Crazy Ways to Make Money on the Side

So many of us have searched out ways to make extra cash and too frequently, the results lead us to dog walking, babysitting, selling our stuff, or even starting our own blog. All of those are great ways to earn money on the side, but lately I’ve been on the hunt to find some of the more unusual pathways…

Our List of Not-so-Traditional Ways to Earn Money

Some of these ideas I have tried out first-hand, while others I remain curious about! Check out my list “Craziest Ways to Make Money on the Side” and let me know your thoughts and experiences. Any others we should add to list?! Let us know in the comments and help us all out 🙂

Making Money, one Fiverr at a Time

For those of you who haven’t yet experienced Fiverr.com, I would recommend you check it out. You’ll be entertained at the very least! It’s an online marketplace where people can sell or buy various services (or products) for a flat rate of $5. You can find anything on here from graphic design work to people offering to make your girlfriend jealous! They don’t have a ‘Fun & Bizarre’ category for nothing! I’ve been a member for 2 years and my two “gigs” earned me a total of $65, but I’ve also purchased a bunch of “gigs” which has made Fiverr a kind of talent trading site for me. It’s a great community and functions very smoothly in my opinion.

Although I haven’t made big bucks with Fiverr, there are many stories of successful sellers. Morissa Schwartz is one such example. She earned $7,500 from her gigs on Fiverr while attending college at Drew University. She edits up to 2,500 words for a “fiverr” ($5) and additionally provides help formatting and giving feedback to authors. But, Fiverr isn’t only a place for college students. Mark Mason, a semi-retired publicist from Chicago, quickly started seeing the cash flow with his writing gigs. We’re talking in the ballpark of earing $150 to $300 a day! You can read more about Fiverr successes in this Money USA News article.

Exploiting eBay

eBay has been around for almost a decade, if you can believe it! I’m mostly familiar with the ‘traditional’ methods of making money on eBay from my father who sold anything from old computer parts to kids’ toys. He’s generally had a good experience with both buyers and sellers and continues to sell items on eBay today.

However, there are also people out there who are playing a different game on eBay and are purposely looking for opportunities to make a quick and easy buy. I recently came across this insightful article on Money Bulldog about an eBay scam whereby people hunt for super cheap Amazon discounts and then post the same item on eBay for more money. Unbeknownst to the eBay buyer, these deceptive sellers are simply making an Amazon purchase when they get the eBay bid. The package even arrives in an Amazon box! And it’s only then that the buyer realizes something suspicious must have taken place – and it’s too late.

I’m certainly not encouraging our users to figure out ways to take advantage of the system, but it is important to keep an eye out always. MSN money has good tips on how to be effective sellers, in the legitimate sense 🙂 See here: http://finances.msn.com/saving-money-advice/250718280

Volunteering a Piece of You

The decision to “donate” eggs (or sperm for our male readers) is truly life-changing and requires a great deal of serious thought and discussion. With compensation around the ballpark of $10,000 for egg donations, the US understandably witnessed a rise in donations of 18% between 2003 and 2011 – and the “business” is still succeeding today. Putting economics aside, as our population ages, many more women are putting off marriage and having children until later in life. As a result, there is an increasing demand for sperm and egg donors as women encounter midlife difficulties in conceiving children.

Would you consider selling your eggs? Jasmine Stein talks about her decision to donate eggs – and the extensive process involved. She went ahead with a 2-month commitment of taking tests, therapy sessions, and a serious operation. In the end, she came out with $8,000, “ovarian hyper stimulation” pains as a side-effect, and a faded bruise by her naval to remind her of the “tiny body [she] may have helped create.” It certainly is a controversial subject!

What are some of the craziest ways you have made side money?