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Texas Man Makes $10K A Month Sending Potatoes With Personalized Messages In The Mail!

by SteveSki
32 replies
Proof that simple, silly ideas can make you money provided
you overcome your fear and doubt enough to take action.

See the Youtube video of the creator of Potatoparcel.com - Send a Potato in the Mail


Cheers,
Steve
#$10k #mail #makes #man #messages #month #personalized #potatoes #sending #texas
  • Profile picture of the author SMworkcafe
    Super motivating! $10,000/ month! I know I'll get there some day. I've still not passed the $4500 mark yet.

    His idea isn't silly. And, he had the drive to get it into action.

    Thank you for sharing it Steve.
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    Cheers!

    - Sana.

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    • Profile picture of the author sbucciarel
      Banned
      Originally Posted by SMworkcafe View Post

      Super motivating! $10,000/ month! I know I'll get there some day. I've still not passed the $4500 mark yet.

      His idea isn't silly. And, he had the drive to get it into action.

      Thank you for sharing it Steve.
      It wasn't his idea. It was Matthew Carpenter's idea to send prank products through the mail to people and probably other ideas similar to that existed before. Matt got the media interested and put the site up for sale almost immediately and it sold for $80K.

      This guy registered this domain in the middle of May this year. He too put the site up for sale quickly, so it's obvious he never intended to do this as a business ... he just wanted to duplicate Matthew Carpenter's success at selling it. Which didn't happen. The site didn't sell on Flippa.

      At least the guy who bought https://shipyourenemiesglitter.com/ for $80K has expanded the site products. It looks very interesting.
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    • Profile picture of the author objectiveman
      There is a guy in new york is is a millionaire from selling potato peelers on the streets. You can google it.
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  • Profile picture of the author Lurk
    You just never know what will hit the big time, wow.
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    DONT USE TIME CARELESSLY FOR IT CANNOT BE RETRIEVED. -LURK

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    • Profile picture of the author Joe Mobley
      SethFarrell ( NEW ) Mon, 18 May 2015 17:04:44 AEST

      How do people come up with such great ideas like this?
      Mathew Carpenter ( - | $85K ) Mon, 18 May 2015 19:33:54 AEST

      Alcohol.
      PotatoParcel.com is for Sale on Flippa.

      http://bit.ly/1K1QvbP


      [UPDATE:] It looks like nobody bought it.


      Joe Mobley
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      .

      Follow Me on Twitter: @daVinciJoe
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  • Profile picture of the author TG2015
    I wonder how he is getting traffic. I don't see any search volume for "send messages on potatoes".
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    • Profile picture of the author essmeier
      Originally Posted by TG2015 View Post

      I wonder how he is getting traffic. I don't see any search volume for "send messages on potatoes".
      It's my understanding that it's largely coming from Reddit. That's the real success here. If you can make it to the front page of Reddit, you can make money from anything.

      I say, "Good for him", but...

      1. It isn't going to last long. And lots of people will now be copying his idea and riffing on it- "I'll write a message on a turnip!" "Get any message you like on a watermelon!"

      2. Yes, dumb ideas do occasionally work. The problem is that you're looking for a needle in a haystack when you try to come up with a dumb idea that's profitable. 99.9% of the time, you'll find that dumb ideas are just...dumb.

      3. Even a good dumb idea isn't going to be profitable if you can't duplicate the Reddit thing.

      Charlie
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      Work Online From Home
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  • Profile picture of the author TG2015
    How bizarre that 4 days after he launched he sells his site that has apparently made $3,136 in those 4 days. He can't be making $10,000 a month when he's only been selling for 4 days.
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    • Profile picture of the author SteveSki
      Originally Posted by TG2015 View Post

      How bizarre that 4 days after he launched he sells his site that has apparently made $3,136 in those 4 days. He can't be making $10,000 a month when he's only been selling for 4 days.
      That auction ended 78 days ago. Guess he couldn't get what he wanted for it and decided to keep it. But I don't buy his reason (no time) for wanting to sell it. Why not keep it and hire a minimum wage worker to do the grunt work?
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    • Profile picture of the author James McAllister
      Originally Posted by TG2015 View Post

      How bizarre that 4 days after he launched he sells his site that has apparently made $3,136 in those 4 days. He can't be making $10,000 a month when he's only been selling for 4 days.
      I remember hearing about this when it first came out. His website made the front page of one of the larger subreddits on Reddit.com, which is where all the traffic came from.

      I'm sure the business is still profitable but those numbers were never going to be sustainable.
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  • Profile picture of the author onSubie
    This is an example that it is not the idea that makes money but the marketing of that idea that makes money.

    Do you think this is such a good business idea that others could create the same business and be as successful?

    Like a restaurant.

    Or is it more a one-off flaky idea that caught some marketing buzz but can never be duplicated?

    Like Pet Rocks.
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    • Profile picture of the author Joan Altz
      Originally Posted by onSubie View Post

      Or is it more a one-off flaky idea that caught some marketing buzz but can never be duplicated?

