Top 10 Dumbest Online Business Ideas That Made It Big Time.
1000000 pixels, charge a dollar per pixel – that’s perhaps the dumbest idea for online business anyone could have possible come up with. Still, Alex Tew, a 21-year-old who came up with the idea, is now a millionaire.
2. SantaMail
Ok, how’s that for a brilliant idea. Get a postal address at North Pole,
3. Doggles
Create goggles for dogs and sell them online? Boy, this IS the dumbest idea for a business. How in the world did they manage to become millionaires and have shops all over the world with that one? Beyond me.
4. LaserMonks
LaserMonks.com is a for-profit subsidiary of the Cistercian Abbey of Our Lady of Spring Bank, an eight-monk monastery in the hills of
5. AntennaBalls
You can’t sell antenna ball online. There is no way. And surely it wouldn’t make you rich. But this is exactly what Jason Wall did, and now he is now a millionaire.
6. FitDeck
Create a deck of cards featuring exercise routines, and sell it online for $18.95. Sounds like a disaster idea to me. But former Navy SEAL and fitness instructor Phil Black reported last year sales of $4.7 million. Surely beats what military pays.
How would you like to go on a date with an HIV positive person? Paul Graves and Brandon Koechlin thought that someone would, so they created a dating site for HIV positive folks last year. Projected 2006 sales are $110,000, and the two hope to have 50,000 members by their two-year mark.
Christie Rein was tired of carrying diapers around in a freezer bag. The 34-year-old mother of three found herself constantly stuffing diapers for her infant son into freezer bags to keep them from getting scrunched up in her purse. Rein wanted something that was compact, sleek and stylish, so in November 2004, she sat down with her husband, Marcus, who helped her design a custom diaper bag that's big enough to hold a travel pack of wipes and two to four diapers. With more than $180,000 in sales for 2005, Christie's company, Diapees & Wipees, has bags in 22 different styles, available online and in 120 boutiques across the globe for $14.99.
9. TruGamerz
Faux-suede padded covers for game controllers and gel thumb pads for analog joysticks? No one will buy that. Forget it. The product proved to be so popular, it got picked up by Target.com and Walmart.com and annual sales new exceed half a million dollars.
Fake wishbones. Now, this stupid idea is just destined to flop. Who in the world needs FAKE PLASTIC wishbones? A lot of people, it turns out. Now producing 30,000 wishbones daily (they retail for 3 bucks a pop) Ken Ahroni, the company founder, expects 2006 sales to reach $1 million.
11. To see other businesses that have not made the top 10 list but came pretty close, visit Uncommon Business Blog
P.S. You might want to read these books about unusual business ideas as well
Startups That Work: Surprising Research on What Makes or Breaks a New Company
Start Your Own Business for $1,000 or Less
The 100 Best Businesses to Start When You Don't Want to Work Hard Anymore
The Toy and Game Inventor's Handbook
Getting Rich in Your Underwear: How to Start and Run a Profitable Home-Based Business
43 Comments:
I wonder if the million dollar homepage really made a million dollars (the guy was actually in the UK, so he likely wasn't a de facto UK millionaire) but I assume that HMS Excise and Revenue might be wanting some kind of piece of that action.
Still, he'd still probably have around 70% of it for doing fuck all. A situation I'm sure we'd all like to find ourselves in.
SaveKaryn.com was pretty dumb but it did get her out of debt.
Diapees & Wipees a bad idea? I'm buying one for myself and every new mom I know. Thanks!
Actually you don't need postage..its free in Canada! Finally some return for my tax dollars.
All you need is a bunny and a frying pan...
HIV positive people are still very much alive and still very interested in dating, you imbecile!
I think you missed the point entirely with your slam on PositiveDating. I saw an article in TechCrunch about a similar dating site for people with herpes:
http://www.techcrunch.com/2006/07/17/prescription4love-fills-a-real-niche/
If a regular dating site can succeed, these seem like a viable service as well.
Including a dating site for people who are HIV positive as a "dumb" idea is incredibly offensive. You make it seem like people who are HIV+ are somehow less than human. If I were HIV+, I'd think it's brilliant. Please re-think this entry.
Trading a paper clip for a house!
Congrats! You were the top story of the day on reddit (July18th). Not sure how much you care, though, just thought I'd let you know.
Thanks for the great content.
