I am considering buying a used vending machine to generate some side income and I’m just wondering what the legal requirements are. Do I need to register a business for just 1 machine ? How much would taxes be? Are the requirements different if it’s selling drinks vs cigarettes vs ice cream? Do I need a special license to include alcoholic drinks?
It is in Hokkaido, I would be renting the space where the machine is placed and restocking myself. I tried googling but no luck.
If there is a place I can find all this information myself I would love to know! Thanks for the help 🙏🏾
5 comments
I would also like to know.
U can try to Google translate the below link.
If your like me you’ve been watching too many youtube videos of making cash from old vending machines.
https://smbiz.asahi.com/article/14681431
And yes alcohol and tobacco require separate licenses. Anything that has age limit and requires if can be a hassle
Not to sound like an ass, but did you google for information in Japanese? Because I thought about the same thing since I live in front of a park, and there were lots of articles in Japanese discussing the merits and demerits of the vending machine business. You’re not likely to find much information in English.
There is no simple answer for all of your questions but you’d need licenses to sell alcohol or cigarettes in a vending machine.
Did you watch that YouTube video too? Yeah…me too. They’re fun to watch right?
But I’m not sure if that “make fat stacks side income with a vending machine” YouTube is all it’s cracked up to be… and it’s much different business environment in Japan.
Sounds like you’re basically at the “fantasy/brand new idea” stage…. and I don’t want I break your dreams but:
It’s very much not a “hey I’ll just plonk a vendo machine down on the corner” kinda casual place here as you may already know.
“Do you need a license to sell alcohol/cigarettes?”
Umm, yeah you do.
Do you know how to apply for a Taspo card reader?
Taspo is the ID card that you apply for to buy cigarettes at a vending machine.
Coin gets caught in the machine/product gets stuck… you got a dedicated phone line for customers to call?
Gonna need that… it’s expected here.
Are you able to negotiate in Japanese about electricity costs, rental of the space you’re gonna be using?
Share of profits with the landowner… unless you own the land.
Who will handle the cleaning and trash disposal around the machine?
Can you handle complaints from neighbors about improperly disposed beverage containers? (This will probably happen)
Most vending machines in Japan are run by the big companies who make money by sheer scale, organized logistics/restocking networks, working with the major beverage companies etc.
You sign a contract with them, they handle money collection, restocking, insurance, sometimes cleaning but not always.
I mean, I wish you luck for sure, but it’s not gonna be easy. I do have some experience with this… and it will be a major headache for not much profit.
It’s all about scale… and with just one or two machines, and doing the work yourself, it won’t be much profit I’d say.
Seems like a ton of hassle and stress for only a small possible profit. Things to think through carefully:
Restocking it yourself with stuff bought where? Even if you buy at wholesalers, others can do that too or buy online.
Will you have a cash only machine? Most people like paying electronically with Suica, PayPay etc. I know in Tokyo I just pass by any cash only machine these days. How will you compete with official hi tech machines and combini?
Electric prices have gone way up recently too. The machine will be on 24/7. You’ll have to pay utilities, rental space, price for goods, maintenance fees, taxes, garbage/cleaning. How much profit can you make per unit, calculate your overhead and determine if you can realistically sell enough units to turn a decent profit.
If you are doing it yourself, do you have time to deal with it in addition to your real job? I can’t see making enough money to live on this alone, but anyway good luck
Pretty sure you contact one if the drink/vending machine companies and go from there. they’ll keep it filled up and split profits with you. Not sure if you can use a machine you already have or you have to buy theirs tho