A locator finds a business willing to host a machine and charges the operator for it. We pay a locator $250 per placement. The companies that advertise prices charge $500 to $2,000 for a guaranteed placement and $19 to $999 for a list of leads. The one that sells placements does not refund them.
Two different products
A lead list is names and contact details of businesses near a zip code you give. Vending Locator3 says its leads are cold and “not a guaranteed sale.” You make the calls.
A placement is a location that has agreed to take a machine. The locator does the outreach.
Advertised prices
| Service | Product | Price | What the page says you get |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Vending Locator | Basic list | $19 | 50+ locations, 15-mile radius, 5 days |
| The Vending Locator | Pro list | $29 | 100+ locations, 25-mile radius, 3 days |
| The Vending Locator | Start list | $129 | 200+ locations, scripts, contract templates |
| The Vending Locator | Gold list | $899 | 300+ locations, one guaranteed location, LLC and EIN filing |
| The Vending Locator | Guaranteed placement, 50+ employees | $500 | One location, 1 to 6 months |
| The Vending Locator | Guaranteed placement, 100+ employees | $1,000 | One location, 1 to 6 months |
| The Vending Locator | Guaranteed placement, 150+ employees | $1,500 | One location, 1 to 6 months |
| The Vending Locator | Guaranteed placement, 200+ employees | $2,000 | One location, 1 to 6 months |
| The Vending Locator | Hot leads subscription | $20 a month | First access to inbound leads; no minimum |
| Vending Locator | Basic list | $19 | 50+ locations, 15-mile radius, 5 days |
| Vending Locator | Pro list | $39 | 200+ locations, emails where listed, 3 days |
| Vending Locator | Starter Kit | $149 | 200+ locations, 90 days of hot leads, templates |
| Vending Locator | Gold | $999 | 200+ or 250+ locations (the page says both), LLC and EIN filing |
These are the companies’ own advertised prices, read on October 3, 2026. Vending Locator says its hot-lead program sends 0 to 15 or more leads a month, depending on the area. We could not reach operator forums to check any of this against what people report paying or getting.
What is guaranteed
The Vending Locator’s terms of service2 guarantee two things:
- On a placement package, that its team “will secure a qualified location” within one to six months.
- On a lead list, that the details are accurate on the day of delivery, with replacement leads “when possible” if a location becomes unavailable.
The guaranteed location in the $899 Gold list comes with “no time frame,” per the pricing table. The terms do not define a qualified location, and do not say how long a location has to keep the machine or what happens if it backs out after the locator has been paid. Liability is limited to the amount paid.
Vending Locator guarantees no placements. Its home page says customers land three or more locations on average after 30 days of outreach; that is the company’s own claim, with no data behind it on the page.
Refunds
- The Vending Locator. No refunds on any one-time lead package or placement service. A subscription can be cancelled at any time, with no refund for months when no leads came in.
- Vending Locator. Run by Dabble Labs LLC of Delaware. Its terms4 say no refunds “except in exceptional circumstances such as major service failures,” and a Gold order cancelled before work starts is refunded less a 5% fee. Its FAQ5 says you can ask support for a refund if a delivered list is not satisfactory. The two pages do not agree; ask which applies before paying.
When a locator is selling a business opportunity
The FTC’s Business Opportunity Rule6 covers a seller who solicits someone to enter a new business, takes a required payment, and says it will provide locations for vending machines. The rule’s definition of providing locations includes “offering to furnish a list of locations” and recommending locator companies.
The rule turns on a new business: one “in which the prospective purchaser is not currently engaged.” An operator already running machines who buys a placement is outside that wording. For someone starting out, paying for a placement or a list involves each element the definition names: a new business, a required payment, and locations. We found no FTC case or guidance applying the rule to a company that sells only locations.
Where the rule applies, the seller must hand over a one-page written disclosure at least seven calendar days7 before you sign or pay, and any earnings claim needs a separate written statement. The rule counts “any chart, table, or mathematical calculation” showing possible results as an earnings claim. The Vending Locator’s home page1 carries a revenue calculator, labelled as illustrative, whose defaults of five machines selling 25 items a day at $1.50 show $5,625 a month in gross sales. Neither locator site mentions the rule or a disclosure document.
California adds a registration for plans priced over $500 and under $50,000 that come with earnings or market representations (Civil Code §1812.2018). Turnkey vending packages covers what the disclosure contains and the enforcement record.
What makes a location worth paying for
The prices above scale with headcount. Micromart, for its lease program, recommends a location with 150 or more people a day and requires a signed location contract of at least a year that renews automatically (Micromart FAQ9).
A placement also comes with a commission to the host. A vendor blog, VendBuddy10, puts typical commissions at 5% to 20% of gross sales, with small offices at 0% to 5%, hospitals at 12% to 20%, and hotels at 10% to 20%. We could not find a survey behind those figures.
Before paying for a placement
Get each of these in writing:
- What counts as delivered: a verbal yes, a signed agreement, or a machine installed and selling.
- How long the location has committed for, and whether the agreement is with you or with the locator.
- What happens if the location backs out in the first months: a replacement, a refund, or nothing.
- The headcount the locator verified, since that sets the price tier.
- Whether a commission has already been promised to the host, and at what rate.
