SIDEHUSTLE #1: How I sold Clearly Canadian Online and made Money.
I will never forget how beautiful of a morning it was when we got the text. “Clearly Canadian is coming back.” I got very excited and immediately jumped online to look up the details. Before I go further into the story I better explain what Clearly Canadian is. It is a sparkling water with cane sugar that was popular during my childhood in the 90s. It’s iconic glass bottle and simple labeling are hard to forget.
Back to my search. I found that it was not in stores yet and it could only be found in two places. On Ebay for a ridiculous price and on the manufacturers website. The problem with the manufacturer was you had to buy a pallet which consisted 108 cases and cost $2,255. Crap. I guess I will have to wait I thought to myself. As the day went on I could not stop thinking about the beautiful beverage. I also could not stop thinking about how I could not be the only one in the country that wanted to taste the sweet 90s beverage. After slamming an All Day IPA, I looked at the wife and asked her “Do you think I am crazy for wanting to buy a pallet of Clearly Canadian?” To my surprise she said no. With my gut screaming to do it and somewhat of a go for it from the wife, I ordered the pallet.
Then it hit me, “Holy Shit. Did I just spend $2,255 on sparkling water?” I panicked for a few minutes until I thought about all of the business books, self-help books, and autobiographies I had read throughout the years. One thing they all had in common was that you always trust your gut. That reminder calmed me and I anxiously waited for the shipping company to contact me. After a few days I finally received the call that my pallet would be delivered the next day. Another hard realization hit. It was coming on a Semi. Thank goodness for the farm and our hi-lo!!
Onto day 1 of the adventure. As soon as I could leave the office I did. I headed straight to the farm and as soon as I saw that beautiful pallet of cases, I couldn’t help but smile. My Dad was there waiting and couldn’t help but tell me I was crazy. “How the hell are you ever going to make money selling these?” he asked. I only responded that I had to trust my gut. We packed the Subaru with as many cases as she could handle and I headed back home. Once everything was unloaded from the forester, I started to ponder where I was going to sell them.
The first thing I thought of was Craigslist. Tons of people use the website and it seemed like a great idea. That was until I realized I would have to drive and meet 108 people if each person only met to purchase one case. Then it flashed into my head like a message from the All Mighty Himself. EBAY! That’s right! One of the two places I could find the water was Ebay. I logged on and immediately created an account. Here is the point where I started to slow down a bit.
It dawned on me that I had never sold anything on Ebay. Lessons learned from the Richest Man in Babylon also started to creep in. So, I went to YouTube and watched a day’s worth of content on how to sell items on Ebay. After a crash course about online auctions, I took the first step. I bought a white kitchen sink from home depot to use as a photo booth. I placed single bottles in the booth, used lighting, and took crystal clear pictures of the product. I then took some cases outside for natural light and placed them on beautiful freshly cut grass for more listing pictures. Once everything was uploaded I found a successful listing that was selling cases and clicked on the sell similar item button. I uploaded my pictures, wrote a wonderful description, picked a price (double what each case cost me), and hit list.
Within a couple of hours, I had several orders! In less than 24 hours of listing, I was already making money online! Off I went to Office Max as I did not have packing supplies. I purchased two gigantic bags of peanut shell packers, industrial packing tape, and a tape gun. On my way home, I stopped at the Post Office and got large flat rate shipping boxes. In case you did not know, the USPS will provide you with as many free shipping boxes as you need. I even went online when I had run out, ordered a case of boxes, and it was waiting on my doorstep within days. Just a tip to keep in mind to minimize expenses and maximize profits.
Within 30 days I had turned that $2,255 into just under $6,000! This profit was made with about 7 hours a week of effort in the afternoon and evening. Think about it… for 28 hours of my time I turned a profit of $3,745 which comes out to $133/hour by trusting my gut. Because of taking a chance I went on to do the Ebay game for bit and might even give it a try again here soon!
I wanted to share this story to show that you can make money selling just about anything. Even if your goal is not to make enough money to become a millionaire, it is possible to make enough money to help get through hard times. I also wanted to stress how important it is important to trust your gut! I have had business ideas and side hustles pop into my head for years but this was the first one where I actually trusted and listened to my gut. I can’t imagine how much money I have lost in the last 10 years by not trusting it. Don’t let that money slip past you! Trust your gut and take action!
It doesn’t have to be Clearly Canadian but if you want to start making money now, try selling something on Ebay. Please feel free to leave me a comment below with any questions or use the contact page to reach me. I would love to answer anyone’s questions or even setup a phone call if you wanted to chat more about the topic.
Incase you have never had Clearly Canadian and cannot find any at a store near you, here is a link to where you can purchase some online. And no, it is not me selling it. Please do not forget to subscribe to our newsletter and share this story if you enjoyed it!
Ebay Selling Tips
- Have many (5-10) clear high-quality pictures of your item.
- Purchase the shipping through USPS on Ebay. If you select the calculated weight option, the buyer pays full price. When you print it out you from Ebay you get a percent discount off. With how heavy my packages were, I was making $3-$10 extra in profit off of the shipping.
- Use a white sink as a photo booth. Click here to see a cheap example.
- Well written product descriptions.
- After a week Google found my listing and I was one of the top search results for Clearly Canadian! Thanks for all the traffic google.
- Remind people to share the listing.
- If you are shipping something fragile make sure you pack it well.
- Remember to have fun!
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