10 Easy Online Jobs for College Students

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Being a college student often means getting creative with Ramen noodles.

Maybe you don’t mind, but wouldn’t it be nice to have a bit of extra cash flow?

Not everyone has the time or transportation to get to a part-time job, but luckily, it’s the 21st century and online jobs are a thing now!

Today, let’s look at some online jobs for college students to help you earn something extra so those Ramen noodle days become fewer and farther between.

10 Easy Ways for College Students to Make Money Online

How well these options will work for you depends on how much time you have on your hands between classes and studying.

But the list below contains different types of online jobs that require different levels of commitment and still pay enough that you might be able to afford that expensive textbook this semester.

1. Participate in research studies

Northwestern Research Studies

You’re already at a place of study, furthering your knowledge and researching various topics.

So why not make use of that studious atmosphere and take part in some research studies to make a little extra cash on the side?

Many universities have their own paid research studies and you can certainly check if you can participate.

The easiest way to find them is to Google the name of your school + “research study” and you’ll find your schools clinical trials department.

To make your search a little easier, I’ve compiled a handy list of 20+ research studies you can take part in right now.

They’re all online and pay pretty well.

You won’t be able to live off of what you earn from them, of course, but it’s still a great way for college students to make money part-time.

2. Try your hand at search engine evaluation

Search engine evaluator jobs

For most students, using search engines like Google is second nature by now.

You could probably do it in your sleep.

Fortunately, there are companies that pay for people to use search engines.

Search engines are marvels at quickly finding what we want to know, but they don’t always show perfect search results.

This is why search evaluators are hired—to use certain search terms and evaluate the results or sometimes the ads that show up (because these ads use search keywords as well).

Being a search evaluator is probably one of the best online jobs for college students there are.

It doesn’t take up much time and doesn’t require too much brainpower that it distracts from schoolwork and exams.

Companies usually hire search evaluators and send them guidelines and search terms on a per-project basis. But you won’t have to work more than a couple of hours a week at most, though some companies allow up to 30 hours a week on big projects.

To find online search evaluator jobs, look at companies like Appen.

Check our full list of search engine evaluator jobs here.

3. Earn side cash by answering questions

If you’ve been at college for any amount of time, then you’ve probably already filled out a survey or two.

Knowledge is power, as they say, but you don’t have to give up your precious time for nothing in return.

Plenty of at-home jobs for college students involve answering surveys as it’s an easy way to make some cash on the side.

There are lots of companies out there that want people to answer surveys on a range of topics, and they’re not hard to find.

In fact, here are a few companies willing to pay for your answers right now.

Just make sure of one thing: that you fit the demographic they need before answering a survey, or it’s likely you won’t get paid or even get blacklisted from the site.

4. Fit in a microjob between classes

Sometimes there’s just no time to fit in a part-time job into your already-busy schedule.

Microjobs, however, can fit nicely into even the busiest of schedules, making it the perfect option for the student who doesn’t have any time.

The great thing about microjobs is that you can usually do them anytime, from anywhere.

If you have some time to spare between classes or during lunch, then you can just log in with your phone and get a few microjobs done.

Companies like Amazon MTurk hire people for jobs like transcribing short texts or audio files, identifying figures in photos, and taking surveys, amongst other things.

You probably won’t earn much in the beginning, but you can work your way up on the website or app you chose and start earning more for more complicated jobs. Or you can stick to the less taxing ones if that’s all you have time and energy for.

It’s an extremely flexible way of making extra income.

5. Become a call reviewer

If you’ve ever had to call customer service or received a phone call from a call center, then you’re familiar with that ‘this call is being recorded’ line.

You might be surprised to hear that companies are serious about that statement and they do take the time to go through recorded calls and review them.

Humanatic is one of the companies that hire people like college students to listen to and review calls.

The job is pretty simple, and all you need to do is listen to a call and tag it according to the criteria they set out.

There’s also the opportunity to grow and take on more work (and more pay!) if you do well.

6. Proofread other’s work

As a student, you’ve no doubt become extremely proficient in proofreading your own work.

You’ve probably read a friend’s paper to two as well.

Well, online proofreading jobs are plentiful and all you have to do is apply.

Here are 47 different online proofreading jobs ready to go for you.

7. Put your research skills to use

WIkipedia online research

You aren’t wasting time by building up your academic skills.

They can come in handy for earning an income, even if it doesn’t seem apparent when you’re busy raiding the library or deep diving on the internet for info on some obscure data.

Companies like Wonder are hiring analysts to research various topics for them.

Lots of the projects you get to work on will be for brands who need to find out more about whichever industry they are in. But there are fun projects too, like looking up locations and setting up an itinerary for a group outing or finding the best product in a certain category.

You’ll get to work with statistics, market research, and lots of data on current trends.

This is a great way to use the skills you have picked up in college and develop them even further while getting paid for it.

Here are a few companies currently hiring online researchers.

8. Work for Apple

If you’re a huge fan of Apple products, enrolled in classes at a participating university, and have a cumulative GPA of 2.7 or higher, working for Apple may be a dream come true for you.

Apple Support College Advisors help Apple customers by answering questions about Apple products and services, troubleshooting their devices, and connecting them to further help if it can’t be resolved in one phone, chat, or text session.

You’ll undergo nine weeks of paid training, be given your own iMac and headset to be used exclusively for your work as an Advisor, and get to work from home while accommodating your class schedule and academic load.

Unfortunately, students living in college dormitories are not currently eligible to participate, as your working environment has to be private, quiet, and as free of ambient noise as possible.

This might be one of the best online jobs for college students; not only do they accommodate your class schedule but you now have a jumping-off point for a job after graduation and possibly even a career beyond that.

9. Transcribe audio or video into text

As a college student, your spelling and grammar, as well as your typing skills, should be a cut above the general population.

Generally, transcription companies look for part-time to full-time workers, but there are others where you don’t have a schedule; simply log in and work whenever you have time.

Check out our list of online transcription jobs and see which ones may be a good fit for you.

10. Be social

You’re probably already on social media during your downtime (or, let’s face it, during a boring class or two).

Why not channel this social media time into something productive?

Because their consumers are almost definitely on social media, businesses are always looking to reach this audience and are therefore willing to hire social media managers who know how to engage their target audience on social media.

You might not be eligible to be a social media manager (you’d normally have to already have your bachelor’s degree), but you can run social media marketing campaigns for local businesses and organizations.

Go over these social media jobs to have an idea of what’s expected from someone who works with social media.

The Bottom Line

The lure of making extra cash on the side is strong, but don’t rush into anything.

Take your time to find the right fit for you. Worrying about exams and group projects is hard enough without adding a taxing job into the mix.

If none of the jobs on this list fits your time or skills, then don’t worry. There are still plenty of easy online jobs for college students out there.

In fact, one of the easiest online jobs for college students isn’t really a job at all. A person doesn’t have to do any major hard work with the internet only a click away. Some companies will pay you to simply download an app or shop online.

Granted, these are usually once-off payments.

But if you string enough of them together, then you can make a good bit of cash in a short amount of time.

If you’re looking for a side hustle that’s more long-term, though, then have a look at these 100 ways to make money online.

What Should I Do About This Car Wrap Advertising Scam?

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In a nutshell: car wrap scams are a type of fake check scams.

I first wrote about this scam back in 2013 and it’s almost 10 years later and still going strong.

This post alone has over 1,000 comments from people I’ve helped and countless more have written to me privately. I’ve saved tens of millions of dollars from falling into scammers hands.

If you aren’t careful, it can cost you thousands of dollars.

In fact, a study by the FTC showed that people reported a median loss of $1,988 in 2019 to fake check scams, including car wrap scams (Source)

Today, I’ll explain what a car wrap scam is, how to spot one, and relay my own personal experience with this scam, complete with photos.

How Do Car Wrap Scams Work?

As I’ve mentioned, car wrap scams are a type of fake check scams.

Generally, here’s how a fake check scam works:

1. Scammers get in contact with you.

Scammers get your information while you’re looking for a legitimate work from home job and reach out with a job offer.

Or maybe you end up contacting them because you saw an ad to “get paid to drive,” “mystery shopper wanted,” or “virtual assistant wanted.”

Others tell you that you’ve won a sweepstakes, even though you don’t remember ever buying a ticket or entering a contest.

2. They send you a fake check.

Once the scammer is talking to you, they send you a genuine-looking check. These checks look genuine enough to fool you and bank tellers.

Car wrap scammers will send you a check for a greater amount than they agreed to pay you. They’ll then tell you to deposit the check and send the graphic designers or car wrap service the rest of the amount so they can come and wrap your car.

Mystery shopping scammers will assign you to evaluate the services of a money transfer service or money order retailers, and sometimes gift card retailers. They’ll then send you a check to deposit it in your personal account and then wire the money to someone else or buy gift cards in that amount and send the codes to them.

Virtual or personal assistant scammers send you a check and then instruct you to buy gift cards for supplies for your clients and then send them the codes.

Sweepstakes scammers send you a huge check and then instruct you to wire them a certain percentage for taxes, handling fees, or processing fees.

3. You deposit the fake check.

When you make a check deposit, banks are legally required to make the funds available for you to withdraw immediately.

So you withdraw the funds and send the money to someone else or buy the gift cards, etc.

It all seems fuss-free and above board, right?

Wrong.

4. The check bounces.

It can take days or even weeks to uncover a fake check.

Once it’s uncovered, the check bounces and the bank takes back the money from your account.

But you’ve already sent thousands of your own dollars to the criminals!

And they’ve vanished by this time. No way to contact them, no way to get the gift card codes back.

So you’re on the hook for the money, and now you have to explain to your bank why you even deposited a fake check into your account in the first place. You’re out the overdraft fees as well if you don’t have enough to cover the money that the bank took back.

This post was originally published in 2013. This scam is STILL occurring today and it looks like it will continue well into the future.

In fact, car wrap scams are now even more dangerous as the people behind them are coming up with more convincing ways to trick people into losing their hard-earned money.

For instance, some of the brands they claim to work with include ROCKSTAR Energy Drink®, Monster Energy Drink, Aquafina, Pirelli Tyres, McCafe, Dunkin’ Donuts, Langers Juice Company, Dr. Pepper, Marlboro, Purell, and many other big names.

Keep reading to see my experience with this scam and if you have received an email that you think might be sketchy, please post it in the comments below.

Can I cash the fake check?

The very first question I get asked is: “Can’t I just take the fake check to one of those check cashing places and keep the money?”

The answer is a hard no.

Check cashing facilities do not hand out money anonymously. You need to provide them with your identity, proof of residence, proof of employment, phone number, address, and so on. Even if they do manage to cash the check for you, the check will bounce and now they know how to get in contact with you.

They will start off by calling you, then mailing a certified letter, then they will escalate it and get the authorities involved. If you do not respond to their attempts to contact you, you can expect a warrant to be placed for your arrest by the authorities.

How to Spot, Avoid, and Report a Car Wrap Scam

So, knowing all these, what can you do to protect yourself from being scammed?

Take note of the following information:

1. Know how legitimate car wrap companies operate.

Actual car wrap companies do exist, such as Carvertise, Wrapify, Nickelytics, and My Free Car.

The main thing is that normally drivers come to them, not the other way around. They typically evaluate drivers based on how many miles they drive, where they drive, and their driving record.

They typically cover the cost of the wrapping themselves, too.

So if you do receive an email asking if you’re interested in having your car wrapped and getting paid hundreds of dollars a week, and you know you haven’t contacted or applied to a car wrapping company, ignore it. That’s likely a car wrap scam.

Most importantly, the amount on the check they’ll send you is exactly for the agreed amount, if they even pay you by check. Carvertise, for instance, pays you via direct deposit.

2. Never deposit checks from people you don’t know.

Sometimes it can be that simple.

Got a check in the mail from a stranger? Put it down and report it (see how below).

3. Never use money from a check to buy gift cards, money orders, or wire money to third parties.

This applies even if you were written a check by someone you know.

If you buy gift cards and send the codes, or wire money, that’s like giving someone cash. You’re never going to get that money back.

Plus, what legitimate company wants you to send them digital gift cards? This alone doesn’t pass the sniff test.

4. If you receive a suspicious check, report it immediately.

Help yourself and other potential victims by reporting it to the following:

So what should you do when a scammer wants you to cash a fake check?

Here’s my personal experience with these car wrap scammers:

The Car Wrap Scam

In mid-September, I received an email from “David Christian” that originated from the address patriciabarrington@hotmail.com. The email simply said the following: Would You Wrap Your Car in an Ad for $300 Weekly? After I answered “yes,” I received the following email back:

Hello,

Wrap advertising is the marketing practice of completely or partially covering (wrapping) a vehicle in an advertisement or livery, thus turning it into a mobile billboard. This can be achieved by simply painting the vehicle surface, but it is becoming more common today to use large vinyl sheets as decals. These can be removed with relative ease, making it much less expensive to change from one advertisement to another. Vehicles with large, flat surfaces, such as buses and light-rail carriages, are fairly easy to work with, though smaller cars with curved surfaces can also be wrapped in this manner. Wrap advertising is available to anybody irrespective of the vehicle you drive.

We are currently seeking to employ individuals in the United States of America. How would you like to make money by simply driving your car or banner wrapped for ROCKSTAR Energy Drink®

How it works?
Here’s the basic premise of the “paid to drive” concept: ROCKSTAR Energy Drink® seek residents in the United States who are professional drivers to go about their normal routine as they usually do, only with a big advert for “ROCKSTAR Energy Drink®” plastered on your car. The ads are typically vinyl decals, also known as “auto wraps,”that almost seem to be painted on the vehicle, and which will cover any portion of your car’s exterior surface.

Don’t Have a Car?
If you don’t have a car, you can also participate if you have a bike.

What does the company get out of this type of ad strategy?
Lots of exposure and awareness. The auto wraps tend to be colorful, eye-catching and attract lots of attention. Plus, it’s a form of advertising with a captive audience,meaning people who are stuck in traffic can’t avoid seeing the wrapped car alongside them. This program will last for 3 months and the minimum you can participate is a month.

What is the Contract Duration?
Once the wrap has been installed, minimum term is 4 weeks and maximum is 12 weeks.

Would the wrap/decal damage the paint of my car?
The decal doesn’t damage the paint of car and will be removed by our representative once the contract expire. We will be responsible for installation and removal of the wrap.

You will be compensated with $300.00 per week which is essentially a “rental”payment for letting our company use the space and no fee is required from you. ROCKSTAR Energy Drink® shall provide experts that would handle the advert placing on your car. You will receive an upfront payment of $300.00 in form of a check via courier service for accepting to carry this advert on your car.

