Abstract: A programmable size and price setting mechanism for use in a vending machine has a plurality of .eta. access doors aligned horizontally across a front of the vending machine, each of which access doors has a locked condition denying access therethrough and an unlocked condition allowing access therethrough, and each of which is selectably activatable between the locked and unlocked condition. There are a plurality of horizontal shelves each of which has a plurality of partitionable areas corresponding in size to a corresponding one of the .eta. access doors, such that each shelf is selectably partitionable into a plurality of up to .eta. product holding areas. A conveyor mechanism is provided for selectably moving each horizontal shelf into a vending position adjacent to the access doors so that each one of the .eta. partitionable areas is adjacent to a corresponding one the .eta. access doors. A sensor detects when one of the plurality of shelves is positioned adjacent to the plurality of .eta. access doors.