Post: #101

(08-14-2012 11:36 PM)Kid Strangelove Wrote:  I find this thread to be pretty funny because I've been tossing around a book/assignment idea on how to make money with no real skills. Here are some things that either I've done or know friends that did


Research And focus Groups - these pay anywhere from $50 to $400 dollars for an hour or two of your time. You have to sign up for the focus group institutions, and they will periodically send you "screeners" to see if you qualify for whatever focus group they are trying to run. Not a bad way to make extra cash completely passively. Here is the focus group site that sends me the most invites - http://www.focusgroup.com . The easiest way to get into them - google focus groups for your city (NYC focus groups for me).

Blood and Plasma Donation - you can get about $200 to $300 a month if you donate once or twice a week. Check your local donation centers for more information. The downside is that its impossible to party hard while doing this lol

Sperm Donation - if you are a college educated male, you can make anywhere from $400 to $1000 dollars a month donating sperm. Usually you'd have to pass some tests beforehand, but once you're set its off to cum for money! The catch is that you're paid twice as much if your donation is not anonymous and you agree that your future children can contact you once you turn 18

Craigslist Gigs - if you're bored and have time to kill, you can move boxes or some shit for some quick extra cash

Use your mobile Device as a passive $$ generator - "Apptrailers" on the iphone and android platforms pays you money or gift cards to watch 30 second commercials for apps. Once you watch the trailer, be sure to download the app and fiddle with it to get additional points. Since they do reward you for bringing new users in - please enter my username - drstrangelove - in the referral section if you like this app. I have my iphone sitting next to me at a desk while I do regular work, with the trailers muted lol

Topline - topline is a service that replaces the adds you're served while browsing the web with its own adds, and paying you for browsing. It is installed as a browser plugin. I am not 100% sure of its security yet, thats why I let Google Chrome handle all my sensitive traffic (banking, etc) while I let firefox, with Topline installed, handle all my casual browsing. Like the previous service - there are referrals involved. So if you like topline, please sign up under me with this link - https://www.jointopline.com/?fid=CZ43LFMTSY94 (or just go here if you don't want to give me the referral)


This is all I have researched and backed up for now, I will update this thread as I test more stuff

I do not reccomend the sperm donation. In the states several different states have ruled that sperm donors are still the father of the child and therefore must pay child support. You donate sperm and that nice lesbian coiple can come back later and rape your finances.

Post: #102

Land Banking

Not sure how this applies in North America.. but for those of us in Asia/Africa it can work... go to a fast growing metropolis, with saved money you are willing to block for 3-7 years buy a plot of land 30-100 km outside the city centre depending on size/area/cost etc... (in African cities you can pick up plots of this for around 10k USD) maintain it with a security guard or local village authorities and after 3-7 years you will usually be sitting on prime real estate, which you can then develop or sell for a very nice profit.

Its a very profitable thing to do, but requires tons of patience and sometimes headaches... but the returns are unreal...

Post: #103

(03-09-2015 01:54 PM)djjunior Wrote:  Land Banking

Not sure how this applies in North America.. but for those of us in Asia/Africa it can work... go to a fast growing metropolis, with saved money you are willing to block for 3-7 years buy a plot of land 30-100 km outside the city centre depending on size/area/cost etc... (in African cities you can pick up plots of this for around 10k USD) maintain it with a security guard or local village authorities and after 3-7 years you will usually be sitting on prime real estate, which you can then develop or sell for a very nice profit.

Its a very profitable thing to do, but requires tons of patience and sometimes headaches... but the returns are unreal...

I think that is a great idea but unless you have some close local ties, isn't a formula for getting fucked? I mean screwed?

Post: #104

you need to develop local ties, with municipal government, town planners, police, local chairmans, agents etc... its a slow business... so i would recommend spending a few months just making ties first and paper offers..
the magnitude of the reward is gigantic though

(03-09-2015 01:57 PM)samsamsam Wrote:  

(03-09-2015 01:54 PM)djjunior Wrote:  Land Banking

Not sure how this applies in North America.. but for those of us in Asia/Africa it can work... go to a fast growing metropolis, with saved money you are willing to block for 3-7 years buy a plot of land 30-100 km outside the city centre depending on size/area/cost etc... (in African cities you can pick up plots of this for around 10k USD) maintain it with a security guard or local village authorities and after 3-7 years you will usually be sitting on prime real estate, which you can then develop or sell for a very nice profit.

