Recently, online part-time jobs have become very popular. In simpler terms, it means earning money through the internet. I often receive QQ messages about earning 150 yuan per day through part-time jobs. But let's not discuss whether it's reliable or not, or the fact that some are scams. The truth is, real online earning is not that easy.

In June 2012, after finishing my college entrance exam, I spent my days browsing the internet and waiting for the release of my exam results. At that time, I knew nothing about online earning. Later, a friend told me that he used to earn 1000 yuan per month by being a Taobao customer. This sparked my interest, but I soon realized that the methods for being a Taobao customer had changed and it wouldn't be as easy for a beginner like me to earn income. I regretted not learning more about being a Taobao customer from my friend. So, were there no other platforms to earn money from?

By chance, an online friend told me that I could earn some pocket money by doing Taobao brush orders. It wasn't as amazing as some claimed, that you could earn hundreds of yuan per day just by brushing orders. Of course, there might be a few exceptions. Brushing orders refers to artificially increasing the sales volume, reputation, and reviews of Taobao and Tmall stores through fake chatting, fake photography, fake delivery, and other methods. I used to have great trust in Taobao and Tmall, but since I started brushing orders, I began to doubt if the products I bought were genuine.

At that time, I joined a YY guild, but I can't remember its exact name. I paid a membership fee of 40 yuan. During the process of brushing orders, the guild leader would notify the members to queue up. To be honest, there were quite a lot of requirements, such as browsing a certain number of products in the store, staying on the page for a certain amount of time, bookmarking products and stores, sharing, engaging in fake conversations with the seller, and going through the final process of red packet payment and fake delivery.

At first, I was quite interested in it. But as time went on, I realized that the income was only enough to cover my internet expenses, and I wasted a lot of time (waiting in queues for a long time, not to mention the process of placing orders). Perhaps it was because I didn't do it well enough (I don't deny that there are indeed a few who made money through this), but it also required each Taobao account to not exceed a certain number of orders per month. If you only have one Taobao account, you probably won't earn much. After doing it for a little over a month and getting back my membership fee, I decided to quit.

The only thing I gained from this experience was a renewed understanding of Tmall and Taobao. I realized that there was this gray industry where sales and reviews were artificially inflated. I also learned a bit about SEO (because the guild leader taught us how to post and recruit members to earn commissions). However, after doing it for a little over a month, I realized it was a huge time sink and the income didn't justify the effort. It was a loss-making venture, so I chose to quit.

This was my first experience with online part-time jobs, or you can call it online earning. I hope it provides some reference for friends who are planning to do this. Additionally, be aware that online scams are becoming more sophisticated. Please be cautious and remember: never engage in order brushing for virtual items. It's a lesson learned.