Around six months ago, an aspiring entrepreneur decided to jump into the vending machine business after seeing it discussed frequently online.
They shared on Reddit’s r/passive_income recently how they spent $3,200 on two refurbished machines and another $400 to stock them with drinks and snacks.
They placed one machine in an office building with around 50 employees, and another at an auto repair shop. The office building location performs steadily, pulling in $280 to $350 per month. The auto repair shop, however, brings in only $120 to $180 and is described as “hit or miss.”
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After factoring in gas, inventory, and occasional maintenance, the side hustle is generating about $130 to $150 in monthly profit. “Not life changing, but it covers my car payment so I’m not complaining,” they said.
But they quickly realized the work wasn’t as hands-off as expected. “It’s not as passive as people make it sound,” they admitted, noting they have to drive out every two weeks to restock and deal with unexpected issues, like a jammed bill acceptor or attempted break-in.
Other Redditors jumped in to agree. “Most of what I see on here is the opposite of passive,” one person commented. “It would only be that if you had something like 30+ machines and hired a guy to stock/fix them for you.”
Several commenters shared their own experiences. One said their auto body shop location was among their top performers, but it had more than 30 employees on-site. Another mentioned making $30,000 last year across six machines and emphasized that success came down to finding high-traffic spots like warehouses and schools.
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And that was a recurring theme: location matters more than anything. “If I only had the repair shop one, I’d probably be breaking even or losing money,” the original poster said. “I’m learning location really is the whole game here.”
There were creative suggestions, too. Some recommended putting machines in bars with novelty products like makeup, glow sticks or mini phone chargers. Others suggested targeting apartment complexes, hotels, or homeowners’ associations with community centers and pools.
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