Do Legit Home Assembly Jobs Actually Exist?

If you’ve been searching for a legit way to make money assembling products from home, you’re not alone. A lot of people are interested in this type of work because it’s simple and flexible.

But are any of these jobs actually legit?

Most “home assembly jobs” advertised online are scams that ask you to pay a joining fee or purchase a “starter kit” to get started, then either don’t provide you with any products to assemble or continually reject your completed work to avoid paying.

There are some legitimate product assembly jobs though, along with some cool alternatives that you could start with zero (or very little) money. And in this article, we’ll be exploring these!

Scams versus Legitimate Home Assembly Jobs

There’s a lot of different sites online that claim to pay you to assemble products from the comfort of home. And, while I’ve found most of them to be scams, there are some legit options and some cool alternatives.

Here’s an overview of the three main ways you can make money assembling products:

1. Sign up with a work at home assembly job site (mostly scams)
2. Assemble products locally (legit but location specific)
3. Start a “crafty” side gig (legit alternative for craft enthusiasts)

The first option is to sign up with a website that offers home assembly jobs, like the ones you can start without ever leaving home. The second option involves assembling products in your local area, either as an employee or contractor. And the third option (kind of) involves assembling stuff, like crafts for example, as a freelancer.

So with that being said, let’s take a closer look at each!

1. Sign up with a work at home assembly job site (mostly scams)

The first thing I want to be clear about, is that this option is where the vast majority of scams exist. So if you come across a site that promises you a job putting stuff together, and it’s not listed on a reputable job site by a reputable company, chances are it’s a scam.

The way these sites work is by promising you an easy work from home job where all you need to do is signup, assemble the products they send you by post, and start getting paid.

The products they (claim) to pay you to assemble are mostly craft or jewelry related, but can include any type of product that is easy to assemble and that fits into the mail. Such as small electronics, CD cases, pens, and picture frames for example.

And that’s what makes these “job opportunities” so appealing.

Assembling these types of products is something anyone can do, with very little upfront cash, from the comfort of home, and like most scams, they claim to pay top dollar for minimal effort.

Here’s how these sites (pretend to) work:

• The first step is paying a joining fee or purchasing a starter kit, at which point they send you what you need to get started (products and instructions) in the mail.
• Once you receive your package, the next step is to assemble the products according to the instructions they give you and check to make sure they’re assembled correctly.
• Lastly, you need to package the products up, and send them into the company so they can review your work and pay you.

Now here’s how these sites (really) work:

• You pay a joining fee or purchase a starter kit to get started.
• They either don’t send you anything at all, or they do send you some products to assemble, but continually reject your completed work claiming that it’s not up to standard, in order to avoid paying you.
• Realizing it’s a scam, you try to get your money back but often to no avail.

So these sites really just want your money.

Which is why many people search for “legit home assembly jobs with no startup fees”, hoping to find a legit site that won’t scam them.

But all of the sites I’ve come across ask you to pay them in one way or another, and none of them have been legit. I guess it’s possible you could find a legit home assembly site among the scams, but I doubt it.

2. Assemble products locally (legit but location specific)

This method involves helping customers setup products in your local area. Such as bicycles, TVs, furniture and other types of products for example.

The downside is that there’s more involved in earning this way than applying to one of the sites I mentioned earlier, and the available opportunities vary depending on where you live.

On the plus side, this is legit and actually works. And there’s a few different ways you can go about it depending on what you’re wanting to do. So there’s still lots of great options here.

Here are the main options for assembling products locally:

• Get a product assembling job with a local company
• Do freelance assembly work for companies like Amazon
• Start your own product assembly business

Let’s take a closer look at each method.

Get a product assembling job with a local company

Companies all over the world, in many different industries, have customers purchasing their products who don’t have the skill, physical ability or desire to assemble the products they’ve bought.

So they get help from someone in store to set everything up for them, for an extra fee on top of the product price. This is actually quite common.

The types of products people need help assembling range from electronics and furniture, to bikes and gym equipment. Basically anything people buy that don’t want to setup.

Typically the company will just use their own employees to do this, but sometimes they outsource to private companies who specialize in putting products together for customers, who need employees.

So there are real local jobs in this space.

And one of the best ways to find these jobs is through local job search sites by searching for “product assembler” or something similar in your area.

Here’s a couple examples I found on Indeed.com:

The good thing about this method is that it’s fairly simple, you just need to find a company in your area offering a job. In some cases it’ll be an employee arrangement, while other times it may be on a contract basis. The downside is that these jobs seem to be fairly limited depending on where you live and typically don’t pay very much.

Do freelance assembly work for Amazon

Amazon has a program called “Selling Services on Amazon” which allows you to set yourself up as a service provider for Amazon customers. So that, when they buy a product they don’t want to setup, they can select the option to have the product professionally installed. And once you’re setup, you can be the person to install/assemble it for them.

This is similar to the above method, in that you’re assembling products locally, but in this case you’re not an employee, you’re a freelancer. Which basically means you’re running a small business.

The cool thing about this method is that there’s probably going to be lots of work available for you, given how many people are shopping online these days, and that Amazon has the lion’s share of this. So you basically get to tap into their massive customer base. It’s also good because it’s flexible and could be more lucrative than a regular job.

The downside is that you need liability insurance, a trade license for specific jobs, and you have to pay Amazon a 20% cut of whatever you earn.

Also, not everyone will be approved for this.

