If you’ve ever tried to start a side hustle while also having, you know, a full-time life, you already understand the biggest problem: it’s not the work. It’s the mental load.
I wasn’t even sure I could pull it off with three young kids on top of my 9-to-5, but those three kids are exactly why I need the side hustle in the first place. My current side hustle is selling Trader Joe’s bags — and yes, people really do spend a ridiculous amount of money on them.
Some are seasonal, some are limited and some are just weirdly hard to find depending on where you live. Either way, the resale market is surprisingly active if you know what you’re doing.
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1. Gemini writes my listings so I don’t overthink them
(Image credit: Future/Amanda Caswell)
Writing product listings should be easy. It’s literally just describing a bag. But if you’ve ever sold anything online, you know how it goes: you stare at the screen trying to make it sound good, you rewrite it five times and somehow you still end up with something awkward like:
“Cute bag. Good condition. Bought it. Selling it.”
Gemini fixes that in seconds. I’ll paste in the basics — what it is, the condition, and any details that might matter to a buyer — and ask Gemini to write a listing that sounds clear and natural.
What I ask Gemini: “Write a friendly listing description for a 2024 Spring Trader Joe’s tote bag. Mention condition, size and that it’s sold out. Keep it short and casual.”
It gives me something polished that still sounds like me, and I can post it immediately instead of turning it into a 20-minute task.
2. It helps me with pricing
(Image credit: Natee Meepian/Shutterstock)
When it comes to selling online, pricing is the fastest way to lose your mind. If you price too high, nothing moves. If you price too low, it sells instantly… and then you realize you could’ve made double.
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Gemini can search the most resent resale prices in real time and help me come up with prices based on those, plus, it’s really good at helping me think through pricing logically.
I’ll tell it the bag type, condition, what I paid, how much shipping will cost, and what profit I want to make. Then I ask it to give me a pricing range that makes sense.
What I ask Gemini: “Help me price this bag for resale. I paid $3.99. Shipping will be around $6.50. It is going for $300 in some places. Suggest a list price and a lowest price I should accept.”
That alone saves me from making emotional pricing decisions like “I just want it gone.”
3. Gemini writes buyer messages for me
(Image credit: Future)
This might be my favorite use. I am by nature a very sociable and overly chatty person. Gemini helps me get the job done without telling the buyer where I grew up and what else I enjoy doing with my free time other than shopping at Trader Joe’s. Because, buyer messages are where side hustles go to die.
People ask questions that are already answered in the listing. They ghost. They come back. They ask if you’ll take half the price. They want it held “until Friday” (spoiler: they won’t buy it on Friday).
I don’t want to be rude, but I also don’t want to waste time. Full disclosure, I once literally told someone “you’re wasting my time” and lost a potential sale.
Gemini helps me respond quickly, politely and firmly — without sounding like I’m about to throw my phone into the ocean.
What I ask Gemini: “Write a short message to a buyer who offered $10 on a $200 item. Be polite but firm and offer $200 as my lowest.”
It gives me something I can copy, paste, and move on with my life.
4. It helps me stay organized without a complicated system
(Image credit: Shutterstock)
I’m not running a warehouse. I’m selling bags in the evenings and weekends from my basement. But I still need to know what I have, what’s listed, what’s sold and what still needs to ship.
Gemini helps me create a simple system I can actually stick to.
I’ll dump my current chaos into one prompt:
Everything I listed in a day/weekWhich sales are pendingWhat items need shippingItems still waiting to be photographed
What I ask Gemini: “Turn this into a simple to-do list grouped by: list today, message buyers, ship and restock.”
From there, Gemini turns everything into a useable spreadsheet. And when you’re juggling a side hustle, your main job and everything else, this is a real time saver.
5. Gemini helps me make my side hustle feel less exhausting
(Image credit: Shutterstock)
This is the part people don’t talk about. Side hustles aren’t hard because the tasks are difficult. They’re hard because they’re constant. There’s always another listing to post. Another buyer question. Another thing to package. Another trip to the post office.
Gemini doesn’t do the work for me, but it removes the grunt work that might otherwise make me throw in the towel. It cuts down the time I spend thinking about what to write, how to respond, what to charge and what I’m forgetting.
And when you’re trying to make extra money without burning yourself out, that’s the difference between “I tried a side hustle for two weeks” and “this is actually sustainable.”
The takeaway
Selling Trader Joe’s bags sounds random until you realize people genuinely want them. Once I saw the demand firsthand, I knew I had something real.
Gemini is the reason I can keep up. It helps me handle listings, pricing, buyer messages and organization without letting the whole thing take over my life.
And that’s the point: whether you’re flipping tote bags, selling on Facebook Marketplace or starting something completely different, Gemini can help you run a side hustle like you have an assistant — or even help you figure out what type of side hustle to start in the first place.
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