An ice cream dipping cabinet is much less expensive when compared to the soft serve option. It is also much less labor intensive as you or your employees just have to open the lid and scoop. Plus, there is obviously not much training involved.
Soft serve machines require a lot more work and maintenance. The mix has to be prepared and poured into the machine. Frequently when your ice cream business starts to take off which is usually pretty fast considering how much people love ice cream. Then the machine should be taken apart and cleaned daily. By contrast, the dipping cabinet just requires replacing empty cartons and an occasional light cleaning. You will also be able to offer your customers more flavors to choose from.
The ice cream dipping cabinet is more reliable than a soft serve machine since it is basically just a freezer. And it is cheaper to operate because it uses much less power.
Product waste is practically nil with the dipping cabinet but any mix left in the soft serve machine at the end of the day should be thrown away.
It is always better to purchase a new cabinet versus a used one because the Health Department tends to nit pick over a used one. It might look OK to you but if it doesn't to them you may end up buying a new one anyway. Plus, a new cabinet comes with a warranty on parts and labor and you will sell more product too because a brand new, shiny and clean machine makes the product much more appealing to your customers.
If you have a business like a sandwich shop, pizza parlor, gift shop, antiques store or just about any retail business, believe me you can sell ice cream, gelato, Italian ice or yogurt. And, it is profitable if done correctly because you will have a hefty profit margin. These frozen desserts should move quickly because your customers can't resist them and you will enjoy a quick return on investment.
A quality ice cream dipping cabinet should run you from about $1200 to $4000 depending on size and features. So if you have the traffic into your store you should have a new and profitable income stream in no time.