The first vending machine is said to have been invented by the Hero of Alexandria, a 1st century inventor. His machine would accept a coin and then dispense a set amount of “holy water”.

Basically, a vending machine is a machine that dispenses merchandise after a customer deposits money. The vending machines have a coin detector that determines if the money entered is enough to purchase the desired item.

Common places where vending machines are often placed include: next to entrances/exits, next to the water fountain, in front of the bathroom, in the break room, next to the coffee maker, next to the other vending machines, next to the receptionist, next to the cash register, next to the listening station in a music store, next to the change machine or in the waiting room.

Items sold in the vending machine vary. In the US, vending machines can even carry alcoholic drinks like beer and cigarettes. However, this practice is becoming rarer due to concerns about underage buyers. Yo

In Japan, there seems to be no limit to what vending machines sell. These include: drinks and cigarettes, wine bottles, beer cartons, and underwear. Japan has the most vending machines per capita, with about one machine for every 23 people.

Vending machines are mainly classified according to the products they carry. Below are just a few of them:

Newspaper vending machines

With newspaper vending machines, a customer could open the box and keep all the newspapers after paying for one. Tal assumes that the client will be honest.

candy vending machine

Candy vending machines are mechanical machines that sell a handful of candy, a bouncy ball, or perhaps a capsule with a small toy or jewelry, for a quarter or two.

Vending/Soda Machines

Soft drink/snack vending machines, as the name suggests, sell cans or bottles of soft drinks and/or small packets of snacks. For operators, soft drink/snack machines have the advantage that many locations recognize their need for such machines.

Specialized Sales

Specialty vending machines are those that dispense personal products, usually in public restrooms. These vending machines are often found in restrooms used by people on the go in high-traffic locations such as bus stations and truck stops.

The vending machines in the ladies’ restrooms often vend sanitary pads, tampons, and tissues. In the men’s restrooms, vending machines contain tissue paper, cleaners, and sometimes condoms.

These vending machines use a type of spiral mechanism to separate and hold the products. When the machine vends, the spiral rotates, thus pushing the product forward and falling to be vended.

Most vending machines are designed like large safes. They have also been extensively tested and designed to inhibit theft. Like any machine, vending machines are susceptible to malfunction. The causes are multiple.

Coin acceptors often jam, especially if a child inserts a bill or other foreign object into the coin slot. Bill validators sometimes falsely reject a legal tender bill that is wrinkled, torn, or dirty. Vending machines usually have a phone number that angry users can call for service.

One of the most recent selling innovations is telemetry, made possible by the advent of reliable and affordable wireless technology. With telemetry, data can be transmitted to a remote location to schedule a stop en route, detect component failure, or verify collected information.