📱 Best Platforms
Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace, Sam's Club
📖 The Hustle
Buy 5 bulk candy vending machines (the kind with gum balls and M&Ms for 25 cents) for $100-$200 each used. Place them in family-friendly locations — pizzerias, barbershops, laundromats, and pediatrician waiting rooms. Fill each with candy from wholesale clubs (cost per vend: 5-8 cents, revenue per vend: 25-50 cents). Service once every 2-3 weeks to collect quarters and refill. Five machines earning $40-$80 each per month nets $200-$400 in almost entirely passive cash. Scale to 20+ machines over a year.
🚀 First Step
Buy one used bulk candy machine on Facebook Marketplace for under $150, purchase candy at Sam's Club, and ask your local pizzeria if you can place it by the register for a 10% commission.
🔑 Keys to Success
- Place machines at kid level and near exits or registers — impulse sales from bored children waiting for pizza are the bulk candy business model
- Offer locations 10-15% of revenue (paid quarterly) instead of flat rent; they earn more when the machine does well, aligning incentives
- Service on a fixed schedule (every other Tuesday) so machines never go empty — an empty machine trains customers to stop checking it
🛠 Tools & Resources: Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, Sam's Club, CandyMachines.com, Gumballs.com