My friend Lori recently sent me a link to a fun website called Fiverr — a place where you can hire people to do things for $5. I don’t mean things like raking leaves or doing your laundry; oh no, I mean getting custom videos, artwork, and so much more.
You’re probably thinking, “What can you buy for $5?” and my response is, “What can’t you buy for $5?! “Here’s a list of just a few of the things being offered on Fiverr right now (My responses will follow in Italics.):
- I will write and video record a short poem in Spanish using any name for $5 (I have so many questions. What kind of poem? A haiku? A limerick? Will it be in iambic pentameter, iambic tetrameter, or some other meter? And since I don’t speak Spanish, how will I know that I’m getting a poem and not, say, a shopping list?)
- I will have my ferrets paint your message in a short custom video for $5 (I’d like to see the ferrets’ artistic credentials first, please. If they don’t have at least a B.A. from RISD, then I’m not interested.)
- I will as a Preacher, promote your product, service, or event, announcement for $5 (I will, as an editor, edit your Fiverr posting for grammar, spelling, punctuation, and general English language usage for $5.)
- I will dress as a 1920s flapper for $5 (For all those Prohibition fetishists. Bathtub gin not included.)
- I will print whatever you like on 10 guitar picks for $5 (And I will then throw those guitar picks to my adoring fans the next time I play Madison Square Garden.)
- I will dress up as Harry Potter and make a personalized video for $5 (My girls have Gryffindor robes and iPod Touches video apps — I could undercut the competition and offer $4.)
- I will draw and make your photo into a simpsons inspired cartoon portrait for $5 (Okay, I might be interested in this one.)
- I will say your message for $5 while I juggle for $5 (The juggler says the message has to be under 50 words. For such a short message, this tells me that perhaps this is not someone with a lot of juggling experience.)
So those are just a few of the $5 opportunities out there. So what are you waiting for people? What are you going to buy? And if you were offering your goods or services, what would they be?
I am so going to hirer the Preacher! I’m working on something ridiculously controversial and gonna need a “man of god” at my back!
For $5 I will make a music video of me singing Dirt Room by Blue October. And it will be amazing!
I LOVE Fiverr. My boyfriend got me this video (http://bit.ly/p02ZlA) for my birthday off that site! Obsessed.
I have gigs on fiverr! Sellers only get to keep $4 though and PayPal also subtracts their share.
http://fiverr.com/sajego
They’re mostly for marketing since my real laser work generally comes with a $25 minimum.
For five bucks I’ll edit your “about” page on your blog. Heh.
Saving the link to this site to peruse for future events!
I like the Simpsons portrait too. I have to check out this site.
Huh. Interesting concept…but can’t say I see myself using it.
I do wish I lived in a more metropolitan area at times so I could make use of that servie where you say how much you’d pay to have someone do something and then the service sends someone out to do just that. (I can’t for the life of me remember what it was called…I heard of it through PureWow.)
I’d never buy any of this stuff — I save my fives. Seriously. I read an article a couple of years ago by some reporter who had read somewhere (vague, much? sorry!) that saving five dollar bills is a relatively painless way to save up some extra cash. So she did it as an experiment and was surprised by how many fives she received as change.
So I thought hmm…and I opened a separate savings account named Project Lincoln and bam! A couple of years later and I think there’s at least $1500 in the account. Just from saving my fives — and I’m not even super-dedicated about it. I’ll use a five when I really need to, but mostly I tuck them into a separate spot in my wallet or purse and then pile them up at home. When I have a solid amount I take them to the bank and deposit them. Not sure what I’m going to do with the money. I might use some of it for something fun this summer, or I might just leave it in there and keep adding to it.
Maybe I should post on Fiverr that I’ll take your $5 and save it for myself? Hmm.
brilliant!
Heh. I tried to use Fiver to earn some extra money a few years ago. I never got any jobs and it totally sucked. I give up easy. Sigh.
10 guitar picks for $5 is cheap. Tom usually pays around $7 for 10 that aren’t even customized.
I have seen some really cool jewelry made from them.
For $5, I will make you a cup of coffee in a REAL mug and then wash it for you when you are finished drinking it. (It’s still my mug, so I’m keeping it of course!)
After all, people blow $4 or $5 at a certain coffee place every day. I make my own, and I”d be happy to have you drop in for a cup of coffee. What a great way to make money AND get some conversation.
I like the coffee idea. That’s one I can get behind!
I would also offer you cookies