Money From
(Almost) Nothing
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Mundane Items Become
Money-Making ProductsIn a world of music-playing phones, Internet-enabled refrigerators and satellite-based car navigation, some companies have found success with such low-tech products as urine, mud and even air. This is not the "money for nothing" Dire Straits sung about in its classic hit, but it's awfully close.
Click through our gallery as we highlight freelance writer Jonathan Berr's list of simple products that are making money from (almost) nothing.
First Up: Pool NoodlesMore Popular Features:
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Getty Images
Pool Noodles
Prices for these swim toys vary, but typically cost $1 - $5, depending on the size and retailer. According to Industrial Thermo Polymers, in 1988 it "produced the first-ever commercial 'Noodle' toy ... and since then this overnight phenomenom has become the hottest toy on the market." Growing sales would indicate the multi-million dollar fad shows no signs of slowing. Not bad for several feet of colored foam.
Next: Colored SandMore Popular Features:
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Colored Sand
You've probably seen the booths at fairs and boardwalks, where kids can create their own sand art. You can also buy colored sand by the pound and make your own masterpieces at home. (Sites like ColoredSand.com sell it for $1.29 per pound.) Don't want to pay a premium for pre-colored sand? Make your own. There are tons of DIY articles on the Web.
Next: Pressed PenniesMore Popular Features:
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David Rogowski, AOL
Pressed Pennies
Go to virtually any commercial tourist destination and you are sure to come across a souvenir penny press machine. Insert a couple of quarters and a penny and you get a squashed coin with a reminder of your trip imprinted onto it (like a Mickey Mouse face) in return. It's a cheap souvenir for you and a great return for the machine owner.
Next: From Dirt to DollarsMore Popular Features:
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AFP/Getty Images
From Dirt to Dollars
Dead Sea mud from Israel is said to cure skin disorders, so expect to pay a premium for this non-run-of-the-mill mud. For example, we found a 5.1 oz. SeaOra mud mask can sell for $32 online, when not on sale.
Baseball Rubbing Mud from Lena Blackburne may help to make balls easier to grip, but it will also cost you $50 for a 32-oz. container.
"Official Irish Dirt" can be had for those wanting a bit o' Ireland. Four bags along with shamrock seeds costs $20.
Next: Bottled AirMore Popular Features:
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Wales in a Bottle
Bottled Air
If you aren't in the market for special mud, perhaps you'd like some special air? Wales in a Bottle is just one example of a company that has found a clever way of making money by bottling and marketing the air we freely breathe. The perfume-sized bottle sells for $39, with free world-wide shipping. If you're homesick for Wales, this might be for you.
Next: Canned OxygenMore Popular Features:
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BigOX
Canned Oxygen
Taking bottled air one step further, the folks at BigOX sell flavored oxygen to the tune of $9.99 for a 3.5 gram can. "Oxygen is known to help with headaches, drowsiness, fatigue during strenuous exercise, helps promote healthy skin, and generates healthy red blood cells for over all well being," said Dan Jungers, the managing partner of the company behind the product.
Next: The Obvious OneMore Popular Features:
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Bottled Water
Of course, a list like this wouldn't be complete without including the obvious: bottled water and all its variations. From paying for water you drink to shelling out for Evian water you can mist on your face, this year more than $12 billion worth of the stuff is expected to be solid in the U.S., according to Beverage Marketing Corp. This despite the backlash against the industry from environmentalists and many others.
Next: Pee Pee, Really!More Popular Features:
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Predator Pee
Pee Pee, Really!
In 1986, the folks at Lexington Outdoors, an outdoor supply store in Lincoln, Maine, began selling urine from predators such as wolves, foxes and mountain lions to hunters. The product, known as Predator Pee, unexpectedly became a hit with gardeners eager to keep pesky varmints such as mice and deer away from their plants. Business is good, growing at 10 to 20% a year. The product retails for $22.99 for a 12 ounce bottle. The urine is collected from animals in captivity via floor collection drains.
Next: Poo Poo, Too!More Popular Features:
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Terracycle
Poo Poo, Too!