It is very easy and simple no application fees required. Get back with the following details if you are interested in this offer.

Applicant information:
Name :
Full Street Address(not PO BOX) :
APT #:
City,State,Zip Code:
Cell Phone Number:
Home Phone Number:
Age:

We shall be contacting you as soon as we receive this information.

Best Regards,
David Christian
Hiring Manager,
ROCKSTAR Energy Drink®

I provided my contact information, after which I received the following email:

Thank you for your swift response and your willingness to work with us. To this effect, you are advise to check your email regularly to get updates as to know when your upfront payment will arrive at your address.

1) You will receive a Check as a form of payment. As soon as you get the check, you will cash it for the decal wrapping on your car and deduct $300.00 as your up-front payment. The rest of the funds from that same check should be transferred to the Graphic artist that will wrap the decal on your vehicle. All you need is to confirm the acceptance and understanding of this email.

2) You will make a transfer of the remaining funds to the Graphic artist via wire transfer at an outlet in your area, the Info which you will make the transfer to will be emailed to you soon.

3) We’ll like you to confirm Information about your vehicle as below:

i) Type of Car and Color :

ii) Model/Year :

iii) Present Condition and the Mileage:

Note: Please, confirm that you did receive this message so that we can process funds that would be sent to you for the car advert.

All other instructions will be sent out to you asap.

I…………..Confirm to have received this email and understand the content.

Best Regards,
David Christian
Hiring Manager,
ROCKSTAR Energy Drink®

The Fake Check Arrives

I confirmed my willingness to work with “ROCKSTAR Energy Drink.” About a week later, I started receiving text messages on my phone from David Christian regarding my upcoming “check”.

Sure enough, when I went home and opened my mailbox, I found a check made out to me in the amount of $2,350. Woo hoo!

Interestingly, the check was made to look like it was coming from BOP, LLC, a legitimate clothing store business here in Madison, Wisconsin. The envelope, however, had a copy of a USPS Priority Mail 2-Day slip on it in which Rudy Grado, at 27405 Sutherland Drive, Warren, MI 48088-6078, was noted as the sender. I took pictures of both the fake check and the envelope it came in and have provided these pictures below. The pink stickies were affixed by me to hide my home address.

Car Wrap Scam

Delivery receipt of a fake check

I called BOP, LLC and told them that I had received a check from them for the amount of $2,350. The business immediately asked me if my check was blue. I said no; it was actually a green color. The store immediately informed me that the check was fake and I should talk with law enforcement.

Meanwhile, I had David Christian texting me at least twice that day and asking me if I’d received my instructions on what to do with the check. I texted “him” back that I had yet to receive any emailed instructions. Naturally, when I later checked my email I found the following message:

Hello Halina,

Kindly proceed and deposit the check into your bank account and funds will be available for withdrawal 24hrs after it has been deposited. I will be waiting for a confirmation message immediately the check is deposited.

As soon as the cash is out you are to deduct $300.00 which is your upfront payment and forward the balance ($2,050.00) to the graphic artist that will be wrapping the decal on your vehicle via Money Gram and they will also be responsible for removing the decal when the program is completed. Please visit www.moneygram.com to check agent location close to you and make transfer through them.

Below is the name of the receiver. Please note that the transfer charges should be deducted from the remaining $2,050. You are to get back to me with the transfer details (Reference Number and the exact amount sent).

Below is the Graphic Artist Money Gram details to send the Money to

Receiver’s Information:
Name: Sandra Fagan
City: Jacksonville
State: FL
Zip Code: 32210

Kindly get back with the information below once the transfer has been completed.

Reference Number & Total Amount Sent

FAQ: Why am I sending money to Florida? The head office of the graphic artist is in FL.

As soon as payment is acknowledged by them, a local artist in your area will be sent to your address to install the decal wrap on your car. Let me know as soon as the check is deposited today.

If you require additional information, do not hesitate to email or call me.

Best regards,
David Christian
Hiring Manager.
(702)605-0985

What do you think I should do?

At this point in time, I’m debating about taking several different courses of action. I could do the following:

1. Contact local law enforcement and tell them that Patricia Barrington, Sandra Fagan and Rudy Grado are writing fake checks in a legitimate Madison business’ name.

2. Contact the FBI about the same issue since it spans several states (i.e., Michigan, Wisconsin, Nevada and Florida).

3. Tell the scammers that I’ve deposited the check and am waiting for it to clear. This puts the car wrap scammers in a holding pattern because checks typically take 1-2 weeks to clear.

4. Tell the scammers that their “employment” check has been forwarded to the IRS for cashing because I owe back taxes and all my earnings must first be garnished (That should put them into a panic!).

5. New development! I might have a second car wrap scam check coming to my house very soon. This one is from George Jennings of NOS Energy Drink. Should I tell the ROCKSTAR scam folks that I’ve instead decided to work with the NOS scam folks- or vice versa?

I’ve Tried That readers, what would you do in this situation?

Update as of October 7, 2013:

First off all, thank you everyone for your feedback! I was feeling a little confrontational this morning, so I decided to first text David Christian and say that I’d deposited the check last Friday at my bank. Within seconds, I received a text message back from him, asking if I’d received my email instructions.

Deciding to not play text tag any longer, I called Mr. David Christian at the phone number (702) 605-0985. A guy with a slight English accent picked up the line and actually identified himself as David Christian. I told him that I’d deposited the check I’d been sent last Friday, but the bank had put a hold on it for some reason. He asked me how long the hold was. I answered that the bank wanted to hold it for two weeks.

David didn’t seem too concerned about the hold and said that I could just wait until the check cleared, then write out my own check to the graphic artist.

I then asked David about the Madison business that had been listed on the check (BOP, LLC). I said I was confused about why this business was being listed on the check. David answered that this business was the sponsor.

I then told David that I had contacted this business and they had no idea what I was talking about. BOP had also told me that the check was the wrong color (their checks have a blue background).

At that point, David and I lost connection. I tried calling him back at least two times. No answer. I wonder what happened. I hope he’s OK…

Update as of October 12, 2013:

This past week, I received the following email from a “George Jennings (george.jennings11@outlook.com)” of NOS Energy drink:

Hello Halina,

Information reaching me this morning has it that you will be receiving the check today. The check of  $2,330.00  has been sent to you via USPS with tracking number (9405501699320009816575) and it will be delivered to you this morning. Kindly proceed and  deposit the check into your bank account and funds will be available for withdrawal 24hrs after it has been deposited.

I will be waiting for a confirmation message immediately the check is deposited. As soon as the cash is out you are to deduct $300.00 which is your upfront payment and forward the balance  ($2,030.00) to the graphic artist that will be wrapping the decal on your car via Money Gram.

They also will be responsible in removing the decal when the program is completed.

Below is the name of the receiver. You are to get back to me with the transfer information (8 digits Money Gram Reference) Number and the exact amount sent). You are to deduct the transfer charges ($180.00) from the $2,030.00 you have with you.

Below is the Graphic Artist Money Gram Details  to send the Money to in Minutes

PAYMENT INFO
Name: Constance H Lawson
City: Saint Johnsbury
State: Vermont
Zip code: 05819

Kindly get back with the information below once the transfer has been completed.

Money Gram Reference Number# & Total Amount Sent

FAQ: Why am I sending money to Vermont? The head office the graphic artist is VT, As soon as payment is acknowledge by them, a local artist will come to your house and install the decal wrap on your car. Let me know as soon as the check is deposited.

If you require additional information, do not hesitate to email me or call me.

Best Regards
George Jennings.
951-234-7388
Hiring Manager.

And here’s the fake check:

Fake Check from a Car Wrap Scam

I’m seeing at least one common theme between the NOS and ROCKSTAR Energy Drink scammers. First of all, the car wrap “sponsors” are both clothing shops, BOP (of Madison, WI) and Madison et Cie (of Los Angeles, CA). What a clothing shop has to do with an energy drink, I haven’t a clue.

I also think that the NOS scam artists are far more sloppy than the ROCKSTAR Energy Drink scam artists; why would an LA-based shop sponsor a car in Madison? Unless that shop was picked only because it has the name “Madison” in it- did the scammers think I wouldn’t notice the location of this “Madison”-based shop?

Update as of October 15, 2013:

So, apparently, I don’t have to be scammed for $1,850 ($2,030 – $180 for wire transfer charges). I can also be scammed for just…get ready for it…$1,000!

Hello Applicant,

You are receiving this email because you applied for car wrap job. We are please to inform you that your application has been processed. Payment has been sent and delivered which include your 1st week payment and funds for the graphic artist. We will like to have an update from you if you have been able to forward fund to your matched graphic artist head office. If yes, provide the transfer info and If you are yet to receive payment from us, please let us know so we can process your application immediately. We look forward to your swift response.

Regards
George Jennings

My reply (including all broken grammar and misspellings): Thank you for email. My bank deposited the check but tell me I will receive back only one thousand dollars from thsi check. I don’t understand why.

George Jennings: Why is that? What did the bank say?

My reply: The bank is saying that the IRS is going to garnish my check as wages. I’m supposed to send them a W-9 from NOS too. Can you send a W-9 for these wages?

George Jennings: All the necessary document will be presented to you before the installation. Kindly proceed to send the $1000 via Western union to Constance to enable us book the installation appointment and the graphic artist will bring the W-9 with him. I will be expecting the Western union details.

Update as of October 18, 2013:

My saga with George Jennings continues:

Me: What about the $200 wire transfer charge?

GJ: The transfer charges should be deducted from the $1000. Kindly try and get this done today so the appointment can be booked.

Me: I sent a check this afternoon to the graphic artist. Thanks!

GJ: To who? You are to make a western union transfer to the details that was sent to you. Not send a check besides no address was provided to you.

Me: To Constance H. Lawson. She lives on Railroad St. in Saint Johnsburg, VT. It was much cheaper for me to just send a check.

GJ: Call it back.

Me: I already sent the check to her, but I can call her phone number and let her know not to cash the check. Or, should I send payment to the following address: PO Box 4125 Saint Johnsbury, VT 05819-4125

At this point, George stopped answering my emails. Too bad…

The Bottom Line: Avoid Car Wrap Job Offers

At best, responding to these scammers will waste your time. At worst, it could cost you thousands of dollars, financial ruin, and get you in trouble with the authorities.

Avoid any offered car wrap jobs, ignore the people behind them, and always do your research.

However, since you’re here reading this, you’re no doubt interested in finding new ways to make some extra money.

Recommended Resources

I hope this post helped you avoid a scam and find a legitimate opportunity to pursue.

Please leave a comment below if you’ve ever had a run-in with one of these scammers. Every comment helps!

How To Start a Web Hosting Business From Home

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Are you a web developer or web designer looking for additional income? Or are you a tech-savvy person interested in starting a business from home? Either way, you may want to start a web hosting business.

With no shortage of new websites being built every day, web hosting is in demand, and there is a market for new and upcoming web hosting businesses.

Today, you’ll learn what web hosting is and everything you need to start your web hosting business.

What Is Web Hosting?

First, let’s describe how web hosting works.

Web hosting is an online service that enables a website owner to publish their website on the internet.

When a user signs up for a web hosting service, they’re essentially renting space on a physical server where all the data and files for the website are stored.

A server is essentially a high-powered computer specially designed and programmed to store large amounts of data and code, process requests to deliver this data over the internet or a local network, and manage the files and processes so everything runs smoothly.

The server is at the heart of your web hosting business, and how you choose to sell web hosting space to your customers impacts the direction of your business and how much profit you can project to earn. Just find a reputable provider for your domain, and you’ll be up-and-running in no time.

Types of Web Hosting Businesses

Below are the three types of web hosting businesses you can start.

1. Reseller Hosting

Reseller hosting involves finding a large web hosting company, buy wholesale hosting services from them, and then resell the service to your customers at a profit.

This involves the least amount of technical knowledge, as the company you bought the reseller packages from will take care of server management, operating systems, billing systems, and technical support systems.

In other words, it’s a complete solution that’s very simple to set up. The time you save by going this route can be put toward promoting and marketing your business.

However, the services you provide are limited by the type of service you opted to resell; there’s very little room for customizations.

Also, since you’re reselling, your prices will likely be higher than those offered by bigger web hosting companies.

2. At-home Server

Having an at-home server means you actually buy the hardware, set up the operating system, and then configure it to connect to the internet.

This isn’t for beginners; this is for the technologically savvy who want full control over your server setup, as well as the freedom to pick and choose the services you can offer your customers and the ability to expand as much as you want at any point in time.

However, the upfront costs can be prohibitively expensive; aside from the hardware and software, you would need a reliable high-speed internet connection, an uninterruptible power supply, and a cooling system to make sure your server doesn’t overheat even at peak usage.

3. Datacenter Colocation

A colocation center is a large commercial data center that rents out its hardware, space, and bandwidth to businesses.

So instead of buying and setting up your own server at home, you rent the server and the internet connection from a larger company that takes care of most of the maintenance and the overhead costs of electricity and internet connection.

However, you’d still need some technical knowledge as you’ll have to set up the operating system and all the needed software to be able to manage that server.

What You Need To Start a Web Hosting Business

Technical Knowledge

You need extensive knowledge of web hosting, including server management, data security, optimizing speed and bandwidth, ticketing systems for issues and concerns, control panels, and many more.

If you don’t have this knowledge, you can enroll in courses so you can learn all this or (less preferable) hire someone else who is already knowledgeable to manage the technical part of the business while you handle customer outreach, promotion, sales, and payment processing.

Capital

As you’ve probably learned at this point, you’d need to have enough money to cover your initial costs when starting a web hosting business.

Time

Every startup business demands a major time commitment at the beginning.

Building your website, testing landing pages, creating and tweaking ads, posting on social media, and every other effort to promote your business are all time-consuming.

Not to mention troubleshooting, providing customer support, processing payments, and all other management and maintenance tasks.

Steps to Start Your Web Hosting Business

We highly recommend starting as a reseller, as it’s the easiest to get into and requires the least amount of technical knowledge.

For the sake of simplicity, I’ll outline the steps to start your web hosting business as a reseller.

1. Perform your market research.

Web hosting is a competitive industry, but if you do your market research thoroughly, you can find your niche market.

The advantage of targeting a niche market instead of the general public is that you’re able to focus your marketing efforts specifically on the customers within that niche.

Also, you can tailor the services and extra features you provide to your niche market’s needs and goals.

Plus, you can compete more successfully within a niche that has relatively fewer competitors by providing excellent customer service and after-sales care.

