What are some ways to make money at home if you are too ill to work?

[[or...]]

Selling used books and DVDs.

 

I was an Amazon seller for many years. I sold books (bought them at yard sales and garage sales and library/nonprofit book sale days, then listed and resold them for lots more ) and DVDs until amazon put the kibosh on that. I still sell on ebay where they permit used DVDs to be sold.

 

I don't think you can make a fortune, and you're not likely to find a first edition that you can sell for $300 but you can make a nice little income. Depends how hard you work at it.

 

Oh, if you're a bit "crafty" or have access to the hand-made goods of others (i.e. crafty friends) etsy is a good possibility. Check it out!

 

Best,

 

Katz

 

 

[[Fl...]]

Selling used books and DVDs.

 

I was an Amazon seller for many years. I sold books (bought them at yard sales and garage sales and library/nonprofit book sale days, then listed and resold them for lots more ) and DVDs until amazon put the kibosh on that. I still sell on ebay where they permit used DVDs to be sold.

 

I don't think you can make a fortune, and you're not likely to find a first edition that you can sell for $300 but you can make a nice little income. Depends how hard you work at it.

 

Oh, if you're a bit "crafty" or have access to the hand-made goods of others (i.e. crafty friends) etsy is a good possibility. Check it out!

 

Best,

 

Katz

 

If you are able to get out enough to go to places that sell books there are likely thousands of other items that you can buy low and sell high in those places as well. I do it full time.

 

Last friday I bought a 20 gram 10k gold belt buckle for a grand total of 13 cents. $400 worth of gold.

 

If someone is well enough to get out of the house there are a ton of options as far as reselling goes. It isn't easy but it's a great business for someone who needs a flexible schedule and doesn't want to have to deal with all of the negatives that come with working for someone else.

[[Ma...]]

Buying and selling things on Craigslist and Ebay but you need to have a feel for when something is cheap. Also, I recently looked into day trading with the thinkorswim trading platform. I'm going to learn more about trading options and pursue it I think even though it seems kind of stressful. It just interests me. Seems like an easy way to lose money too though.

[[Fl...]]

Buying and selling things on Craigslist and Ebay but you need to have a feel for when something is cheap. Also, I recently looked into day trading with the thinkorswim trading platform. I'm going to learn more about trading options and pursue it I think even though it seems kind of stressful. It just interests me. Seems like an easy way to lose money too though.

 

On craigslist you need to have some knowledge of the market but on ebay it is easy to search sold listings to figure out how much you can sell something for. I can get a pretty good idea what I am going to sell an item for and a rough idea of how long it might take right from the ebay app on my phone so I know what I am in for before I buy.

 

 

[[to...]]

Buying and selling things on Craigslist and Ebay but you need to have a feel for when something is cheap. Also, I recently looked into day trading with the thinkorswim trading platform. I'm going to learn more about trading options and pursue it I think even though it seems kind of stressful. It just interests me. Seems like an easy way to lose money too though.

 

On craigslist you need to have some knowledge of the market but on ebay it is easy to search sold listings to figure out how much you can sell something for. I can get a pretty good idea what I am going to sell an item for and a rough idea of how long it might take right from the ebay app on my phone so I know what I am in for before I buy.

 

 

The thing about Ebay is they take a cut and then you also have to pay for shipping.  So how does that figure into your calculations, FG?

[[Fl...]]

The thing about Ebay is they take a cut and then you also have to pay for shipping.  So how does that figure into your calculations, FG?

 

As far as ebay taking a cut goes, between ebay and paypal it comes out to be less than 15%. Try renting commercial space, paying a commercial electric bill, advertising to get people in your store etc. You will quickly realize that it is incredibly cheap to sell on ebay.

 

As far as shipping goes, sellers have the option to offer free shipping or pass that cost on to the buyer. It isn't just as simple as "if you make the buyer pay you will make more money" though. The market has evolved to favor the free shipping model, so that is often the best way to stay competitive. Most of the time you can simply wrap the shipping cost into the cost of the item, or at least part of it so it isn't like it is a direct expense to you. It's all part of the game, and sellers have to constantly evolve to stay ahead of it.

 

As for figuring these things into your calculations, you just make sure you factor everything into the equation before you buy the product. Ebay and paypal fees are relatively fixed and I know roughly what things cost to ship based on size and weight so I know how to factor that expense right there in the store.

