This is What it’s Like to Unbox a Candy Machine

Forgive my ignorance — but I had never once unboxed a brand-new candy machine until September 2024.

Obviously, I had owned various bulk vending machines before: one at Indian Hills Barber Shop and two at the Main Street Tavern. Those, however, had prior owners, meaning I hadn’t seen them in any other fashion than fully assembled.

For Basement Bar Collectibles, I wanted to go all out, so I bought a brand-new Rhino triple shop candy machine via CandyMachines.com. Even if doing so wasn’t necessary — and certainly wouldn’t save me any money — I guess I just wanted to Wilcox Arcade “right” this time around.

The thing came in the mail quickly: in just three days’ time, in fact. I knew before I had even received it that I would want to record an unboxing video, a trick I picked up from Arcade Galactic owner Adam Pratt. The arcade fanatic in me loved getting that sort of “inside baseball” look at new equipment during my teen years.

Plus, through the lens of cynicism, an unboxing video seemed like something that would actually make some headway on YouTube — in terms of views, that is. It’s no secret that my usual style isn’t super popular. (Despite this, I still love cranking out traditional commercials.)

The good news was that assembling the machine wasn’t especially difficult. The less fortunate side of this was that I didn’t finish editing the video itself until 8 months later.

Why was I so tardy in completing this task? Well, the reality was that there was always a more pressing video to produce. As much as might adore it, a candy machine would not exactly be as motivating of a promotional piece as, say, Switch ‘N’ Shoot. The actual video games, for this reason, always took precedence.

Eventually, I just plain found the time to do it, and I’m glad I did. I truly hadn’t been supporting Basement Bar Collectibles as much I would’ve liked, making this the perfect good faith effort after a stint of inactivity.

If you’re curious what it’s like to unbox a Rhino trip shop candy machine, please — by all means — watch my YouTube video wherein I peel back the proverbial curtain. Your curiosity will certainly be rewarded.

Also, unrelated: I’m looking for players to offer testimonials about their experiences with Switch ‘N’ Shoot. Contact via wilcoxarcade@gmail.com or 270-484-8161 if you’re feeling so transparent.

Subscribe to Wilcox Arcade on YouTube for more videos like this, or return to my blog every month for more.