Examples of niches you can target:

  • Small businesses
  • Local SMBs
  • Non-profits
  • Affiliate marketers
  • Music content
  • Photography sites
  • Podcasters
  • Weddings
  • Travel websites
  • Restaurants

2. Choose the right reseller hosting provider.

Choosing the right reseller provider is critical to the success of your web hosting business.

Here are the things you need to look for in a reseller hosting provider:

  • High uptime rates (99.9%)
  • Top-level performance (TTFB, page load time)
  • Security and protection from DDoS attacks
  • Technical support available 24/7
  • White label branding (so that your customers wouldn’t realize you’re a reseller)
  • Simple creation and management of your own web hosting packages
  • cPanel administration
  • Built-in billing software
  • Positive feedback and reviews from other resellers

Based on these criteria, here are some providers to consider:

3. Create your web hosting packages and decide on the prices.

When you’ve selected your reseller provider, you can figure out what services to include in your packages and how much each package will be.

When figuring out your pricing, do your best to get to prices that will allow you to earn a profit after your initial costs that your target niche will be willing to pay.

4. Set up your website and social media.

If a website for a web hosting business looks dated or loads slowly, would you subscribe to them?

Of course not.

Since you’re in the digital industry, your website and online persona will be subject to more scrutiny than usual, so bear this in mind when you decide on your branding, domain name, social media handles, and website design.

5. Implement an automatic billing system.

This part will largely depend on your reseller provider, so make sure you get guidance from them on how to set it up.

6. Select and subscribe to customer service software.

Excellent customer service may be one of your only advantages against your competitors, so it’s critical to choose the right partner.

Remember that your clients will depend on you to handle their technical concerns quickly and on demand.

Your reseller provider should be able to provide 24/7 technical support, but you also need to implement your own customer support channel through email.

Zendesk is a popular choice for digital businesses, but startups may balk at the price. Look into other companies like Help Scout or ServiceNow.

7. Start finding clients for your web hosting business.

Once all of the requirements of your business are in place, you can start spreading the word and finding clients.

You’ll need to advertise your business and make it clear why they should choose your service and not one of the bigger hosting companies.

Your marketing strategy will depend on your target niche. For instance, if you want to get your local businesses to sign up with you, you might have to introduce yourself and your business in person or through your local Facebook groups.

On the other hand, if you want to get online entrepreneurs and startups, you can take out targeted Google Ads and social media ads.

Don’t forget guest posting on blogs related to your target niche. Stress the benefits of your service to them and their business.

8. Keep your clients satisfied.

Treat your clients as if any single one of them can end your business at any time.

Always be transparent about any technical issues and be fair about financial situations.

Pay attention to what your clients like and don’t like, and use this information to improve your business and reach out to new clients.

Start Your Web Hosting Business Today!

Hopefully, this guide to starting your web hosting business has been helpful.

But in case you want more inspiration, check out our list of online business ideas to build.

Or maybe you want to work with your hands instead; here are our guides to some potentially lucrative home-based businesses.

10 Online Jobs for Doctors to Do From Home

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It seems unbelievable that online jobs for doctors are available since our traditional idea of physicians doesn’t really fit the work-from-home model.

We think, how can they diagnose a disease or prescribe treatment if there’s no actual contact between doctor and patient?

Well, we do live in a time when there are plenty of online medical jobs for physicians, students studying to be physicians, or other people working in the medical field.

And whether you want to establish a full-time medical career from home or just want extra income, it’s likely you’ll find an online job that suits your schedule and skills.

Today, let’s go over 10 remote physician jobs that can be done from home (or from the beach, from the desert, from a mountain, or wherever there’s an internet connection).

10 Online Jobs for Doctors Worth Exploring

I’ve never met a doctor who didn’t already have a completely exhausting schedule.

Online jobs for doctors could help alleviate some of the stress and allow you to have a little more control over your time.

1. Teledoctor

More and more health plans are adding an option of video-calling with a doctor instead of coming into an office.

Teledoctors, also called telemedicine doctors, are those who assess patients remotely and prescribe treatment.

Nowadays, there are various telemedicine companies offering remote consultations over the internet. As long as patients have a computer, web camera, and an internet connection, they can go into a telemedicine site and consult with a teledoctor.

Plenty of them also have smartphone apps available to download.

Telemedicine companies are continually employing teledoctors. They’re looking for doctors of various specializations, such as pediatrics, internal medicine, psychiatry, and even dermatology.

Here are the top telemedicine companies to consider:

  • Teladoc — One of the first companies in the US to provide telehealth services, they provide a wide variety of specialists, including pediatrics, dermatology, psychiatry, substance abuse, sexual health, and many others. They also have family doctors on call 24/7.
  • MeMD — MeMD doctors can treat dozens of routine health issues, including urgent care concerns, men’s health, women’s health, teen’s health, and psychiatry.
  • Doctor On Demand — What sets this website apart is that patients can add doctors to their favorites list, which is good for you because it increases the chances of repeat patients.
  • Amwell — They can handle the usual conditions such as acne, bug bites, pink eye, and flu, as well as psychiatric, nutritional, cardiologic, and pediatric conditions.
  • PlushCare — PlushCare offers easy access through a membership model that allows users to message your healthcare team and book appointments for the same day.

2. Medical Director

Medical directors are the “managers” in the medical field.

As such, the job involves a plethora of tasks, such as ensuring excellent patient care, managing a team of physicians, overseeing medical trials, and assisting in the recruitment or training of new staff members, among others.

If you’re in search of online jobs for doctors, but prefer some kind of management role, check out opportunities offered by companies like Humana, PAREXEL, CVS, and Cigna.

3. Research and Development Consultant

If you love the research and development aspect of medical science, you can have work-from-home employment opportunities from pharmaceutical companies, labs, and other similar employers.

For example, Jazz Pharmaceuticals hire pharmacists, physicians, and other medical practitioners to serve as medical science liaisons and oversee clinical studies, analyze data and treatment, present programs, conduct testing, and perform other tasks.

4. Online Medical Practice

If you don’t want to commit to other online jobs for doctors yet, you can simply bring your consultation online.

Third-party companies create a platform for doctors (and their patients) can use.

  • Lybrate – This is a healthcare mobile app, where doctors are given this platform to create a schedule and accept as many patients as you can handle. Patients can ask you questions directly, but it’s up to you if you want to answer for free (or charge them a consultation fee).
  • MDLive – The company provides 24/7 online medical counseling services to patients and keep doctors and other medical professionals in-house. If you’re hired, you’ll have access to an iOS or Android app, where you’ll provide your consultation when needed. Payment is sent on a monthly basis.
  • SERMO – This social network of doctors (with 800,000+ verified physicians as members) allow doctors their own space, where they are paid to answer health surveys.

5. Teleradiologist

Radiologists are medical doctors that specialize in diagnosing and treating patients with injuries or illnesses using medical imaging procedures such as X-rays, CT scans (computed tomography scans), MRIs (magnetic resonance imaging), ultrasound, nuclear medicine, or PETs (positron emission tomography).

Teleradiology is the transmission and interpretation of digital images resulting from the above imaging procedures between doctors and other health care practitioners.

Teleradiology service providers, such as vRad, Inc., continually hire radiologists who can work from home and use their medical knowledge and experience to provide teleradiology services.

You can also find teleradiology jobs on RadWorking.com, a job board especially for radiologists.

Aside from having high-speed internet and a computer to work on, radiologists must also hold at least one state license, BR or ABOR certification, and is eligible for hospital credentialing.

6. Medical Transcriber

Medical transcription isn’t for everybody.

Aside from being a fast typist, you’d need to be knowledgeable with medical terms to be able to do the job as efficiently and as error-free as possible. As a doctor who has studied medical books for years and medical experience or a medical practice, transcribing audio should be much easier for you.

Depending on which companies you want to apply to, medical transcription certification may be needed, but for other companies, knowing that you’re a licensed doctor may be enough to get the job.

Click here for a guide on how to work as a medical transcriptionist plus a list of companies to apply to.

7. Insurance Claims Specialist

As a doctor, you can understand diagnosis, patient charts, medications prescribed, recommended treatments, and other details of a patient’s medical records.

Insurance companies, or third-party companies like Concentra or Professional Dynamics Inc. (PDI), hire doctors to review patient records and assess if the medication or treatment prescribed were medically necessary and if they are covered under the patient’s insurance plan.

Other jobs for which insurance companies hire doctors include insurance agents, auditors, underwriters, clinical consultants, and many more.

8. Medical Biller

Like in medical transcription, doctors are the perfect fit for medical billing jobs since they already have a grasp of medical terminologies.

Their accounting and finance skills are the only things that will be put to test when applying for medical billing jobs.

Medical billing jobs pay somewhere between $15 to $17 per hour, but you can get higher if you specialize in a particular field.

Certification is often required, but you can check with these companies hiring people to fulfill medical billing jobs if your credentials are enough for the job.

9. Medical Illustrator/Animator

If you’re an artist and a doctor, you might be interested in working as a medical illustrator or animator.

A medical illustrator is a professional artist that has specialized training and advanced education in medicine and science, as well as visual technology, art, and design.

Medical animators take it a step further and use 2D or 3D animation to depict more complicated concepts in an accurate, clear, and engaging way.

In addition to creating the visual media, medical illustrators and animators work with medical writers to make sure the text matches the image, as well as creative directors, consultants, and content developers.

You can find medical illustrations and animations in various educational materials, both print and digital. They’re also used in courtroom exhibits and trade shows.

The Association of Medical Illustrators is a great resource for jobs and continuing education for artists, as well as conferences to meet the best in the field.

10. Medical Writer/Editor

Medical writing involves producing and developing digital or print documents dealing specifically with medicine or health care.

Medical writing is a broad field and provides many online job opportunities for doctors, depending on one’s writing skills and interests.

You can go into regulatory medical writing to communicate important information to government agencies, compliance officers, and other stakeholders.

Or you can go into detailing, documenting, and sharing industry news as well as revolutionary research findings, devices, or services to other medical professionals and administrators.

Medical editing is an alternative career in medical communication. This involves correcting spelling, grammar, syntax, and punctuation errors in medical documents, as well as copyediting to make sure that the writing is concise, accurate, and smooth flowing.

Companies that hire medical writers and editors include clinical research organizations (CROs), biotechnology companies, science communications and marketing agencies, medical book publishers, medical device companies, medical news outlets, and many others.

If this is a virtual job that interests you, the American Medical Writers’ Association provides many useful resources, a community, and a job board where you can look for job openings.

The Bottom Line

Recent events have opened up a lot opportunities for all walks of life to shift towards remote work, and doctors are no exception.

You are only limited by how much time you can commit to a specific job or project and which money-making side jobs you choose.

Whether you’re planning a leave from work or have a need for supplemental income, it’s nice to know that more and more work-from-home job options are becoming available for doctors.

What’s the Best Food Delivery Service to Work For?

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Wondering which company is the best food delivery service to work for? From UberEats to DoorDash and specialty delivery platforms like Hello Fresh, it can be overwhelming to pick just one.

I’ve went ahead and rounded up some of the biggest and outlined the pros and cons for you.

I can’t pick which one is the best, because what’s best for me might not be best for you.

So, let me handle the research and you find the food delivery app that best aligns with what you need.

10 Best Food Delivery Service to Work For

Here are 10 food delivery platforms you should check out:

1. Uber Eats

  • Potential earnings: $14 to $24 per hour
  • Flexible working hours: Yes, you can rest whenever you want, open the app anytime and anywhere. Plus, there is no limit to the hours you want to drive.
  • Availability: Nationwide

Uber Eats is the most widely available food delivery service. If you’re already driving for Uber, this is a great opportunity to add to your earnings. It is seamlessly integrated to the Uber app.

Uber Eats accepts bike, car and scooter, delivery partners. Each of these rides has different requirements, but all riders should download the Uber app, upload documents (license, ID, criminal background check, insurance details, registration), pass the online test, and prepare an insulated delivery bag.

While Uber Eats does take a 25% commission on all orders, drivers get to earn 100% of customer tips, and earn from pickup and drop-off fees.

2. DoorDash

  • Potential earnings: $10 to $25 per hour, plus you get to keep all of your tips and peak-hour bonuses.
  • Flexible working hours: Yes, you decide when, where, and how much you work.
  • Availability: Nationwide (about 4,000 cities)

DoorDash is the leader in online food delivery in the country. It is also the pioneer of this platform-to-consumer model.

DoorDash welcomes anyone applying to be a “Dasher,” who will deliver food by foot, bike or car.

If you pass the requirements (over 18, insured vehicle, clean driving record without 3+ accidents within the last 3 years), DoorDash gives you an activation kit that includes a prepaid debit card (for paying for food) and an insulated delivery bag.

3. Grubhub

Original aggregator in the US and with Seamless, controlled over 50 percent of US online food delivery up until 2018

  • Potential earnings: $12 to $15 an hour; Cashout up to $500 a day.
  • Flexible working hours: Yes, you have the ability to schedule shifts in advance or drive whenever you’re available.
  • Availability: Nationwide, but drivers are limited to the delivery zone you’ve chosen at initial registration.

For a time, Grubhub has control of over 30% of online food delivery in the US. Today, while it now has plenty of competition, Grubhub continues to be a solid choice.

Grubhub accepts drivers with a bike or car, as long as they have a valid ID, license, insurance, and a working smartphone. You’ll need to be at least 19 years old (or 21+ if you live in Chicago or Las Vegas).

When accepted, drivers can easily see incoming gigs, including the pickup/drop-off address, the total amount (that will be paid to the driver), and the tip. This means the driver has more flexibility to accept or ignore a particular gig.

4. Postmates

  • Potential earnings: $12 to $18 an hour, plus about 20% tip per order.
  • Flexible working hours: Yes, couriers can work any time in any market
  • Availability: Nationwide

Since late 2019, Postmates is a subsidiary of Uber Eats. This means application to become a Postmates driver begins at the Uber Eats application page as well.

This company lets you deliver items (beyond food). Requirements include a valid driver’s license, a passed background check, and 18-year-old age.

Postmates allows you to earn more money for the miles that you drive and even on the time you spent waiting for orders ($0.10/minute) and picking up an order (extra $1 per order).

5. Caviar

  • Potential earnings: $20 to $28 per hour, plus 100% of the tips
  • Flexible working hours: Yes, you get to choose your own working hours based on your availability.
  • Availability: Caviar is available in major metropolitan areas nationwide.

Caviar is owned by DoorDash, so you can provide DoorDash services as well once you pass Caviar’s requirements.

Like DoorDash, potential earnings are displayed in advance, giving drivers the power to accept or reject the order with complete information. Drivers all get paid out instantly (instead of waiting for a minimum amount).

