Too weird to label: SELL your Box Tops for Education on eBay?

Now this is a new one for me, and I'm fairly jaded when it comes to ways people make money on eBay. While selling those Box Tops for Education you find on food boxes doesn't rise to the level of selling used panties or cloth diapers designed for adults with baby fetishes (I'm not making this stuff up, folks--I wish I were!), it's still weird.

Box Tops for Education are those small, square labels on the tops of various General Mills food items (cereals, snack bars, toilet paper packaging). You cut out the Box Tops and send them to your kid's school. The school turns them in for money ($.10 per box top) to buy computers, supplies, etc.

Now that's all fine, and so you send a hundred a year in with your third grader, and you do your duty and it's all good, right?

Here's where eBay comes in. Someone, at some point in time, realized that maybe they could clip and sell those Box Tops for a little PayPal fundage, right?

And somewhere out there was a buyer, perhaps a parent who forgot to clip those Box Tops, or who wanted their little third grader to send in the requisite number of Box Tops and be like all the other kids.

So seller meets buyer on eBay, PayPal is exchanged, and all is good.

But riddle this one with me: why are Box Tops selling for MORE THAN $.10 each on eBay? I'm looking at auctions with sellers selling 100 Box Tops for $14.99 with free shipping...$17.99 with free shipping?

In WHAT free market system do items sell for MORE than they're worth (other than AIG paper)?

I'm going to guess it's the Parent Wars.

You know--those parents who want their third grader to send in the MOST Box Tops. $100 dropped on buying up five or six hundred Box Tops is nothing if their kid is #1!

I'm being snarky (ish). I can't think of any other explanation for this phenomenon.

(Wait...I started this blog post with a point...)

So--start clipping. You buy the products already. This is FOUND MONEY. Bundle the Box Tops in groups of 100 and get an extra $15 here and there.

Report back if you figure out why the Box Tops sell for so much!

Telecommuting Job Leads November 26, 2008

This will be a fairly short list, as even HR takes a break and winds down for the holiday!

Take a look at this article on how to find customer service telecommuting jobs. If you're looking to work at home as a CSR, this is a great launching place.

Happy job hunting!

Remote Technical Support: $13.50 to $15 per hour

Dot Net Nuke Programmer: $50 per hour

Publicity/Media Placement and Speaking Booker: pay not listed

Healthcare Legal Writer: $30 per hour

Senior Drupal Developer: $62K-$68K

Java Web Developer: pay not listed

Freelance Desktop Publishing: pay not listed

Appointment Setting and Lead Generation: pay not listed

Illustrator: pay not listed

Medical Illustrator: pay not listed

Coldfusion UI: must be in Somerville, MA area for monthly meetings

Applications Engineer: $95K to $105K plus bonus

Office Administrator: must be near Schaumburg, IL, for occasional meetings

Experienced C#/ASP.NET Programmer: pay not listed

Personable Sales Geek: pay not listed

Content Writer: 15 hours per week, $8 per hour

Network Engineer: $45K-60K

Telecommuting Job Leads November 25, 2008

Happy job search! Here are today's leads:

IT Specialist: $58K-$108K per year, federal government job

Marketing Specialist: $82K-$107K per year, federal government job

Transportation Specialist: $107K-$139K per year, federal government job

Transportation Specialist: $103K-$134K per year, federal government job

Administrative Advisor: $98K-$127K per year, federal government job

Records and Directives Management Officer: $82K-$127K per year, federal government job

Adjunct Instructors for Spanish Language and Hispanic Literatures: pay not listed

Adjunct English Instructor: pay not listed

Online Forensic Psychology Instructors: pay not listed

Adjunct Online Sociology Instructor: pay not listed

Adjunct Online Nursing Instructor: pay not listed

Online Faculty, Pharmacology: pay not listed

Online Faculty, Sociology: pay not listed

Online Faculty, Psychology: pay not listed

Assorted Online Faculty Positions: see website for details and to apply

Website Project Manager: pay not listed

iPhone Application Developer: pay not listed

Online Advertising Sales: base plus commission, part-time

Java and BREW Developers: salary plus equity

Freelance HR/Employment Law Writer: $25K, contract

Non-Profit Development Officer: pay not listed

Senior Consultant, ICMI Consulting: pay not listed

Senior Graphic Designer/Web Developer: 10-15 hours per week, must be onsite occasionally in Oakland, CA office

