While for most people airsoft is just a fun hobby, there are also ways to make money with it. Some of those will be discussed in this article.
However, even if you’re among the best airsofters out there, it’s unlikely that you’ll earn a significant amount of money. Airsoft is not up there with other popular sports when it comes to the potential to make money.
Still, if you’re an airsoft enthusiast, by doing some of the activities discussed in this article you can earn some extra money to spend on airsoft gear, you can learn more about airsoft, and you may even have fun doing them.
How To Make Money Playing Airsoft?
We’ll go through a list of 7 relatively common (and less common) ways that you can earn money from airsoft. Some of those are pretty realistic, while others such as becoming a pro are highly unlikely to happen. Let’s dive into the different airsoft-related ways to make money.
1. Get a Job in an Airsoft Store (or Open Your Own Airsoft Store)
Getting a job in an airsoft store is definitely the most boring item on the list. But, it’s also the most realistic. This is a good option for many airsofters who are young adults with a lot of time on their hands. Also, as an employee, you’ll surely have discounts on airsoft products. Depending on where you live, finding such a job opportunity may range from very easy to nearly impossible.
A more risky way that isn’t realistic for most people is to actually open their own airsoft store. Airsoft is getting more and more popular, and there are still many places both in the US and internationally where the demand for airsoft products is not met. Your airsoft experience and knowledge will definitely come in handy and give you an edge.
If you’re considering this, make sure to do your due diligence thoroughly before investing any kind of money into such an endeavor. Due to the high costs related to starting an airsoft store, this is the riskiest idea on the list. But it’s also the one with the highest profit potential.
2. Get a Job at an Airsoft Field (or Open Your Own Airsoft Field)
Getting a job at an airsoft field will likely be more interesting compared to working in an airsoft store. Here, you may be at the field refereeing. While not exactly the same thrill as when you’re playing, at least you’re on the field, having fun, and meeting other airsoft enthusiasts.
By observing players and games you may also learn some tips and tricks that you didn’t know before. And, just as with airsoft stores, apart from getting paid, you’ll likely get discounts on a bunch of airsoft-related stuff. You may even play for free.
And while not practical for most readers, starting an airsoft field may be a good idea for some. Yes, it’s very risky and requires a significant amount of money. But, just as we discussed for airsoft stores, there are still many places across the US, as well as outside of it, where airsoft fields don’t exist or are too far for a lot of people.
There’s money in airsoft fields if the necessary market research and due diligence are done. You know very well how much entrance fees cost. And then there’s also the renting of guns and equipment, as well as other additional sources of revenue.
3. Repairing Airsoft Guns
Now we’re getting into the three ways of making money from airsoft that are realistic, but don’t involve getting employed. The first one involves repairing airsoft guns.
Just as everything else, airsoft guns can often break. That includes either not working at all, or not performing as expected. Since airsoft guns are expensive, people would definitely prefer getting their airsoft guns fixed instead of buying new guns. That’s where you come in.
If you have the necessary skills and know how airsoft guns work internally, you can earn some nice money from fixing airsoft guns. There are a lot of resources online (you can find how to fix a bunch of different issues with airsoft guns on YouTube) that can help you in the beginning.
If you don’t have the technical skills, repairing airsoft guns can seem difficult at first. Try reading online, watching YouTube videos, joining online airsoft communities such as Reddit, as well as opening up airsoft guns you may have (be careful not to break them). The mechanism of airsoft guns may seem daunting at first, but is really not that complicated once you get to know it.
It only gets easier with time, since with every gun you fix you become more experienced. After a while, you’ll be able to quickly deal with almost any issue a player may have. And you’ll notice that only a few things cause most of the issues with airsoft guns.
At first, you can start fixing the guns of players in your team or players around you. Then, you may look for customers at airsoft fields. If you know your stuff, you’ll quickly become famous as the guy who can fix anything airsoft-related.
