I don’t know what it’s called, but I love making money. It’s always been my goal since I was little. My parents had a small business and we lived off of it while they built their empire. It was fun to go to work with them sometimes and see how everything worked together.
Before they sold the business, we were walking through the office one day when I picked up a few of the boxes on one of their desks. They were an interesting shape and size, so I asked my dad what they were for. His response was “These are for curing ham.” At that point in time, it seemed like a good idea to me! So for years after that, every time there would be ham at Christmas dinner or Easter brunch (or both!), I’d say “Hey! Why don’t you use these cool boxes?” But sadly enough…my parents didn’t want anything to do with them! That’s something that drove me crazy growing up because you know what? Those are some serious artisanal boxes! And if you didn’t think so before reading this post…you will now ! Even though my parents weren’t interested in using them for curing ham- which is unfortunate because if they have done so in the past 20 years or so -they could have made thousands upon thousands of dollars by selling those boxes online- people buy these things all over the place!! But let’s get back on track here.
I like to do some side hustles here and there. I have a few, but the one I’m going to tell you about today is making money from used cardboard boxes. I would say -when it comes down to it- this is my favorite side hustle because of how easy it is and how many ways in which this can be done! All you need in order to get started is some cardboard boxes, some tape, and a computer!
So let’s start with the beginning. You know that old saying: “Don’t judge a book by its cover?” Well…that doesn’t exactly go for used cardboard boxes either haha (here’s an example of what we’re talking about). The first thing people will see when they look at your box is what type of material it’s made out of. So make sure your box looks great! This will help you get more business later on (when we get into the part where we actually sell these things online). Now…the next step: Make sure your box isn’t damaged on the outside or inside. When someone buys something that has been shipped in a damaged box they aren’t going to be too happy with you (and who could blame them?) So just remember: Don’t ship anything that has any sort of damage whatsoever- even if just on one corner or something like that. You can always cut off one of those corners and tape the box up. The customer won’t be able to tell any difference!
Now, as far as where you’re getting these boxes from…don’t worry about that! Just ask your friends and family if they have any lying around or even call some local businesses and ask them if they have any extra boxes lying around. I’m sure you’ll find a way to put these to good use! Now depending on where you get them, and what type of material it is- this will determine how much money you can make from each box. For example: If it’s a nice sturdy cardboard box- with a pretty solid design -you could probably sell that for at least $10 online (if not more). If it’s a flimsy box that won’t hold the weight of something heavy…it might only be worth $2-$5 bucks tops because obviously, no one would want to buy something expensive in there! So make sure everything is good quality before shipping it out to someone else! You don’t want angry customers! So now we’ve got our awesome-looking boxes ready for sale- now let’s talk about how much money you can actually make from this side hustle.
As I said, the possibilities are endless. There are so many boxes out there and so many ways you can market them! If you want to sell them on eBay- that’s great! But if you don’t have time for that right now- or don’t feel like it- list them on Craigslist or Facebook groups. It doesn’t matter what type of business model you’re using (online, local, etc.) as long as your boxes are looking good and they aren’t damaged in any way. With all of these things combined…I’d say this side hustle is definitely worth trying out! And if I didn’t convince you enough already then hopefully some of my readers will be convinced after reading this post (and even better yet…they’ll try it themselves!) Thanks for reading guys!
