1. A method comprising the steps of providing a vending machine having a plurality of product dispensing devices and a product retrieval location where a customer has access to a selected product, moving a selected product from one of the product dispensing devices along a path which extends from the one product dispensing device to the product retrieval location, providing a stripe which extends across the path along which the selected product moves from the one product dispensing device to the product retrieval location, and obtaining an image of the selected product as the selected product moves along the path toward the product retrieval location, said step of obtaining an image of the selected product as the selected product moves along the path is performed with a portion of the selected product disposed between the stripe and the imaging device.