The only problem with Caviar is that although it lets you partner with higher-end restaurants across the country, it isn’t as widely available as the other food delivery companies on this list.

6. Pickup

  • Potential earnings: $25 to $50 an hour with 100% of tips
  • Flexible working hours: Yes, you’re given flexible work schedules.
  • Availability: Nationwide

Pickup isn’t exclusively for food. It provides same-day pickup and delivery services on demand.

On other food delivery apps, you cannot work with another person.

With Pickup, since there’s a chance you’ll need to carry heavy items, you are allowed to work with a partner. (Note that the ability to carry at least 100 lbs is even included as one of the requirements).

Aside from the basics like driver’s license, insurance, a smartphone with the Pickup app, this company also requires drivers to have equipment for heavy lifting, such as moving blankets, ratchet straps, protective tarps, furniture dolly, stretch wrap and a tool kit.

7. Favor

  • Potential earnings: $10 to $18 an hour, plus $100 bonus after completing 10 deliveries, and 100% of the tips
  • Flexible working hours: Yes, you can run whenever you want, wherever you want.
  • Availability: Unfortunately, this is only available in several cities in Texas.

When you apply as a “runner” for Favor, you provide food delivery services locally to people in your own city.

Favor isn’t as popular as Uber Eats, but it is becoming a solid contender for a good food delivery service to work for. After all, your services go beyond food. One order asks you to pick up dry cleaning, then the next asks you to deliver some tacos.

8. Bite Squad

  • Potential earnings: $10 to $12 per hour guaranteed hourly pay
  • Flexible working hours: Yes, you get to choose your own work hours.
  • Availability: Available in 200 cities across 19 states

Bite Squad hires drivers through Delivery Logistics as 1099 Independent Contractors.

To become a Bite Squad driver, you’ll only need the basics: A valid license, a Clean driving record, an insured vehicle, and legal driving age. No complicated vehicle inspections or requirements. Sign up, get the app, and start earning.

Earnings can be cashed out instantly through the driver app, and anything not cashed out plus any bonuses are paid by direct deposit every two weeks.

9. Saucey

  • Potential earnings: $7 to $15 an hour, depending on your location
  • Flexible working hours: No
  • Availability: In select cities across the country

Saucey, an LA-based company, is one of the most buzzworthy alcohol delivery apps around. It caters to people who just want to enjoy and drink responsibly at home, yet require additional liquor to keep the party going.

Driving for Saucey is an actual job, so you’d have to go through the regular application process. Here’s the Indeed page of Saucey for driver job openings.

10. Eatstreet

  • Potential earnings: Up to $30 an hour with bonuses for milestones ($50 after 20 deliveries, $200 after 200 deliveries)
  • Flexible working hours: Yes, you are in control of your flexible schedule
  • Availability: Only available in 20 cities

EatStreet is a high-paying food delivery service provider available in about 20 cities (and expanding). You have the option to take on the job either as a full-time driver or a freelancer (work whenever you want).

The company has several incentives, such as a $250 bonus for new delivery drivers and a bonus for delivery milestones.

What I like most about the EatStreet app is that drivers are allowed to cancel a shift as long as they do it 24 hours in advance.

Which is the Best Food Delivery Service to Work For?

All of these food delivery platforms have their pros and cons.

Which Food Delivery Service Pays the Most? That would be Caviar, Eatstreet and Pickup, but they aren’t as widely available as other companies on this list. Your next best choice would be DoorDash & Postmates.

Aside from the pay, flexibility, and availability in your town, the decision relies solely on your preference.

The great thing about this industry is that many food delivery companies do not have exclusivity clauses, so you may be able to juggle the apps once you’ve gotten the hang of your routes and deliveries.

Of course, your car can also help you earn in other ways. For example, did you know that you can rent out your car and earn passively on a monthly basis?

You can also get paid to drive or literally deliver cars and other vehicles from point A to point B.

Make More Money with These Etsy Best Sellers in 2023

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Etsy is the go-to online marketplace for people who want to buy and sell handmade, vintage, or unique factory-manufactured items from around the world, and with the right pick from the Etsy Best Sellers list, it can be a lucrative online venture.

Launched in 2005, this platform has reached massive success with over 96 million active Etsy buyers, 7.5 million active Etsy sellers, and almost $13.5 billion in total sales as of 2021.

If you’re a maker of crafts, art, jewelry, handmade beauty products, knick-knacks, toys, and other quirky items you won’t find anywhere else, Etsy should be your first e-commerce platform option.

Here are a few reasons why:

  • Cheap startup costs – You need to pay 20 cents for each item you list. If it sells, you’ll pay Etsy a small transaction fee (6.5% of the selling price).
  • Well-built system – From its search feature to inventory management, logistics, and so on, Etsy makes the hard stuff look easy. The site is also updated regularly and prioritizes ease of use both for its buyers and sellers.
  • Free traffic and marketing – You can always sell your stuff on your own website, but listing them on Etsy means you won’t have to work on building traffic, marketing your site, and making sure people find your products online.
  • Friendly community and support – Etsy.com has a tight-knit community of creators who support each other online. Not only do they advertise items from fellow Etsy sellers, but they also help out with common buy-and-sell questions. The in-house Etsy support isn’t that bad either.
  • Etsy events – Building an online store doesn’t have to mean you’ll be stuck in cyberspace forever. At Etsy, you get to participate in various localized events created by various Etsy teams.

Etsy Top Seller

Ready to join the exciting world of Etsy? First, you need to figure out what is currently popular and selling well on Etsy… and if your product fits the demand.

The Best Selling Etsy Shops

One way to determine if your product has a shot is to check out the most popular Etsy shops on the platform.

But first things first, don’t go to Etsy.

It may seem like a good idea to visit the most popular shops on Etsy, but I think you should start your product search elsewhere.

Specifically, Amazon Handmade’s Featured Artisans list.

Why? Because you can take what is selling well at Amazon and then replicate that success at Etsy.

The following shops may not carry items that are Etsy best sellers, but checking out the top-selling stores and the products they’re selling can give you an idea of what the buying market at Etsy wants.

Etsy Stores With The Most Sales

Note: The ranking and sales data are updated as of October 2022. The ranking is based on sales for the last 30 days, while the figures in parentheses are all-time sales figures since the store opened.

Here are the 25 Top Etsy shops and the products they sell that have earned these stores these coveted spots:

1. PlannerKate1 (1,895,296 Sales) — Planner kits, binders, stickers

2. Beadboat1 (1,631,123 Sales) — Jewelry-making supplies

3. ModParty (1,459,264 Sales) — Bridesmaid gifts, groomsmen gifts, wedding favors, decorations

4. CaitlynMinimalist (1,816,536 Sales) — Minimalist, personalized jewelry

5. ilovelotus (794,231 Sales) — Healing crystals

6. TwistStationery (384,778 Sales) — Greeting cards, stationery, invitations

7. NewMoonBeginnings (658,397 Sales) — Healing crystals, different crystal-themed jewelry, energy, and aromatherapy items

8. HeatherRobertsArt (603,470 Sales) — SVG cut files for Cricut, fonts, and watercolor clipart

9. Worldincensestore (716,240 Sales) — Crystals, tumbled stones, sage, incense, candles

10. HappyKawaiiSupplies (824,433 Sales) — Jewelry-making supplies, decoden supplies, resin art supplies

11. SEEDVILLEUSA (676,442 Sales) — Flower seeds, fruit seeds, vegetable seeds

12. YourWeddingPlace (398,379 Sales) — Personalized wedding party favors and gifts

13. LuFFdesignstudio (157,243 Sales) — SVG files for Cricut, sublimation design downloads

14. DigitalCurio (647,018 Sales) — Commercial use clipart and graphics

15. MyPorchPrints (435,045 Sales) — Digital printables for junk journals, printable papers, tags, cards, Bible tabs, party supplies

16. hooraydays (452,729 Sales) — Wedding supplies, party supplies, holiday décor

17. DesignMyPartyStudio (447,459 Sales) — Printable invitations, party décor

18. GlitterMoonshineSVG (347,736 Sales) — Cutting and direct print designs in SVG, DXF, EPS, PNG file formats

19. yakutum (1,030,425 Sales) — Jewelry-making supplies

20. DOMEDBAZAAR (668,369 Sales) — Jewelry-making supplies

21. SilverPost (301,996 Sales) — Crystals, minerals, sterling silver jewelry

22. UnmeasuredEvent (298,931 Sales) — DIY editable stationery templates for weddings, baby showers, bridal showers, memorial celebrations, birthday parties, and other occasions

23. PartyTouchesUK (247,905 Sales) — Party décor

24. CrcbeadsShop (475,699 Sales) — Bead wholesaler for jewelry and craft making

25. BlingeeThingee (475,699 Sales) — Everything sparkly; rhinestones, faux pearls, glass beads, glitters, cabochons

Best Selling Products on Etsy

Best Selling Etsy Product Categories

By looking at the top 25 Etsy stores, it’s easy to see the most sought-after items by the Etsy community.

If you want to get started on Etsy, here are the top product categories to explore, as well as product ideas per category and some of the top Etsy stores in each category.

Craft Supplies & Tools

Stickers are some of the best choices for beginners trying to get started on Etsy because they’re easy and inexpensive to produce and ship, plus the possibilities of design and material are endless.

Beads, charms, hooks, tools, gems, and crafting tools also belong under this category, which are essentials in making jewelry.

Sewing, embroidery, and knitting supplies also fall under this category.

The top sellers in this category are:

Jewelry

Jewelry is a hit product category in eCommerce, no matter which platform you use. Necklaces, rings, earrings, bracelets, anklets, and hair vines are just some of the popular products on Etsy.

You can create a more loyal following and potentially more profits by creating personalized jewelry or allowing buyers to specify their own design and have you bring their designs to life.

Some of the top sellers in this category are:

Weddings

You almost never see someone planning a wedding without at least browsing Etsy.

From engagement rings to engagement outfits, from invitations to bridal shower essentials, from tokens to the wedding entourage to thank you cards, everything can be found on Etsy for all types of brides.

Top sellers in this category include:

Home & Living

This is a broad category that covers anything that makes a home prettier, cozier, comfier.

Products under this category saw a huge boom over the last couple of years as we stayed at home and wanted to improve our surroundings.

Wall décor, decorative crystals, handmade signs, candles and candle holders, doormats, and rugs are just a few of the more profitable items you can look into.

Check out some of the top sellers in this category:

Paper & Party Supplies

Finally, this is for the planner and journal lovers out there who want cute printables to write on.

3D papercraft also falls under this category, but creating these complicated works of art requires intricate skills.

Party needs like invitations, placeholders, and greeting cards also fall under this category. With the rise of accessible, low-cost graphic design software, these may be simpler for you to create.

The Bottom Line: Etsy Best Sellers in 2022

Etsy is an amazing marketplace not only because it gives creative people an outlet to sell their art, crafts, and other handmade masterpieces, but also because it has built an impressive community that supports each other even in the real world (check local Etsy market events) and on their respective blogs.

The above list is fairly comprehensive as to what really sells on Etsy. If you can’t find something up there that fits your interests, Etsy likely isn’t the platform for you.

It’s an extremely valuable ecommerce platform though. PlannerKate is receiving over a thousand orders per day.

That’s nuts!

If you are trying to get started, make sure you follow our how to sell on Etsy guide to help find your footing.

Do you have a favorite store? Or one of your own that you’d like us to link to? Leave me a comment below with the details.

How to Rent Your Car and Actually Make Money

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If you have a car or two spending a lot of time sitting idle in your garage, why not rent your car and put it to work for you?

With services and apps that connect your car to those who need it, you can have your car listed in less than an hour.

But I’m sure you have questions about it. How does it work? How safe is it? How much can you make?

Today, you’ll learn about the apps you can sign up for, the pros and cons of renting out your car, and how to maximize your profits.

How to Rent Out Your Car: The Best Car-Sharing Apps

With many apps popping out as the go-between of the service provider and client, companies have found a business idea that involves an app for easy access, and a car rental concept now called “car sharing marketplace.”

If you’re interested in how to rent out your car, these four options should help you get started.

Do note that each option comes with its own Pros and Cons, so be sure to read through the list and find the app that best suits your needs.

1. Turo

Turo Car Rental

Founded in San Francisco in 2009 as RelayRides, the company went national in 2012 and re-branded as “Turo” in 2015.

Turo is the most popular car-sharing marketplace out there today.

It’s been dubbed as the Airbnb of cars because Turo doesn’t own or maintain any cars (much like Airbnb doesn’t own any properties being rented out on the site).

Reasons to Choose Turo:

  • They’re the most popular company of its kind
  • Operates in more than 7,500 cities across 56 countries
  • The website has a lot of information
  • Up to $750,000 in liability insurance (You have to dig deeper into the ins and outs of Turo insurance. Each location has different policies.

Reasons to Skip Turo:

  • Since July 2019, Turo changed policies that prevented hosts from sharing their cars on any other car-sharing service. So you either go with Turo exclusively or not at all.

How to Rent Out Your Car on Turo

  1. Download the app, or open an account on the Turo website.
  2. Check if your car qualifies: less than 12 years old, 130,000 miles or less, clean title, and with a fair market value of up to $150,000
  3. List your car, adding photos and all the necessary information about your vehicle.
  4. Fill out a calendar (When is the car available? Where can it be picked up?)
  5. Set price and some rules (max daily mileage, etc.)
  6. Wait for someone to book your car through the Turo website or the Turo app. As a host, you have control over accepting or declining the booking request.
  7. Contact the client if you have inquiries about the booking.
  8. When you accept the booking, you’ll have to set meeting details (where/when you’ll meet).
  9. During the meeting time, the traveler will check the car for issues, while the host checks their driver’s license, and discuss the rules and dropoff details.
  10. Once the car is given back to you without issues, Turo initiates payment three hours after the trip ends (more if it’s your first time). You’ll get the payment in three to five business days via Stripe.

How Much Can You Make Renting Your Car with Turo?

Turo claims that the average US host earns $700+ per month for renting out their car. You can also estimate your potential earnings by using their Carculator.

Turo takes 15% to 35% of rental income, so you’ll earn 65% to 85% of the trip price.

However, the total price depends largely on the insurance coverage you choose.

For example, if you have commercial rental insurance and you’d like to skip the vehicle protection plans offered by Turo, Turo lowers its commissions and allows you to earn up to 90% of the trip price.

2. HyreCar

HyreCar is similar to Turo, but they’re focused on people who want to rent a car that they can use to drive for Uber, Lyft, Postmates, Grubhub, or any other rideshare or delivery service in the hopes of earning money in the in-demand industry.

