Great Ventures

[Harlan Huckleby]

I was chuckling when Mad described Retail Guy as his "partner" somewhere. It reminded me of my first partnership. When I was about 11, I sold seeds door-to-door for the American Seed Company for a summer. (Back in the day, parents didn't give a shit about the safety of their kids, there were more kids where that one came from. If you got a razor blade in your trick-or-treat candy, they just said "eat around it.") All correspondance from the seed company refered to me as their business partner, and I appreciated my status.

My dream was to sell enough flower and vegetable seeds to earn credit for a baseball pitch-back machine. It looked in the picture like a trampoline turned on its side. After a summer of hounding neighbors, I got my pitch-back: it was a rinky-dink bit of junk that would crumble if the baseball hit it hard, spray the ball in random directions on a slow pitch.

It was heartbreaking, but not a total loss. I gained valuable sales experience. Similarly, I'm guessing RG has "Senior Management Consultant for emerging internet dotcom" butressing his resume now.

What are the dubious businesses and schemes that you have been involved with?

[SkinBasket]

Social Security.

[mraynrand]

My brother and I delivered newspapers ever since I was in the second grade - all the way through high school. Paid two years' tuition with that money. We had this lawn and shoveling company that drew from our route customers; most of it was pretty routine: Cutting down trees, pouring a foundation, painting a house, shagging golf balls. We almost incorporated the business - had a warehouse site picked out - but my brother graduated before me and wasted his time getting some high falutin' engineering degree instead. The best misadventure was writing a Star Trek novel together. We didn't get past a few chapters, but it was a hell of a lot of fun, because it just turned into this constant ridicule of Star Trek and all it's stupid characters. You can't write when you're laughing and your eyes are filled with tears.


We also spent money on that pitch-back trampoline - that thing sucked.

[Scott Campbell]

Back in the day, parents didn't give a shit about the safety of their kids, there were more kids where that one came from.


Did your mom tell you to go play in traffic?

[woodbuck27]

I was chuckling when Mad described Retail Guy as his "partner" somewhere. It reminded me of my first partnership. When I was about 11, I sold seeds door-to-door for the American Seed Company for a summer. (Back in the day, parents didn't give a shit about the safety of their kids, there were more kids where that one came from. If you got a razor blade in your trick-or-treat candy, they just said "eat around it.") All correspondance from the seed company refered to me as their business partner, and I appreciated my status.

My dream was to sell enough flower and vegetable seeds to earn credit for a baseball pitch-back machine. It looked in the picture like a trampoline turned on its side. After a summer of hounding neighbors, I got my pitch-back: it was a rinky-dink bit of junk that would crumble if the baseball hit it hard, spray the ball in random directions on a slow pitch.

It was heartbreaking, but not a total loss. I gained valuable sales experience. Similarly, I'm guessing RG has "Senior Management Consultant for emerging internet dotcom" butressing his resume now.

What are the dubious businesses and schemes that you have been involved with?

I got my pitch-back: it was a rinky-dink bit of junk that would crumble if the baseball hit it hard, spray the ball in random directions on a slow pitch.

So I take it from this that you must have been a better knuckle ball hitter than the rest of us. Damn you should have been scouted and brought up to the Majors to specifically face a knuckle ball pitcher....Ohh I forgot that would only be the case in Fantasy baseball.

[Harlan Huckleby]

Madtown, tell the folks about the car stereo recycling service you operated as a teenager.

Somebody in this forum sold Amway products, somewhere, sometime. Come out of the shadows.

[sooner6600]

Does Shakley Vitamens count?

[Upnorth]

The govenrment in Canada forces people who work into a ponzi scheme call CPP (Canadian Pension Plan) it is so underfunded that it takes between 1/2 and 1/3 of current contributions to pay for previous pensions. And the Boomers haven't started claiming yet.
Also my wife used to sell some cleansing system. Boy do you loose weight with it, of course you don't eat...

[mraynrand]

Also my wife used to sell some cleansing system. Boy do you loose weight with it, of course you don't eat...

A cleansing system for weight loss? Sounds like a do-it-yourself enema.

[Upnorth]

Nothing went in the out hole, however the liquid we drank smelled like sh*t.

[Iron Mike]

Fortunately for me, I was lazy enough that any money-making scheme of mine usually consisted of begging the neighbors to let me have their empty pop bottles to return to the store. In which case I would immediately piss away the profit on penny candy.

I say fortunately, because if I got enough schwag together, I was always a sucker for some crap like this:

http://www.saynotocrack.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/04/polaris-nuclear-sub.jpg

[Iron Mike]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v739/mike_zankle/johnsonsmith.png

Who knew that the $1.00 remote-control life-sized ghost that I bought to scare my Sister into cardiac arrest, so that I could be an only child would turn out to be a balloon, a white plastic garbage can liner and a length of fishing line??

FO, Johnson Smith Company!!!

[Upnorth]

Ah the joy of innocence lost. Even though I know its a scam I WANT THAT SUB!!!