Its a very profitable thing to do, but requires tons of patience and sometimes headaches... but the returns are unreal...

I think that is a great idea but unless you have some close local ties, isn't a formula for getting fucked? I mean screwed?

Post: #105

(03-09-2015 02:06 PM)djjunior Wrote:  you need to develop local ties, with municipal government, town planners, police, local chairmans, agents etc... its a slow business... so i would recommend spending a few months just making ties first and paper offers..
the magnitude of the reward is gigantic though

(03-09-2015 01:57 PM)samsamsam Wrote:  

(03-09-2015 01:54 PM)djjunior Wrote:  Land Banking

Not sure how this applies in North America.. but for those of us in Asia/Africa it can work... go to a fast growing metropolis, with saved money you are willing to block for 3-7 years buy a plot of land 30-100 km outside the city centre depending on size/area/cost etc... (in African cities you can pick up plots of this for around 10k USD) maintain it with a security guard or local village authorities and after 3-7 years you will usually be sitting on prime real estate, which you can then develop or sell for a very nice profit.

Its a very profitable thing to do, but requires tons of patience and sometimes headaches... but the returns are unreal...

I think that is a great idea but unless you have some close local ties, isn't a formula for getting fucked? I mean screwed?

I think you'd need a very high tolerance for risk to engage in this kind of business.

Post: #106

Yeah Africa has never struck me as a place where 'ownership' was a particularly strong social institution.

Post: #107

check out this guy on youtube, he bought lots of land in LA and talks about how he did it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yL4dBXuUp2w

(03-10-2015 04:59 AM)Phoenix Wrote:  Yeah Africa has never struck me as a place where 'ownership' was a particularly strong social institution.

Post: #108

I know how real estate speculation works, what does that have to do with Africa? If I bought an acre in LA, there's not much chance of unevictable squatters, slumlords, and expropriating governments stealing it from me.

Post: #109

Dropshipping its what I do. Or learn copywriting, make a niche site etc.. There are so many ways to make money on the internet now.

Post: #110

cause I live in Africa, so I shared my experience. Doesn't necessarily have to apply in Africa. ... its my line of business, and the returns are high, despite the problems you stated below..

(03-10-2015 12:40 PM)Phoenix Wrote:  I know how real estate speculation works, what does that have to do with Africa? If I bought an acre in LA, there's not much chance of unevictable squatters, slumlords, and expropriating governments stealing it from me.

Post: #111

Ok well its good if you're making it work, but how are you avoiding or safeguarding against these problems? Or does Tanzania have better rule of Law than other African countries?

Post: #112

You have to live in that city you want to buy land in, and be there for the long haul.
You have to visit your sites once a week minimum.
You have to learn the local language and how to deal with villagers
You have to pay off local chairmans and bribe town planners and government officials.

Generally Tanzanian rule of law is weak, and the land laws are even weaker. But only 10% of the land across the country is serviced and surveyed. So if your patient enough, have a bit of capital and are willing to put in the work to service your land, you can make 1000% returns in 7 years. And the tax liabilities would be much less then the Western World.

(03-11-2015 03:11 AM)Phoenix Wrote:  Ok well its good if you're making it work, but how are you avoiding or safeguarding against these problems? Or does Tanzania have better rule of Law than other African countries?

Post: #113

My girl's Uncle, a wealthy man, was kidnapped, tortured and murdered in Nigeria by some hoodlums who wanted his land.

He was Nigerian, well connected (from the right tribe) and wealthy...didn't help him.

You'd have to be mad to get involved in anything in Africa that didn't involve Western companies.

Post: #114

Yes it seems like possessing land in Africa is more of a miltary endeavor than a financial one.

Post: #115

Djjunior's idea is interesting but I think the risk outweighs the reward. You'd probably need a paramilitary force, or Little Dark, to fend off theives/squatters. Also the gov't could invoke (or create) eminent domain and you're out of luck.

I got a few ideas. To me, hustling is making supplemental income off the books aka making as much money as possible for the least effort. Here's some stuff I've done:

Freebie Sites: Incentivized Freebie Websites (IFW) pay people money to complete sponsor offers. Some of which are free trials. Once you complete enough offers you can get cash or some other prize(ipod, video game console, etc). Google ifw sites, there are dozens. The higher the pay= more offers to complete.