If you don't have a need for bottled urine, perhaps you'd like to purchase some worm poop? According to TerraCycle Inc., worm poop is an ideal, natural fertilizer. That is why they package the naturally occuring waste in used 20 oz. soda bottles and sell it for $6.95 (prices may vary). Proving where there's worm waste and soda drinkers, there's money to be made.
Next: Name That StarMore Popular Features:
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Star for Sale, Spot in Heaven
For those with money to burn, the International Star Registry offers people the opportunity to get stars "named" after them for between $54 and $144.95. Keep in mind, astronomers do not recognize the name. Inspired by the star naming business, two entrepreneurs founded "Reserve a Spot in Heaven." The $15.95 All Access Travel Pass includes a "First Class Ticket to Heaven," an ID card and informational guide.
Next: Power PantiesMore Popular Features:
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AP
Power Panties
To many women across America, Spanx undergarments are worth their weight in gold. So it's no matter that a set of two "Hide and Sleek Power Panties" sells for $60 when the wholesale price for regular panties is about $1. The hottest thing in women's lingerie since the Wonderbra, the Spanx factory cranks out 36,000 bodyshapers per day.
Next: The Fizz CupMore Popular Features:
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The Fizz Cup
The Fizz Cup
You would think drinking an ice cream float would be simple enough: Insert straw and drink. But designer David Chodosh has thought up a way to market a screw-on plastic cup to separate the ice cream from a bottle of soda. In the process, he has sold 100,000 of his invention which retails for $9.99 (for a pack of six.) It supposedly offers advantages over the conventional float. I guess 100,000 folks agree.
Next: 'Bloopers' SpongeMore Popular Features:
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Amazon.com
Sponge for Life's 'Bloopers'
The Web site for the Skid Out product says it's a specially-textured sponge that instantly wipes away pesky deodorant marks, toothpaste drools and other real-life bloopers. It's not treated with chemicals and requires no moisture. And a 2-pack can be yours for only $4.95.
Next: Pet RockMore Popular Features:
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Time Life Pictures / Getty Images
The Pet Rock
Last, but not least, the poster child for products like these is the Pet Rock. This fad took place in the 1970s and Pet Rocks were ordinary gray pebbles bought at a builder's supply store and marketed as if they were live pets. They sold for $3.95 each and made the creator, Gary Dahl, a millionaire.
Article: Getting Rich on Simple Stuff
Next: Companies That VanishedMore Popular Features:
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More on AOL:
Memorable Companies That Vanished
Remember E.F. Hutton? General Foods? RCA? They were once household names, but not anymore. Take a walk down memory lane as we reminisce about some companies that made a name for themselves, but didn't stand the test of time.
Click through our gallery as we count down BloggingStocks.com's picks for the top 25 most memorable companies that have vanished.
Next Gallery: Top 25 Disappearing ActsMore in Money & Finance:
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Recent Comments
CrowRedEye 10:22:37 AM Jun 23 2008
Predator pee does work! Keeps those pesky herbivores away from your garden! Also ZooDoo, now sold at many zoo gift shops. It is a GREAT fertilizer! Just make sure it is from herbivores not carnivores. Luckily I had access to these things for free, as I was a zookeeper for years. If you can handle baby-poo, you can deal with critter poo/pee.
I was raised by old people who lived through the depression. They knew they HAD to recycle. I learned to grow my own food and do without that which I could not afford. I am continually amazed by people who are "just gonna DIE" if they don't get all the "toys".
Too many people are impressed by material things. Those "things" will outlast you and wind up in a landfill.
armixlv 08:17:59 PM Jun 22 2008
Money - theme. Something new (no more million pixels) - www.buckcounter.com
Skadooshmaster 07:30:43 PM Jun 19 2008
What is America coming to, I mean bottled air, now thats just wrong
Toenee102 02:46:11 PM Jun 19 2008
As for the teeth whitening, does it work for false teeth and teeth that is mounted on. Or this product is just for regular normal teeth. How can I be sure if this product work for me.
Choirgirl1995 12:29:06 AM Jun 19 2008
kewl weird but kewl (why havent I thought of this crap?)
Jibble36 08:54:50 PM Jun 18 2008
geese u could make millions in year my bak porch is worm city and i wouldnt mind some of that flavored air it tastey and healthy...first for everythin huh.
