A little change...

[MOONDOGGY]

Sorry to disappoint, but this is not a political thread! I'm talking change as in some extra money on the side of your day job.

My basses aren't selling, and I can't stand to lower the prices on them further. The buying and selling of basses just isn't doing it for me any more. I'm hurting for money (like everyone else), and I'm looking for ways to make some extra money on the side of my 9-5.

Aside from selling my body, running a meth lab, or holding cock fights, what are some ways you guys know are a good source of some extra income?

- I failed at the online survey thing. I didn't trust most of the sites out there. And the one site that was supposed to bring me some decent cash only made me $2.10 in 3 months.
- Selling other junk on eBay has gotten ridiculous (thank you eBay for raping my wallet w/ listing, selling, and PayPal fees. Paypal, you are not my pal.)
- I'm not about to take up tele-marketing or any phone type work. I hate people. (jk)
- I've had zero luck coming up with a million dollar invention like Chia Pets, Pop Rocks, the wheel, or electricity.
- And I'm not really sure where to find engineering side work relating to my actual day job, i.e. freelance, contract work, etc...


So how do you guys make extra money whether as a hobby or an actual second job? (If you're willing to reveal your secrets!)

[Colton]

Prostitution.

[f.sciarrillo]

Stay away from Amway, and anything related to Network Marketing for that matter ..

[bassist_25]

Playing gigs

You have some sweet basses, Dan. My basses have been much better financial investments as tools for gigging than as liquid assets. Just some food for thought.

[MOONDOGGY]

You've got a very good point Paul. And I've been itching like crazy to get some sort of musical project ever since I moved to Ohio. The thing that stinks with that is gigging hogs up the weekends, and wifey and I are home in PA every 2-3 weekends. That's not to say I couldn't find Something; our frequent trips to PA on weekends just makes it more difficult.

I'm really looking for something I can do in the evenings through the week.

A paying bass gig is a top consideration right now though.

[bassist_25]

It definitely does eat up your weekends. When I was living in NC, it was nice not having to be shelping a bass cab in at 8:00 in the evening. The problem, though, is just about any moonlighting gig, aside from selling plasma, is probably going to eat up a respectable portion of your time.

[MOONDOGGY]

Dude, I forgot they're paying for Plasma! I donate blood whenever I can, but I've never done the plasma or platelets thing. I could go as far as considering selling my lil soldiers! I'm up for that. It's not steady extra cash, but every bit counts.

I really just want to replace my evenings parked on my ass w/ my laptop surfing eBay w/ something more profitable.


Good ideas people. Keep 'em coming!

[Mysterytrain]

So I know ebay fees suck. I just sold an MXR Analog Delay for $225. plus 20. for shipping... ebay fees were 22.52 and shipping was $21.52 so I kinda got ripped off but prices are very low on everything right now.

A while back though I placed ads for Reel-to-Reel players locally in any free paper I could find. The ad was basically "Lookng for Reel to Reel in good condition."

I only bought TEAC brand because they fetch the most on ebay.

Typically, after I got the info over the phone... I would look at 5 or so before I found a good one. Usually I would buy a unit for $50. bucks or so. THEN sell them on ebay for $350-650 after a simple cleaning, aligning and demagnitizing the heads.

Most times they also came with:
SEALED BLANK TAPES (at least 10-20 leftover in a box @ $10 a pc)
ALUMINUM REELS (10" @ $50.+ a pc / 7" @ $25.)
TEAC CLEANING KITS ($10-100 for brand name stuff)
DEMAGNITIZERS ($75.)
DUST COVERS ($40. at least)

EVERYTHING MUST WORK PERFECTLY. It's worth nothing if it has burned out lights, non-working meters, broken pieces etc.

BOTTOM LINE.... Collectors want this kind of stuff and will pay good money for it once they find it. Once I bought a REVOX for $25. and sold it for $650 Buy Now!

One last thing.... because they are heavy... check the cost to ship it to California... add it to the listing price... then OFFER FREE SHIPPING

If you want to know some points you MUST look for with these kind of units let me know and I'll keep typing.

[MOONDOGGY]

I'd love to find a select few gadgets or pieces of equipment that I could refurbish and flip. And certainly your profit margin makes eBay and PayPal fees seem insignificant! I have noticed that old analog recording equipment and players are hot lately. I would have a bit of a learning curve to get up to speed enough to know what I'm buying on equipment like that.

I know anything and everything about basses, but that's about IT! It's been a little profitable for me in the past 10 years or so, but lately I've been lucky to break even.

I have a few other hobbies like a '63 T-bird, RC cars (which I just sold 2 vintage NIB kits and made decent money on), skiing, wood working, etc. So I guess I could dig into these and see what's hot and what's not. I also still have all my childhood toys- huge Hotwheels/Matchbox collection, Legos, GI Joe stuff, Micro Machines!, and some other junk. I wanted to wait another 20 years to sell this stuff, but I guess it may be worth while to sell now.

You've got some gears turning in my cranium now. I have a lot more stuff to sell than I thought I did! And I like the idea of only sticking with items that are hot like your reel to reels. It seems like selling stringed instruments nowadays is like selling used rental cars. Nobody wants them!

[Lisa]

There is always things like landscaping for others....hard work but with today's lifestyles, most folks do not have the time to do it themselves. Things like mowing and weeding and planting in the spring, summer and fall. Leave removal in the fall. And of course, shoveling in the winter. Another thing...and just throwing it out there...babysitting. I know it sounds teenagish..but there are folks out there that are willing to pay for adults (and/or adult couples) to watch their children. Especially those that work night shifts. If you go that route, I would contact the proper authority about getting a criminal background check done so you can show it to potential customers, have letters of recommendation, etc. Babysitting can actually bring you some good cash.

[Mysterytrain]

Babysitting?

Actually, I have two kids that you can babysit when I go out playing gigs. Now, isn't that ironic?

[DirtySanchez]

How bout giving bass lessons?
Clinical Trials?
What type of engineering/contract work you talking?
Lot's of small contractors will pay you to do estimates/drum up business for them.
I was getting between 10-20% depending on the size, price, and time involved in them completing the job.

[MOONDOGGY]

I considered giving beginner bass lessons, but my local music store already has too many instructors. And I honestly don't know if I'd have the patience to teach a kid Smoke on the Water or the latest death metal cookie monster rock song! The best advice I'd give a beginner is to read Vic Wooten's book: The Music Lesson. I couldn't teach a kid anything better than that!

As for engineering work, I'm an electro-mechanical engineer with a lot of industrial controls and process automation experience. I'm certified with AutoCAD and savvy w/ several 3-D modeling programs. Not much for PC programming. I've got PLC and HMI programming experience, but certainly not my forte. I'm comfortable w/ hydraulics, pneumatics, and anything electrical from motor/servo drives to I/O and controls, to power distribution.

I'm not sure what type of 'work from home' contract jobs are out there, but if there's a small business that just needs someone to draw up some schematics and component layouts, I'd be set!


I've got a lot of good ideas now. I'll keep you guys posted if I find something that makes me some cash. Thanks RP!!!