SEO/SEM Director: pay not listed

Interactive Web Producer: pay not listed

Estate Plan Drafting and Elder Law specialist: pay not listed, part-time

Tele-Sales and Marketing: base plus commission, prefer in Bay area

Travel Writer/Community Manager: $1,000 per month

Part-time Software Engineer: must be in Seattle area, but is telecommute job

Medical Billing: pay not listed

Lead PHP and Python Developer: pay not listed

Blogger wanted: 4-8 hours per week

Software Developer: limited to specific geographical areas listed in posting

Rails Developer: Raleigh, NC area only

PHP Developer with CakePHP: Raleigh, NC area only

Data Entry: $10 per hour, part-time, must be able to train onsite in Stratford, CT

Manager, Development and Communications: 30 hours per week, must be available for meetings in Bergen and Essex County

SEO Expert: pay not listed

Freelance Web Developer: pay not listed

Market Research: $10 per hour

Broadband Industry Blogger: part-time, pay not listed

Blog Writer: $20 per 600-word post

Payroll/Benefits Administrator: 6-8 hours per week, must be near L.A. for occasional onsite meeting

Supervising Document Review Attorney: pay not listed

Drupal Wizard: pay not listed

VB.NET Developer: pay not listed

Web 2.0 Manager: $12.50 per hour

Ski and Snowboard Instructor Writers: $8 per tip

P and C Agent/Underwriter: base plus commission, may work from home after initial training in Denver, CO office

Educational Sales Executive: $1,000 per trade show, 15-20 shows per year, plus commission

XML Content Management Professionals: pay not listed

If you like this, please Digg it up!

Internet Programs: ChaCha Guide

I signed up to be a ChaCha Guide a long time ago, and then (ducks head in shame) never followed through. Now, ChaCha is exploding everywhere, turning into quite the trend on parenting sites such as Sybermoms and Mothering, with busy moms earning $.05 or $.10 per question throughout the day.

What is ChaCha? Basically, people using mobile phones can send a text message to ChaCha--a question, such as "Where are the cafes with free WiFi in Leominster, MA?" The ChaCha guide, logged in to his or her system, does a quick search engine search, finds the answer, and text messages the answer back, with links.

That's the BASIC explanation. You start at a low level on ChaCha and then prove yourself as a ChaCha guide. I was rather blase about the program until the ladies (I use that term loosely) at Sybermoms began signing up one after the other and nattering on about ChaCha. When one ChaCha guide commented that she'd done 228 questions, at $.10 each, in one day, my ears perked up. That's $22.80 for the day, for doing quick searches and texting.

From the ChaCha FAQ:

How and how much do I get paid?

Guides are paid on a per-transaction basis. The more efficient you can be, the more you can make. Guide pay currently averages $3 to $9 per hour, though many top Guides earn more than that. See specific roles for the amount of pay per transaction. Payments are made one of two ways: via a debit card from First Internet Bank of Indiana, or via direct deposit to your bank account once a month if your account reaches $100 or greater.

The ChaCha guides I know are either stay-at-home/work-at-home mothers or folks who already have office jobs where they can answer questions during their down time (and technically pull a salary while making something on the side).

Anyone ChaCha? Unfortunately, ChaCha isn't hiring right now--they have 4 levels of Guides (including transcription), but you can check the site regularly to see when they resume hiring.

Post your comments, PLEASE!

Telecommuting Job Leads November 24, 2008

Happy Monday!

I'm working on adding a wider range of job opportunities, so please let me know what you're looking for. LOTS of teaching jobs today!

Post your job needs in the comments and give me some ideas!

Here we go:

Customer Service: $24K-29K, salaried full-time, must train for 6 weeks in St. Louis, MO in January
Customer Service: $25K-$30K, full-time salaried, must be able to train for 6 weeks in Pittsburgh, PA, in January
Virtual High School English and History Teachers: pay not listed, FL and NV only
Virtual High School Math and Science Teachers: pay not listed, FL and NV only
Virtual Operations Assistant for Educational Consulting Company: 30 hours/week, flex time, pay not listed
Health Educator: pay not listed, must reside in Portland, OR area
Trainer/Consultant: some onsite meetings in Manhattan, KS, pay not listed
Adjunct Teacher: pay not listed
Virtual Classroom Administrative Assistant: $10.50 to $11 per hour
Healthcare Legal Writer: $30 per hour
Freelance Basketball Journalist: pay not listed, Atlanta area
IM Specialist: pay not listed
Audio/Video Tech/Dev: pay not listed, occasional onsite meeting in Austin, TX
Administrative Assistant: 10 hours per week, $8 per hour
Immigration Attorney: pay not listed
Web Designer/Graphic Artist: pay not listed
Artist for Website Design: pay not listed
EMR/EHR/PHR: pay not listed
Bookkeeper: part-time, must be onsite for some meetings near Evanston, IL
Web Designer/Developer: onsite once a week in Chicago
Community News Writer: west Houston area, part-time, pay not listed
iPhone Bloggers: $10 to $15 per post
.NET Developer: 4 hours per day, pay not listed, must be near L.A. for some onsite meetings
Website Developer: 15-30 hours per week, must be near NYC, pay not listed
Nutrition and Dietitian Writer: pay not listed
Graphic Artists/Illustrator: pay not listed
Social Media Marketing Influencer: $10 to $15 per hour
Web Programmer: pay not listed
Part-time Contract Paralegal: pay not listed
3D Artist for Game Development: pay not listed
MMOG Database Developer: pay not listed
MMOG C++ Game Client Developer: pay not listed
Bookkeeper: onsite 2-3 hours per week in Beaverton, otherwise work from home, $10-$15 per hour, 12 hours per week
Article Writer: $12 to $15 per hour--hint: put links to the two requested samples in your resume. Do not send new, original writing in the event that this might be a scam.
PHP Programmer: $70K to $90K plus equity
Country Recipe Editor, China: pay not listed
Ruby Contractor: pay not listed
Law Student Bloggers: $20 per hour
Sales Assistant/Administrator: fluent in German, pay not listed
Controller/Bookkeeper: mostly work at home, D.C. area
Japanese Fluent Licensed Attorneys: pay not listed
Writers: pay not listed

