I Made More Selling a Happy Meal Toy on eBay Than I Did on Medium Last Month
As hustles go, there’s no contest
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The time has come for many of us to realize we won’t make much money on Medium unless the platform adjusts the way it pays for content in our favor. Some people are doing okay, but they are in the minority. Which category do you fall into?
The good old days
Even in the glory days for Medium writers of a couple of years ago, when you could score juicy bonuses without much effort, only 8% of us made over $100 a month. Considering how many stories we had to pump out to attain membership in the “$100 Club,” it was pathetic even then.
Today, people write 30 stories a month that don’t come near that figure. Sure, there are exceptions, but for most, Medium has become a sweatshop where we toil for pennies an hour, if that.
Are they buying what you’re selling?
Before I got neck-deep in Medium, I sold stuff on eBay and Etsy. I didn’t comb yard sales and resell. Instead, I sold what I already owned, which was a lot since my husband, and I have been acquiring stuff for decades, including inherited items.
I slacked off on that side hustle when I began to do better financially on Medium. Rising shipping costs have made some of the stuff I have to sell impractical for buyers. Someone must badly want that $5 item to pay $8.95 in shipping costs on top of the purchase price.
By now, on Medium, I’m a solid member of what’s become the “$10 Club.” So I’m back to listing things online to make up for what I’m not getting from my writing.
My most recent sale was yesterday when I sold a vintage Power Rangers Happy Meal toy for $10. That’s more than my writing generated in February. It took me less than 10 minutes to list it, and it sold in about a week. I’ve also made over $100 a month recently…
