, but still check
- You don’t need escrow for a lead. The amounts are small and nothing gets shipped, so the escrow fee would cost more than the protection is worth.
- Never pay before you have seen the property name and a contact. A ZIP code and a category is not a lead. If you can’t tell who you would be calling on Monday, there is nothing there to buy.
Priority Pass — $49, one time
The good routes go in days, not weeks. Priority is not a different marketplace — it is the same one, 7 days earlier, with an email when something lands near you.
Free
Browse every listing 7 days after it posts. One Friday digest when something in your area opens up. No card, no catch.
Join the buyer list →Priority — $49 once
See every listing the day it goes live, 7 days before free members, and get an email the moment one posts inside your radius. Already on a paid VendBuddy plan or in a trial? You have this already — do not buy it.
Get first access →Need financing to close this deal?
Most operators buying a route do not pay cash for it. The two usual paths are seller financing (ask — it is more common than people expect) and 0% intro business credit. 7 Figures Funding specializes in helping operators qualify for 0% intro business credit lines, which is what lets you buy a route without draining the working capital you will need to restock it in week one.
Check your funding options →Not ready to buy a route?
Building your own is slower but cheaper, and the constraint is always locations rather than machines. VendBuddy finds and scores real businesses in your ZIP and gives you the decision-maker to call. The free Ultimate Vending Guide covers the whole sequence, and the route valuation tool tells you what a route on this page is actually worth.
Start free in the app →Questions
What is the VendBuddy Marketplace?
A place to buy and sell vending routes, individual machines, and hand-raised location leads — businesses that have told us they want a machine on site. Sellers list free. Buyers browse free once they are on the buyer list — listings go out to the people we can email, so joining is how you see them. When you raise your hand on a listing, you and the seller are connected in a private encrypted chat here on VendBuddy and do the deal directly.
How do I talk to a seller?
Hit "I am interested" on a listing and a private conversation opens between the two of you on VendBuddy. Both sides get a link by email and can start talking immediately — nobody has to wait on us to make an introduction. Your contact details stay private: neither side sees the other’s email address unless one of you chooses to share it in the chat. Messages are encrypted where we store them and sent over TLS; you, the other party, and VendBuddy support in a dispute can read them. Never send a deposit through the chat — VendBuddy never holds funds, so use a licensed escrow company for anything over a few hundred dollars.
What is a hand-raised lead?
A property manager, gym, clinic or workplace that filled in a form asking for a vending machine at their location. It is the opposite of a cold list: the location is the one raising their hand. Those come in through our property manager page and get matched to operators nearby.
How does priority access work?
Every listing eventually becomes visible to everyone. Priority members just see it 7 days sooner, and get an email the moment one posts inside their radius. Free members see it after 7 days, in a Friday digest. Priority is a $49 one-time pass, and it is included automatically with any paid VendBuddy plan or active trial.
Does VendBuddy take a commission on the sale?
No. There is no listing fee, no success fee, and no markup on the asking price. We never hold your money either, because we are not a licensed escrow agent and will not pretend otherwise — we point both sides at a licensed escrow company instead, and you should be suspicious of anyone in this industry who offers to hold your money without that licence. The one thing we do ask: once a seller marks a listing sold, we ask whether they want to leave a tip. Most who do land on 10%, it is asked once, and skipping it changes nothing. We are otherwise paid by the Priority Pass and by VendBuddy subscriptions.
Do you verify the routes that get listed?
We confirm every listing with the seller within 24 hours before it goes live, and we reject anything that looks like a broker fishing for leads. That is not an audit. We have not seen the machines, the contracts or the bank statements — you must verify revenue, location agreements and equipment condition yourself before you pay anyone.
What should I check before buying a vending route?
Ask for 12 months of collections by machine, not a monthly average. Ask which location agreements are in writing and when they expire. Visit at least two locations unannounced. Confirm who owns the machines outright and whether any are financed. A route is worth roughly 12 to 24 months of net profit — use the route valuation tool before you make an offer.