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/No-Goose-6140]

Where can I find those somebodies?

[u/KazuKazu_hyperbowl → u/No-Goose-6140]

Honestly I found this one through a friend, so I'm probably not the best person to ask 😅. From what I've seen, a lot of these kinds of gigs come from knowing operators, route owners, or people already in the vending machine business.

[u/MAWPAB → u/KazuKazu_hyperbowl]

Wow, I do the same job! Well, its in Germany and the vending machines are for fleshlights in cafés and libraries etc, but the money is similar (iirc the exchange rate!) Do you venture out of your state to do this? I do a little half day in Poland as well every now and then.