Here's an idea that requires some prepping before you "fall off the plane" but the payoff can be more than $500 per day.

1. Scan ebay completed listings for SOLD products with high demand (e.g. baby clothes, craftsman tools, snap-on tools, Ink/toner cartridges).

2. Create a list of 5 specific items (e.g. HP 49x toner cartridge)

3. Find out who is buying these items. This is difficult because ebay hides the bidder's identity but it's not impossible. Find bidders who are dealers, meaning who are buying multiple or large quantities of the product you're researching (This is easy to do once you've uncovered the bidder's identity)

4. Contact the buyer(s) using ebay's Contact Seller option and tell them you can supply xx item on an ongoing basis and you're looking for best offers. Some will ignore you while others will get back to you with the price they're willing to pay.

Now that you have a buyer (or buyers) and know the price they're willing to pay, the last step is to find the item at a lower price and resell it to these guys. Once you establish a relationship with these buyers, you can bypass ebay (not recommending this because it's against ebay policy).

5. So as a final step, when you are "dropped from the plane" you can spend the morning buying items for a low price from the people of the 'town' and then in the afternoon, send an invoice to the buyer, collect the money and ship the items.

I am currently doing this for a couple of products that I won't disclose here but there are some days when I make more than $500 per day and others when I'll make close to $100. The important thing is to find a buyer first so you don't have to hold any inventory.

btw...the balloon distribution business is still my main business and it's doing very well but this is a great side business and I can decide how much time I want to devote to it per day.

-Samir