Interested in a show of hands to our members-
What percentage of you Hobby do you recoup through sales of products you make, in dollars or in kind (eg job for a carton etc)?

I know most of us in the hobby space (as opposed to being in business, where less than 100% cost recovery is not an option) see some benefit from the activity itself, and making money is not the primary concern (we get enjoyment out of what we do, and that's enough).
Many of us have a shed full of gear, and some of us may be battling off the missus saying 'do you really need that new widget?' comments.

I've been building my arsenal of tools for mechanical work, and welding / fabrication equipment for close on 20 years, still no end in sight, and still a long, long list of things that I'd love if dollars and space were not a concern. But despite this, I have scored a few little wins with the odd job-for-a-beer, or bit of welding for some small change. I did make some little trinket things that I tired to peddle at a local markets, but I don't think I broke even on that one, as my mates all asked for one, and well, I'm a soft target and gave most of them away

Interested to know if I'm the exception or the rule. I know it's a real economist's way of looking at the world, but it's also a good way to gauge where we all sit on the spectrum of hobbyists.

I also think it'd be easier for us guys to have some data behind us to say that for all the tools etc we have, it has generated X% of dollars return. Look away, no agenda here

To anchor the results, please consider what you may have earned in money or product (barter) for your spend, NOT what you may have saved by building not buying (ie I built this table out of steel, it cost me $100 of materials, and I sold it for $119, VS I built a table for $100 and it saved me buying one for $300 retail).

EG:
0% - I am a pure hobbyist- I do not sell any of my projects.
1-20% - If I were to spend $100 on materials/tooling, I might see up to $20 back as income
21-40% - If I were to spend $100 on materials/tooling, I might see up to $40 back as income
41-60% - If I were to spend $100 on materials/tooling, I might see up to $60 back as income
61-80% - If I were to spend $100 on materials/tooling, I might see up to $80 back as income
81-100% - If I were to spend $100 on materials/tooling, I might see up to $100 back as income
Greater than 100% - I am in business, I am in business to have an income, make a profit, pay bills etc. If I spend $100, I want to see a profit on my spend, period.


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