Quick answer
New Jersey’s record disposes of the argument a small venue hears most often. A Flanders gymnastics gym reporting 1,000 visitors a year — the quietest placement in the whole dataset — agreed 40% of net, the national median. A premium arcade with 120 times its traffic agreed 35%.
On this page
At a glance
| The question | New Jersey’s answer |
|---|---|
| Signed venues on the record | 3 — Flanders, Elizabeth, Burlington |
| Shares agreed | 40%, 50% and 35% of net |
| Quietest venue in the record | Flanders, at 3 visitors a day — and it got 40% |
| Highest New Jersey share | 50%, at an Elizabeth retail site |
| What your building must license | Nothing, for a dispensing machine |
| Minimum term | 16 months |
Who calls New Jersey venues about vending machines?
All three New Jersey placements are specialty machines made by PinPoint Vending: cotton candy units in a Flanders gymnastics gym signed August 17, 2026, an Elizabeth retail site signed August 18, and a Burlington arcade signed September 3, each with its agreed terms on the open record. Nationwide Vending Locators handles New Jersey snack, drink and coffee equipment on a per-location fee charged at installation, and has nothing on record here.
Every New Jersey placement in the record is a specialty machine rather than a drinks bank, which means fewer sales at a higher ticket, more spectacle, more room taken, and a better percentage paid. The restocking and the repairs are the operator’s, not the locator’s — how to choose a vending company is written about the operator, and who calls, and what each kind wants explains the two models.
The Flanders listing is the most useful fact a small venue has
Three visitors a day. One thousand a year. And 40% of net, which is exactly what 55 of the 87 placements in this record agreed.
| New Jersey venue | Visitors a day | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Elizabeth (retail, premium) | 700 | 50% |
| Burlington (arcade, premium) | 330 | 35% |
| Flanders (gymnastics gym) | 3 | 40% |
Read that table in order of traffic and the share runs 50%, 35%, 40% — which means footfall is not setting it. The next-quietest venue anywhere in the record, an indoor playground in Bowling Green, Kentucky at nineteen visitors a day, also agreed 40%.
So a New Jersey venue told it is too small for the standard rate has a same-state answer: the smallest venue in the country got the standard rate. That is a fact rather than an argument, and it is on an open listing with a date attached.
And the Elizabeth listing is the most useful fact a busy one has
Fifty per cent of net, at a retail site reporting 255,000 visitors a year. Twelve of the 87 placements agreed 50%, and eleven of the twelve are pass-through venues — three shops, two malls, two electronics stores, two filling stations, a deli and a food service site.
That split is the strongest pattern in the whole dataset, and it is worth knowing which side of it your building sits on:
| Venue kind | What the record shows |
|---|---|
| Pass-through — shops, forecourts, malls, concourses | 50% is reachable, and common at that level |
| Destination — recreation, family leisure, gyms | 40% is the ceiling in practice, with one exception |
The single exception is a family entertainment centre in Lawrence, Kansas. If your New Jersey building is a shop, a forecourt or anything people walk through rather than visit, Elizabeth is the comparison to open with.
What the three New Jersey shares pay a venue
A New Jersey host takes $2.17 of an $8 serving at 35%, $2.48 at 40% and $3.10 at 50%. Each is struck after a $1.80-a-serving deduction, so none is a flat share of what a New Jersey machine charges.
How the share is calculated works a New Jersey example through, and which New Jersey clauses define “net” is set out, for New Jersey as for anywhere, by what to read in a vending service agreement. Across this record a New Jersey specialty machine pays better than ordinary snack and drink commission rates, on a small share of New Jersey sales.
What New Jersey asks of your building
Nothing, for a machine that dispenses a product. The exception matters: claw and crane games need state and municipal licences here, which makes the machine’s classification a question with two filings attached rather than none.
Ask the operator in writing which category it treats the machine as, and make local compliance its obligation with an indemnity — the machine will be standing in your building if anyone comes to check. Burlington, Elizabeth and Flanders sit in three different counties, which is a useful reminder that an operator licensed for one New Jersey municipality is not thereby licensed for yours.
What should a New Jersey venue settle before signing?
Four things:
- The share, against Flanders and Elizabeth. Forty per cent if you are a destination venue, 50% if you are a pass-through one. Being small is not a reason for less.
- Machine classification, dispensing or amusement, with local licensing as the operator’s written obligation.
- A restocking schedule with teeth — when the vending company stops restocking gives New Jersey wording. What to settle before you sign lists the other New Jersey clauses worth reading.
- A removal clause that names a date, naming who clears the machine from your New Jersey floor and at whose cost.
Frequently asked questions
What percentage do New Jersey businesses get from vending machines?
Three different figures: 50% of net at an Elizabeth retail site, 40% at a Flanders gymnastics gym and 35% at a Burlington arcade. New Jersey is one of only two states in the record with a 35% placement.
Should a small New Jersey venue accept less than 40%?
The state’s own record says no. Flanders reports 1,000 visitors a year — the quietest venue among all 87 placements — and agreed the national median of 40% of net.
Which New Jersey venue got the most?
Elizabeth, a retail site, at 50% of net. Eleven of the twelve placements at 50% in this record are pass-through venues like it rather than places people stay.
Does a New Jersey business need a licence to host a vending machine?
Not for a snack or drink machine. Claw and crane games need state and municipal licences, so a venue should establish which category a proposed machine falls into before it arrives.
How long do vending agreements run in New Jersey?
Sixteen months is the minimum term on all three New Jersey listings and on every signed placement nationally. Ask separately what notice ends it and who removes the machine.
Sources
- Sports and Exercise, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2017 spotlight, 2009–15 data)
- 16 CFR Part 437, Business Opportunity Rule (eCFR)
- Nationwide Vending Locators: service, fees and coverage pages, checked October 6, 2026
- PinPoint Vending: New Jersey permit guide and open marketplace listings, collected October 5 and 6, 2026