Pros: The sites do pay. You can go for the prizes and sell the items on ebay. After you register you can have other to sign up under your id and can get even more $$$. There are forums where ppl will pay you to complete offers for them.

Cons: Can only complete each offer once. Some vendors will still charge after you cancel the trial leading to angry phone calls. With so many cancelling free trials offers vendors are phasing them out since they're not profitable.

Mystery Shops Nearly every field uses mystery shoppers to evaluate their service: grocery stores, bank, hospitals, amusment parks, car dealerships

Pros: Prices range from 5.00 up to about $150 per shop. Most are short. Google "mspa" buy the 20.00 1 yr membership...they have a list of shop companies and you can seach by zip code. In

Cons: Caveat, avoid amusement parks, they boast the biggest pay. What they don't say is that the $95-150 is in park tickets, not $$$. And you have to stay for 4-6 hours. Make sure you get reimbursed for your shops!

And there isn't always alot of work.

Free Samples:: Companies like Crossmark and Triplepoint Interactions pay you to hand out samples at grocery stores and fliers at other events.

Pros: Work when you want. I've seen pay from $12-$20. Most events are Fri-Sun. No supervision: I'd show up an 45 mins late to 5 hr events and leave an 1 hour early and no one cared.

Cons: Inconsistent. Can get boring. Events aren't always availible. If you're classified as an employee instead of in Independent Contractor you make less $$.

Just heard of new one called usertesting that pays people to test out website usability and functionality. I'll test it and report back.

Post: #116

For all I know there's probably a complete thread already dedicated to this hustle but recently I've been looking into Amazon FBA where you ship them your goods and they fulfill the orders, handle customer service, etc.

I'm already a seller on ebay and amazon and pretty much dominate my categories on both, I do 4x or more than my closest competitor in any category. Been looking into doing the amazon FBA thing but havn't really had the time to investigate it, how it works, how to create barcodes to put on your stuff before you send to amazon, etc.

There's lots of youtube videos of people doing retail arbitrage, I think that is probably too flooded, my idea was to buy some cheap products and repackage and rebrand it so even though I'm selling the same crap as 20 ohter people, mine is unique and nobody else can compete with me unless they buy from me. That's one thing I've found about amazon listings. Most people are too cheap to get accounts so they can't create their own listings they have to piggyback off others existing listings. If I have something about my product which is different nobody else can copy my listing without getting customer complaints that its not the one pictured or they don't include some bonus item I do, etc.

Post: #117

(12-02-2013 02:28 PM)Kid Strangelove Wrote:  

(10-18-2013 01:22 PM)Player_1337 Wrote:  

(08-14-2012 11:36 PM)Kid Strangelove Wrote:  Use your mobile Device as a passive $$ generator - "Apptrailers" on the iphone and android platforms pays you money or gift cards to watch 30 second commercials for apps. Once you watch the trailer, be sure to download the app and fiddle with it to get additional points. Since they do reward you for bringing new users in - please enter my username - drstrangelove - in the referral section if you like this app. I have my iphone sitting next to me at a desk while I do regular work, with the trailers muted lol

Just started using AppTrailers. What are everyone's feelings on this app? Is it worth putting in the time and accumulating points?

Hey dude, I am checking in to apptrailers for the first time in a little while.

The bad news is that It doesn't seem to be giving "Bonus" points for trying out the app anymore.


The good news is that they seem to want to turn this toward a more "social" site which opens up many possible ways to earn points.

Fiddling with it now.

Recently discovered SwagBucks. I've found it to be a faster and more efficient way of accumulating points.

Post: #118

Does anyone have any experience designing and screen printing t-shirts to sell at events or online?

I have an idea for a few designs targeted to a specific audience (BJJ community) and I think it could do well as a side hustle - online store and events (tournaments).

At this point I'm thinking of doing an experimental batch of t-shirts and hats printed by a third party and if it does as well as I think I might buy some equipment and do it myself.

The critical point for me is finding well fitting, well made slim t-shirts I can print on. I've no interest in printing the designs on shitty dad tees.

Any input would be appreciated.

