[Deepdiver]

(03-10-2013 07:03 AM)painter Wrote:  

Excellent writeup Deepdiver! That's the vending machine business, part legit, part scam. Sounds like this guy had a shitload of machines in top notch locations.

I don't know anything about the ATM machines but that always seemed like a gold mine.

Met a guy at a conference who operates well over 1,000 private ATMs and that is it. No other machines. He self insures the machines and by keeping them inside Restaurants and Convenience Stores the thieves literally have to do a truck smash and grab with a chain to steal the machines bolted to concrete - people are dumb they will withdraw $10 to $20 or $30 and pay a $3 Private ATM withdrawal fee - that is as much as 10% 15% to 30% profit per transaction - basically legal loan sharking on small amounts. The machines are stocked with cash weekly typically $1K to $5K a week depending upon the location - the biz owners are more than happy to pay the electricity to provide ATM/Debit card users access to cash be cause the save the 3% to 4% transaction fee and get PAID cash which at least 50% goes unreported... truth is most of these "cash" businesses would loose money if they reported and paid taxes on all their cash income.

The ATMs are always placed withing view of security cameras and faces or license plates are nearly always caught on video and courts take a dim view of robbing ATMs and tend to treat it just like Bank robberies.

The best machines of all are machines that do not have to be stocked at all - Networked multiplayer video games machines with WII/Kinect type movement control sensors and or touch screen controls (No hand held game controls because gamers tend to destroy them).

Poker machines are the best cash flow of all but you must be careful of the gambling laws in your area - you have to understand the progressive payout algorithm rules and only allow a progressive jackpots only after the Machine has won Big Cash - one of the operators put out a machine that paid a progressive win of $5K the next day and it had taken in only $500 - so have to set jackpot limits and rotate settings on the machines in a location so one does not get overplayed as the "lucky" machine - off course this is why on line sites like Bodog.net (Interesting warning on Bodog.com) and WSEX.com make so much money but lots of online player scams to watch out for. Some states allow poker machines for entertainment purposes only if no cash payouts - the Restaurant owners i know on a big payout of $100 to $500+ will give a free dinner entree instead for one for every $100 "win" - a huge win because the dinners with a beer cost less than $50 per person and the owner keeps ALL the cash played!

[cardguy]

A robot that steals from vending machines...

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-...sodas.html

[Nudge]

What about owning one of those vending massage chairs? Anybody know much about them? Less headaches as there is no inventory but they probably break down a lot.

[Seduction Sutra]

I can see a lot of people have become multi millionaires just by having vending machines.

(01-14-2013 12:08 AM)LooTa Wrote:  

I've got the opportunity to buy 4 vending machines (vending chips, chocolates, drinks) that have been sited at a busy workplace for ~10 years.

Investment will be $15 - $20K, with turnover of ~$2300 a month at a margin of ~60%. (ie ~$1300 profit per month). Clearing and stocking the machines takes about 3 hours a week. It's hardly an empire, but a handy source of passive income.

It sounds to me like a pretty sweet racket - decent returns for fuck-all effort, leaving me with plenty of time to pursue other interests/hustles.

Just wondering if anyone else has taken this road, and whether it's paid off for them?

[Sebastian]

yeah you can set these up in the middle of busy mall.
maybe it will cost about $3k a month for the space....

(05-23-2013 03:53 AM)Nudge Wrote:  

What about owning one of those vending massage chairs? Anybody know much about them? Less headaches as there is no inventory but they probably break down a lot.

[Kristian]

(01-14-2013 12:39 AM)Parlay44 Wrote:  

You gotta watch though. Someone one might whip out a magic dollar
There's a whole scene of vending machine hacking. People post service manuals and unlock codes to make them spit out money. For real.

is this possible?O.o

[IpsaScientiaPotestasEst]

A decent possibility, but I'm also thinking

-Is there some way to design/hack a CHEAP method or product that would allow a user to use their cell phone to buy? I know there is google wallet and what not, but is there a possibly way or something you could design to let people pay over a network? (Might not to be too easy because you DEFINITELY have to worry about security while doing so, cybersecurity-wise, etc.-but if you could create something like that or find it cheap, that would be saweeet.) I'd imagine you could get a LOT more buys (impulse and otherwise) if people could buy through their smartphone.

-Is there a way of mounting the machines with healthier snacks or juices, like a (possibly) more high end type of vending machine? I know the obvious reason for having things like candy and soda as they are cheap as hell, but that's the exact reason why I hardly ever use a vending machine-unless I'm at a ballgame or something. Hardly EVER anything healthy in them, and whatever might be-is usually some cardboard tasting crap. What about possibly stocking one with yogurt, granola bars, or almonds for people on the go? I'd imagine the profit margins are probably better on the lower end scale of foods (again, sodas, chips, sweets, etc.)-but just an ideer to contemplate? (Again it depends on where your machine will be/your market, etc.) Have half healthy/decent good foods, and the other half indulgences/sweets.