Thanks. Also, your link contained a picture of a 3-headed machine. When you estimate these machines make $20/m, you’re referring to all 3 heads on the machine together, right?

Solid. I’m going to start looking for locations to place my machines as soon as possible. In the mean time, I’ll be planning and reading as much information as I can. I’m comfortable with a 2-3 machine operation to test the waters. I’ll be keeping a very strict and detailed log of my progress.

I appreciate your help.

Alright, that makes sense. So how did you come up with the $20.57/m estimation if you only empty them every 2-3 months? Did you collect $60 from a machine after a 3 month duration?

Ah, alright. So I take it these aren’t the standard quarter machines that dispense candy and gum balls? Which machines only require maintenance every 2-3 months?

That’s right. I’m talking about the whole machine.

You’re welcome, and I like your idea of starting out slow. There are a lot of people who have dumped a lot of money into machines only to find out that they didn’t have what it takes to get locations.

Something like that. When I go on a run, some machines will have $150, some will have $20. When I calculate my per machine average, I take the gross profit of all machines over a 2 month period and divide by the number of active machines (and divide by 2, of course!).

“In April, I added 11 locations between two cities: Los Angeles and Austin, TX, for a total of 44 locations.”

How do you manage these locations? Do you hire people to maintain the upkeep of each machine and record their sales? Also, if you don’t mind answering, how wide of an area do your machines circulate?

No, they are. There is a picture of one on this article: http://geniustypes.com/how_to_start_a_bulk_candy_vending_business_for_passive_income/

A have a few locations that need service every month, but the majority can go 2-3 months. I don’t like to service them unless they are about 3/4 empty. This way, I maximize my take home cash on each run.

I manage the locations myself. Most of them only need attention once every 2-3 months, so it doesn’t take much work. I actually enjoy getting out of the house and driving around every once in awhile. Since I do the work myself, this income source is less “passive” than others, but still very productive.

I have a pretty big area in which my machines are located. It’s about a two hour drive from one end of the map to the other. I wouldn’t recommend spreading yourself out this far, but that’s just how it worked out for me. I wouldn’t drive that far if those machines weren’t making good money.

Ok, cool, thanks man.

Ok, cool, thanks for the info. What is a good way to find a source and pick a product?

Well, that’s the trick. Most people are very protective of their sources, so it will take some research. I would start by looking at “wholesale lots” on eBay.

I’ve been waiting until I have a little more success to write an article on eBay, but here is the gist:

The idea is to find a product source where you can easily and reliably renew the same product over and over again. You can’t be setting up a new auction every time you sell a product, or it wouldn’t be automated. Find a product that you can list once to sell an unlimited number of products.

Then find some automation software. There are a lot of software packages out there, but I use Selling Manager Pro that eBay provides.

To make it fully automated, you need to streamline your packing & shipping. I pay my mother to do this for me, but maybe you can enlist your kids or ship yourself until you get big enough to hire someone.

If you can get all of these expenses under the income you produce, you’ve created an automated income stream.

Hey Brian, congrats on your success, and thanks for sharing your methods. How would I go about starting an automated Ebay business? Thanks for the blog.