Like you, we’ve pondered ways to make money on the side. It could be for personal venture to kick start a hobby, savings for retirement (or otherwise) or just trying something new. How do I get there? Where do I start?
Years ago when the internet was on the rise, I found myself on a very popular forum with anything from general news and recipes to advice and much more frequently browsing and reading what others are posting. One day, I came across a new topic called “selling and trading” and a member came up with an idea to enable selling and trading on the forum. They established rules, guidelines, white-list and black-list and soon that particular thread was booming.
“One man’s trash is another man’s treasure” they say, so in high school, I started selling old clothes, new clothes and accessories I never got around to wearing. I made a handy lump of cash on the side this way and tried to get back into online selling and trading but as you may have suspect, its incredibly competitive now. New selling and trading sites like Tradesy, ThredUp, Poshmark and more are popping up all over the place with more sellers online with a select few that charge service fees. With so many new services around, it can be hard to determine which best fits your need. But regardless, selling and trading sites are still a great way to start letting go of things you don’t need and make some cash off it.
If you’re planning to go the selling and trading online route, I highly recommend checking out the most popular sites. Start by creating and account and browse around as if you’re a buyer on the site. You want to look for items sold that are similar to what you have in order to target visitors who come specifically for a certain brand, style or items. Sites like Tradesy are geared toward more luxury brands so if you’re selling mid to low level brands like GAP or Forever 21, try ThredUp, which has a good mix of both designer and family brands. Browse from these select selling and trading sites and find one that suits you:
20 Ways to Make Money That Don’t Totally Suck Selling and Trading Online
Want easier ways to sell? Strapped for time? These trusted companies will help you sell your items, get the process started now!
Formerly “Twice”, ebay Valet helps you sell everything from antiques, clothing, shoes, bags, electronics and more with 3 simple steps. You do, however, have to pay a small commission fee for their services but its a great way to earn some cash if you don’t have the time to do the ground work yourself.
Same concept as ebay Valet, Swap.com offers to help you sell unwanted items in 3 short steps. You get a pre-paid shipping label, send items in and they’ll send an email shortly on your item review and pricing. Swap.com boast that their sellers earn an average of $150 per box when sending in-season quality items.
Sell Your Skills
Are you a writer, graphic designer, programmer and etc looking for extra projects to work on or add to your portfolio? By utilizing these websites, you can showcase your portfolio, set a starting price for your service and waiting for the offers to come in. Its not only a great way to earn some extra dough but you’ll also have the opportunity to work on different projects and add to your portfolio and experience. Also, with the rise of mobile app and innovative tech in general, you can find countless opportunities to earn a few bucks on the side just by having a smartphone! See all potential side gigs below.
Fiverr is one of the most well known online portal for selling professional services from animation to writing. This is geared toward those who wants to take on small side projects and for businesses who need a contractor. With fiverr.com, you can charge services from as low as $5.
Upwork is like Fiverr except you can expect more long-term work plus, most freelancer who uses this site tends to build a lasting partnership with clients.
Handy is a top rated online marketplace for cleaners and handyman. You can either book a service or apply as a professional and offer your own services. The average for a cleaner is $22 per hour or $45 per hour for handyman. Task Rabbit is another similar online marketplace with more flexible range of professions. You do, however, have to apply and qualify in order to be a Tasker.
This is a handy way to make money in your spare time at home or on your mobile device. You get paid to join a focus group in your area!
This is the place for you to sell your business plan/project. If you’ve got hot ideas churning out frequently, map out the project and post it to HourlyNerd. Experts will start bidding and you can keep tabs of your project(s) progress.
Love to cook good food? Whether you’re a professional chef, beginner or somewhere in between, you can apply to be a host with EatWith. Basically, you showcase your cooking, and people will sign up for a seat for a plate of your food. The program is in select cities only, check out EatWith for qualifications and availability. A fun way to hone skills, test new dishes and make some cash.
How to Earn Money with Your Smartphone
This can be a strong incentive for those who are looking to change their lifestyle choices and lose some weight/get healthy. Place your wager by using their prize calculator, reach your goals and earn some money. Another similar app is Pact.
Have a condo or vacation home you don’t use? Travel often? Put your place up for rental on Airbnb! Hosting your free space can earn you a handsome income on the side.
This is an on-demand food delivery service available in most major cities (and quickly rising in popularity!). You can easily sign up to be a door dasher and download their app to receive orders, pick them up and drop off at the client’s location. Easy right? DoorDash base hourly rates depends on your location.
Both of these are on-demand car rides. If you don’t mind driving a few hours, you can make a good lump of cash with Uber or Lyft (Lyft drivers earn $35 per hour!). An alternate option, if you have an extra car, rent it out with Turo (formerly Relay Rides) or GetAround.
Enroll, TryMyUI & User Testing
These are 3 sites where you can get paid to test out websites. UI is very important to a large number of new and emerging startups so they need users like you to help test their website, new features and updates! Apply to all three sites or just start from one. Tasks and pay rate per assignment is different for each website.
Are you on your phone a lot? You can get paid just to be on it. SlideJoy is an app that promotes news stories, promotion and more (from Buzzfeed, CNN and etc) on your lockscreen. Every time you open your phone, you’ll find new offers and the latest news, no purchase needed. SlideJoy will pay you in “carats” for simply installing the app and view these content. The best part? They’re beautifully designed content that you’ll most likely appreciate (DealsPlus staff gives a big 
to this app, we’re testing it out ourselves 
). Unfortunately, this app is only available for Android users at the moment.
Amazon Mechanical Turk (an Amazon.com company) is a way of making money by working on HITs (human intelligence tasks). You can work from anywhere and choose an interesting tasks that best suits you. Based on task, your reward can be anywhere from $0.10 to as high as $75.
We hope you’ve found a few good ideas to help you get started! Finding ways to make money that could potentially turn into a hobby or full time career used to be so limiting. However, with the help of the web and tech on the rise, I think we’ll be seeing countless more unique opportunities to make an extra buck here and there. Now go forth and get that money.
