Golf Balls For Sale

I had a conversation with a friend over the summer about her son starting to play golf. The topic of golf balls (and losing golf balls) came up, and I mentioned that we probably had several dozen from finding them in our neighborhood over the years from living in a golf course community. She also gave me the idea of selling these used golf balls. The Moose (12) talked about ways to make money, so I approached him and his brothers to see if they wanted to do it. They were all in.

Our first step was finding all of the golf balls in various boxes throughout the garage. Then, the kids washed and dried all of the balls. From there, they made a sign, put all of the golf balls in a shoe box, got some change together, and we went to the 16th hole near our house to sell them. 

We only saw a few groups on the first night, but the kids sold 10 balls for $7.25 and one of the golfers gave them an extra golf ball. The next day was huge for them. While one person bought 10 balls for $5 which was right at the asking price, someone else gave the kids $20 for 10 balls. Basically, he gave them a $10 tip. That depleted the golf ball inventory and with the start of the school year, the kids only went out to sell balls one more time. I've walked in the woods adjacent to the course a few times (with or without my kids) to search for more golf balls, and the balls we found are currently sitting in a bucket ready to be washed. 

The start of the school year also means the start of activities, so they really haven't had the opportunity to go out. If they're interested, maybe they'll try again once or twice this month before it gets too cold/dark. Overall, it's been a really good experience for the kids. There's no cost to them (it's not like they are paying for soap, water, and paper towels), so it's just a matter of time finding, preparing, and selling the golf balls. In probably only about 2 hours of actually selling the golf balls, they made about $45 or $15 each. Not bad for three elementary/middle school kids and much easier than a lemonade stand!