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.

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 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 few rare machines dispensed a fountain style drink in a paper cup and a working model of that would be a big prize for a collector. You don't necessarily need a huge amount of space to collect machines, since some earlier models were very compact, holding 20 sodas or so and are small enough to place on a small table or counter space. Some do prefer the huge old machines and simply 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.