Because of this, the cars that they allow to become “hosts” are often newer models and have passed the qualifications of Uber, Lyft, and the like.

Hyrecar benefits

Reasons to Choose HyreCar:

  • If you want to rent out your car for longer periods
  • If you’re OK with the client using it to earn money driving for Uber, Postmates, or other similar services
  • If you want to list your car on other car-sharing marketplaces
  • HyreCar is in all 50 states
  • Get a $200 deposit from the renter

Reasons to Skip HyreCar:

  • If you’re worried about extending the life of your car. Another driver will be responsible for it when you rent it out, and you have little to no control over how they use your car.
  • Uses Zendesk as customer support, which means you only get answers via e-mail instead of actually talking to someone

How to Rent Out Your Car on HyreCar

  1. Sign up and create a free listing.
  2. Post details about your car and upload photos, registration, inspection papers from Uber or Lyft.
  3. Wait for a driver to apply to your listing. (Applications expire within 24 hours, so answer asap).
  4. When you confirm an application, check driver documents and insurance documents.
  5. Handoff the keys to the driver, while verifying license and stating mileage/fuel parameters.
  6. Wait for HyreCar to pay you.
  7. Get your car back from the driver, double-checking car condition

How Much Can You Make Renting Your Car with HyreCar?

HyreCar explains that car owners can obtain a steady source of passive income resulting from a re-booking process.

According to HyreCar’s website, the average car owner makes $10,000 to 15,000 per year renting out their vehicle through the site, but the real amount is usually lower than what HyreCar is making us believe.

Car owners get a weekly rental payment, but a 15% HyreCar fee is subtracted from the total.

3. Getaround

Getaround Homepage

Founded in 2009, San Francisco-based Getaround is another peer-to-peer car-sharing company that empowers people to rent and drive cars hassle-free directly from other people who are listing their cars for rent locally.

What makes Getaround different from Turo and HyreCar is that the company has developed its own technology to support the service.

Their Getaround Connect™ technology allows renters to find, rent, and unlock cars right from their phones, which means owners do not need to meet with renters personally anymore.

However, the problem with technological advancements is that this comes at a price.

  • Getaround charges a one-time $99 installation fee for GetAround Connect
  • Although you do get a free 30-day trial, once up, you’d have to shoulder $20/month in subscription fees to continue using Getaround Connect

Reasons to Choose Getaround:

  • Better insurance ($1 million insurance policy for the duration of the trip, including comprehensive, collision, and liability coverage)
  • Available in 300 cities in 7 countries
  • No need to meet up with drivers
  • Impressive Getaround Connect technology

Reasons to Skip Getaround:

  • Monthly subscription fee
  • Your car depreciates

How to Rent Out Your Car on Getaround

Renting out your car via Getaround is the same as Turo and HyreCar, except for the part where you meet with the driver for pickup and drop-off.

The cool thing about Getaround is that renters pick up your car in a pre-determined spot and then put it back there once done with the rental.

How Much Can You Make Renting Your Car with Getaround?

Getaround claims that some owners make up to $10,000 per year (that’s around $800 a month), which isn’t too realistic. Unless your car is being rented out several hours daily, 365 days of the year, which is highly unlikely.

Car rental fees are around $6 to $10/hour. From this amount, Getaround keeps 40%, and the car owner takes home 60% of the rental rate, which is paid once a month via PayPal or check.

Note that their commissions may seem pretty steep, but Getaround already includes full insurance and roadside assistance with every rental.

4. Avail

Avail Homepage

Avail, formerly known as Drift, is another peer-to-peer car-sharing service. What makes it different is that Avail’s pickup and drop-off locations are in airports to allow car owners to rent out their cars while they’re on vacation.

They’ve branched out to select communities to offer park and share services as well.

Reasons to Choose Avail

  • Earn while you’re on vacation.
  • Free parking, free carwash, and free ride to the terminal, even when your car is NOT being shared.
  • There’s a mileage limit of 150 miles, so your car doesn’t get too broken down
  • No need for actual meetups

Reasons to Skip Avail

  • Available only in a few locations
  • They won’t accept manual transmission or electric vehicles

How to Rent Out Your Car on Avail

  1. Sign up on the app or on their website.
  2. Make sure your car is eligible (2013 or newer, less than 125,000 miles, and other eligibility requirements).
  3. Register your car.
  4. Pull up to the Avail lot in the airport so their staff can check it in, inspect, and clean it.
  5. Wait for borrowers to reserve your car, use it, and return it to the lot.

How Much Can You Make Renting Your Car with Avail?

You get paid a fixed amount a day: $20 for standard, mid-sized, and vans, and $25 for large SUV owners.

Pros And Cons of Renting Out Your Car

Renting out your car to strangers does have its pros and cons. Look through these pros and cons before you make a decision on whether to rent out your car.

Pros

  1. Registered renters are pre-screened. Car-sharing apps usually do a full background check as well as a DMV check on those who intend to rent using their app. This means you don’t have to do it yourself and you can rest assured that you know who is using your car.
  2. Your car makes money on your schedule. Car-sharing services normally allow car owners to mark themselves as active and inactive whenever they want. So if you need your car, you can use it.
  3. Car-sharing companies cover your insurance. Personal auto insurance won’t cover damages to your car while being rented for profit. It’s standard practice for car-sharing services to provide comprehensive and collision insurance to those who are renting out their cars.
  4. You may be eligible for tax deductions. Some rental properties are eligible for tax deductions. Check with the IRS or a tax expert to find out if your vehicle is eligible and exactly how much you can claim.
  5. You can earn passive income. You can earn as much as $800 per month as extra income while exerting minimal effort.

Cons

  1. Maintenance increases dramatically. This is especially true the more you rent out your car. Since the car is your property, you’re responsible for making sure it meets state inspection guidelines.
  2. Your car may come back damaged. Yes, insurance should cover any damages from collisions or accidents, but there’s always a chance that your insurance will deny your claims.
  3. You can’t control your renters’ behavior. From the experiences of those who have rented out their cars, their vehicles sometimes came back smelling of cigarette or marijuana smoke, or the interiors damaged. Unfortunately, there’s little you or the car-sharing services can do but to clean and repair the damage as best as you can. Remember, you’re responsible for keeping your car constantly clean and well-maintained.
  4. The resale value of your car can decline faster. All cars depreciate over time, but the value of a vehicle that’s constantly in use will likely decline faster than a rarely used one.

Tips For Renting Out Your Car

As you may already have learned, renting out your car can make you a tidy sum of cash.

Here are some more tips to ensure you maximize your profits while minimizing your risks.

  • If you’re still paying for your car, talk to your lender first. You might have been interested in renting your car because it can help you make your car payments, but your lender might take issue with that and may even repossess your car. Clear your plans with them first.
  • Invest in making your listing attractive. Take multiple photos of your (clean!) car from different angles, mention special features, and set a competitive price.
  • Inspect and take photos of your car before and after every trip. In case your car gets into an accident or somehow damaged during a trip, it pays to have documentation. Your insurance company will ask for this as well as the car-sharing companies you’re working with. Make sure the entire exterior and interior are documented, from the condition of the tires and engine to the dashboard.
  • Read through all the terms and conditions carefully. This should be an obvious thing, but this is worth drilling in: always read the fine print. No matter which car-sharing service you sign up with, you need to be fully informed about what you’re getting into. Most importantly, you need to be clear about what the coverage is in case your vehicle gets damaged, totaled, or stolen.
  • Shop around for insurance. Before you put your car up for rent, make sure it’s actually allowed by your insurance company. Call several companies and compare prices if needed. Don’t be shy about asking if there is a better deal available; an agent may be able to find one. If you buy your car on credit, look for no-down-payment auto insurance options and ask your agent if they have any special offers.

Starting Renting Your Car Out Today!

Renting out a good quality vehicle that you rarely use is a good way to make some money while helping out those who need your car.

But this isn’t the only way to make money from your vehicle.

If having strangers drive your car doesn’t sound very appealing to you, here are some ways to get paid to drive.

Or if you have a pickup truck and the money you’d make renting out through these apps doesn’t seem enough to cover your gas money and other expenses, here are some jobs for pickup trucks that can make you money.

While we’re on the subject of renting out your property, we’ve written about how to rent out your stuff and how to rent out your house. Your assets shouldn’t be lying idle when they can make you decent side cash.

5 Ways to Earn From Handwriting Jobs From Home

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Do you have good handwriting? Are you studying and perfecting calligraphy as a hobby? Why not learn how to earn from it by doing handwriting jobs from home?

But where do you even start? What jobs can you apply for? What kind of services can you offer, and can you create any products that people will buy?

Well, wonder no more. Today, I list down 5 ways you can make money from doing handwriting jobs from home.

5 Ways to Earn Money From Doing Handwriting Jobs from Home

Below are just some of several options to get paid for your handwriting, mostly from commissions and the art industry.

If you’re looking for homebased and remote jobs, the first place I would suggest looking is on FlexJobs. Especially in the beginning, when you don’t have a lot of contacts or knowledge in the field, it’s important to only look at reputable companies.

FlexJobs takes care of it by verifying the employers that post job listings for them, so you can rest assured that every job listing is valid and from a legitimate employer.

Currently, there aren’t any listings for “handwriting jobs” in particular, but it’s worth keeping FlexJobs in your bookmarks.

1. Work As A Freelance Calligrapher

Calligraphy is the classic art of fine handwriting, a beautiful visual art that gives the words written with it more significance because of its aesthetic quality and makes everything extra special.

When everyone thought calligraphy would go extinct, with everyone stuck to their phones and computers, seemingly forgetting about the good old pen, the art of calligraphy suddenly made a comeback.

Calligraphy requirements

You don’t need to have formal training, but some calligraphers take up short courses in history to learn ancient alphabet and writing styles.

Other requirements for these online handwriting jobs include:

  • Calligraphy pens and ink – If you’re doing brush calligraphy, you’d need a brush pen or a brush marker. If you’re doing pen calligraphy, you would need a calligraphy pen, with a holder (usually wood, but can be plastic) and a nib.
  • Drawing tablet and stylus – Computers can now help with calligraphy, thanks to drawing tablets and pens, but some customers still prefer the look and feel of handwritten calligraphy on specialty paper.

If you’re a beginner to calligraphy looking to be commissioned for handwriting jobs, Etsy is a good place to start advertising your services.

Just take a look through some of the current handwriting offerings on Etsy to get an idea of what kind of work you should be aiming to sell.

Eventually, though, you can start your own website and offer your freelance services from there. You should really aim to become the best calligrapher locally, as word-of-mouth endorsements go incredibly far and I think most people feel pride in supporting someone local.

How much do calligraphers make?

In very rare cases, calligraphers find employment with design firms and companies involved in events or the wedding industry.

However, calligraphers mostly work freelance.

To give you an idea of how much you can make, let’s use the most frequent commission you’ll probably get.

For instance, many couples commission calligraphers to address their wedding invites, who then charge anywhere from $4 to $8 per invitation envelope, depending on the materials and any special requests.

Each envelope can take between 12 to 15 minutes to complete, so this comes out to around $16 to $40 per hour.

Exactly how much you will make will vary based on your experience, the project, technique used, equipment, materials, and so on.

Other wedding projects you’ll likely be commissioned for include signs, place cards, souvenir invitations for framing (as in the entire wedding invite, not just the envelopes), menu cards, vows, and thank you cards.

Those who have put some time, effort and marketing into their calligraphy craft has turned their Etsy shop into a full-fledged business earning up to $49,000 annually from custom, online handwriting jobs.

2. Sell physical products.

Aside from custom work, many calligraphers also create handmade products so that even during slow seasons for weddings, they’ll still have a way to generate income.

Again, Etsy is the go-to place to sell crafts, but if you already have your own website, you can offer your handmade products there, too.

Some examples of crafts you can make and sell include greeting cards, raw or framed prints, postcards, generic signs, stickers, mugs, glasses, tumblers, and other knick-knacks and gifts you can write on.

If you can get hold of a supplier who can give you a good price, you can also try selling calligraphy supplies, such as brush pens, markers, pen holders, nibs, calligraphy ink (some calligraphers sell their own formula), ink bottles, specialty paper, and other handwriting and calligraphy essentials.

3. Font Creation: Passive Income Generation from Home

Another way to make use of your handwriting skills is to make and sell fonts.

Before I explain how this works, here’s a major disclosure: you won’t get rich with font design overnight.

Some font designers don’t even earn a cent for months or years after they’ve created a particular font.

However, font design allows you to earn passive income; once you sell a font, you can sell it again and again for numerous times and collect payment for each sale.

Visit DaFont and look around under handwritten category.

Do they look like fonts that you can write yourself?

If you answered “yes,” then you’re halfway there.

Font Design Requirements

  • OLD METHOD: In the past, font designers scan handwritten fonts to convert their artwork into digital versions. They used paper, various kinds of writing materials from pens to markers, a scanner and computer.
  • NEW METHOD: Today, font designers can directly write and draw from a drawing tablet and digital pen, see their work on a screen live as they work on a particular font, and edit when necessary.

Of course, if you’re new to font design, you can use any of these routes even today.

Your choice would probably depend on your proficiency and availability of equipment.

How Much do Font Designers Make?

Unlike other kinds of handwriting jobs for home, there is no general salary estimate for font designers.

This is because font designers sell their work in 3 different ways (each with varying fees, commissions, and terms).

Font Foundry

When you join a foundry like FontSpring, FontShop, Linotype, Monotype or P22, you sign a contract that says you’re selling your font with them exclusively. The royalties font designers earn can be from 20 to 50% depending on the company. You don’t have control on pricing here, but you also don’t need to promote your fonts anymore.

Font resellers

Becoming a member of resellers like Fonts.com or MyFonts.com bring your font to a wider audience. You can join multiple sites, but the percentage-per-sale is often small.

Sell on Your Own Website

As with selling your services and physical products, you’ll have 100% control on pricing, marketing and promotions, but the work involved is definitely more challenging than the other methods of selling fonts.

To learn more about selling your font, I wrote a comprehensive font selling guide comparing these three routes.

4. Work as a Letter/Mail Handwriter

Another handwriting job that may sound interesting to you is being a letter handwriter, in which you handwrite a previously composed letter. Sometimes, you only have to address envelopes.

The good thing about this job you don’t really have to know calligraphy; you only have to be able to write clearly and legibly in either print or cursive.

Businesses who send direct mail are interested in this service, as it improves mail response rates; after all, we’re more inclined to open a hand-addressed envelope and read a handwritten letter than typewritten or computer-printed ones.

But because direct mail marketing is on the decline, there aren’t a lot of companies offering this service anymore, and you might have to offer this yourself as a freelancer.