      Like Pet Rocks.
      This. But I wouldn't say it could never be duplicated. And the buzz and buyers might last awhile longer for him.

      Anyone can see his offer, go to the store, buy their own potato, and ship it to someone. They don't need him, and my guess is that he figured that out very early on and decided to try and make a chunk of cash from someone on Flippa before sales dropped to nothing.

      But the offer on Flippa ended, and it was listed over 2 months ago. Probably to his surprise, he continued getting orders during the auction and averaged 10k per month from it.

      He should ride this horsey till it keels over and dies, imo. He'll always be known for it and can use that reputation to his advantage.

      What this really shows is that people will pay to have something silly like this done for them because of the convenience, and in some instances because of the anonymity.
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  • Profile picture of the author Sarevok
    The trick to this gig is to get eyeballs on the content. That's the ringer.

    Cool idea, but how the hell did he get the eyeballs on this?

    (Must have hit a "crowdfunding miracle" or spent a boatload of cash).

    Or maybe it had some type of viral sharability. (Is that even a word. Who cares. I do what I want).

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    • Profile picture of the author discrat
      Proof that silly can sometimes equate to making money. I know many Warriors will say these is no way to build a true business...but what the hell is a business?

      Isn't a business finding a need to fill and marketing in an effective way to make money from this need ?

      This seems like an example that accomplishes that.


      - Robert Andrew
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      • Profile picture of the author Kay King
        Pet Rock is now Potato with a Message

        At least the rock didn't sprout or rot....
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        Saving one dog will not change the world - but the world changes forever for that one dog
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        My ducks are absolutely not in a row. I don't even know where some of them are...
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  • Profile picture of the author Max Anderson
    We really life in interesting times...
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  • Profile picture of the author yukon
    Banned
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  • Profile picture of the author yukon
    Banned
    He could scale this up HUGE If he started sending branded potatoes to celebrities, anyone in the news, high profile bloggers, etc...

    Send one to every reporter in the US, lol.
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  • Profile picture of the author totalprocessing.net
    That's pretty cool. Back around 2000 I sold worthless stock certificates in a frame on the internet. They were novelty items and there was full disclosure. It didn't really take off, but I did sell a few..
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  • Profile picture of the author pizzatherapy
    The takeaway here is exactly what the professorrosado stated:

    And who did he copy from? What "guru" was it that taught him to do this?
    We keep following others off the cliff while visionaries walk alone and are easily criticized by the other crabs in the bucket!
    Be successful at yourself!

    The real successes do not come from the latest WSO or shiny new object.

    The truth of the biscuit is to be original and not follow the rest of the lemmings!
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  • Profile picture of the author nlanda
    There's got to be an underlying story that we're not seeing in this. I'd love to know his whole story...I have more questions than answers at this point...just like many here.
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  • Profile picture of the author Kabbas
    Wow, this really goes to show how any idead can on on to become a succes. I mean it sounds like the stupidest idea ever but it works. I think that it took a lot of perseverenc to make this idea a succes though.
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  • Profile picture of the author ripsnorta2
    This was on The Project last night (an Aussie news and current affairs show.)

    The item was about some kids who were doing exactly that and raking it in. In the interview they said that they had heard of an American man doing this and were inspired to try it themselves.

    So it does appear to be repeatable. I just wonder how much competition this particular market can bear.
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    Cheers, John

    Codeboss -- Useful Software Tailored For Your Business

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  • Profile picture of the author jeffs89
    I'm thinking about a 'jump to conclusions' mat..
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  • Profile picture of the author Aaron Autrey
    His reserve isn't met yet, and it's at $18,000! Wow.

    Also, he used reddit to get the site started. I'm going to do something dumb like this...
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    The good thing about this business is that "People don't succeed cause they aim too high and miss, no, they aim too low... and hit. Most people don't aim at all." (Les Brown)

    Not us... Not marketers. We live far above mediocrity. Always keep this in mind at all times..

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    • Profile picture of the author Tony M
      Originally Posted by Aaron Autrey View Post

      His reserve isn't met yet, and it's at $18,000! Wow.

      Also, he used reddit to get the site started. I'm going to do something dumb like this...
      Okay, people are looking at this completely wrong.

      If you're going to take a lesson away from this... it's this:

      Learn how to get your mail opened!

      You can use this in any business... any niche.

      It's not new. I know of marketers that send Watermelons to their prospects
      and get unheard of response rates.

      Not too long ago I helped my friend write a resume package to hotels in a different
      state and I sent Monopoly board games with the package.

      Out of the 19 we sent, she had 11 phone calls and 3 Skype interviews.

      As long as what you're sending ties in with your message... you're golden.

      Tony
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  • Profile picture of the author jmartinshaw
    It is good to know about what tempts your boyfriendto love you unconditionallyLove Poems for Boyfriend
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  • Profile picture of the author himanuzo
    Wooow potatoes makes $10K in a month.

    Nowadays potatoparcel.com is ranked #85,055 at Alexa.com.
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