# Profiting from Hobbies, a MMP **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Tags:** mmp\ **Created:** [July 11, 2016, 10:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/profiting-from-hobbies-a-mmp/759641 "2016-07-11T10:21:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2016, 10:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/profiting-from-hobbies-a-mmp/759641/1 "2016-07-11T10:21:47Z")
I sold a video. **WooHoo!!!** Around the time of [this](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=681613) thread, I was sideswiped by a transit bus. I bought a GoPro to use as a [del]dash[/del] handlebar cam; however, the battery doesn’t last as long as I ride so I used it for other things, including some races & in the balloon. I’ve donated some race videos, which got me an in-kind letter/tax deduction but no income. Now, I’ve finally _ **sold** _ one (to a customer in the balloon). ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2016, 10:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/profiting-from-hobbies-a-mmp/759641/2 "2016-07-11T10:28:58Z")
_outside the edit window_ - which means I’m also first! 😃 I’m getting cold hard [del]cash[/del] bank account deposit (Thanks, Square!). Of course, if you count my investment in action cameras, mounts & stuff I’m still _waaay_ in the red but it’s a start. This week’s pre-hijack question: Have you ever profited in any way from a hobby? ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2016, 10:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/profiting-from-hobbies-a-mmp/759641/3 "2016-07-11T10:57:57Z")
I’ve sold a bunch of my pottery. Not nearly enough to pay for the kiln, the wheel, the slab roller, and all the work we did to make my little corner of the basement into a studio, but still… I price stuff to cover the clay, the glaze, the electricity to run the kiln for many hours, and maybe a few bucks for me. Of course those few bucks don’t come anywhere close to minimum wage, because unless you’re a famous artiste, people don’t want to pay for your time. The way I look at it, my hobby is self-funded. But profit? It is to laugh!!! Good morning. Rough night of weird dreams, including me being in prison (no idea why, I just was.) Then me walking across a parking lot with my daughter where she found a lottery ticket. She got all excited because she won tickets to a badminton tournament. 😕 No, she’s not a badmintoner. And finally, there was a dream involving log in problems and time card problems at work, plus I was trying to take a handful of pills without water (which might explain why I woke thirsty.) Anyway, I’m exhausted. And on top of that, when I went to pack lunch, I discovered the last of the cherries were moldy. Dammit. So I have melon instead. So, Happy Moanday to all. ---
**Author:** ![VunderBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/839c29/32.png) [@VunderBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VunderBob)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2016, 11:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/profiting-from-hobbies-a-mmp/759641/4 "2016-07-11T11:45:58Z")
Blurf. I seem to pick hobbies that are notorious money pits. ---
**Author:** ![dogbutler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dogbutler/32/428_2.png) [@dogbutler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dogbutler)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2016, 11:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/profiting-from-hobbies-a-mmp/759641/5 "2016-07-11T11:46:50Z")
Up, caffeinated, and sheveled. Back to work today. I’ve never profited from any of my hobbies. but they’re cheap, so it’s OK. ---
**Author:** ![Buttercup\_Smith](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buttercup_smith/32/473_2.png) [@Buttercup\_Smith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buttercup_Smith)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2016, 11:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/profiting-from-hobbies-a-mmp/759641/6 "2016-07-11T11:46:56Z")
**Blurf** ---
**Author:** ![anyrose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/54ee81/32.png) [@anyrose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anyrose)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2016, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/profiting-from-hobbies-a-mmp/759641/7 "2016-07-11T12:02:33Z")
blurf I love creating graphic designs - t-shirts, flyers, brochures, etc. I do a lot for my chorus, and get “paid” in free admission to chorus events. I doubt I could make a business out of it, though. ---
**Author:** ![swampbear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampbear/32/467_2.png) [@swampbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampbear)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2016, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/profiting-from-hobbies-a-mmp/759641/8 "2016-07-11T12:19:58Z")
Good Mornin’ Y’all! Up, caffeinated, brekkied, and at irk, so no _YAWN._ 😃 Well, I could _YAWN_ cause of the fact that in reality I’m just here cause I’m supposed to be here until Thursday. So, I shall surf teh intartoobz, play solitaire etc and in general fritter away my days this week. OK, I will do some irk, but there is little for me to do. As far as hobbies, I don’t have any. I’m of of those kinds of people. However, congrats **Spidey** on the sale. OK, back to a bzzy day of nuttin’! Happy Moanday Y’all! ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2016, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/profiting-from-hobbies-a-mmp/759641/9 "2016-07-11T12:40:55Z")
**swampy** , now that you’re retiring, you \*need \*a hobby. Since you plan to sit out front and yell at folks to stay off your lawn, you should take up whittlin’. Just get yourself a good pocket knife and a pile of sticks, and you can make pointy sticks! 😃 This computer is _sooooooooo sloooooooooooow_ - I’m trying to load a couple of models and they’re taking _for-freekin’-ever_! And the boss isn’t in yet, either, so I’m waiting for him to show up so I can ask a few questions. Gonna be one of those days… ---
**Author:** ![GrumpyBunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bc8723/32.png) [@GrumpyBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrumpyBunny)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2016, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/profiting-from-hobbies-a-mmp/759641/10 "2016-07-11T12:43:48Z")
I used to paint. I once sold a class assignment to a friend of my dad’s who thought the resulting painting was hilarious. (I sold a couple of other paintings, and I sincerely hope that it was because they matched the buyer’s decor, because I am nowhere near a great artist.) ---
