1/17/08

Ok, so Benny the Shark wants to cut off your ear because you fell behind on a payment. Or maybe you're just in a tough spot and strapped for cash. You can’t borrow and you have nothing to sell … or do you!?

One thing you always have is yourself. Have you ever wondered how much you would be worth if someone were to physically place a price tag on your body? Well never fear because I have actually done about 15 minutes of research on the matter and I think I can proclaim myself an expert at this point! Below, the results of my intensive look into this subject reveals what you can sell and what you can make! Enjoy!

SELL PLASMA - $35

Plasma is the clear-ish, discolored fluid part of your blood that delivers nutrients and water to all cells in the body. It is valuable for transfusions for trauma victims.

The donation process consists of a screening (Q & A and some paperwork mainly) and then a needle is inserted into your arm and your blood is pumped into a machine which separates the plasma from the blood and then the blood is pumped back in through your arm (and feels cold going back in!)

You can usually get about $35 for a donation of plasma. You cannot usually get paid for donating whole blood however because the collection centers feel strongly that volunteer (unpaid) donations are a better bet to keep the supplies clean.

SELL YOUR HAIR - $3 to $5 an ounce

Human hair wigs can cost hundreds, even thousands of dollars and manufacturers have a hard time maintaining their supply. This is what makes YOUR hair so valuable - IF you have the right length, shine, health, texture and color!

Most of the hair buyers require that the hair is healthy (obviously!), usually at least 12 inches long and “properly prepared” per the buyer’s guidelines which are usually included on their website. Some buyers prefer untreated hair and some colors can be more lucrative than others. Do an internet search for “SELL MY HAIR” and you will find a few markets in the top results.

P.S. If you don’t have any luck selling your hair, please consider donating it to a cancer organization. A great one is LOCKS OF LOVE which makes wigs for children who have lost their hair through the process of chemotherapy.

BE A SPERM DONOR - $50 - $200 Per Specimen

You were wondering when this article was going to get good weren’t you?

That’s right, some guys actually get paid to shoot their swimmers into a cup and even get to look at some really great “reading material” provided by the clinics for “proper motivation!” Is this a great country or what!?

Unfortunately, about 95% of men who apply are turned away in the screening process by the hot looking nurse at the front desk who humiliates you as you shuffle completely emasculated back through the door from whence you came. … Actually the eliminations are usually due to background checks, education, health, family tree and many other factors. Do a search for “Sperm Donation” online and review the various clinics who collect.

BE AN EGG DONOR - $5000 and Up

You ladies didn’t think I was going to leave you out of the party did you?

The process of donating one’s eggs to an infertile woman / couple seeking to have a child varies from a personal ad seeking a donor to meet with and go to the clinic hand-in-hand, to centers that advertise for egg donations and the recipient and donor never meet one another.

The process and the screening are very long and involved and can go on for months. It includes lots of paperwork and regular self-injections of fertility drugs and an invasive procedure to retrieve the eggs via a needle passed through the vagina’s top wall and inserted into the ovary and repeated for every egg retrieved. Major “OUCH!” factor here. Don’t knock the ladies for getting top dollar on this one!

CLINICAL TRIALS - Pay Varies

Don’t mind being a human guinea pig in the name of science and a few bucks? There may be a future for you in the whacky world of Clinical Trials! This is where anyone from drug companies to cosmetics makers and many other types of health or beauty or other type of manufacturers pay some poor, hard-on-his-luck sap a few bucks to let them do to him what hasn’t yet been approved for them to do to the general population. Some trials are quick in-and-outs putting $50 in your hand, while others can last for months. I read one story about a guy who drank something at one of these things and it made him foam at the mouth. He was paid $150.

Or if none of the above grabs you, just recycle some bottles and cans for the deposit value! In my state of California, we get 5 cents for cans and bottles under 24 ounces and 10 cents for larger containers. It sure beats a needle in your ovary!

Please visit my flagship website at http://www.letsgetahead.com for more great articles like this one!