5. Work in the Graphology Field

Graphology is the study of handwriting, particularly the physical characteristics and visible patterns of one’s writing, with the aim of identifying the writer or learning about their personality traits.

Although graphology is generally considered a pseudoscience, companies still hire companies that analyze handwriting through graphology for recruitment, jury screening, behavioral assessment, criminal and civil investigations, and sometimes even in medical diagnostics.

Check ScanMyHandwriting to get a clue how businesses use graphology and if you’d be interested in pursuing this kind of job.

The Outlook of Handwriting Jobs

Other handwriting jobs exist. Check job sites like Fiverr.com and you’ll see people and business owners looking for one-of-a-kind gigs.

For example, someone is accepting applicants for a handwriting project and requires anyone interested to have any Samsung Galaxy Note smartphone model with an S-pen, since you’ll be copying all the text assigned to you through the screen of your phone.

Calligraphy will always be a beloved art; as long as the wedding industry is alive, you’ll have clients in the foreseeable future. And as long as handmade crafts are appreciated, someone will buy them.

Font design is a bit saturated, but if you have new ideas and don’t mind aggressively marketing your fonts, then you can have a chance at competing with the millions of fonts already available to the public.

You can always invent a business that relies solely on your handwriting.

For instance, if you have perfect cursive handwriting, make a YouTube channel and teach the next generation how to do calligraphy.

Other Jobs From Home

The only problem with handwriting jobs is its physical demands. Calligraphers and handwriters can work probably 3 to 4 hours straight without compromising the quality of their product.

If you’re interested in other work-from-home jobs that you can do while taking a break from your handwriting job, check out our massive list of work from home jobs.

Have you been doing calligraphy as a hobby? Looking to earn from it? Share your stories with us in the comments!

How to Sell Your Eggs and Get Paid

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If you’ve ever wondered how to sell your eggs and help an individual or a couple build a family, you’re in the right place.

The first child in the US from egg donation was conceived in 1983 and born in 1984. Since then, infertile women, women with genetic disorders, single men, and gay male couples have routinely turned to egg donors to fulfill their dream of having a child.

As a prospective egg donor, you may be wondering what to expect, where you can have it done, and if it’s worth the trouble.

In this article, we answer some of the most pressing questions of potential egg donors: what the requirements are, where you can do it, pros and cons, how the process works, how much you can get paid, and legal implications.

Requirements to Donate Eggs

Being female isn’t the only requirement to sell your eggs. The requirements for egg donors actually comprise quite a long list:

  • Between the ages of 21 and 31
  • Have both of your ovaries
  • Physically healthy with no family history of inheritable genetic disorders. This means your BMI must be between 19 and 29, plus have no existing serious illness.
  • Psychologically healthy; that is, no history of mental disorders or psychological issues; plus you shouldn’t be taking psychoactive drugs
  • Non-smoker and no history of substance abuse
  • No piercings or tattoos within the past 12 months
  • Have regular and monthly menstrual periods and not using contraceptive implants, Depo-Provera injections, or IUDs
  • Willing to take hormone injections and medications on a rigid schedule
  • Able to keep appointments

Sometimes, your travel history would also be checked to see if you kept away from countries affected by certain diseases, such as Zika. Another medical history likely to be considered is sexually transmitted infections like gonorrhea, syphilis, hepatitis, chlamydia, and so on.

Many clinics do not list a college education as a requirement, but reports have shown that fertility clinics do prefer candidates with a degree.

The screening process, which involves physical exams, interviews, background checks, and psychological tests, takes about 6 to 8 weeks depending on the clinic.

If you tick all the boxes, you can submit an application to become an egg donor. But where do you go?

Where Can You Sell Your Eggs?

There are three main ways to donate your eggs:

  • Through an egg donor agency — Egg donor agencies screen potential egg donors and then match successfully chosen donors with recipients or fertility clinics.
  • Through a fertility clinic or center with a donor service — Instead of going through an egg donor clinic, you can look for a fertility clinic that handles both the screening and the rest of the donation process
  • Through a directed egg donation — In some cases, you can skip the matchmaking part and write up an agreement with an intended recipient (often a friend or a family member) before you go to a fertility clinic.

If you’ve found a clinic and want to know more about it, make sure to check the Fertility Clinic Success Rates Report published by the CDC (Center for Disease Control and Prevention).

Pros and Cons of Selling Your Eggs

As with donating any other bodily fluids or organs, there are certain pros and cons to selling your eggs. These are important to consider before learning how to sell your eggs.

PROS

1. You give people a chance to start or build a family. This is one of the best reasons to donate eggs and should be your main motivation if it isn’t already.

Donating eggs is an act of empathy and compassion for couples experiencing infertility, couples who have inheritable genetic disorders, single men who are willing to hire a surrogate, LGBTQ+ couples, and others who want to be parents but cannot conceive.

2. You get free medical testing. Selling your eggs is a serious health-related decision, and for that reason, you need to undergo various tests to ensure you’re physically up to it.

You get to be tested for chronic diseases, genetic disorders, and sexually transmitted diseases. These tests can run up to thousands of dollars, and you get these tests for free if you decide to apply as an egg donor.

You even get to know about your own fertility potential, which is a big deal in terms of your reproductive health and any decisions you have about being a parent yourself.

3. You get financial benefits. Plenty of women donate their eggs selflessly, but it would be disingenuous not to acknowledge that the monetary compensation is huge and can be a motivating factor.

The compensation is for the donors’ time, generosity, and dedication. Many egg donors use the payment to achieve their own financial goals and fulfill their own dreams.

CONS

1. The process can be stressful. Donating eggs takes time, patience, and mental fortitude, not to mention the physical changes that can occur. All these can take a toll on even the strongest of women.

The screenings alone can take six to eight weeks, and after all that you may not even be qualified (some clinics report that only 3% to 4% of applicants get to ultimately donate their eggs).

2. Donation can cause physical changes that may be irreversible. The fertility medication used to stimulate women’s ovaries can cause changes to one’s menstrual cycle. In some cases, these changes can be permanent.

In extreme cases, some egg donors may experience ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS). Symptoms can range from mild abdominal pain, nausea, and vomiting to blood clots, ovarian torsion, and even death.

Doctors believe that OHSS is caused by fertility clinics being careless about administering hormones to donors and not solely because of the hormone therapy itself.

3. It’s not a steady, long-term side hustle. Because of the physical effects of the medication and the limited number of eggs a woman has, you can’t donate more than six times in a lifetime.

Also, there’s a recommended waiting time of a few months between donations. So if you’re looking for a constant source of side cash, egg donation isn’t the answer.

How Does the Egg Donation Process Go?

Different clinics have different processes, but in general, they follow similar steps like this:

  1. Fill out and send an egg donor application — Most application forms will ask about personal stuff (beyond your demographic info), followed by your medical history. Wait for an invitation.
  2. The clinic invites you back for some tests and interviews — In the clinic, potential donors would have to undergo physical tests, ovarian function tests, psychological tests, drug tests, and other types of medical and psychological exams. The screenings can take six to eight weeks to complete.
  3. The clinic lets you know whether they’ve approved your application and whether they’ve matched you to a recipient — At this stage, you’ll also be informed of the next steps, your legal rights, how to self-administer your medications, and what you can and can’t do while you’re under medication (the most important thing to not do is have intercourse until three weeks after egg retrieval).
  4. You start medication. — First, you stop your menstrual cycle. In the third week, you self-inject with a drug to reduce sex hormones, then a drug to stimulate multiple follicles to produce eggs, and then a final injection of follicle-stimulating hormone so that you ovulate on a specific date.
  5. Eggs are retrieved from the donor. — On the date of your ovulation, your eggs are harvested while you’re under IV sedation. This step only takes 20 to 30 minutes.
  6. Go back to the clinic. — You’ll be having post-retrieval checkups at the clinic, including a sonogram and a psych evaluation.

If everything works out, there’s a big chance you might be invited back to another cycle (donate more eggs) in the future.

What Happens to the Eggs You Sell?

Once the eggs have been harvested from your ovaries, there are a number of possible things that can happen to them.

  • Embryos may not be formed. It could be a problem with the sperm, the storage conditions, or the eggs themselves. These unfertilized eggs can be used for research or discarded as medical waste.
  • Pregnancy may occur but may end in a miscarriage.
  • Multiple embryos may develop and the recipient may have two or more fetuses implanted in them. Multiple pregnancies are at a higher risk of various complications, but having multiples can make it likely that at least one of them will complete their term.
  • Embryos may be frozen for future use. It’s possible that an embryo of yours can end up in a recipient and born months or years from when you sold your eggs.
  • Embryos may go to more than one recipient.
  • Frozen embryos may end up unimplanted; the clinic may ask permission from the intended recipient to donate them to another recipient, donate them to research, leave them frozen indefinitely, or allow them to be destroyed as medical waste.

Keep in mind, though, that once you’ve sold your eggs, you will not be informed of what will happen to them.

Legal Implications of Selling Your Eggs

Aside from knowing the steps on how to sell your eggs, it’s important to know the legal implications of doing this.

In the US, it is legal for a woman to donate her eggs, whether anonymously or not, as well as receive financial compensation for it.

Most egg donation clinics keep the egg donors’ identities from the recipients, except for relevant medical information.

The most important legal implication you need to know is that most of the time, you agree to terminate all claims, legal rights, and responsibilities to your resulting embryos or children. Legal documents will not record you as the birth mother.

Also, you normally give up the right to even know what happens to your eggs once you’ve donated them.

In cases of direct donation where the donor and recipient already know each other or even have a close relationship, clinics recommend arranging the screening, treatment, and transfer processes together.

Rarely, and only if both parties are willing, recipients may permit the donor to make contact with the child once they reach a certain age.

How Much Can You Get for Donating Your Eggs?

Many egg donors are enticed by monetary compensation, and why not?

The average amount of payment ranges from $6,000 to $10,000, depending on the agency or clinic you work with.

This can even go up to $15,000 for a direct donation.

Expenses incurred, such as parking, lost wages, and other incidentals are usually paid on top of the amount in the agreement.

Ready To Sell Your Eggs?

If you came here to learn how to sell your eggs for cash, it’s good that you’re trying to do more research.

Donating eggs to help other people does sound good, not to mention your potential compensation as a bonus.

However, being under hormone therapy does carry some health risks.

Also, if you end up working with shady clinics that won’t look out for your well-being throughout the process could lead to serious issues, such as the removal of ovaries or even death.

If selling your eggs feels like too much of a commitment (after all, the eggs you’re born with are all you’ll ever have), you can also sell hair, breast milk, and plasma.

On the other hand, if you’d like to go the traditional route of selling your stuff, here are a few things to sell to make some quick cash.

16 Work From Home Insurance Jobs to Apply For

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As people increasingly need coverage for their health, properties, homes, and vehicles, the insurance industry is constantly growing and is projected to keep on growing for the foreseeable future. And as the industry grows, it’s becoming more open to telecommuting. Nowadays, there are plenty of work from home insurance jobs you can apply to.

The insurance industry is particularly flexible and allows for a lot of leeway in work from home positions as well as telecommuting opportunities.

If you do a little digging, you’ll see that you often don’t even need experience in insurance for many of the positions they have available because a lot of skills transfer well from other industries.

You’d also be surprised at just how many different jobs are involved in insurance, many of which don’t require that you be in the office all day.

Because insurance companies need such a huge range of talent, they often prefer to have their people work from home or telecommute – they save money and their employees are happier too.

Some companies require that you work in-house first before switching to a telecommuting position, while others just let you work from home right from the start. Generally, this also depends on the type of role you’ll be fulfilling, so take that into consideration when making your decision.

Below, I list down the types of work from home insurance jobs you’ll typically find and which companies typically hire for these types of positions.

Types of Work From Home Insurance Jobs

1. Insurance sales agents are representatives of one or more insurance companies who sell their products.

There are two types of agents—those who only work for one insurance company (captive) and those who work for multiple companies (non-captive).

Most states and countries require that insurance agents have a license to sell the specific types of insurance they do. So make sure to check whether you need to sign up for training and go through any required exams.

2. Insurance brokers assess their customers’ insurance needs and requirements and request quotes from insurance companies based on their evaluations.

An insurance broker doesn’t have the authority to legally draft or enforce a policy. There are also different types of insurance brokers, such as wholesale and surplus lines brokers.

3. Insurance claims adjusters gather information from policyholders, claimants, witnesses, attorneys, and other interested parties and recommend how much an insurance company should actually pay.

There’s a lot of open positions in this field because so many claims get filed on a daily basis. In a big company, a claims adjuster can receive as many as 50 to 100 claims a month.

They are also known as claims specialists, claims representatives, claims investigators, or claims analysts.

4. Premium auditors review policyholders’ financial records and statements to ensure that premiums being collected are just the right amount, considering risks and industry guidelines.

They also identify issues and make recommendations on changing policy contracts based on their findings.

A bachelor’s degree in accounting is often needed to apply for this position.

5. Insurance appraisers estimate the value of insured items and the cost to repair or replace them.

These specialists are the people you see inspecting buildings to appraise the value of items, gauge losses, and ensure that the claim is valid.

They will also usually be the ones who determine the settlement the insurance company has to pay and refer a claim to investigators if they suspect fraud or illegal activity.

6. Insurance underwriters evaluate insurance applicants, determine whether or not a prospective customer should be insured, and recommend an appropriate premium to take on that level of risk.

They use software programs, statistics, and analytics to calculate whether it’s financially feasible for the insurance company to approve an insurance application.

If approved, they also decide the terms of the coverage, how much coverage a person gets, and how much their premiums will be.

7. Customer service representatives are the backbone of any insurance company.

These are the people who handle incoming claims or disputes and relay that information to the appropriate people and departments.

So, naturally, every insurance company employs plenty of customer service people to handle the multitude of calls the company receives every day.

You can earn even more if you’re bilingual, especially if you know Spanish aside from English.

This is a really solid option as a work at home job for moms with young kids too because it doesn’t require your full attention every minute of the day.

8. Insurance Risk Analysts are the ones who process any policy applications that get sent through.

They’re also in charge of adjusting policies if the client requests it, or if the company requires it after a certain period of time or a claim has been made, for example.

16 Companies Offering Work From Home Insurance Jobs

Many insurance companies list their vacancies on their websites as well as their LinkedIn pages so make sure to check them out and follow them on social media so you don’t miss any potential opportunities.

The number of companies that offer work from home jobs with benefits is steadily increasing every year, and you’ll find that a big chunk of them are actually insurance companies. Here are several big insurance companies that regularly post work from home jobs:

1. Farmers

If you’re looking for work from home insurance underwriter, sales, claims, or customer service jobs, Farmers offers plenty. Check out their careers site and search for openings using “work from home” and “remote” keywords.

