Forget Snack Machines. This One Refills Itself
Chris Koerner visits CJ Lovas in Fort Worth, Texas, who runs four ice and water vending locations with no employees. CJ explains how to buy used machines cheaply, pick locations, and scale semi-passively.
The gist
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CJ says the best way in is calling local owners listed on machines; a friend got a broken Everest machine for $500, worth $10,000 to $15,000.
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CJ looks for heavy traffic, about 30,000 to 35,000 cars daily here, plus trailer access for pool, yard, and electrical crews who buy ice daily.
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He sells 10 lb for $2 and 20 lb for $3.50, versus about $4 for 7 lb at CVS, with bags costing 7 to 10 cents.
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CJ does a roughly 30% revenue share at a busy car wash and leases another spot for $550 a month, paying a tech about $600 monthly.
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CJ advises buying existing machines at 2 to 3 times annual profit over building new, avoiding financing, and starting with $500 to $2,500.
Also mentioned
0:50
DFW Pool Services
· "How I personally got into the ice business was I used to own DFW Pool Services. We were spending like a..."
9:57
Twice the Ice
· "Twice the Ice is like anything like McDonald's or Chick-fil-A, they won't allow you to have a machine..."
14:52
Cooler Ice
· "The cooler ices are a little more realistic to move. If we sell that machine, we could just get all the..."
15:10
Ice House America
· "That's why they're called Ice House America. I mean, these are basically houses. These range buying them..."
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