Wondering how to sell feet pics without getting scammed? If so, be sure to read through these tips and recommendations.
Feet pic sellers face all kinds of scams while transacting online, from payment scams to content theft to phishing scams.
Worse still, it’s not always possible to tell when you’re playing into the hands of a scammer.
The fraudsters know their targets pretty well and will switch tactics whenever they are found out.
This article is for you if you are a budding foot model. We shall discuss how to spot scammers and avoid their traps before it’s too late.
But first things first . . .
Is Selling Feet Pics Dangerous?
It shouldn’t be. But it can be. Some people genuinely want to buy feet pics from you. Others simply want to use you in the guise of actual buyers.
Thankfully, most scams are detectable early on and can be easily halted.
All you need as a seller is to have a nodding acquaintance with common scams and be able to pick up the subtle hints that scammers often throw.
We will discuss that later in the article.
First, let’s get familiar with the whole feet pic business from the seller’s perspective so you know what a normal transaction looks like.
Who Buys Feet Pics?
A genuine feet pic buyer’s typical profile is similar to that of a con artist.
Fraudsters masquerade as buyers and trick sellers into sending them images—sometimes even money—which is basically why the scams work.
Still, knowing who usually purchases feet pics can go a long way toward eliminating scammers and ensuring your safety on feet pic marketplaces.
Here is a list of parties that may be interested in buying pictures of your feet:
- Foot fetishists
- Podiatrists or feet doctors
- Content creators
- Marketers
- Stock photo agencies
The most common buyers are foot fetishists. These simply buy feet pics to look at them.
They may have a preference for a certain type of feet and may request you take your pics a certain way and in specific settings. Some may ask to see your face as well.
Podiatrists, content creators, and marketers may not be as picky, which is good, but they are not as easy to run into.
Stock photo agencies will let you upload your feet pics and either pay a commission for each sale or simply pay upfront and resell them as their own.
Oftentimes, when they pay upfront, they also buy the rights for the photographs. It’s up to you to decide how and to whom to sell your feet images.
Where To Sell Feet Pics Safely
Reputable stock photo sites, like iStock Photo, Pixabay, Pexels, Unsplash, and Shutterstock, are a great place to start. But they are often not lucrative.
The thing is, most feet pic buyers prefer dedicated platforms. Stock photo sites aren’t exactly that.
They tend to list anything photographable and hardly ever dedicate a section to feet pics.
This forces buyers to browse through poorly sorted libraries and apply many filters to find what they are looking for, which is just too laborious.
Dedicated feet pic sites are built with buyers and sellers of feet images in mind. A great example of a perfectly-built platform is FeetFinder.
You might also love our article on Instafeet vs FeetFinder
The site has been around since 2019 and is already hailed as a market-leading light on utilitarian and ornamental fronts.
As at the time of writing this article, it had over 250,000 users. That’s nothing to sneeze at, considering the infancy of the feet pic industry and the battle for supremacy that has been going on since the start of the pandemic.
I checked a few reviews, and the secret seems to be the one thing rival sites take lightly: privacy and user safety.
Feetfinder connects you with a sizeable market and ensures you are dealing with ID-verified individuals.
The site also lets sellers decide their prices. The typical transaction on FeetFinder is initiated by the buyer, who approaches the seller with an offer.
The seller can accept or reject this offer. The two parties can also haggle and try to reach an understanding through the platform’s direct messaging function.
Upon completion of a transaction, the money is sent to the seller via Segpay or Paxum, depending on their location.
How To Detect A Potential Scam
They are probably a scammer if they:
1.) Want to transact outside the feet pic platform. For sites like FeetFinder that have in-built messaging features, it doesn’t make much sense for someone to insist on communicating and transacting off-site. It’s a potential red flag if they do.
2.) Are keen on hiding their identity.
3.) Overpay “mistakenly” then ask you to initiate a refund. This happens when you’re paid using fraudulent funds, and the scammer wants to get off the hook by passing the transaction trail through your account.
4.) Want you to send sample pictures. This is the most common scam on feet pic marketplaces. The crooks behind it usually just want to obtain your feet pics for free.
