Pepsi Vending Machine: Own A Beautiful And Unique Collectible
Daniel Wright Vintage collectibles are a popular hobby and a big business as well, and many collectors specialize on quite a few different things, many of them related to soda pop. Many prefer to make collections of vintage soda bottles often sticking to one brand. Other prefer signs or clocks, wearing apparel, jewelry or in some cases vending machines. Pepsi vending machine collectors have more work to do than those who collect machines from their nearest competitor. Pepsi was originally marketed as a "bargain" soft drink, emphasizing their much larger bottle at the same price as their competition. This appealed to customers, but it also meant that their bottles would not fit the same size machines. Vending machine makers were forced to make entirely different machines for the different bottles and this increased the costs. Since Pepsi management was very focused on being low cost and operated on a narrow profit margin, they did not jump at the possibilities of vending machines and it is just harder to find a Pepsi vending machine because fewer were made and fewer survive. Like all soft drinks that came bottled, the first vending machines were really just self-service bins than sometimes had a coin cup on a near honor system. Later, you could find a more automated Pepsi vending machine that dispensed the soda after the nickel was dropped in a slot. Machines that made change, usually only for dimes, were a huge breakthrough. The next big breakthrough was the electronic machines that could change many coins and eventually even currency. Currently, these include small computer systems to operate and collect machine sales and other data. Some of these will go on to be collectible someday, strange as that seems to us now. Machines in the future may vend a soda by swiping a card or even by reading your thumbprint or retina pattern. A big prize for a collector would be a functional model of the rare machines that dispensed a fountain style drink in a paper cup. Since some of the older models were very small enough to place on a table or counter, often only holding approximately 20 sodas, collecting these machines does not take up a lot of room. Although collectors that want the larger machines will make room for them. Other Pepsi vending machine models dispense cans, of course, and the modern 20 ounce size unbreakable bottles. A few of these later models are unusual enough to be collectible, but most people get these for home use just for fun or as part of their entertainment area decor. Some people with pools just like to have their own soda machine near the pool. About the Author
Browse hundreds of vintage soda bottles and many Coke and Pepsi vending machines at Soda-Pop-Collectibles.com. New collectibles daily! Daniel Wright may be contacted at http://www.soda-pop-collectibles.com/. Click here to view more articles by Daniel Wright. Reprinted with Permission from IdeaMarketers.com
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