2. Progressive

According to their website, Progressive offers work from home opportunities for sales agents, claims adjusters, customer service representatives, data analysts, and corporate positions, like recruiters and HR consultants.

3. Cigna

Select “see all locations in the United States” when searching for jobs on Cigna’s website. They generally hire developers, customer service representatives, claims representatives, and analysts for remote positions.

4. Humana

This Fortune 500 company regularly hires a diverse range of remote workers from every state in the US. Select your state on their career site and have a look through the different jobs available there.

5. GEICO

This company periodically hires people for remote work in various positions, including claims specialists, customer service agents, and sales agents. You may be required to undergo training at their local offices first before you can start a remote job.

6. MetLife

MetLife is a global company that has a number of work from home insurance jobs available. Currently, there are open positions in the underwriting and claims departments.

7. Liberty Mutual

Liberty Mutual is one of the most highly rated property and casualty insurance providers. Remote jobs currently offered include sales, claims, and underwriter positions.

8. State Farm

State Farm is the largest insurance company in the US, mainly offering car and home insurance policies.

Current work from home insurance job openings in this company include claims specialists, underwriters, risk and compliance analysts, and customer service representatives.

You can also be an independent contractor State Farm agent and run your own business with State Farm’s support and training.

9. USAA

USAA serves US military members, their spouses, and their children, offering home, renters, auto, health, and umbrella insurance, as well as investment products and mortgage loans and services.

Their careers website lists job opportunities for appraisers, claims specialists, underwriters, and customer service representatives.

10. The Hartford

This company offers both personal and commercial insurance products, including home and auto insurance.

Remote positions include premium auditors, inbound sales agents, underwriters, appraisers, claims specialists, and relationship managers.

11. Nationwide

Nationwide offers auto, home, health, and pet insurance, as well as various other financial products.

Available work from home job openings include underwriters, claims specialists, premium auditors, and sales managers.

12. UnitedHealth Group

UnitedHealth Group is a multinational insurance and healthcare company offering various insurance services and healthcare products worldwide.

Their work from home job openings include insurance underwriter, sales representative, claims representative, and broker agent.

13. Allstate

Allstate is yet another familiar name in the insurance industry.

Remote job openings right now include sales representative, adjuster, and commercial underwriter.

14. Crawford & Company

Crawford & Company provides claims management, risk management, and outsourcing services and solutions to insurance carriers and brokers.

Recent opportunities on their site include property adjuster, claims specialist, and customer service representative.

15. Lincoln Financial

Lincoln Financial deals in life insurance, as well as retirement plans, group benefits, and annuities.

They offer several work from home jobs on their Careers page under the Claims, Audit, Customer Service, Underwriting, Sales Management, and Risk Management departments.

16. CNA Insurance

CNA Insurance is a Chicago-based insurance company specializing in commercial property and casualty insurance.

They’re currently hiring insurance underwriters, sales specialists, premium auditors, and risk consultants who can work from home.

Other Places to Find Work From Home Insurance Jobs

Insurance companies post their job openings on other websites as well. Here are a few more places where you can find listings for work from home insurance jobs.

General Job Boards

I highly recommend starting your search with FlexJobs, home to plenty of remote jobs, both full time and part time.

What sets FlexJobs apart from other similar job boards is that they carefully vet the companies that post their listings on the site. This means that if you’re interested in a particular job, you can rest assured that it’s not a scam.

Other job boards worth looking into include Indeed, ZipRecruiter, and SimplyHired.

Insurance Job Boards

Aside from general job boards, there are plenty of specific job boards offering plenty of work from home insurance jobs from the best companies. Here are a few sites to get you off to a good start.

Pro Tip: To find work from home insurance jobs easier, search for terms like “telecommuting,” “remote,” “telework,” and “work from home” in addition to the job position that you’re interested in.

How Much Can You Earn Working From Home?

I usually try to give my readers a reasonable estimate of what they can expect to earn for the work from home gigs I talk about. But it’s a tough question in this case because there are so many types of roles in the insurance industry and their compensation differs considerably.

That said, here’s a quick list of the average annual salary as of September 2022 for each of the roles I listed above, according to Salary.com.

Note that these are rough estimates and could differ. Adjust your expectations depending on your experience, the company, and whether you’re hired full-time or not.

Insurance sales agent: $48,633/yr (plus sales commissions)

Insurance broker: $87,695/yr

Insurance claims adjuster: $52,104/yr

Premium auditor: $78,561/yr`

Insurance appraiser: $65,649/yr

Insurance underwriter: $73,976/yr

Customer service representative: $35,886/yr

Insurance risk analyst: $66,280/yr

Apply For Work From Home Insurance Jobs Today!

Insurance isn’t the most exciting or glamorous industry to work in, but this field is growing and there are plenty of work from home insurance jobs to apply for.

Plus, the insurance industry can be broken into by people with various skills and experience.

If you’re interested in other financial related work from home jobs, check out our lists of work from home accounting jobs, work from home financial advisor jobs, and virtual bookkeeper jobs.

27 Best Places To Sell Shoes for Cash

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Do you have a cabinet full of shoes that you don’t wear anymore? Maybe they don’t fit anymore, or your style has changed. Today, we list down the best places to sell shoes for cash.

What better way to both declutter and make some extra money than to sell your unwanted shoes?

Plus, you’ll be keeping them in use for longer instead of them ending up in landfills, so it’s a win for the environment, too!

Go through the list of places below and consider them.

Best Places to Sell Shoes for Cash Online

Selling your shoes online is probably the quickest way to start earning money from your shoes.

The upside is having a wide audience, possibly even global. The downside is that you will often have to take care of shipping costs yourself.

Here are the best places online to sell your shoes.

1. Poshmark

This is probably the most familiar app on this list.

The Poshmark app allows you to list your items easily. Take product photos, write the description, and set the price.

Once the item is sold, Poshmark will send a prepaid, pre-addressed shipping label to send it to them through the USPS mailbox. When the buyer receives the item, Poshmark will send your payment within three working days via direct deposit to your bank account or via check.

Poshmark is the “big one” when it comes to selling clothes online and reviews are generally very favorable. Poshmark gets $2.95 for sales less than $15 and 20% on sales greater than $15.

They accept items of any brand.

2. Flyp

If you have shoes to sell, Flyp connects you with a “Pro Seller” who does all the work for you.

First, you take photos of your shoes and other apparel you’re selling to make a Lot. Flyp will then match you with one of the Pro Sellers on their network who will then provide price estimates and their commission rate.

If you’re happy, send your Lot over to them using Flyp’s shipping label. They’ll do all the selling work for you, such as shipping, customer service, and other related services. When your Pro Seller receives the funds for the sales, you get paid via the app. You can withdraw your earnings to your bank account through Stripe.

Flyp has a protection policy in place. If your item doesn’t sell within 90 days, your Pro can either mail the item back to you, donate the item on your behalf, make you an offer to buy the item from you at a discount, or reduce the price and extend the selling time.

A downside is that they only work with items from name brands and designer brands; they don’t work with fast fashion, department store, or novelty brands.

3. TheRealReal

TheRealReal is a consignment shop that makes it simple to sell your luxury branded shoes.

You can schedule a pickup, ship it to them via a free prepaid label, drop them off in person at an office, or schedule a virtual consignment appointment.

Once they have the items, they’re in charge of selling your shoes for cash. When your items get sold, they pay out via direct deposit, check, or site credit (get an extra 5% when you get your payout this way).

Their commissions vary depending on the item being sold and your annual sales. Consult their commission rate chart.

4. ThredUp

ThredUP is primarily known for clothing and accessories, but you can also sell shoes here.

Order a Clean Out Kit, place shoes (and other items you want to sell), ship it back to them, and then wait for them to accept the items for selling or for them to send the bag back to you.

When your items are sold and after a 14-day return window, you can order a cashout to your bank account, PayPal, or store credit.

Your payout is dependent on the selling price of your item and follows this payout structure.

5. Tradesy

Tradesy is a buy-and-sell marketplace for fashion, built by and for women, and specializing in designer brands.

Create your listing, upload photos, add details, set your price, and wait for it to be sold. When the sale is confirmed, you ship directly to the buyer. Once the item is received by the buyer, you get paid.

Tradesy provides pre-paid, insured Tradesy packaging and shipping kits to sellers, so you don’t need to worry about those.

You’ll pay a flat commission fee of $7.50 for items priced less than $50 and a 19.8% commission for items priced more than $50.

Payouts are via PayPal, debit card, or checking account but for a 2.9% transfer fee. If you choose Tradesy credits instead, the transfer fee is waived.

6. Grailed

Grailed specializes in men’s clothing and fashion, ranging from luxury brands to streetwear, from suits to vintage clothing.

You simply have to list your shoes on their site, wait for a buyer (or buyers) to make an offer, and then wait for your payout via PayPal or your bank account via Grailed Payments.

Grailed takes a commission fee of 9% plus seller fees; PayPal’s current rate is 3.49% + $0.49, and Grailed Payments has a fee of 3% to transfer to your bank account.

7. Kixify

Serious and casual sneakerheads who buy and sell shoes for cash are already probably familiar with this website.

You can create a listing on your storefront right on their site (for free), buyer purchases from the site, you ship it, and you get paid via PayPal.

Kixify provides useful seller tools to help you set up your online storefront, track your sales, run your promotions, and everything else you need.

Plus, as the store owner, you get to set your own policies for shipping, returns, exchanges, and other guidelines.

In return, Kixify takes a 10% commission.

8. GOAT

GOAT is another sneaker marketplace that only approves a select number of sneaker sellers.

Once approved as a seller, you can list your items. Once they’re sold, you can order prepaid shipping labels so you can ship your items to your buyer.

The commission is 9.5% + seller fee depending on the location (ranging from $5 up to $30). Your commissions will change if you have several canceled orders and verification issues.

Payout is through direct deposits via ACH or PayPal, and cashout fees are 2.9% for earnings more than $25.

9. buyMYheels

If authentic designer heels are your poison, though, don’t fret; buyMYheels.com may be the right marketplace for you.

Simply register, place an ad, pay the listing fee (£5 per item), upload photos and product details, and wait for a buyer to snap up your shoes.

When the order goes through, you ship the shoes to the buyer. Payout is through PayPal.

10. Vestiaire Collective

Vestiaire Collective is an international marketplace for pre-owned luxury and designer fashion.

Items they accept include branded clothes, shoes, sneakers, accessories, watches, jewelry, and bags.

They’re picky when it comes to the items they accept; you can only sell products under this list of brands.

For your items priced below $100, the selling fee is fixed at $12; for items priced from $100 to $16,000, the selling fee is 12% of the price. For more expensive items, the selling fee is even higher.

Buyers can opt to have their purchased items shipped to them directly, in which case, you’ll ship the item to the buyer directly. If they opt to have the item authenticated by Vestiaire, you’ll ship the item to Vestiaire instead and they’ll ship it to the buyer if it passes the review.

11. Sole Supremacy

If you’re looking for a place to sell used sneakers for cash, Sole Supremacy can take them off your hands.

Email them at solesupremacy510[at]gmail[dot]com with photos and descriptions of your items and get a quote.

If you’re happy with their price, ship the shoes to them. Once the shoes pass inspection, they’ll send you the payment via PayPal.

12. StockX

StockX is kind of different from the other websites on this list in that it’s a live marketplace where buyers bid and drive the price, and sellers place an ask or sell the shoes outright to a buyer whose bid they like.

You can then ship the shoes to StockX, they authenticate the sneakers, and then you get paid to your PayPal, Venmo, bank account, or debit card via Hyperwallet.

Their commission starts at 9.5% and decreases as you become a higher-level seller, depending on your sales per quarter. They also charge a 3% payment processing fee on top of the commission.

13. Depop

Depop is an online marketplace for used men’s and women’s apparel, accessories, and shoes.

It’s easy to get started: just create an account, take up to four photos, type up a product description, and decide your price.

When your items sell, ship them out and get paid.

Depop has no listing fees but charges a 10% commission.

14. Vinted

Vinted is another marketplace for apparel and shoes.

Simply download the app, post photos of the item, and wait for it to be sold. When the order is complete and the buyer has no issue, you get paid to your Vinted Wallet, which you can then transfer to your bank account.

Vinted does not charge selling fees.

15. Swap.com

Swap.com is a marketplace for secondhand apparel and shoes.

Sign up with them, send your items, wait for acceptance, allow them to process, price, and sell your shoes on their site, and wait for the payout through store credit or through PayPal.

If your item is less than $8, you get 15% in cash, but if your item is $8 or more, you get 70% in cash. If you choose store credit, you’ll get an additional 20% of the amount you’re supposed to get.

16. Mercari

Mercari is a marketplace for everything preloved with a flat commission of 10% on all items sold.

Download the app, take a few high-quality photos, add a detailed description, and set a price. They’ll do the rest and when the item is shipped, you can get your payout via direct deposit (with a $2 fee for amounts less than $10), debit card deposit (with a $2 fee), or store credit.

You can order a prepaid shipping label or ship the item on your own. Mercari claims its labels are 30% cheaper than retail shipping prices. If you choose to handle your own shipping, you’ll need to make sure the package has a tracking number.

17. Bonanza

Bonanza is another great marketplace to sell your shoes. With free setup and listing fees, low transaction fees, and free advertising until your items are sold, selling shoes for cash on Bonanza may be both convenient and lucrative.

18. eBay

eBay is the classic online marketplace for selling shoes and other used items for cash.

They also probably have the lowest listing and selling fees among all the sites on this list.

If you’re selling rare, limited edition shoes, you may find more buyers on eBay who are willing to pay more, too.

Best Places to Sell Shoes For Cash In Your Local Area

Selling your shoes online may certainly be convenient, but if you want to speed it up and not be bothered with packing items and shipping them, selling your shoes locally may be the way to go.

Here are some websites to connect with buyers near you.

  1. Craigslist
  2. Facebook Marketplace
  3. OfferUp
  4. VarageSale
  5. 5 miles

Local Consignment and Thrift Stores

consignment store with shoes

Many of your local consignment stores and thrift stores are willing to buy used shoes that may not pass muster with online stores. You may not get too much for your shoes, but you can at least sell shoes that you may not be able to sell otherwise.

  1. Buffalo Exchange
  2. Plato’s Closet
  3. Uptown Cheapskate
  4. Crossroads Trading

Tips When Selling Your Shoes

Here are some pointers to help you sell your shoes and maximize your profits.

