bhumphrey829 Posted January 22, 2013 Share Posted January 22, 2013 Okay I have found a two-headed northwestern (i think that's the name). It has been sitting at this location for over 8 months completely empty. I called the number on it and it has been disconnected. I approached the owner of the store and he said I could have because he hasn't seen or heard from the guy in over a year. Number one should i get it and number 2 if i do how do i go about getting keys for it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GagesVending Posted January 22, 2013 Share Posted January 22, 2013 I would remove the machine from the location and put one of your machines in there. That way if the vendor ever does show up, he/she won't be able to get into the machine. Just drill out the locks and replace them. They cost about $5-6 each. Drill about 3/8" hole on the ends of the lock to break the locking pins, then you can use a flat head screw driver and unscrew it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Posted January 22, 2013 Share Posted January 22, 2013 Chances are very good the guy is gone. But if you take this machine, it's stealing. The owner can tell you to take the machine all he wants, but it's not his machine to give away. How I would handle this is take the machine and put it in storage. Place a small ad in the local classifieds and keep a copy of that ad as proof that you attempted to located the original owner. I would keep the machine untouched in storage for an additional 1-2 years. If at that point you haven't heard from the guy I'd go ahead and keep it. The scenario that immediately comes to mind is if this guy was arrested, went to jail for 2 years, gets out, comes looking for his machine and the business owner gives him your name and contact/info. you did take his machine without permission. In the event this guy looks you up, I'd be fully prepared to financially reimburse him. Otherwise, congrats on the free machine! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BondoFox Posted January 22, 2013 Share Posted January 22, 2013 All good advice! Check with your local law enforment people and an attorney. There is what's known as the "Statute of Abandoned Property", which would allow you to take the machine. You did try to contact the owner by phone! A 2-week run in the local classifieds is a good idea too, meanwhile keep a weather eye open for more; if he had one out there, he probably had others! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bhumphrey829 Posted January 22, 2013 Author Share Posted January 22, 2013 I would remove the machine from the location and put one of your machines in there. That way if the vendor ever does show up, he/she won't be able to get into the machine. Just drill out the locks and replace them. They cost about $5-6 each. Drill about 3/8" hole on the ends of the lock to break the locking pins, then you can use a flat head screw driver and unscrew it. I don't even own a drill. Can I take it to locksmith place and have them do it for me? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GagesVending Posted January 22, 2013 Share Posted January 22, 2013 You could, but I warn you, they will charge you an arm and a leg! Before I knew any better, I bought a single head machine without a key and had a locksmith make a key for it and it costed $18.50 for 1 key! I later realized I would have been better off replacing the locks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treadmill Posted January 22, 2013 Share Posted January 22, 2013 I don't even own a drill. Can I take it to locksmith place and have them do it for me? It could be cheaper to buy a drill than what a locksmith would charge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
will.vend Posted January 22, 2013 Share Posted January 22, 2013 hmmmm! im learning a lot about the last few posters character! Bottom line is it's not yours, no matter how you try and justify it it is still not yours! just the op questions tell me he knows its wrong to take it and now he's looking for us to validate it for him! Leave it and every other "abandoned" machine you come across in your vending career alone. Be a stand up person and show character when faced with this in the future! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musser Posted January 22, 2013 Share Posted January 22, 2013 Holy cow, yet ANOTHER newbie with sticky fingers. This thread has been beat to death before. Its not yours, never will be. BTW if I was hiring you would be umemployable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
will.vend Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 bhumphrey said on the wrong post: First of all let me start off by saying he who is without sin, cast the first stone. Second I really don't feel I was doing anything wrong because I went through the proper channels trying to find out about this machine. The fact that the phone number has been disconnected pretty much told me he wasn't coming back. Having said that, I have decided not to take the machine. However, I am not a shady person, and don't appreciate being labeled as one. So since you don't know me, you should keep your mouth shut. Like This When I start a post asking permission to take someone elses property feel free to quote bible scripture and reprimand me but dont get your feelings hurt because I called you out on it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bhumphrey829 Posted January 23, 2013 Author Share Posted January 23, 2013 " I'm not a crook" Was that a)BHumpreys or Richard Nixion ? It was______ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bhumphrey829 Posted January 23, 2013 Author Share Posted January 23, 2013 I do believe moma is the acronym for the museum of modern art. If you say so _________ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mission vending Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 As my mother used to say, if you don't have anything nice to say....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
