Start a Business Selling Toads

One of the founding principles of Howtomakeadollar is that any time you can get something for free, you should get as much of it as possible, no matter what it is. This is different from hoarding because hoarders take stuff and keep it, while we take stuff and sell it.

I was thinking of this the other day while I was out hiking and saw like 50 toads. I don't know what the market is like for toads nowadays. I suspect it is fairly flat, but a flat market is still a market, and toads are free. So you may as well wrangle a bunch of them together and try to sell them off. A good rule of thumb is that if someone offers you 50 of something for free, then there has to be a way to make money off it. It doesn't really matter what it is. 50 of anything is a good deal.

Toads: Somewhere in the world there is a person who wants one

I'm sure there is some sort of National Toad Enthusiasts Coalition or toad collectors group out there that would love to buy toads off you. Let me check. Yep. After a quick scan of the Internet I have found this to be true. There is a group called "Save the Toads" here:  http://www.savethetoads.com/, and there is also a group called "Stop the toads" http://www.stopthetoad.org.au/. Both of these groups appear to be legitimate, and either one would be a good place to start hawking your toads. The first group would pay you not to kill them, and the second group seems willing to pay you to kill them. This is a perfect storm for a bidding war. All you need is a bunch of toads. Let me explain how to get them.

I did not stop to collect the toads I encountered because I was going hiking and had not brought a proper toad receptacle with me. However, if you want to pursue this opportunity, I will tell you how to do it. First, I was hiking a trail in New Hampshire known as the Pemigewassett Loop, so you will need to go there if you want toads. Secondly, you should know that the Pemi Loop is considered to be the 2nd most difficult day hike in North America. It is about 32 miles, and climbs 11 mountains, so its not going to be easy. But it is worth it because of all the toads you can get.

All you need to do is hike the loop and bring a large bag or box or something. Everytime you find a toad just grab it and drop it in the bag. I promise you will see at least 50 of them if you do this whole trail. After that its just a matter of finding a buyer. Even if you sell all 50 of them for two cents each, you still make a dollar, and I think a two cent toad is a great deal.

I've even thought of a few selling points for to make.
1. Toads are immortal. On my hike, I accidentally stepped on one, but it didn't die. It just hopped away. A few years ago I ran one over with a mower, and it hopped out the other side totally fine. (seriously). No blood, no guts, no sign of any trauma. This is because toads, like Elvis, never actually die. If this fact doesn't get you a toad sale, I don't know what will. Toads are immortal and indestructible.
2. Toads eat lots of insects. If you get toads, you will never get an ant or termite problem. Just get a bunch of toads and let them roam freely around your house. I recommend at least five toads per room. You will probably need to keep your rooms dark and damp at all times, and maybe get some rotten logs, because that is what toads like.

Large Rapidly Expanding Pool of Crude Oil Available on First Come First Serve Basis

Howtomakeadollar has already written about how to make money by selling stuff that you can get for free. Today we are doing it again.

You've probably heard about the oil rig accident in the Gulf of Mexico* that is gushing gazillions of gallons of oil every gazillionth of a second. This is a golden opportunity for anyone with an idea, but most people seem to be taking it as bad news.

Well, lots of people are wrong. Lots of people thought it was bad news when the first car ran over the first horse-drawn carriage, but nobody stopped making cars did they? In any case, that particular horse had it coming. Everybody thought it was bad news when the German blitzkrieg defeated the Polish cavalry. And it was bad news. It was a disaster. But my point is that nobody tried to use a cavalry against tanks after that. I have waited a long time to use the old Polish cavalry analogy. I don't think it is particularly relevant to the subject at hand, but its my blog, not yours.

The way I see it, there is a colossal amount of oil sitting around waiting for someone to get it. In fact, the government and the environment people are begging someone to get rid of it, to the point that I'm sure you could get paid to do it.