 

It isn't 100% science, there is some art to it but for the most part it's idiot proof. I should know because I have been doing it for 6 years with a half functioning brain 

[[Pt...]]

FG, is it enough for u to make a living?

[[or...]]

the thing about Ebay is they take a cut and then you also have to pay for shipping.

 

You don't necessarily have to pay for shipping. It's up to you. I'm an ebay seller and my purchasers pay. No one has ever kvetched about it. Ebay's cut is (hope I'm remembering this right) 9%.  It's well worth it. After all, they provide the platform for us to sell.

 

 

Katz

 

 

[[Fl...]]

FG, is it enough for u to make a living?

 

I had to start driving rideshare to make some more money recently but most of that is because I incurred about $10k in new business debt which resulted in about $700 in additional monthly bills.

 

So the answer I suppose is "It depends".

 

If I had full use of my brain and normal energy levels I could probably make 6 figures doing this but as it stands I am only able to put a certain amount of time and effort into it so my income potential is limited. When my car and business loans get paid off I shouldn't have to struggle so much to stay afloat.

 

The reason why I have to shell out $700 per month extra now is because $400 of that has to be paid off quickly, so that part of the payment will go away this time next year. My car will be paid off about 2 years from now, that's an additional $200 in my pocket.

 

 

[[Pt...]]

FG, is it enough for u to make a living?

 

I had to start driving rideshare to make some more money recently but most of that is because I incurred about $10k in new business debt which resulted in about $700 in additional monthly bills.

 

So the answer I suppose is "It depends".

 

If I had full use of my brain and normal energy levels I could probably make 6 figures doing this but as it stands I am only able to put a certain amount of time and effort into it so my income potential is limited. When my car and business loans get paid off I shouldn't have to struggle so much to stay afloat.

 

The reason why I have to shell out $700 per month extra now is because $400 of that has to be paid off quickly, so that part of the payment will go away this time next year. My car will be paid off about 2 years from now, that's an additional $200 in my pocket.

 

Thanks for the suggestions myb I will try the eBay thing out if I ever get to feeling better

[[to...]]

FG, is it enough for u to make a living?

 

I had to start driving rideshare to make some more money recently but most of that is because I incurred about $10k in new business debt which resulted in about $700 in additional monthly bills.

 

So the answer I suppose is "It depends".

 

If I had full use of my brain and normal energy levels I could probably make 6 figures doing this but as it stands I am only able to put a certain amount of time and effort into it so my income potential is limited. When my car and business loans get paid off I shouldn't have to struggle so much to stay afloat.

 

The reason why I have to shell out $700 per month extra now is because $400 of that has to be paid off quickly, so that part of the payment will go away this time next year. My car will be paid off about 2 years from now, that's an additional $200 in my pocket.

 

 

How's the rideshare going?  Doesn't it stress you out to deal with drunks/unruly people? 

[[va...]]

Selling used books and DVDs.

 

I was an Amazon seller for many years. I sold books (bought them at yard sales and garage sales and library/nonprofit book sale days, then listed and resold them for lots more ) and DVDs until amazon put the kibosh on that. I still sell on ebay where they permit used DVDs to be sold.

 

I don't think you can make a fortune, and you're not likely to find a first edition that you can sell for $300 but you can make a nice little income. Depends how hard you work at it.

 

Oh, if you're a bit "crafty" or have access to the hand-made goods of others (i.e. crafty friends) etsy is a good possibility. Check it out!

 

Best,

 

Katz

 

If you are able to get out enough to go to places that sell books there are likely thousands of other items that you can buy low and sell high in those places as well. I do it full time.

 

Last friday I bought a 20 gram 10k gold belt buckle for a grand total of 13 cents. $400 worth of gold.

 

If someone is well enough to get out of the house there are a ton of options as far as reselling goes. It isn't easy but it's a great business for someone who needs a flexible schedule and doesn't want to have to deal with all of the negatives that come with working for someone else.

 

Floridaguy, may I ask where you got a real gold 10k belt for only 13 cents? 

[[Fl...]]

Floridaguy, may I ask where you got a real gold 10k belt for only 13 cents? 

 

At a hospice thrift store. There is a funny story behind it.

