25 Things You Can Sell To Make Money

Making money can often seem more difficult than ever before. Many people rely on pawn shops and Craigslist ads to get a little extra money when things get tight. (And isn’t money always tight, especially after Christmas?) The good news is, you don’t have to hock your computer or your great-grandmother’s prize china to make ends meet. Why not put your computer to work for you? Here are 25 things you can sell to make money right from the comfort of your own home!

1. Old stuff

If you don’t use it, why shouldn’t you make a little money on it? Selling old household items and clothing you’re not using anyway is a great way to clear out your storage areas and make some cash at the same time!

2. Handmade goods

If you’re handy with arts and crafts, you can sell these through sites like Etsy. It may not make you rich, but it can make a great sideline income.

3. Services

Do you like kids, pets, or seniors? Why not sell your time taking care of and keeping other people’s loved ones company? This is a good way to get in some socialization and pick up some spending money.

4. Freelance work

If you’re handy with a turn of phrase, you can turn this into income by selling your work to e-publishers, article-writing sites, and even self-publishing. It’s a good way to meet new people, make new connections, and generate income!

5. Opinions

Everyone has an opinion on something. Why shouldn’t you get paid for yours? There are websites and companies that are willing to pay for your input and ideas on making their products and services better!

6. Consultations

Doing consulting work can be fun and rewarding, and it pays well if you’re really good at what you do. Tutoring, helping build a better website, or even giving interviews and information for books and articles can all help you make extra money while doing things you’re truly passionate about.

7. Plasma

Blood banks always need plasma and blood products to help treat sick and critically injured people. Depending on your blood type, you could turn your blood products into a helpful source of extra income.

8. Sperm

Not everybody is comfortable with the idea of selling their DNA. However, for couples who have a hard time conceiving by traditional methods, this can help them know the joy of parenthood and help you out by giving you some bucks. Win-win situation!

9. Egg cells

Egg cells are by far the most sought-after and costly form of conception assistance. A woman selling her eggs could realize upward of US$10,000 on one batch, making this a very lucrative way to help yourself while helping others create a new life!

10. Blog advertising space

If you have a blog, you could be making money at it. High-traffic blogs with interesting or controversial material can be leveraged to create an additional revenue stream for minimal work on your part. Selling blog advertising can help you draw more traffic to your own site and pull in extra money just for the time it takes to post a sponsored ad!

11. Ideas

Your ideas may actually be worth money. Writers, journalists, and people in all manner of professions are always looking for new and innovative ideas, and many of them are willing to pay good money for your thoughts and ideas. One example of this is NewIdeaTrade.com.

12. Editing services

Maybe you’re not a writer, but you know good writing when you see it and how to make it better. If you’ve ever said, “If this writer had just used this word,” you have the potential to be a freelance editor. Freelance authors are always looking for editorial input at reasonable prices. Expect to break even or maybe lose a little money short term if you do this, but as your reputation and that of your clients grows, you can bet you’ll start making great money for doing something you do for free anyway!

13. Articles

People with a flair for words and a unique way of getting their point across are worth a lot of money to blog owners, and they’re willing to share.Textbroker.com, Lifehack.org, and Suite101.com are all great places to make money off your ability to communicate!

14. Cover art

If you like playing with computer graphics and images, and you enjoy imagining characters from books on the screen, you have everything you need to be a cover artist. A good freelance cover artist can make $75 or more per cover created, and many cover art sites even do discount specials on premade covers to help generate business.

15. Photo manipulation

If you’re good with Photoshop or Gimp, and like restoring or manipulating photos, you can turn your hobby into revenue! Photo retouching, eye color correction, and even image cropping for holiday and birthday cards are all possible ways you can make money on your photo-fixing chops.

16. Mystery shopping

Companies like to know what the customer experience is like on their sites and in their stores. Why not become a mystery shopper? Mystery shoppers can make a full-time income by working only three to four hours a day, making this a great solution for stay-at-home moms and people who want to pull in extra money without committing to a full-time schedule.

17. Car advertising space

If you’ve ever seen a vehicle wrapped in an ad for a company, the logical conclusion is that the person driving it works for the company. This is not necessarily the case, however. Companies will pay from $400 to $900 a month or more for you to turn your car into a mobile billboard for their product or service, which is the same, most places, as covering your rent and possibly a load or two of groceries!

18. Gold jewelry

With gold at record high prices per troy ounce, it’s a great time to weed through your jewelry drawer or box and get rid of some of that hideous jewelry you inherited or were given by well-meaning but clueless friends or relatives. Gold’s value fluctuates, but you can expect to make around $600 an ounce or more, meaning you could be sitting on a treasure trove of spare cash!

19. Spare room in your house

Renting out a room in your house may not seem like a great idea, but if you can find a solid, reliable tenant, renting a room is a great way to make extra money while helping someone else get on their feet. Depending on the rental market in your area, you can rent a room for anywhere from $150 to $1,000 a month or more.

20. “Flipping” items

Sometimes you have to spend money to make money. Buying items from eBay, Etsy, or even Craigslist, rehabbing them, and turning them around for sale can net you big profits. A good rule of thumb here is to never spend more than 75% of the item’s list price and never accept less than 25% more than you bought it for.

21. Old books

If you have a bunch of old books you don’t read anymore, someone else might want them! Used bookstores will often pay you store credit at 50% of what the books can sell for, or 25% of their value in cash. This is another great way to clean house and clean up at the same time!

22. Video game consultation

Believe it or not, people can actually get paid to help online video game players navigate puzzles, defeat bosses, and solve troubleshooting issues. Being a video game consultant is a good way for gamers to make money while helping newbies get through that infuriating level you had so much trouble with, and it could pay you up to $50,000 a year!

23. Recyclable materials

Bottles, cans, bags, newspapers…the list of things that can be recycled just keeps getting bigger. Check out your local recycling center’s website and start a collection bin for the things they take. Recycling’s not just good for the environment, but it’s great for your wallet!

24. Photos

How would you like to turn your amateur shutterbug hobby into a money-making profession? Sites like 123RF.com are always looking for new photos to license. The best part of doing this is, posting your pictures can turn into a perennial revenue stream that pays you over and over for those pictures you thought no one would ever want!

25. Start your own business

Maybe you have a new take on an old business model, or want to try a new approach to an idea you’ve always wanted to work on. Why not start your own business? The out-of-pocket expenses could go as little as $15-20 a month or as high as your budget will permit, but remember you have to spend money to make money! Starting your own business can be a very satisfying way of making money on your terms and your schedule, and the income potential is really limited only by what you’re willing to invest in your success.