The $100 day

Plenty of online workers--especially those who work from home as freelance writers or internet program junki...er, professionals--set daily goals for earning. This keeps you motivated. It sets an end time for work (you're done when you've completed $100 worth of work), which is important when you work from home. It keeps the money flowing. You can insert your own benefit as you think of reasons for working toward the $100 day.

You can choose a different number...$50, $150, $200. $100 per day, 5 days per week, is $2,000 per month. Not bad for anyone working from home.

How do you do it? Take a look at the older posts here:

Associated Content

LetterRep

Demand Studios

BrightHub

I'm only listing sites that can pay off immediately, or within a week or so. Demand Studios and BrightHub both require that you apply (send resume, fill out web form), so those are contingent upon acceptance. Once accepted, you pick up assignments.

You could, for instance, in 1 day write 4 articles for Associated Content--the pay is very low there ($4-6 per article these days), but you do get residual income (ongoing ad revenue share). You could then write 2 letters for LetterRep; if accepted, that's $20. Write 3 $15 articles for Demand Studios (article fees range from $5 to $20 now). Write 2 articles for BrightHub and earn $20 (plus residuals).

That's 9 articles (each in the 400 word range), 2 letters (250 words each), and around $101-$109 for the day. If 9 articles and 2 letters sounds like a lot, it is--but it's very doable once you get going, and this is your typical work-from-home, earn $100/day scenario.

All of these sites pay via PayPal. Associated Content and Demand Studios pay weekly, while LetterRep and BrightHub pay monthly. This is why steady, constant work is important--you keep a pipeline of money coming in.

Give it a try! In the meantime, keep checking back for telecommuting job leads--I post them around 3pm EST.

Telecommuting Job Leads November 21, 2008

Here are today's job leads--good luck with your search! Flash Developers are in high demand today.

I'll be back on Monday with new leads.

Graphic Designer: pay not listed
CAD Drafting Subcontractor: pay not listed
Ruby/Rails Developer: pay not listed
Marketing ans Sales: hourly plus commission, pay not listed
Website Needed: $4,150 for project
Work Naked: PHP Developer: pay not listed
Accounts Receivable/Bookkeeper/Executive Assistant: up to 35 hours per week, $90 per hour
Social Networking Programmer: pay not listed
Part-time Executive Assistant/Conference Coordinator: 10-15 hours per week, must be onsite for occasional meetings in Lexington, MA, $20-$25 per hour
Flash Designer: pay not listed
Sales/Account Representative: salary plus commission, pay not listed
PR Representative: see ad for compensation details
FileMaker Developer: part-time, pay not listed
Flash Developer: pay not listed
Document Review Attorney: pay not listed
Assistat to CEO/Founder: 10 hours per week, up to $20 per hour
Graphic Artists: pay not listed
NYC Design/Culture Blogger: $15 per hour or possible trade for housing--see ad for details
Family Law Paralegal: $30 to $40 per case
Medical Biller: pay not listed
Web Designers and Developers: pay not listed
Native Language Conversational Tutors: pay not listed
Excel Pro: pay not listed
Japan Customer Service Agent: must be IN Japan, $29K+
ASP.net and MySQL: $25 per hour
Conference Salesperson/Coordinator: $32K +, Orange County
Attorney Editor: pay not listed
Web Development Engineer and Operations Lead: pay not listed
Certified CPT Coder: pay not listed
Contract Web Development Professional: $35 per hour
WPF/XAML Animation Programmer: pay not listed
CSS, DHTML Site Builder: up to $45 per hour, must be near Puget Sound