Now think about this. The rig was about 41 miles out at sea. The drill was under a mile of water, and it cut a hole about 3.5 miles deep into the ground. A 4.5 mile pipe with numerous safety valves connected the bottom of the well with the rig above the water. The fact that such a rig ever existed is an engineering marvel. The technology required to go down a mile under saltwater, to drill a 3.5 mile hole into bedrock, to pump out that much oil, and keep it all contained for even a minute, is simply beyond my ability to grasp. Sure, this one failed, but there are countless others that have not failed, and the fact that any of them ever existed in the first place is simply astonishing.

My point is that this oil used to be impossible for the average person to get. Now it isn't. This is a golden opportunity for anyone with an idea. This is where you come in.

1. Get a boat
2. Get a bunch of old paint buckets, ice cream buckets, or beer bottles. If your beer bottles are full, it will help to drink them quick.
3. Paddle out into the open sea
4. Keep your eyes peeled for a big black pool of oil. You will probably know it when you see it. Its the one that is 10,000 square miles and advancing.**
5. Dip your containers in it until they are all full
6. Paddle back and put them in your garage
7. Repeat steps 1-6 until your garage is full, or the oil slick is gone
8. Sell oil to someone who knows how to refine it.

In all seriousness, somebody is going to make at least 10 billion dollars cleaning this thing up and disposing of all the waste. If you have any ideas about how to do it, it would be worth your while to get down there and try. I think my bucket idea could actually work if done on a large scale, with big buckets and large boats, but I'm sure there are other ideas.

*How did Mexico get the naming rights to this body of water? The Mexican economy is in pretty bad shape right now. They should sell all naming rights to the highest bidder. I think "Gulf of Wal-Mart" has a nice ring to it, and I would also support "Gulf of Google" because of the alliteration factor. A good corporate bidding war could be just what Mexico needs right now. 


** no kidding. 10,000 square miles of oil sitting around for free (and growing). Thats the current estimate.

Tips for selling things on Ebay

We have blogged recently about selling things you get for free on ebay.  Well, we have started taking our own advice and getting free stuff and selling it on ebay.  So far we have made $32 in the last 3 days.  So far this appears to be our most profitable idea.

Recently we sold an item on ebay and we were able to ship it for $3.50.  Since I was unable to get in touch with our accountant, I had to use my own financial skills.  I assumed I would be able to sell 5 of the same item I was able to ship for $3.50 and ship 5 of them for $4.95.  Well as you can imagine I was a little surprised to find out it actually cost $13.95.  So instead of making $18 off of our recent sale we only made $9.  Its $9 more than we had before,  which is good, but not as good as $18.  So when you are listing an item make sure you know how much it will cost you to ship it before you end up having to pay more to ship it then you get for selling the item.

We have actually blogged about this concept before... but since that was three months ago and we have a short memory we forgot.

Sell discontinued items

We recently blogged about how to make money by selling freebies.  If you are able to get a free item, it helps if it is an item that has been discontinued (i.e. nobody makes it anymore).  If the item is no longer being made, that means it could potentially be worth a lot of money.

For example, Polaroid no longer makes film.  But, there are still people out there who want and use Polaroid film.  The fact that the film has expired 10 years ago is not a problem because every remaining piece of film has expired... Polaroid does not make new ones anymore.

Step by Step business plan:
1) Locate stash of unopened Polaroid Film
2) Sell on Ebay

Click on the following links to see our Ebay listing for Polaroid 665 Film or Polaroid 667 Film.

Sell things you can get for free!

The best business model in the world: Sell something that you get for free!  There is no better business model.  

There is a lady that makes $40,000 a year selling tumbleweed.  Yes, tumbleweed.  She goes in her back yard (somewhere in kansas) picks up the tumbleweed and sells it.  Its true.  Our OFCG can check me on that one... or you can click here.

So, go out in your backyard (if you have one) and look for something that you can get for free.  Options of things you can get for free: grass, dirt, acorns, squirrels, air, rocks, branches, pine cones.  Collect the free items and sell them online.  Easy!