A HIV+ dating site is great for both people infected and people who aren't. If HIV+ people were dating each other instead of those who aren't infected, the site may be instrumental in curbing the spread of disease! I only wonder how many people are infected needlessly just because their infected partners could not find someone who wasn't at risk.
please tell me how trying to curb the spread of a pandemic is a bad idea? highly insensitive and poorly thought out to include that in this list, when it should be listed as one of the top most innovative ideas on the net, not the stupidest.
let's replace it on the list with 'ignorant people spouting their opinions every day to millions of people' - i.e. blogs and columnists.
Yes, I agree that these make the grade for being ten of the dumbest Online Busienss Ideas to have made it big time. But despite all the internet hoopla that spawned such insanity none of them can come close to being as dumb as the offline Pet Rock craze. Now that WAS dumb.
You really did miss the point of the HIV dating website. You assume that people who aren't positive would be looking to date someone who is positive, when the real goal of the site is to help two positives find each other.
I doubt you are so ignorant to think that HIV positive people don't retain human emotions, so some of the comments here are unduly harsh, but don't try to backpedal by saying it's natural to assume that the HIV community is "small" and "unconnected." After being subjected to HIV awareness campaigns for the past 20 years, the natural assumption is that a great number of people are positive. Most people actually overestimate the number of HIV cases in the US.
Hi, Guys I have not see anyone to check those sites form a SEO point of view. That may can proof their huge success.
My question is how this sites made Million without a significant SE traffic or they have another form of promotion method -- PPC, CPA...???
I created www.HappyBalls.com from Jason Wall's Antenna Ball idea and became a "Thousandaire".
Jason now has an even better idea. He created GlassTatz.com.
I have an idea, it's called a Jump To Conclusions Mat...
Well, this isn't lucky but you can tell that they have all what they deserve, a richer.
The one thing that most of these "businesses" have in common is that their primary customers are complete and utter idiots.
That last link in the above post will cost you $39.99.
And people wonder why I have no respect for humanity.
If he's a billionaire, why is he continueing to waste his time attempting to sell more crap instead of out enjoying his billionaire lifestyle?
His "information" is probably along the lines of "offer people ideas on how to make money (for a fee of course) and then when they send you money, tell them to post messages on blogs offering other people ideas on how they too can get rich quick."
He's an asshole.
I think it is funny how people can easily make money with such silly ideas, though I feel you are a bit insensitive on the positivedating idea.
Some of the ideas listed may be unconventional, but they also might not deserve to be called dumb because they were examples of "out-of-the-box" thinking.
let me tell you whats stupid. To list 10 dumbest by going from 1-10. You go from 10-1, idiots.
Oh you guys are seriously irriating. Stop insulting his post. I found it really funny, I hadn't heard of most of them, and really enjoyed it.
We have a swede here who selling ads on his body, ...tatues (is it the word for permanent body art?) of course!
The correct spelling would be "tattoos"
Anyway, that is quite an interesting idea... Selling body space for advertising... Hahaha
Wonder what are the rates that the Swede guy charges for different body parts. Maybe he should have a web site similar to the million dollar homepage where he has a picture of himself and a price overlaid over each body part!
Hilarous and I can't me a dime from my very interesing blogs!!!
as above link says. This is also something you would not imagine, but also hitting the streets in Toronto. Selling in the Global market is becoming an interesting business.
btw: www.BALLBRA.com as you mentioned above, is actually interesting, but only to a nich market. Well, i did get it for my boyfriend.
Probably should add Borrow a Dollar to that list. It will be making millions soon.
Thanks for your information, Nice Article.
Thanks. The craziest ideas are often more likely to succeed than the ultra-safe ones!
I share the same views. Liked your blog very much.
Great list. Funny, I saw an ad for santa letters yesterday so I guess that business is still going on strong.
I am all about out-of-the-box thinking.
The million dollar homepage experiment was my favorite case study. It shows the amazing possibility of the internet where an idea when put into action can make unlimited amount of money.
Prophet Tenebrae - I believe it to be real. It got a lot of media attention. You can't fake something like that when the whole world is watching.
I am wondering about these ideas. i have never seen before.
I like your ideas and your blog very much. Thank you.
well, the ideas are good and they will sell too, online business do well if they are executed the right way and planned ahead, people love to buy online as it saves them time as well as money and offers the opportunity to see hundreds of things at once, all you need is to market products the best way to sell them
Since it became big time we should not call in a dumb business after all. I don't know if it is a talent, making lots of money through online.
i think it is right...>
thanks
What I find remarkable is that people are willing to pay for and charge for something that others do for free. Canada Post employees for years have been helping answer letters to Santa from children all over the world.
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