Pepsi Vending Machine: A Piece Of History

Collecting memorabilia from the past is a popular pastime and can be a lucrative business. Many people seek collectibles related to popular brands of carbonated beverages. Some people collect vintage soda bottles while others look for items with the brand logo on it such as old signs, clocks, jewelry or even vending machines. Some people will collect many different brands while others prefer to focus on only one brand.

Finding a Pepsi vending machine is far more difficult as few were ever made. Pepsi positioned their beverage as a bargain product and sold a larger bottle at the same price as their competition. The larger bottles would not fit in the standard vending machine and Pepsi did not opt to have custom machines built for their bottles.

Different shapes and sizes of bottles requires manufacturers of vending machines to make many different models which drives up costs. Pepsi was focused on cutting costs and operating at thin profit margins and consequently the company opted not to invest as much in vending machines. Thus few were made and even fewer survived to the present which makes a Pepsi vending machine quite rare.

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 thing that could change currency or coin us was the electronic machine. These machines include a small computer that operates them. They collect sales information and other data. Some day these machines will become collector items. In the future you will be able to buy a soda by swiping a card or by the machine 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.