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Chasing Passive Income, Americans Turn to Vending Machines

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Re: Chasing Passive Income, Americans Turn to Vending Machines

#51

Post by Animats »

Whatever happened to those little automated convenience stores people were talking up a few years ago? There was a startup called "Bodega".[1] Automated convenience stores the size of a shipping container were a thing in China, but they now seem to have one employee. There's "venhub.ai", but it comes across as a ploy to get VC funding, not a retail operator.[2]

Serving locations too small to staff, such as small apartment buildings, doesn't really pay. If you have fresh food items, the location has to be serviced at least once a day, and expired items must be discarded. Plus you're competing with Amazon and Doordash.

[1] https://techcrunch.com/2019/09/25/bodega-once-dubbed-america...

[2] https://www.venhub.com/

Re: Chasing Passive Income, Americans Turn to Vending Machines

#52

Post by listenallyall »

gruez wrote: post #37
MilStdJunkie wrote: post #33

Have people not heard of depreciation, maintenance, restocking? Oh. Oh waitaminute I see the angle here. Mining company shares to goldbugs, substandard shovels and rations to 49ers, stakes in stablecoin exchanges to the common techbro, and now, at last, "ISO-Certified Vend Automation Accreditation Training" where you can get all the tools you need to STRIKE IT BIG. Then you can rope in more people with the scam, and…

>Looking for actual returns that aren't sacked with fees and conditions The Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF[1] has 12.0% annualized returns over the past decade, and only charges 0.03% in management fees. [1] https://investor.vanguard.com/investment-products/etfs/profi...

And you know for a fact it will also return 12.0% annually for the next decade?

Re: Chasing Passive Income, Americans Turn to Vending Machines

#53

Post by gruez »

listenallyall wrote: post #52
gruez wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Looking for actual returns that aren't sacked with fees and conditions The Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF[1] has 12.0% annualized returns over the past decade, and only charges 0.03% in management fees. [1] https://investor.vanguard.com/investment-products/etfs/profi...

And you know for a fact it will also return 12.0% annually for the next decade?

I don't and never made a claim to such effect. Past returns might not be indicators of future performance, but that's true for every investment out there, including vending machines. Moreover the performance of the entire US economy is probably better diversified and managed than whatever side hustle you can dream up.

Re: Chasing Passive Income, Americans Turn to Vending Machines

#55

Post by yieldcrv »

gnicholas wrote: post #50
yieldcrv wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My house mates’ drug dealer used a vending machine yes it was brazen, yes it worked

Was it just one specific item that was not appetizing looking and was very expensive (to keep unsuspecting kids/etc.) from accidentally buying it? Were they concerned about getting nicked every time they refilled the machine?

It works until it doesn’t

If the yield was high enough all those costs and risks are absorbable

Re: Chasing Passive Income, Americans Turn to Vending Machines

#56

Post by prepend »

ethbr1 wrote: post #41
floren wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've drilled out the lock on an old Coke machine my dad bought at an auction. It's not a fast, discreet, or easy process.

That's why you drag it somewhere you can do it in peace.

That’s why it is so rare for people to drag vending machines somewhere to do it in peace.

They are big and bulky and heavy and all that work for, what, $80? Junkies aren’t usually that coordinated to pull this off.

Re: Chasing Passive Income, Americans Turn to Vending Machines

#57

Post by Doxin »

floren wrote: post #39
ethbr1 wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When machines were cash only, there was a big box of cash sitting unguarded on a lonely corner at 3am...

I've drilled out the lock on an old Coke machine my dad bought at an auction. It's not a fast, discreet, or easy process.

Tubular locks are fast, discreet, and easy to pick. You need a specialized tool, but when you do opening the lock is almost as easy as just using the key.

And that's assuming your vending machine isn't using some standard key you can just outright buy on ebay.

Re: Chasing Passive Income, Americans Turn to Vending Machines

#58

Post by CydeWeys »

ethbr1 wrote: post #40
CydeWeys wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's much harder to steal out of a vending machine than it is to grab something off a shelf in a store and walk out.

With sufficient value? A pickup truck, a stout chain, and one of crowbar / sledgehammer / angle grinder / cutting torch goes through that right quick. And there's a lot of economically depressed parts of the country where those things are in abundance.

Yeah, that's a lot more work and required tools than just taking something out of a shop. A lot easier to get busted too if you're walking around with those tools.

Re: Chasing Passive Income, Americans Turn to Vending Machines

#59

Post by choilive »

prepend wrote: post #56
ethbr1 wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's why you drag it somewhere you can do it in peace.

That’s why it is so rare for people to drag vending machines somewhere to do it in peace. They are big and bulky and heavy and all that work for, what, $80? Junkies aren’t usually that coordinated to pull this off.

$80 is a good payday for a junkie. I've seen junkies steal manhole covers for a couple bucks of scrap metal.

Re: Chasing Passive Income, Americans Turn to Vending Machines

#60

Post by mrguyorama »

Doxin wrote: post #57
floren wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've drilled out the lock on an old Coke machine my dad bought at an auction. It's not a fast, discreet, or easy process.

Tubular locks are fast, discreet, and easy to pick. You need a specialized tool, but when you do opening the lock is almost as easy as just using the key. And that's assuming your vending machine isn't using some standard key you can just outright buy on ebay.

On cheaper tubular locks, that specialized tool is a pen cap.
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