**Author:** ![Draelin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce73a5/32.png) [@Draelin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Draelin)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2016, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/profiting-from-hobbies-a-mmp/759641/11 "2016-07-11T12:56:54Z")
I have sold or tried to sell various crafts and mostly failed, so I ended up giving them away. I figure it’s okay because my goal is not to make money, my goal is to have something to do while I watch tv that makes me feel a little less like a couch lump. It was a cold and rainy weekend. I did not win the poker tournament, nor was I the first one out, so I didn’t suck completely. Roomie and BoyRoomie had a _hyuuuuge_ fight this weekend that did not result in any yelling and screaming, but there was a lot of tension in the house yesterday and I had to leave and just go be anywhere else. I tried to go buy things to make me happy, but couldn’t find anything sufficiently happy-making. Then I went to bed while it was still light out and felt totally okay with that. ---
**Author:** ![Cardigan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardigan/32/187_2.png) [@Cardigan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardigan)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2016, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/profiting-from-hobbies-a-mmp/759641/12 "2016-07-11T12:59:02Z")
I once had a hobby that turned into a business. After a while this hobby became a chore and ceased to give me any pleasure. ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2016, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/profiting-from-hobbies-a-mmp/759641/13 "2016-07-11T13:29:06Z")
> [@Spiderman](#): > > _outside the edit window_ - which means I’m also first! 😃 Damn overachiever! 😉 Back when I had my first cardiac incident and had to leave teaching, I took my hobbies of flyfishing and playing around with black powder and turned them into a wholesale sporting goods operation. I started off making flies and a couple guns myself and by the end (when I sold off my contracts and quit that) I had a bunch of employees and a business at least known in some circles nationally. So you can indeed make a good piece of coin from a hobby. I wouldn’t make a habit out of it – it destroys the hobby as a hobby for me – but it can be done. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_stainless_steel_rat/32/5727_2.png) [@The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Stainless_Steel_Rat)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2016, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/profiting-from-hobbies-a-mmp/759641/14 "2016-07-11T13:46:09Z")
Up and at 'em for Moanday. So far, so good (first 75 minutes of the day) Don’t have anything one would consider a ‘hobby’, I read (unfortunately, I don’t write, which would bring in money…it’s all outgo buying books) and referee soccer (as a volunteer, so no income there–but a lot fewer hassles with parents, too). ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2016, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/profiting-from-hobbies-a-mmp/759641/15 "2016-07-11T15:06:57Z")
> [@kopek](#): > > I started off making flies and a couple guns myself Are there black powder kits? All I’ve done hobby wise is trade fish I raised to the pet store for credit. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2016, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/profiting-from-hobbies-a-mmp/759641/16 "2016-07-11T15:22:53Z")
Congratulations on the sale, **Spiderman**! It doesn’t matter that you’re in the red. It’s the rush that someone liked the video enough to pony up some cash. It’s not a hobby, because I haven’t kept at it, but I sold one cartoon, once, and one limerick. Congrats again. ---
**Author:** ![Draelin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce73a5/32.png) [@Draelin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Draelin)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2016, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/profiting-from-hobbies-a-mmp/759641/17 "2016-07-11T15:30:45Z")
I have a massive headache that doesn’t seem to be improving, and I’m super-duper tired. I’m trying to decide if I’m just going to go home. I know I _could_, but I’m feeling some slight guilt about it. And that kind of guilt usually translates into me cleaning something because I feel bad. I don’t want to spend my afternoon cleaning. I also don’t want to spend it here. I’m torn. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2016, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/profiting-from-hobbies-a-mmp/759641/18 "2016-07-11T15:30:53Z")
\*\*MetalMouse \*\*- been meaning to ask you: How about your trip? Surely there are a few stories to share. I doubt that I’ll ever go to Africa, so I need to live vicariously thru you! 😃 Lunch break. We had a group meeting to let us know how busy we’re going to be. If all or most of the contracts in bid come in, we’ll be really busy for a while. I just hope I never get on one of the short turn-around projects. I like these more leisurely assignments. I found out my computer was \*sloooooooooooow \*because I had too many large models open at once. Duh! It’s working much better now. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2016, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/profiting-from-hobbies-a-mmp/759641/19 "2016-07-11T15:46:21Z")
> [@Yllaria](#): > > Congratulations on the sale, Spiderman! Indeed, congratulations. ---
**Author:** ![Sario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sario/32/18580_2.png) [@Sario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sario)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2016, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/profiting-from-hobbies-a-mmp/759641/20 "2016-07-11T16:04:38Z")
Irk is extra irksome today. The closest thing to a hobby I’ve had was a online video game that I put a couple years of my life into. But that only ever cost me money. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/profiting-from-hobbies-a-mmp/759641.md?page=2)