will.vend Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 As my mother used to say, if you don't have anything nice to say....... then come sit next to me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moondog Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 Man, I'm sure glad I do Full Line - you Bulk guys are wildmen (B Balls excluded) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bhumphrey829 Posted January 23, 2013 Author Share Posted January 23, 2013 I do believe moma is the acronym for the museum of modern art. Bet you can't wait till you have been a member here for a year, so you can change your name to Slim Shady. How do you fit the name of your vending business on a tiny business card, Dewey Cheatem and Howe? content deleted Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mission vending Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 Ok guys time to lock this one down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mission vending Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 Just as a followup here, the posts in this thread were edited to remove the worst of the offensive personal attacks. We mods don't have a problem with people expressing their thoughts and opinions on any subject matter, provided that you refrain from attacking anyone personally. We will not allow personal attacks to remain........ EVER!!! Also to squash the thought that anyone involved has been punished or banned, that is not the case, no action has been taken against any of the individuals involved. If they choose to not come around because they dislike the actions taken then their disappearance is self imposed. So, for now at least, this thread will be unlocked and if anyone has more to add to the original subject before the thread was hijacked please feel free. If anyone feels like they are being treated unfairly by other members the appropriate response is to click the "report" button and explain why you feel that way and submit it, not to being acting like a second grader and calling people names. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musser Posted January 25, 2013 Share Posted January 25, 2013 Ok Mission how about this for the newbies: I bought a route last year from a very nice family. The owner had passed away after a 6 year battle with Cancer. Obviously he wasn't doing a very good job near the end, he was dying. The guy owned the route for almost 30 years his records were mostly in his head. Upon his death the family of course had much to do legally before they could even think about what to do with the route. So they had to figure out how to run it! But run it they did, the mans widow needed the income. Well after about a year the family was finally in a position to do something with the business. One family member bought a lot of it, but parts of the route were too far away. I bought those parts, 350+ stops. Some of them had not been run for, well a year or more. Heck the family members just couldn't get to all the stops. It took me a month with a lot of help just to find all the stops and machines, then clean and inventory them. Yes some machines had been empty for a year. But they NEVER ceased to be the property of the operators widow. And THEN 350 stops, about 550 heads were MY property. Yep, the day I bought them some had been empty a long time but they were always someones property. Now I know there are machines out there that had been truely abandoned but how do you know that? When I see these threads by new folks in the business it always saddens me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mission vending Posted January 25, 2013 Share Posted January 25, 2013 Ok Mission how about this for the newbies: I bought a route last year from a very nice family. The owner had passed away after a 6 year battle with Cancer. Obviously he wasn't doing a very good job near the end, he was dying. The guy owned the route for almost 30 years his records were mostly in his head. Upon his death the family of course had much to do legally before they could even think about what to do with the route. So they had to figure out how to run it! But run it they did, the mans widow needed the income. Well after about a year the family was finally in a position to do something with the business. One family member bought a lot of it, but parts of the route were too far away. I bought those parts, 350+ stops. Some of them had not been run for, well a year or more. Heck the family members just couldn't get to all the stops. It took me a month with a lot of help just to find all the stops and machines, then clean and inventory them. Yes some machines had been empty for a year. But they NEVER ceased to be the property of the operators widow. And THEN 350 stops, about 550 heads were MY property. Yep, the day I bought them some had been empty a long time but they were always someones property. Now I know there are machines out there that had been truely abandoned but how do you know that? When I see these threads by new folks in the business it always saddens me. And that my friend is probably the most perfect example of why you don't ever mess with someone else's machines. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimbo7256 Posted January 25, 2013 Share Posted January 25, 2013 If the owner wants the thing out I would get it out. I get sick and tired of people leaving their machines everywhere empty and dirty. The when a real bulk vendor tries to get the location the owner already has already labeled all bulk vendors as lazy and want let anyone else in. Tell the owner if you don't want it to throw it in the garbage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Posted January 25, 2013 Share Posted January 25, 2013 And that my friend is probably the most perfect example of why you don't ever mess with someone else's machines. I would disagree, but I have the utmost respect for musser's and mission vending's opinions on ALL things bulk vending. I think two things are getting lumped in together here when they should be kept separate. The machine...and the location. To quote musser: "And THEN 350 stops, about 550 heads were MY property." No. NO NO NO. The heads became your property, but neither you nor the previous owner had any right to the location. The issue of abandoned machines is a delicate matter because it involves somebody's property (generally) sitting on somebody else's property. I think that taking the machine and placing it in storage (while leaving your contact info. with the business owner and/or genuinely making an attempt to find the rightful owner) is a fair compromise in situations like this. And I don't think it makes me a lowdown dirty thief for thinking that way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moondog Posted January 25, 2013 Share Posted January 25, 2013 I would disagree, but I have the utmost respect for musser's and mission vending's opinions on ALL things bulk vending. I think two things are getting lumped in together here when they should be kept separate. The machine...and the location. To quote musser: "And THEN 350 stops, about 550 heads were MY property." No. NO NO NO. The heads became your property, but neither you nor the previous owner had any right to the location. The issue of abandoned machines is a delicate matter because it involves somebody's property (generally) sitting on somebody else's property. I think that taking the machine and placing it in storage (while leaving your contact info. with the business owner and/or genuinely making an attempt to find the rightful owner) is a fair compromise in situations like this. And I don't think it makes me a lowdown dirty thief for thinking that way. Rick, I only do full line so there's no way I would take somebody's equipment off site just to store it for them. But I can see where somebody in bulk could legitmately do that based on the size of the equipment, providing their intention was not to keep the machine and use it for themselves. I think that's probably the issue that started everybody's head exploding earlier in this thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Posted January 25, 2013 Share Posted January 25, 2013 Rick, I only do full line so there's no way I would take somebody's equipment off site just to store it for them. But I can see where somebody in bulk could legitmately do that based on the size of the equipment, providing their intention was not to keep the machine and use it for themselves. I think that's probably the issue that started everybody's head exploding earlier in this thread. Ya, full-line is a different animal altogether. I hear what you're saying there. But even in the event a bulk vendor took a machine and placed it in storage, I do think there comes a point in time where it's safe to assume ownership (2-3 years?). Now, before heads explode again, hear me out. I think it's okay to assume ownership ONLY if you are prepared to offer compensation (cash) for 100% of the value if the machines owner ever came calling. For example, let's say I was musser - having just purchased these 550 heads and found that there was a machine missing from a laundromat. As long as the owner had the contact info. for the person that took the machine - I wouldn't be angry yet. As long as the person that took the machine still had the machine - I wouldn't be angry yet. As long as the person that no longer had the machine was willing to pay me 100% of the machine's value... But maybe that's just me. As long as you're willing to do right by the original owner if it comes to that - I think that's what counts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moondog Posted January 25, 2013 Share Posted January 25, 2013 No argument here Rick. The key element is intent. All vending is pretty much divided into the good guys and the bad guys - fortunately this forum consists of the former. The old timers should counsel the newbies about scenarios like this - but probably in a more positive way. There's always a sad story behind every abandoned machine, it might not be death but it always involves somebody's hard earned investment. Unfortunately, a lot of people don't make it in this business but that does not make it right for those of us that do to pounce like lions on the carcass. I think Dogcow calls it bad karma and I agree. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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