4. Reselling Airsoft Guns
A somewhat related way of earning money to that of repairing airsoft guns is the reselling of airsoft guns. It’s related because you need some of the same technical skills. If you know how to repair airsoft guns, you’ll be able to recognize good deals when buying them.
There’s a market for used guns. Many people don’t need their airsoft guns anymore and are trying to offload them. A lot of them aren’t sure how much their used or maybe even broken gun is worth. If you manage to buy these guns at a discounted price, you’ll be able to make good profit margins. You can also buy broken guns, fix them cheaply, and sell them for a much higher price.
5. Modifying Airsoft Guns
Another way of earning money from airsoft that involves your technical skills is modifying them. People don’t need help only with their broken airsoft guns. Even when they’re working as they should, many people will want to upgrade and modify them.
There’s a lot of room for upgrading airsoft guns, their range, efficiency, and accuracy. But, a lot of people don’t have the necessary skills to upgrade their guns. Once again, that’s where you step in.
Repairing, reselling, and modifying airsoft guns are great ways to earn some extra cash on the side. The nice thing is that once you get the technical skills and learn how airsoft guns work, you can do all three of them. Still, don’t expect to earn significant money from these. Repairing and modifying takes time, especially in the beginning, so it’s difficult to scale.
6. Take Part in Airsoft Competitions
Now we’re getting into the most fun, but least realistic ways of making money airsofting. There are airsoft tournaments and events where you can take a part in. Many of them offer prize money to the winning team.
However, since airsoft is not as popular as many other sports are, the prize money is rarely some extraordinary sum. In addition, there are many players on an airsoft team, and the money would have to be divided among them.
There are also costs involved with participating in a tournament, such as the entry fee and other expenses. And these competitions are highly competitive, so winning one is no easy task. Still, winning a few hundred or even thousands of dollars isn’t impossible.
Given all of this, you should take part in airsoft tournaments mostly to have fun. Money shouldn’t be a priority, since it may lead to disappointment. And if you win some, that’s an awesome bonus.
7. Getting Professional Sponsorships
The most difficult, nearly impossible way to get money by playing airsoft, is to get yourself a sponsorship contract. You know, in a similar concept as NBA stars do (but not in similar sums. Definitely not in similar sums).
Just as in other sports, some airsoft companies may pay certain players to promote them. The sponsorship may be in money, but it’s more common for companies to simply give the player promoting them airsoft gear.
However, it’s extremely difficult to become one of those few guys who get sponsorships. In order to do so, you will have to become famous in the airsoft community, just as Nikola Jokic is in the slightly larger basketball community. A player could become well-known in the community by regularly and successfully competing in airsoft competitions, but also through social media channels, such as YouTube.
But the worst thing is, even if you somehow became one of the most successful airsofters there are, you still wouldn’t earn as much money as you’d hoped. Airsoft is, before everything else, a hobby. A fun hobby. At least for now.
Can You Make Money Playing Airsoft?
While you can make some money by professionally playing airsoft, it’s unlikely that you’ll earn a significant amount. Unlike many other popular sports where players earn hundreds of thousands and even millions of dollars, there’s simply not that much money in airsoft.
There are, however, other ways to make money related to airsoft, such as the above-mentioned ones.
How Much Do Professional Airsoft Players Make?
There are no truly professional airsoft players, and those who are the closest to something like a professional airsoft player don’t earn much, if anything. There are airsoft tournaments offering prize money, but even optimistically looking you can’t earn more than a couple of hundred or maybe thousands of dollars, not even accounting for the expenses.
Conclusion
Unfortunately, making a lot of money from airsoft is very difficult. You should look at airsoft mainly as a fun hobby. Still, there are a couple of ways you can earn some extra bucks from it. In this article we went through 7 potential ways to earn extra money from airsoft-related activities.
The founder of Airsoft Freaks and a passionate airsofter for more than 15 years. Get to know me better on my about page