24-year-old Alex Craig of Texas, US, makes about $10,000 (around €9,100) a month. He works from home and all he has to do to cash in is scribble messages on potatoes and then mail the spuds to people across the country.
The messages come from guys and gals looking to congratulate their loved ones and send them their best wishes, or maybe from folks looking to annoy their archenemies with a well-phrased insult.
At the end of the day, Alex Craig doesn't really care what he has to write on the potatoes he sends on cross-country joyrides in the back of mail vans. All he cares is that he gets his hard-earned money.
The entrepreneur has plenty of customers
24-year-old Alex Craig says that, since he started his Potato Parcel business back in May, he's inscribed and mailed well over 20,000 potatoes. The largest come with a price tag of $9.99 (€9.06), the medium ones cost $7.99 (€7.25).
Choosing the right potato presumably depends on how sophisticated the message is vocabulary-wise and whether or not his customers want the people getting the spuds to get a chance to make a meal out of them.
Apparently, medium potatoes are for messages of 100 characters or less. If you opt for a large potato, however, you can go wild and write up to 140 characters.
Potato Parcel also ships internationally
Not one to deprive people of the pleasure of sending others potatoes with love / hate notes inscribed on them, Alex Craig ships potatoes not just in the US but also to the UK, Australia and Canada.
In fact, he's considering expanding his business and is now looking for people ready and willing to become what he calls Potato Parcel ambassadors.
When he first started this business, Alex Craig's girlfriend told him that mailing people potatoes and hoping to make money out of it was one of the stupidest ideas he had ever had. Well, it looks like he proved her wrong.
From my eldest via mail. @AnthonyMcKee95 #potatoparcel pic.twitter.com/EjsWeO62e2
— Bob McKee (@bobmckee) June 24, 2015
I just received a potato in the mail.....Im so happy. #potatoparcel pic.twitter.com/m8Hx616YUm
— Miranda (@Mkvares) August 1, 2015
Graduating in two days, and this is how he shows excitement... #potatoparcel pic.twitter.com/5pHj7IeTSB
— Sara (@o__0sara) May 30, 2015
WHAT IS GOING ON? Someone anonymously mailed us a potato with trivia on it. TATERLLY AWESOME. #potatoparcel pic.twitter.com/50VdErW3mj
— Good Job Brain (@GoodJobBrain) August 7, 2015
You're enabling my girlfriend 2 be rude 2 me #potatoparcel pic.twitter.com/mFYpeM9pbF
— Uncle Vlad (@vladimirmasters) August 1, 2015
My sister's big promotion at work earned her this #potatoparcel pic.twitter.com/swti2WdxzZ
— B (@skybrocker) July 20, 2015
This is fantastic. #PotatoParcel pic.twitter.com/JOUGdNdTOd
— Joe Winn (@joewinn1984) July 8, 2015
Hilarious!! #PotatoParcel pic.twitter.com/xlW2EPEjaU
— Molly C (@mollyc29) June 4, 2015