5.) Threaten to expose you if you don’t cave into their dodgy demands.
6.) Ask for personal details that you don’t reckon help the transaction in any way. As stated earlier, scammers will never run short of ideas to bypass whichever defense you have in place. So the list of red flags could well be ten times what we have provided.
Top Tips To Avoid Being Scammed
You can never create a regimen good enough to get around all scam attempts.
With these tips, however, you can fortify your armor against common scams and cut the possibility of being scammed to near zero:
1.) Always provide relevant information and nothing more.
2.) Ensure the platform you are using is reputable and has a verifiable track record. A good site should run ID-verified accounts (like FeetFinder does) and offer escrow. For good measure, avoid going full-swing at the beginning. Start small and let the site earn your trust.
3.) Ask to be paid first. This applies if you prefer selling feet pics independently instead of using a marketplace, a stock photo agency, or any other go-between.
4.) Do not share explicit content if you can’t handle the potential of being “exposed”. If you don’t mind family and friends knowing that you are in the feet pic business, it shouldn’t be a bother if a buyer asks to see more of you.
Just so you know, sellers who reveal their identity get more buyers and make more money.
5.) Trust your instincts. If you have a gut feeling a prospect is a scammer, chances are you are right. Imagine falling for a scam that you saw coming!
6.) Treat everyone like a suspect. Let them prove you wrong.
How Much Can You Make A Month Selling Feet Pics?
As much as scams are a thing, they are not as prevalent as the internet makes it seem.
Most transactions play out successfully, and many new foot models end up establishing thriving businesses.
I ran into an article in the New York Post about a highly-successful foot model and was left wondering if foot modeling should be considered a side hustle anymore.
32-year-old Jessica Gould apparently makes over $70,000 a year taking snapshots of her feet and posting them on Instagram.
She has just over 10,000 followers, whom she serves four pictures a day on average.
The interesting part is that Gould only uses Instagram as a marketing platform. She doesn’t exactly sell the pictures that she posts.
Those, she says, are to rouse interest and send fetishists into her inbox. There was no mention of scamming being a hurdle for her, thankfully.
Another story that piqued my interest was that of a 33-year-old Florida-based woman who was introduced to foot modeling when she was 26 and decided to start hosting foot fetish parties after seeing the massive potential of the industry.
According to an article published on Insider, she made a whopping $115,000 in 2019 from foot modeling alone.
She later called it quits with the parties, but only because she didn’t think she was cut out for management.
Her story has no mention of run-ins with scammers either.
From these two stories, it’s clear that you can make more than the average American, doing something that barely requires physical effort.
Of course, most foot models make less than that, but at least we have proof that you can go places with a good camera, a pair of pretty feet, and a bit of hard work.
As a beginner, it’s highly advisable that you keep your expectations in check. Every business needs time to grow, and it’s not a guarantee you will hit the ground running, no matter your photo-taking expertise or the beauty of your feet.
Pros And Cons Of Selling Feet Pics
Pros
- It is easy to get started. Probably only the camera will cost you money. Some platforms are subscription-based, but they charge only a few dollars per month/year.
- Everything takes place online. You will never have to leave the comfort of your house to complete a transaction.
- Flexibility. You get to work when you get the time—exactly what you want if you have a day job or some other time-intensive commitment.
- It can prove to be a very well-paying hustle. Some established models earn upwards of $100,000 per year.
- It is an opportunity for creative expression for individuals who have a partiality for taking and sharing pictures of their feet.
Cons
- Exposure to identity theft and other privacy concerns
- It could ruin your relationship with loved ones who may have a negative opinion of foot modeling
- There is generally not enough protection from exploitation and misuse, especially once images get in the hands of third parties
- In some jurisdictions, selling feet pics could put you on a collision course with the law
Final Thoughts
It would be thoughtless to close your mind to the potential of being scammed selling feet pics online.
However, with the upsides of foot modeling massively outweighing the downsides, launching yourself into the game shouldn’t come as an outrageous idea.
Disclaimer: The above is a sponsored post. The views expressed are those of the sponsor/author and do not represent the stand and views of WorkAtHomeSmart
