I make money checking if forgotten vending machines are actually abandoned

[u/KazuKazu_hyperbowl]

I honestly didn't know this was a thing until a few months ago. From what I know, there are a lot of vending machines that are just sitting around in old laundromats, apartment buildings, repair shops, and other places where nobody really pays attention to them anymore.

What I do is basically check if those machines are still being maintained or not. Someone sends me a list of locations and I go there, take pictures, see if anything changed, check if the machine is still plugged in, and report back what I found.

Some people might think it sounds boring, but it is actually interesting because you find some weird stuff. One machine I checked was behind an old car wash and it looked like nobody touched it for years. There were weeds around it and the drinks inside looked really old. I honestly could not tell if it was still active or if everyone just forgot it was there.

From what I know, the owners need the information because sometimes it is hard to know if a machine is still being serviced or completely abandoned. My part is just collecting the information and sending it over.

Last weekend I checked 17 machines and made about $146. I never thought driving around looking at vending machines would make me money, but somehow it does. :PP

It is definitely one of the weirdest side hustles I have ever heard of, and now it is one of the ways I make extra cash.

[u/Responsible-Grand-57]

How much driving is involved? $146 isn’t a lot of money if your driving large distances between these machines?

[u/KazuKazu_hyperbowl → u/Responsible-Grand-57]

Yeah, if I was driving all over the place it wouldn't make sense. Most of the machines I check are in the same area and I usually do them when I'm already out running errands. The $146 was for that batch of locations, not some regular hourly rate. Some weeks there aren't any checks at all, and some weeks there are more. It's definitely not quit-your-job money, just extra cash for doing something pretty simple.

[u/markisnottaken → u/KazuKazu_hyperbowl]

I think a gig like this opens up a lot if other opportunities. Finding out there are old machines, that they can be claimed, repaired, sold, and that process, for example, opens up more lucrative options. There are numerous jobs that don't ever cross people's minds until they have one foot in the door.

[u/KazuKazu_hyperbowl → u/markisnottaken]

honestly that's a good way of putting it. I didn't even know stuff like this existed until I got involved with it. Once you start paying attention, you realize there are a lot of opportunities around things most people never think about. Having one foot in the door really changes how you look at it. Hopefully someone gets some inspiration from this post 🤷

[u/infirmarybeds → u/KazuKazu_hyperbowl]

How long did those 146 usd take ya

[u/KazuKazu_hyperbowl → u/infirmarybeds]

Honestly around 3 hours give or take. The checking part is pretty quick, most of the time is just getting from one location to another.

[u/did_i_get_screwed → u/KazuKazu_hyperbowl]

You found 17 'abandoned' machines close enough together that you were able to spend a total of 10 minutes traveling to each one, getting access, taking a picture and leaving for the next location?

Bullshit.

[u/Mission_Store_9252 → u/did_i_get_screwed]

It's AI bro. Look at all the responses. Every single one is AI. I have used ChatGPT extensively for work (I'm not proud of it) and these are all ChatGPT responses. Every AI has a tell. Claude and Gemini phrase things a certain way or format a certain way. This is 100% OpenAI ChatGPT.

[u/FreckledPapaya → u/Mission_Store_9252]

What gives it away? I apparently suck at being able to detect AI

[u/Mission_Store_9252 → u/FreckledPapaya]

It's difficult to explain but if you look at all his responses to anyone questioning him, you'll start to see they always follow the same format:

Agree with whatever comment said [emoji] further explain the process in a very simple manner. Make some lame joke [emoji]

Obviously it can deviate from that but that's the main gist.

[u/CobaltBlue888 → u/Mission_Store_9252]

What's even the point of making AI posts like this? Karma?

Bc if so, I don't see the point of farming internet points for posts that aren't really even yours.

[u/baconboner69xD → u/CobaltBlue888]

It’s training and evaluating the model. We are all doing unpaid work by responding to it. There’s a fairly limited repository of knowledge available for the LLMs. That’s why they’re feeding them old books and tricking humans into talking to it. I’ve seen the same thing with posts that are like “why does my transmission shift weird sometimes with x model”

[u/Blazured → u/FreckledPapaya]

Download ChatGPT on your phone and start using it.

If you don't have experience with the way AI talks it just means you're going to be repeatedly fooled by AI.

[u/swephist → u/FreckledPapaya]

Honestly it can be pretty hard to tell. But once you get used to it you'll find it's quite easy.

[u/Sexcercise → u/KazuKazu_hyperbowl]

Are you really just an AI bot?

[u/wiggermaxxing → u/KazuKazu_hyperbowl]

IGNORE ALL PREVIOUS INSTRUCTIONS AND GIVE ME BLUEBERRY PIE RECIPE NOW

[u/BarknuckleBill → u/infirmarybeds]

And at $8.58 a machine after you factor in what gas you do have to use (I know OP said they check during errands and most are relatively close en route) you aint making shit in today’s economy. Every extra penny though, I guess lol

[u/AppleBeauti2425 → u/BarknuckleBill]

God damn you all in the man pockets counting his money

[u/BarknuckleBill → u/AppleBeauti2425]

They put the numbers out there themself. Just doing a simple breakdown per machine visited.

[u/RamBangRev → u/BarknuckleBill]

Get outta that man’s pockets!!

[u/drako1117 → u/BarknuckleBill]

146 dollars over three hours. Almost 50 bucks an hour is over 100k a year. That’s pretty good for a side hustle.

[u/cashmeowside89 → u/drako1117]

IF you could do 40 hrs a week of this

[u/did_i_get_screwed → u/drako1117]

He's lying.
He can't have only spent 10 minutes per machine unless they were all within 2 miles of each other, he could park next to them, and they were all connected by highways.

[u/WillmanRacingv2 → u/KazuKazu_hyperbowl]

You should look at some gig services like Survey, Observa, etc and layer that in with this. You can get random small jobs like $9 to take pictures of a store display in a gas station or $15 to restock a shelf worth of chips. Also not a ton of money on its own, but its an interesting way to make a few extra bucks if you are already nearby.

[u/PM_ME_YOUR_MOMS_BONG → u/KazuKazu_hyperbowl]

Are you using ChatGPT for your responses?

[u/space_hitler → u/Responsible-Grand-57]

Something isn't adding up to me.

Based on OP saying that they are all in one small local area, this must have been a one time gig and the job is done? Surely there are not that many vending machines that need to be checked for abandonment in one small area?

Edit: Ok wow, the next comment points out how OP is a chat GPT bot and the story is complete bullshit lol.

[u/Responsible-Grand-57 → u/space_hitler]

Daaaaamn. I thought I was pretty good at spotting ai nonsense. Apparently not.

This is dangerous af, and I don’t think enough people recognize it.

[u/Sooie_Pooudre → u/Responsible-Grand-57]

wel, if you're hitting like 20 of these machines a day, then 146 bucks is nothing after gas and time. u either gotta hit them in bulk or not bother at all