[MJZiggy]

Ah the joy of innocence lost. Even though I know its a scam I WANT THAT SUB!!!
$7??? Do you think I'm MADE of money???

[Iron Mike]

Ah the joy of innocence lost. Even though I know its a scam I WANT THAT SUB!!!

I know how you can make $ to get that sub.....

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v739/mike_zankle/grit.png

[Iron Mike]

$7??? Do you think I'm MADE of money???

http://www.saynotocrack.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/04/polaris-nuclear-sub.jpg

But Mom, see....it says I can just send $1 right now, and give them the rest when it gets here. I promise to clean my room and take the dog for a walk around the block every day until it gets here, please, please, please, please, pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaassssssssssss seeeeeeeeeee.....

[MadtownPacker]

Madtown, tell the folks about the car stereo recycling service you operated as a teenager.
It was a money machine. Customer where always delighted at the great deals they received. Besides it was for a good cause. I used it to pay for my medication.

[MadtownPacker]

I know how you can make $ to get that sub.....

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v739/mike_zankle/grit.png
Man that sweet, the good old das when girls where expected to cook and clean.

Then they got all these "rights" and ruined America.

[mraynrand]

Madtown, tell the folks about the car stereo recycling service you operated as a teenager.

Stereos? That's too high falutin' I'm betting he sold rims. "Hey, you're in luck: I just happen to have the exact rims to match the set stolen off your car!"

[Iron Mike]

When I was about 11, I sold seeds door-to-door for the American Seed Company.

Screw that, if I go outside and work, I'm gonna miss the Phil Bengtson show.....

http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash2/24929_355835209436_308718779436_3310164_7506597_n. jpg

[MadtownPacker]

Stereos? That's too high falutin' I'm betting he sold rims. "Hey, you're in luck: I just happen to have the exact rims to match the set stolen off your car!"
See you have it all wrong. You only take two of them. Sell them for the price of four and the guy has to buy them since he already has two.

[Harlan Huckleby]

http://www.saynotocrack.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/04/polaris-nuclear-sub.jpg I'm intrigued by the rockets and torpedoes part. Seems like there's some real potential for violence there.

[mraynrand]

See you have it all wrong. You only take two of them. Sell them for the price of four and the guy has to buy them since he already has two.


That's solid thinking. It cuts your overhead and your expenses - less inventory you have to carry. Even better, just go up to the guy with a tire iron and a impact drill and tell him you're taking his rims and selling 'em back to him. Or, he can skip all that bother and just pay you right now. You take mastercard and visa. The beauty of this last business is it's easy to become an expert salesindividual in almost any field.

[mraynrand]

I'm intrigued by the rockets and torpedoes part. Seems like there's some real potential for violence there.

Sure, they're slightly more deadly than Nerf cruise missiles.

[Little Whiskey]

I'm intrigued by the rockets and torpedoes part. Seems like there's some real potential for violence there.

I like the fact that for 6.98, you can send two kids to their death at the bottom of the lake.....even befor you fire of the rockets!

[woodbuck27]

mraynrand. Writing a novel while using a black trampoline places you in a whole new catgory of multi taskers.

[woodbuck27]

The govenrment in Canada forces people who work into a ponzi scheme call CPP (Canadian Pension Plan) it is so underfunded that it takes between 1/2 and 1/3 of current contributions to pay for previous pensions. And the Boomers haven't started claiming yet.
Also my wife used to sell some cleansing system. Boy do you loose weight with it, of course you don't eat...

and .......you have to spend way too much money on toilet tisue unless you lived in a rural setting and in that case ran out of old magzines way too fast. (-;

[woodbuck27]

Fortunately for me, I was lazy enough that any money-making scheme of mine usually consisted of begging the neighbors to let me have their empty pop bottles to return to the store. In which case I would immediately piss away the profit on penny candy.

I say fortunately, because if I got enough schwag together, I was always a sucker for some crap like this:

http://www.saynotocrack.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/04/polaris-nuclear-sub.jpg

Ohh yeaaa! and eat your heart out Jacques Cousteu.

The trouble with that adventure resource was transporting the sucker on your 'Super Cycle' to a body of water deep enough to risk your life navigating it and the money and time spent on repairing flat tires during the expedition.

[woodbuck27]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v739/mike_zankle/johnsonsmith.png

Who knew that the $1.00 remote-control life-sized ghost that I bought to scare my Sister into cardiac arrest, so that I could be an only child would turn out to be a balloon, a white plastic garbage can liner and a length of fishing line??

FO, Johnson Smith Company!!!

WOW! All that for just a $dollar$! Amazin' the sin of inflation.

[woodbuck27]

That's solid thinking. It cuts your overhead and your expenses - less inventory you have to carry. Even better, just go up to the guy with a tire iron and a impact drill and tell him you're taking his rims and selling 'em back to him. Or, he can skip all that bother and just pay you right now. You take mastercard and visa. The beauty of this last business is it's easy to become an expert salesindividual in almost any field.

Yea sure but to make that work you have to resemble Samuel L. Jackson.