What: TeachersPayTeacher allows teachers to upload their original lesson plans, clip art, classroom decor and other items to sell to other educators. 

Expected pay: varies widely

Husl$core: $$$

Commissions & fees: 20% + $60 annually or 45%, with no annual fee

Where: Nationwide

Requirements: Be 18 or older; have original education-related products to sell

Review:

Teachers Pay Teacher is an online marketplace where educators can market their original content, ranging from lesson plans and workbooks to classroom decorations and clip art. Products can be shipped or downloadable. But must be original and not subject to another author’s copyright. Content also may not trivialize traumatic events (slavery, Holocaust, etc.); discriminate; or include pornography. The items, after all, are aimed at public- and private-school kids, grades pre-K to 12.

Sellers set the price of their product and can offer promotions or freebies, if they chose. However, to list products for sale on the site, you must become a member. There are two membership options. One has no upfront fee, but charges a 45% commission, plus 30 cents per item, on everything the educator sells. The other option requires a $60 annual fee, but drops the commission rate to 20%. With the paid-subscription model, the teacher is only charged per-item fees for products sold for less than $3.

Given the thousands of buyer reviews, it appears that teachers with clever products can make good money. The site’s terms are also reasonable. However, the commissions and fees can be onerous if you are selling inexpensive items. And teachers report that their products are being copied and the site does little to stop copyright infringement.

Teachers can find other money-making options by offering online classes through Teachable or Thinkific or tutoring through Wyzant, Chelsea International Education and Varsity Tutors.

What their users say:

(from Glassdoor)

You can earn money from creating your own products and the royalty rate is good. The premium sellers fee is a yearly fee to pay to earn a better commission though you can start selling without paying this fee. I suggest starting using the free version and waiting to see how your sales go. Then using your earnings to pay the fee. The flip side? Other sellers will create almost identical products. In some cases, this is somewhat understandable because we all cover the same thing. However, if you come up with an original idea, expect that it will be copied and sold by other sellers.

From SiteJabber:

They are a rip off because they take more than half of the money you make on the website. For instance I sold an item for $3.00 that I worked really hard to create and they charged me $1.35 as their commission an additional .30 cent as a transaction fee. It left me with the earnings of $1.35. This website is designed to take all of your profit. It is so sad to see websites like this. They could make such a wonderful impact by getting these items out there but they make absolute sure that the seller pays them half of what they make or even more. Such a shame.