There is no cost to get started, Amazon just takes a 15-20% slice of whatever you earn, which I personally think isn’t bad considering you’re getting access to their customer base and that there are no other upfront costs involved. At least not from Amazon.

Overall, aside from just getting a job as an employee, this is probably one of the easiest ways to make money assembling products. And could become quite lucrative over time, especially since you can also do stuff like cleaning or house moving in the same platform, to bolster your earnings potential.

Start your own product assembly business

This is probably the most difficult and time consuming option, not to mention the most cost intensive, but it’s also perhaps the most lucrative if you build a good business.

The idea is to setup a home product assembling business and reach out to individuals and companies who are looking for assemblers, and offer your assembling services.

The cost of starting a business like this would probably be fairly low, like $500 or less, but as a business owner you are going to need to make sure you set everything up according to the local laws and get your insurances and licenses in order if applicable.

So it’s more effort and the startup costs are higher than other options, but as a business owner you could potentially earn a higher profit and scale your business by hiring people to do the assembly work for you.

And getting work is pretty simple these days with sites like Air Tasker and Task Rabbit, among others. These are sites you can list your services on, and give you an immediate customer base to tap into.

3. Start a “crafty” side gig (legit alternative for craft enthusiasts)

Most of the home assembly “jobs” I found (on the scam sites) centered around making crafts or jewelry of some kind.

Which got me thinking that a good alternative to assembling products for someone else could be to make your own craft based products and sell these online or at local markets. This could be a fun and flexible way to earn some extra cash, if crafting is your thing.

For example, you could make and sell handmade crafts, jewelry, art, homemade candles or bath bombs. These are just a few ideas off the top of my head though, you can sell virtually any type of craft you can think of. The only limit is your imagination, so get creative!

Read: Can You Really Make Money Selling Crafts Online?

If you want to sell online, check out sites like Etsy, Amazon Handmade, eBay for example. Or if you want to sell locally, try local markets and craft fairs as these can be great places to get started.

Avoiding Home Assembly Job Scams

Now that we’ve looked at some of the main ways you can make money assembling products, let’s look at how to avoid the scams. Which I think is important given how many there are.

The first thing to keep in mind is that you should never have to pay a “fee” (or anything) to get a job. A job is when the company pays you, the employee, not the other way around.

Having said that, it is only logical that you will have startup costs when starting a business. So it does depend on whether you’re attempting to get a job or start a business.

The other thing you want to do is check the reviews of the site before signing up for an assembly job. You really want to be sure it’s a legit company that has been operating for awhile. And the simplest way to do this is by “Googling” the name of the company and adding the term review at the end.

You can also check the company website itself, to see what sort of information they provide. If they’re not upfront about who they are, where they’e located and so on, that’s a red flag.

Lastly, you really just want to ask yourself if it sounds too good to be true. If a site is promising you all kinds of things, that deep down feel too good to be true, then it might pay to rethink it.

So to recap, here’s how to avoid assembly job scams:

• Avoid any site asking you to pay money to get a job, because it is probably a scam.
• Research the company and founders by reading reviews and checking the details they provide on their site.
• Ask yourself if it sounds too good to be true, a simple but proven strategy that can save you a lot of frustration.

By following these simple tips you should be able to avoid the majority of scams out there pretending to provide real home assembly work.

Can You Really Make Money Assembling Products From Home?

It is possible to make money assembling products from home, but unfortunately most of the so called “home assembly jobs” are scams that end up costing you money.

They remind me of envelope stuffing scams and other fake work at home programs that sound good, but the more you look into it the more obvious it becomes that they’re not real.

There are some legit options though, as we have discussed in this article, but most of these fall into the category of being a freelancer (AKA contractor or small business owner).

The good news is that, given the rise in online shopping sites like Amazon and freelance sites like Airtasker and Etsy for example, getting started can be relatively simple and enjoyable.

So there are some legit and worthwhile options out there.

Which option is best for you really just depends on how much you want to earn, your startup budget and how much effort you’re willing to put in, among others.

Either way, hopefully this article has given you some worthwhile insight into earning money as a product assembler, some alternative ideas, and useful tips on avoiding the scams.

Related Questions

Are there any legitimate home assembly jobs?

Legitimate home assembly jobs do exist, but it pays to be cautious, because most of the sites that are advertising these jobs are scams that could end up costing you money and time.

How much money can you make assembling products?

How much you can earn depends on which method you choose. A typical product assembler job won’t pay very much, while a home assembly business or freelance gig could prove more lucrative over time.

Are there any home assembly jobs with no fees?

Most of the scam sites out there will ask you to either pay a joining fee or purchase the materials you need to get started. Real companies offering real jobs will never ask an employee to pay them money in this way. And, although seemingly rare, these jobs do exist.

Aside from actual “job” there are many legitimate freelance positions out there, most of which don’t require a fee to start, but some of which do naturally involve some sort of startup cost.

How can I work from home with no money?

If you have absolutely zero money at all, and you’re struggling to find a remote job, then there are many work at home sites that pay you to complete tasks such as surveys.

For example, some recent sites I’ve reviewed include Inbox Dollars, Rev, ySense and Clickworker which are legit. These sites are easy to get started with, but don’t pay very much.

Other options include sites like VIPKid, Test.io and Speechpad. Which can be more profitable, but require a higher degree of skill and effort than just filling out surveys.

Or if you have even a little bit of money to put into starting a business online, affiliate marketing is a good way to go. It’s simple, can be started on a shoestring budget and it works because this is how I earn a living online. Check out my free beginner’s guide to learn more.