Physical products side hustle ideas

14 ideas

• Physical products

  Wild-harvested produce at farmers markets

  Sold pesticide-free produce foraged from leased land and roadsides at farmers markets.

  In person

  Hacker News, 2026
• Physical products

  Software error-message T-shirt designs

  Put cartoon T-shirt designs about software error messages on craft sites.

  Under $100Hands-offOnline

  Hacker News, 2022
• Physical products

  Book royalties and foreign translation deals

  Earns twice-yearly royalties from a published book and small licensing deals for translations in other countries.

  Hands-offOnline

  Hacker News, 2019
• Physical products

  Programming reference book for a publisher

  Wrote a regular expressions pocket reference for a technical publisher, earning ongoing royalties.

  Hands-offOnline

  Hacker News, 2019
• Physical products

  Refurbish and resell old furniture

  Buys old and mid-century furniture from thrift shops and garage sales, fixes it up and resells it on Craigslist.

  Online and in person

  Hacker News, 2019
• Physical products

  Nonfiction books through a traditional publisher

  Writes nonfiction books on science and curiosity topics, landing book deals with publishers based on the success of an earlier title.

  Under $100Online

  Hacker News, 2019
• Physical products

  Print-on-demand shirts for data scientists

  Designs t-shirts with jokes for machine learning and data science fans and sells them through a print-on-demand storefront.

  Under $100Hands-offOnline

  Hacker News, 2019
• Physical products

  Automated online clothing store with meme shirts

  Runs an online clothing store where ordering and fulfillment are automated. Sells meme shirts and promotes through social media only.

  Hands-offOnline

  Hacker News, 2019
• Physical products

  Athletic wear designs sold on Zazzle

  Creates sports-themed apparel designs sold through a print-on-demand marketplace, starting with a niche. Fulfillment times and prices have been the main obstacle.

  Under $100Hands-offOnline

  Hacker News, 2017
• Physical products

  Flip secondhand goods on eBay and Craigslist

  Resells items found at home, thrift stores and clearance sales through online marketplaces, and is looking at retail arbitrage on Amazon.

  Under $100

  Hacker News, 2017
• Physical products

  3D-printed replacement part for coffee grinders

  Designed a printed upgrade for a worn part in a popular coffee grinder and sells it through a print-on-demand marketplace. Traffic comes from a repair guide on a fix-it site.

  Hands-offOnline

  Hacker News, 2016
• Physical products

  Fan-themed designs on print-on-demand merch

  Uploaded humorous fan designs to a print-on-demand merchandise site and earns small royalties when items sell.

  Under $100Hands-offOnline

  Hacker News, 2016
• Physical products

  Joke coffee mug on print-on-demand

  A programmer humor coffee mug sold through a print-on-demand marketplace.

  Under $100Hands-offOnline

  Hacker News, 2014
• Physical products

  Print-on-demand themed t-shirts

  Designed themed t-shirts and sold them through a print-on-demand marketplace.

  Under $100Hands-offOnline

  Hacker News, 2014