 

I sell a ton of leather belts so that is one of the sections I always shop when I am sourcing inventory. I was browsing the belts and wasn't seeing much. Looked like a lot of the same crappy belts that were there a couple of weeks earlier on my last visit. As I turned the rack I did run across a vintage alligator skin belt but as soon as I took it off the rack I realized that it was only partially there- the bottom half was torn off. A vintage alligator skin belt will sell in any condition, and a nice one in a larger size can bring an easy $50 or more, but it isn't much use if it's torn in half 

 

As I was putting it back on the rack I noticed that the buckle was monogrammed so I decided to take a closer look. I buy a fair number of damaged belts if they have a nice buckle cause I can use the buckle on other belt straps I have. Luckily this buckle caught my eye cause upon closer inspection I saw it was stamped 10k on the back. I find belts with sterling silver buckles fairly often but this was the first gold one I've found.

 

Remember how I said that the belts looked like the same ones that were there a couple of weeks earlier? The crazy thing is that thinking back on it I am pretty sure that I passed on that same belt on my last trip. So this $400 buckle was sitting there on the rack for at least 2 weeks before I bought it 

[[Ch...]]

I may have already replied to this thread (or a similar one) but I also sell on eBay and Etsy. I started doing this early in my recovery when I was able to get up to take pics and back to the couch to write listings. At the time I was operating on only a few brain cells so you can do this. Initially it was a steep learning curve, especially the shipping part, but Priority flat rate boxes and envelopes help sort this out.

[[Fl...]]

How's the rideshare going?  Doesn't it stress you out to deal with drunks/unruly people?

 

I remember seeing this when you first posted it but I forgot to respond.

 

The rideshare is going ok. It might be an "easy" job for most people but it is taxing for me. When the weekend rolls around and it's time to drive I kinda still look forward to it and I kinda wish I could just stay home.

 

It takes a lot of energy having to deal with all different types of people while driving and following a GPS. It takes even more energy when you have three drunk people hanging half in and half out of your car blocking traffic. Luckily most rides are fairly uneventful and some people are really, really cool.

 

We have a huge event in town starting this weekend. It runs for 10 days and brings 500,000 more people into the area so it will be busy busy busy. I am planning on driving every night, but we'll see how that goes. There will probably be a price to pay for overextending myself but I can't turn down the opportunity to possibly make an extra $1500 in a week and a half.

[[va...]]

Wow Florida guy, for a person who still has so many symptoms you make tons of money reselling and car sharing. Thanks for explaining about the belt. That was such a good find. We don't have thrift stores where I live so I couldn't do that. I see you're a belt expert now too. What's the app you use for car sharing?

[[Ma...]]

How's the rideshare going?  Doesn't it stress you out to deal with drunks/unruly people?

 

I remember seeing this when you first posted it but I forgot to respond.

 

The rideshare is going ok. It might be an "easy" job for most people but it is taxing for me. When the weekend rolls around and it's time to drive I kinda still look forward to it and I kinda wish I could just stay home.

 

It takes a lot of energy having to deal with all different types of people while driving and following a GPS. It takes even more energy when you have three drunk people hanging half in and half out of your car blocking traffic. Luckily rides are fairly uneventful and some people are really, really cool.

 

We have a huge event in town starting this weekend. It runs for 10 days and brings 500,000 more people into the area so it will be busy busy busy. I am planning on driving every night, but we'll see how that goes. There will probably be a price to pay for overextending myself but I can't turn down the opportunity to possibly make an extra $1500 in a week and a half.

 

Overextending ourselves makes mitochondria grow. Which means, seen on the long run, its a good thing, although it might feel "not so great" first. I would say: go for it. Sending all people to your car in my mind!!

[[Fl...]]

Wow Florida guy, for a person who still has so many symptoms you make tons of money reselling and car sharing.

 

I don't make a ton of money but I do make enough to survive. And that's all I can really do. I don't have much of a life outside of work.

 

What's the app you use for car sharing?

 

I drive for uber and lyft.

[[Fl...]]

Overextending ourselves makes mitochondria grow. Which means, seen on the long run, its a good thing, although it might feel "not so great" first. I would say: go for it. Sending all people to your car in my mind!!

 

I hope there is going to be a lot of growing to make this next week worth it. I have been having a lot of bad days lately for some reason. Today was absolutely awful. Can't remember too many days where I felt this bad. I hope it lifts by tomorrow.

[[va...]]

FG many of us are feeling worse. I think the coronavirus effect on the economy is not helping us very much. I hope you get better and make plenty of money this weekend.