“Hi. I’m interested in any women who would like to sell their well-worn running shorts. The kind with built-in brief. Of course I’d love for you to put in nice hot sweaty run without panties before mailing them.”
– Reddit weirdo
I made a decent profit off Reddit. After getting some assistance from a long time reader, and owner of The Goody Room, I set up a few subreddits which each contained affiliate links. All of them gave a warning, right in the sidebar where everyone would see it, that there were affiliate links in my posts. Additionally, I had a normal account that didn’t spam or post affiliate content outside of my own personal subreddits.
People weren’t even made or upset. My bread and butter, a subreddit called Amazon For A Penny, had a decent following and was well regarded. All my posts were witty and the items I was selling were all quirky. I had stuff like an R5-D4 Action Figure, a Sour Punch Straws knock-off, and an obscure LEGO set. It was silly, inoffensive nerd stuff.
Two weeks ago Reddit banned Amazon For A Penny. It’s their site and they can do what they want, I’m not upset. However, I think that it’s ridiculous that I got shutdown while the moderators turn a blind eye to infinity more offensive, and downright illegal, marketplaces on the site.
Reddit is home to several fetish marketplaces which sell everything from used panties, to vials of bodily fluids. Aside from the fact that these items violate the site’s terms of use they’re also illegal. While I’m not a lawyer, I am aware that it is illegal to sell and transport bio-hazards without proper credentials. If I wanted to homemade cookies online I’d be thrown in jail. The FDA doesn’t allow people to sell potentially harmful substances without some kind of investigation beforehand. You can’t even buy raw milk without going through an incredibly complex procedure. I doubt that it’s suddenly okay for people to sell jars of urine on Reddit.
Although my subreddit did get closed down, I’ve decided that the idea was worth exploring some more. Enough people have expressed interest in the return of Amazon For A Penny that I’ve launched a new site for it.* I’m going to update it daily for 90 days and then see how things go from there.
* If there’s any problem with the name later I’ll change it to something else.