Note: This post may contain affiliate links which means if you click on a link and purchase an item, we will receive an affiliate commission at no extra cost to you.
I’ve never publicly told this story before because I was quietly making money off of this simple business for a couple of years. But the business is now dead, so now I’ll share the story :).
In early 2017, I quit back-to-back jobs in Silicon Valley and bought a one-way ticket to Bali. I was lost and confused, but one thing was for certain, I was going to figure out how to make money online so I wouldn’t have to get another job.
Within 45 days, I was profiting more than $1k per month by re-selling Allbirds to international buyers. This was enough to be ramen profitable in Bali.
How did this happen?
1) I spotted a business on eBay that was making money by re-selling American products (that didn’t ship internationally) to international buyers.
2) I brainstormed what American products are in high demand internationally but don’t ship internationally.
3) I decided to test selling Allbirds (along with a handful of other items) on eBay.
The Allbirds were an instant hit! I profited $25 per order, and the only work on my end was to go to Allbirds’ website, buy the shoes, and get them shipped to eBay’s international shipping warehouse.
The business died off about a year and a half later but not before I was able to sell 600+ Allbirds and bank ~$15,000.
While I certainly didn’t get rich from this, it gave me a lot of confidence and enough of a financial cushion to give me time to build sustainable internet businesses.
The lesson for me (and hopefully for you) is that there are many random ways to make money on the internet. So if you’re tired of working for other people, start experimenting with digital businesses.
Allbirds are still the only shoes in my bag! And I’ll never forget that they helped me to buy my freedom :).