1. Make sure your shoes are saleable.
Boxed or unboxed, used or unused, you need to make sure that the shoes you’re selling are at the very least clean and presentable.

2. List your items on more than one site.
Selling your shoes on more than one site means more people will be seeing them and that means more chances for your shoes to be sold.

3. Learn how to take accurate and flattering photos.
Product photography is crucial when posting your products for sale.

shoe photography

A basic set of photos of your shoes would be: one of the side, one of the back, one of the inside, and one of a detail, like a buckle, pattern, logo, bow, etc.

Use a good camera, set up good lighting, and get a simple background so it doesn’t pull away focus from your shoes.

4. Find out how to price your shoes.
If you price your shoes too high, it’s going to be difficult to get a buyer. If you price your shoes too low, you may be shortchanging yourself.

The Bottom Line

As you probably know by now, there are plenty of places to sell your shoes for cash. Evaluate them carefully and weigh the costs versus conveniences and advantages.

If you’re serious about decluttering, read about our guides on how to sell your old or used stuff:

Jobs for Pregnant Women: 28 Possibilities to Explore

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Having a baby is wonderful, but let’s be honest: it can be costly and it can be hard on one’s body. If you’re pregnant and looking for work because your current job is too physically demanding, or because you want some extra income to help your expenses, we have a list of jobs for pregnant women for you to consider.

The prospect of searching and keeping a job while pregnant may sound daunting. After all, you’ll need a job that has flexible hours or at least offers some personal time off and is not too physically or emotionally exhausting.

Thankfully, there are now plenty of job opportunities for pregnant women available, particularly remote positions.

I’ve compiled some of the best jobs for pregnant women out there, including work from home jobs for those who prefer to work online, as well as offline jobs for those who are restless at home.

20 Online Jobs for Pregnant Women

Let’s first explore some online jobs for pregnant women that you can do remotely or from the comfort of your own home.

1. Writer

Being a freelance writer is one of the best jobs for pregnant women.

It’s the type of job that gives you the ultimate flexibility to work wherever you want, whenever you want while making a decent income.

There are several different paths you can take when pursuing a writing career.

If you’re creative and able to write well, you can write advertising copy and website content. If you’re analytical and are a skilled communicator, you can try writing technical documents and books.

Here are 153+ companies currently looking for writers — all you need are a few writing samples to get you started and you’re good to go.

2. Blogger

Being a blogger gives you a whole other level of flexibility that being a freelance writer doesn’t give you.

Yes, you can write whenever you want, as I’ve said, but you’re given specific topics to write on, plus you need to turn your work in by a certain deadline.

When you’re a blogger, you get to write about whatever you want and you get to set your own deadlines.

The only downside to blogging is that it takes a little bit of time to actually develop—you will need to build an audience, create mailing lists, and learn how to monetize your blog.

On the plus side, though, once you get everything established, you’ll be able to make a decent passive income working a few hours per week, all while writing about subjects you actually care about.

3. Online Proofreader

For every piece of content put out online, there had to have been someone who went over and edited and proofread the work before it was published.

If correcting someone else’s writing is more up your alley than actually doing the writing, then online proofreading might be a great fit for you.

Editing or proofreading is the perfect way to make some money while pregnant, and you can even pursue it as a permanent job later on.

4. Data Processor

If you’ve got unparalleled organizational and analytical skills, then you can try being a data processor.

You’ll basically be responsible for turning source data into a database and that’s it.

It is a bit of a repetitive job, but it’s perfect if you can type quickly, have no time to learn or develop other skills, and just want to make money as soon as possible.

Here are companies currently offering data entry jobs.

5. Online Stylist

If you’ve always had a flair for fashion, now is your time to shine!

This may seem like a job you need to apply for in person, but in fact, there are many online stores and companies are looking for online personal stylists.

A lot of the work involves curating outfits for buy-boxes and helping customers find new styles to try.

If you feel like you’ve got the skills for it, then read more about finding online fashion stylist jobs here.

6. Chat Agent

Traditional customer service jobs may be too stressful for you to handle, especially ones over the phone.

If you’re still interested in customer service though, being a chat agent may be a better fit for you.

You’ll need to stick to a specific working schedule, but at least you won’t have to worry about actually talking to customers and potentially dealing with irate ones.

Here is a list of places to look for work at home chat jobs.

7. Social Media Manager

This is one of the best jobs for pregnant women out there.

If you know the ins and outs of social media marketing, then being a social media manager is one of the best ways to make money while pregnant.

Plus, you can make it into a career even after your pregnancy, as social media grows bigger.

8. Paid Survey Taker

Before anything else, I’d like to state that this is far from being the highest paying job you can do online.

The income isn’t the same as the income you’d make writing, for example.

However, if you’re just looking to make some side income, why not try it anyway?

Answering surveys is a great source of quick cash and generally requires little time and effort to make some side cash.

Plus, you can do this during your downtime, which means you can do other jobs.

I’ve rounded up my favorite paid online survey companies here.

Survey Jobs for Pregnant Women

9. Online English Teacher

Teaching English online can actually pay well.

Most of these positions allow you to create your own schedule, allowing you to wrk as little or as much as you want to.

10. Transcriptionist

If you’re typing speed has always been off the charts, being a transcriptionist may be for you!

You will need a quiet workspace and a computer that can handle transcription software.

The thing about transcription is that the pay tends to be a bit low at the start, but you can advance rapidly and start making a lot of money.

11. Graphic Designer

Graphic design is a skill that is constantly sought after, and more and more graphic designers are either freelancing or working remotely.

If you’re creative and proficient in graphic design software, you’ll find someone or some company to hire you, even on a part-time or freelance basis.

This is not just a side hustle that’ll bring you extra money on the side too.

It’s a legitimate job that you can advance in and is a rapidly growing career. There are plenty of graphic design jobs for pregnant women too, as a lot of them are remote.

12. Website Tester

You’d be surprised at the number of companies that will actually pay you to test websites, apps, and UI.

It’s not a full-time gig and you won’t be making as much money as you would being a writer or a graphic designer, but it’s still good money on the side.

13. Online Moderator

If you’re the kind of person who spends the majority of their time on online forums like Reddit or maybe pregnancy-related forums, then you can take it to the next level and become a moderator!

You’ll be in charge of responding to inquiries, providing information, deleting and moving threads, and other tasks related to maintaining an orderly forum.

Online moderator jobs have few requirements, but because of that these spots are also highly coveted.

14. Online Researcher

If you’re naturally curious and have excellent online research skills, why not get paid for them?

Several online platforms pay people to research industry-specific questions, compile the results, and use them for content, marketing, and other purposes.

Here are some companies currently looking for online researchers.

15. Virtual Assistant

The term “virtual assistant” is a general term for assistants who do administrative tasks for individuals, entrepreneurs, and businesses.

You’ll be mainly responsible for answering calls, responding to emails, organizing schedules, and other day-to-day tasks.

You can work as an independent contractor, join a virtual assistant company that deploys virtual assistants to different employers, or be directly hired by the individual or business in need.

Here is a big list of websites with openings for virtual assistants.

16. Search Engine Evaluator

When you do a search in Google or any other search engine, algorithms and bots take over and serve you the information you were likely searching for.

Sometimes, though, a bug can cause an error in the search results that are returned by the search engine algorithms.

Search engine evaluators act as quality control analysts by doing various searches and judging the accuracy and relevancy of the results.

17. Online Test Grader

If you have a background in education, grading tests may be a good fit for you, since you already have previous knowledge and experience.

You’ll probably need to have a bachelor’s degree and previous teaching experience to qualify. You may also be asked to take some tests.

18. Video Editor

With the rise of the amount of video content online, the demand for video editors is also rising.

The great thing about this online job is that even if you don’t have a college degree, you can start by taking online courses.

If you can manage your deadlines and avoid difficult clients, video editing may be one of the top jobs for pregnant women you can do.

19. Mock Juror

This one isn’t exactly a career or a steady job, but being an online mock juror may be a good gig for you.

Online mock jurors sit on mock trials that are hosted by companies who recruit these jurors so that lawyers can present a made-up case with made-up evidence so the lawyers can make decisions on their case strategies.

We’ve listed companies that hire online mock jurors if you’re interested.

20. Legal Assistant

If you have a legal background or experience in the legal field but don’t have a law degree, you can try working as a virtual legal assistant.

The exact responsibilities may vary depending on the firm that you apply to, but in general, you’ll need to be able to comprehend legal documents, conduct legal research and analysis, and perform general administrative tasks as needed.

Tips And Tools For Working Online Jobs As A Pregnant Woman

The first place you should look for online jobs is FlexJobs.

Save yourself hours of research and access thousands of legitimate jobs from human-vetted companies.

Every little thing matters when you’re pregnant, so having the right tools ensures you can be as productive and efficient as you can be.

Here are some things that can help you get into the groove while working.

  • A desk at the perfect height — It’s better if you can have either a table that has an adjustable height or an adjustable stand where you can prop your laptop. Make sure your eyes are level or higher than the top of your screen.
  • A comfortable working chair — As your pregnancy progresses, sitting too long will become more and more uncomfortable. Exercise balls are great to sit on, plus it strengthens your core and pelvic muscles. Or you might want to invest in a donut pillow to sit on; it’ll be useful way after you give birth.
  • A water bottle and nutrition-rich snacks within reach — You don’t want to waddle to the kitchen every single time you get thirsty or snacky. Have these essentials within reach so you only have to stand up to refill or to go to the bathroom.
  • An ideal workplace location — Speaking of the bathroom, you’ll want to work as near to the bathroom as you possibly can. Trust me and thank me later.

8 Offline Jobs for Pregnant Women

Remote and online jobs are popular jobs for pregnant women, but if you want to work out of the house, you still have some options.

Here are a few more ideas for some offline jobs that are flexible and do not require long-term commitments.

1. Cook

If you’re already a good cook (or you make some incredible baked goodies!), you can always offer your cooking services.

A great way to start is to sell ready-made meals or advertise a meal-prep service.

2. Dog Walker

Who doesn’t love dogs? (Don’t answer that if you don’t love dogs, thank you).

If you feel like you need some physical activity while you’re pregnant, then doing so with a canine companion is definitely better than doing it alone.

It’s definitely worth asking around your neighborhood if anyone is looking for a dog walker.

Here is our guide to being a dog walker, including sites and apps that you can check out for dog walking jobs.

3. Retail Salesperson

This is a tricky one.

Some stores don’t mind having pregnant salespeople, while others don’t usually prefer it.

Your job is to find companies that are pregnant-friendly—maternity stores are your best bet!

Retail work generally has a high turnover rate and you are likely to pick up extra work during holiday seasons.

4. Accountant

Being an accountant is one of the best jobs for pregnant women who love math, as there’s a constant demand for it whether it’s for individual entrepreneurs, SMEs, or larger companies.

This is also one of those traditionally office jobs that can transition into a work-from-home role when you’re near your due date and when you’re still settling into motherhood with a newborn.

5. Photographer

If you’ve already got the photography equipment, then why not start a page and offer your services for money?

You can work around your own schedule, it’s as flexible as you want it to be, and there is definitely a lot of room for growth.

Read our detailed guide to making money with photography.

6. Corporate Recruiter

Do you have experience in human resources? If so, perhaps being a corporate recruiter could be your next thing.

You will be responsible for:

  • Crafting job descriptions (so you will need great writing skills.)
  • Conducting pre-screening interviews.
  • Conducting face-to-face interviews.
  • Choosing a pool of qualified candidates.
  • Coordinating all interview schedules.

7. Crafter

Are you a DIY enthusiast? Did you find yourself sewing baby clothes or even making a crib once that pregnancy test turned positive?

You may have a hobby that’s possibly lucrative!

You get to have an outlet during your pregnancy while profiting from selling the finished products. Double win!

If you’re interested but don’t know quite where to start, read our guide to selling crafts online

8 Offline Jobs for Pregnant Women

Remote and online jobs are popular jobs for pregnant women, but if you want to work out of the house, you still have some options.

Here are a few more ideas for some offline jobs that are flexible and do not require long-term commitments.

1. Cook

If you’re already a good cook (or you make some incredible baked goodies!), you can always offer your cooking services.

A great way to start is to sell ready-made meals or advertise a meal-prep service.

2. Dog Walker

Who doesn’t love dogs? (Don’t answer that if you don’t love dogs, thank you).

If you feel like you need some physical activity while you’re pregnant, then doing so with a canine companion is definitely better than doing it alone.

It’s definitely worth asking around your neighborhood if anyone is looking for a dog walker.

Here is our guide to being a dog walker, including sites and apps that you can check out for dog walking jobs.

3. Retail Salesperson

This is a tricky one.

Some stores don’t mind having pregnant salespeople, while others don’t usually prefer it.

Your job is to find companies that are pregnant-friendly—maternity stores are your best bet!

Retail work generally has a high turnover rate and you are likely to pick up extra work during holiday seasons.

4. Accountant

Being an accountant is one of the best jobs for pregnant women who love math, as there’s a constant demand for it whether it’s for individual entrepreneurs, SMEs, or larger companies.

This is also one of those traditionally office jobs that can transition into a work-from-home role when you’re near your due date and when you’re still settling into motherhood with a newborn.

5. Photographer

If you’ve already got the photography equipment, then why not start a page and offer your services for money?

You can work around your own schedule, it’s as flexible as you want it to be, and there is definitely a lot of room for growth.

Read our detailed guide to making money with photography.

6. Corporate Recruiter

Do you have experience in human resources? If so, perhaps being a corporate recruiter could be your next thing.

You will be responsible for:

  • Crafting job descriptions (so you will need great writing skills.)
  • Conducting pre-screening interviews.
  • Conducting face-to-face interviews.
  • Choosing a pool of qualified candidates.
  • Coordinating all interview schedules.

7. Crafter

Are you a DIY enthusiast? Did you find yourself sewing baby clothes or even making a crib once that pregnancy test turned positive?

You may have a hobby that’s possibly lucrative!

You get to have an outlet during your pregnancy while profiting from selling the finished products. Double win!

If you’re interested but don’t know quite where to start, read our guide to selling crafts online

8. Librarian/Library Assistant

Libraries are generally quiet and calm, and visitors to the library just want to find books and sit down to read them; they’re not very demanding of your attention or your time.

Honestly, this is as pregnant-friendly as you can get.

If you don’t have a degree in library sciences, you might find it difficult to find work as a librarian, but you may still be able to work as an assistant.

Just make sure you’re not required to lift piles of books that may be too heavy.

The Bottom Line

Pregnancy is stressful enough as it is.

I hope this list of jobs for pregnant women has helped you narrow down some potential work you could pick up while you wait for your little one to arrive!