Post: #119

(04-17-2016 04:35 PM)Ringo Wrote:  Does anyone have any experience designing and screen printing t-shirts to sell at events or online?

I have an idea for a few designs targeted to a specific audience (BJJ community) and I think it could do well as a side hustle - online store and events (tournaments).

At this point I'm thinking of doing an experimental batch of t-shirts and hats printed by a third party and if it does as well as I think I might buy some equipment and do it myself.

The critical point for me is finding well fitting, well made slim t-shirts I can print on. I've no interest in printing the designs on shitty dad tees.

Any input would be appreciated.

Anyone?

Post: #120

^^^ Realthread

Post: #121

(06-14-2016 03:27 PM)Ringo Wrote:  

(04-17-2016 04:35 PM)Ringo Wrote:  Does anyone have any experience designing and screen printing t-shirts to sell at events or online?

I have an idea for a few designs targeted to a specific audience (BJJ community) and I think it could do well as a side hustle - online store and events (tournaments).

At this point I'm thinking of doing an experimental batch of t-shirts and hats printed by a third party and if it does as well as I think I might buy some equipment and do it myself.

The critical point for me is finding well fitting, well made slim t-shirts I can print on. I've no interest in printing the designs on shitty dad tees.

Any input would be appreciated.

Anyone?

Don't take this as hostile, because it's not, but why are you asking the internet? The internet doesn't have that information. The market has that information.

Test it. Your test is to:
1. Design them, or get someone else to design them (e.g. using 99designs). Perhaps get 1 hat design and 1 shirt design, or if your budget is bigger, get 2 hat designs and 2 shirt designs. That would give you 3 x A/B tests, two design tests and one category test (hat/shirt).
2. Get someone to manufacture a batch. I met an American businessman who was basically doing just that in Shenzhen (didn't get his contact unfortunately). There are whole factories dedicated to producing T-shirts and hats for external designers and retailers. No reason to ever touch a machine yourself unless your decide you need very fast design->manufacture->retail turnaround times for some specific reason.

I literally just typed in "aliblabah t-shirts" and got examples of such manufacturers on the first page.
http://www.alibaba.com/T-Shirts_pid100005803

3. Sell and market through the avenues you mentioned.

If there is a good response from the market, you have a go signal. If people are interested but don't buy, a few will often communicate why. These "go signals" are bought. The internet seems to have tricked us all into believing that information is free. Often, valuable information is actually expensive.

Post: #122

(06-15-2016 12:12 AM)Phoenix Wrote:  Don't take this as hostile, because it's not, but why are you asking the internet? The internet doesn't have that information. The market has that information.

Test it. Your test is to:
1. Design them, or get someone else to design them (e.g. using 99designs). Perhaps get 1 hat design and 1 shirt design, or if your budget is bigger, get 2 hat designs and 2 shirt designs. That would give you 3 x A/B tests, two design tests and one category test (hat/shirt).
2. Get someone to manufacture a batch. I met an American businessman who was basically doing just that in Shenzhen (didn't get his contact unfortunately). There are whole factories dedicated to producing T-shirts and hats for external designers and retailers. No reason to ever touch a machine yourself unless your decide you need very fast design->manufacture->retail turnaround times for some specific reason.

I literally just typed in "aliblabah t-shirts" and got examples of such manufacturers on the first page.
http://www.alibaba.com/T-Shirts_pid100005803

3. Sell and market through the avenues you mentioned.

If there is a good response from the market, you have a go signal. If people are interested but don't buy, a few will often communicate why. These "go signals" are bought. The internet seems to have tricked us all into believing that information is free. Often, valuable information is actually expensive.

Not hostile at all.

As I wrote above (although in retrospect I don't think I was clear enough), I've looked into having them made professionally but I was wondering if anyone had experience printing them manually in their garage with a screen printing machine.

I appreciate your take though - having someone specialized make them seems like the way to go for a superior product.

Post: #123

I own a small scale printing company. We do not retail to the public but internally through my main business.

We screen print/heat transfer in house.

What do you want to know?

Post: #124

Isn't the start up cost of a screen printing machine in the several thousands though?

Post: #125

(06-15-2016 02:12 PM)HonantheBarbarian Wrote:  Isn't the start up cost of a screen printing machine in the several thousands though?

Yeah, it's a very large investment.

Resale values are always decent though.