8 Ways to Make Money by Sharing


Dollar Sign In Coffee CupBy harnessing the power of collaborative consumption, you can save money.  If you're unfamiliar with the term, collaborate consumption refers to the sharing of goods and services. For example, it could involve sharing bikes, cars, and homes, exchanging or selling clothes or electronics, or the bartering of services and tasks. With the rapid proliferation of mobile apps, social media tools, and web-based services, we're in the midst of a radical revolution for the consumption of commodities. Traditional sharing, bartering, lending, trading, swapping, and the like are being redefined by peer communities.  Forbes recently estimated that the revenue from the so-called "share economy" that will wind up in peoples' wallets will surpass $3.5 billion this year alone.

Here are a few of the shared economy approaches available:


Unloading or Swapping Products - Just because you no longer need something, doesn't mean it's reached the end of its usable life. Whether your kids have outgrown toys, you're tired of your clothes, or you want to upgrade your mobile phone, you can find sites dedicated to giving your goods a second life.  

  • Trading in electronics: Two that I particularly like are Glyde and Gazelle. Both are great for getting a decent amount of money for your old gadgets.  
  • Unloading used clothing: Consignment stores are nothing new, but online versions are.  Services like ThredUp can help you earn cash on clothes you'd otherwise give away.  Poshmark takes things mobile and allows you to buy and sell fashions from the convenience of your phone.
  • Selling varied goods: is like a digital consumer-to-consumer department store that lets you unload clothes, toys, outdoor gear, and more.  


Sharing Commodities - Chances are if you have a car, you're not using it all the time. Why not make a few bucks by renting it out instead of letting it sit in the garage?  Same goes for your home - when you're on vacation, why not get some extra spending money by having someone else stay in your place? That's the premise of many of the following peer-to-peer shares, swaps, and rentals.  

  • Capitalizing on idle cars: With RelayRides, Getaround, or Wheelz, you can make your car available to others.  You can also opt to join a car-sharing service like ZipCar or Hertz OnDemand which have fleets of cars available to members.  Lyft and Sidecar take a slightly different approach: They offer shared rides are shared instead of cars, so a driver will pick you up when you need a ride (these are donation-based for legal reasons).  And if you're a bike enthusiast, fear not: Similar share-programs, like Spinlister, exist! 
  • Habitat Sharing: You don't have to have a killer home in LA or a lush cottage in Surrey a la Cameron Diaz and Kate Winslet in The Holiday to swap your home. You can even avail yourself of the same service featured in the movie,  There are other services that don't tether you to a direct swap, like airbnb and HomeAway.  They're good and frequently less expensive alternatives to traditional accommodations when you're traveling. 
  • Sharing Goods: If you're like me, you have a lot of stuff lying around unused in your home.  For instance, I have a flute I play once or twice a year (to make sure I still can and appease my parents after all those lessons!), a backpack full of snow gear I might use once a winter, and a turkey fryer I only pull out on Thanksgiving.  While I usually let them collect dust when I'm not using them, services like SnapGoods could help me lend or exchange them...or borrow other people's stuff. These services are a great way to test something out before you purchase it.  


Tasking Out Services

  • Performing micro-jobs: Looking for someone to help you with your move?  Sick of doing your household chores?  You can have one of the vetted individuals at TaskRabbit perform mundane jobs or ones you just don't want to do yourself.  If you want to offer your own services, check out sites like Fiverr, which let you sell your time for doing just about anything, from singing songs to planning events.  Zaarly's a platform that allows you to sell goods or services in your area.   
  • Getting information: Advice from professionals is expensive - a trip to the doctor's office or a chat with a lawyer can easily cost a few hundred dollars.  If you need expert advice, and don't have a friend you can turn to and don't want to shell out a lot of money, you can use a service like Pearl.  The forum lets you ask questions anonymously to experts (ranging from plumbing to computer repair to pet behavior), and get online answers. While some questions can run you upwards of $50 dollars, it's a lot cheaper than hiring one of these technicians or professionals the traditional way.  


Looking for a straight up cash donation?  Prosper and Lending Club are peer-to-peer services for financial lending. As a borrower, you apply to get funded for loans. The cost and complexities are taken out of the equation and you earn better returns than you would through conventional modes.    

Of course, there are caveats.  For instance, with home sharing you need to make sure your local laws allow you to rent out your residence. And be aware that many of the services require a brokerage fee, so you won't be making the full amount.  Sometimes smaller-ticket items may not warrant the effort of the transaction. In general though, many of these services offer an opportunity to make money for unused commodities for little effort. 

If you've ever tried any of these services, let us know how you liked them in the comments section below.