Old School RuneScape (OSRS) is a treasure trove of bizarre and often overlooked money-making methods that can yield impressive profits, sometimes above millions of OSRS gold per hour. These techniques may seem odd or unorthodox, but they’ve stood the test of time, with players continually finding new and creative ways to profit in the game. Over the past five years, we’ve tracked some of these out-of-the-box money-making strategies and compiled them into an updated “Unusual Money-Making Leaderboards,” giving players a fresh perspective on how to make cash without falling into the typical Grand Exchange (GE) grind.
With a revamped spreadsheet, you can now see live Grand Exchange prices and compare them with the historical data we’ve accumulated. This not only helps you gauge how much profit a method yields in today’s market, but it also provides you with updated profitability information for each strategy, making it easier to maximize your time and effort.
In this article, we’ll explore several unique and highly profitable methods that could earn you millions of GP per hour. Some of these methods may even feel borderline “illegal” in terms of their cheekiness, but with the right approach, you could be on your way to raking in substantial profits.
The “Illegal” Alcohol Trade: Aladdin’s Beer Scheme
Let’s start with one of the most infamous and arguably “illegal” money-making methods in OSRS: selling alcohol to a child. Yes, you read that right.
Aladdin, the quirky NPC found in multiple questlines in the Fremennik area, has a rather interesting business proposition for players who are willing to indulge him. You can sell him a “keg of beer” for a nice profit. Here’s how it works:
- Buy Kegs of Beer: Head to Thor’s Barkeep in the Relic Long Haul and purchase kegs of beer for 325 GP each. If you’ve completed the Fremennik Trials, you can buy them for an even cheaper 250 GP each.
- Teleport to Waterbirth Island: Use the lunar spellbook’s Waterbirth Island teleport, which costs about 338 GP in runes.
- Climb the Shortcut: With 85 Agility, you can bypass the long and tedious trek through Waterbirth Island Dungeon and head straight to Aladdin.
- Sell Beer to Aladdin: Aladdin will buy the kegs from you for 700 GP each if you haven’t completed the Fremennik Trials, or 1,100 GP if you have.
This method is used to involve a cumbersome trek through the dungeon, but with the recent addition of a shortcut, the process is much faster. After an hour of doing this, I ended up with 586k GP—after deducting teleport costs and the initial investment, that’s a solid 506k GP profit per hour. Since this method doesn’t involve the Grand Exchange, prices remain stable, making it a reliable and consistent source of income, even for Ironman OSRS Accounts.
Repairing Broken Moon Armor: A Smithing Profit
Next, we move on to a more niche method that involves repairing broken Moon Armor from the Lunar chest after defeating the Moons of Peril. This armor, which functions similarly to Barrows gear, can degrade after use and turn into “broken” versions. Here’s where the money-making comes in:
- Buying Broken Moon Armor: Purchase broken Moon Armor pieces (e.g., the Blood Moon tassets or Helm) from the Grand Exchange. They are usually priced low, but be careful to check that the margin is favorable before making a purchase.
- Repairing the Armor: You can repair the armor at Bob’s Workshop in Lumbridge or Dunston’s Repair shop in Birthorp, but the cost is steep—1.5 million GP for each piece. Alternatively, use your Player-Owned House (POH) to repair the armor at a discounted rate based on your Smithing level. With 90 Smithing, you can save up to 675k GP on the repair cost.
- Selling the Repaired Armor: After repairing the armor, you can sell it back on the Grand Exchange for a higher price. This is where the profit comes in, as the repaired armor can be worth several million GP more than the broken version.
Though it may take some patience and knowledge of the Grand Exchange margins, this method can yield substantial profits. After one day of buying, repairing, and selling Moon Armor, I earned a profit of 4.6 million GP. With some practice and higher Smithing levels, this method can easily become a daily money-making venture, especially when combined with the ability to boost your Smithing level before repairing.
The Huntsman Kit: Wilderness Hunter Profit
One of the most exciting new ways to make money in OSRS involves the Huntsman kit and the Hunter Kit spell from the Lunar Spellbook. The spell requires level 71 Magic and grants players a variety of items, including a noose wand, butterfly net, bird snare, rabbit snare, teasing stick, unlit torch, box trap, and an impling jar. The catch? You can use the Huntsman kit to store all these items and quickly deposit them into your bank.
The method works as follows:
- Cast the Hunter Kit Spell: Every time you cast this spell, you’ll receive a variety of useful items, with the impling jar being the most valuable.
- Store Items in the Huntsman Kit: Instead of taking the items to your bank each time, store them directly in your Huntsman kit, which can hold all of the items at once.
- Repeat the Process: Cast the spell as many times as you like, rapidly depositing the items into your Huntsman kit without ever seeing them in your inventory.
- Sell the Items: After an hour of casting the Hunter Kit spell, I gathered over 1.1 million GP in profit, mostly from selling the impling jars.
The best part? This method is zero-risk, as the Huntsman kit is untradeable, meaning that if you die in the Wilderness, you won’t lose any of your items. This makes it an excellent, no-stress money-making method that doesn’t rely on other players or complex mechanics. With a bit of patience, it’s possible to make over 1 million GP per hour using this method.
Hop and Shop: Raiding Crafting Supplies
Finally, we have the “Hop and Shop” method, a time-honored technique for making money in OSRS that involves buying out an NPC shop and flipping the items on the Grand Exchange. For this method, we’ll head to the island of Natas and raid the Crafting Supply shop, which sells six items that can all be resold for a profit:
- Hammer, needle, and thread (1 GP each)
- Ball of wool (2 GP each)
- Knife (6 GP each)
- Bronze axe (16 GP each)
With a quick shop restock every six seconds and a nearby bank chest, this method allows you to buy out the shop’s stock, hop to a new world, and repeat the process. After an hour of hopping worlds and buying up these items, I made a total of 983k GP in profit.
This method is one of the most accessible in terms of low requirements and high volume, making it perfect for both beginners and experienced players. With a steady income stream from these common items, you’ll never find yourself stuck for cash again.
Conclusion: Unusual Money-Making Methods Can Be Profitable
These unusual money-making methods show that OSRS is full of opportunities for players who are willing to venture off the beaten path. Whether it’s selling beer to a child, repairing broken armor for profit, casting the Huntsman kit spell in the Wilderness, or hopping between worlds to buy out NPC shops, there’s always a unique way to make money in OSRS or buy RuneScape gold.
So, next time you’re looking for a new way to boost your bank balance, don’t forget to check out these off-the-wall methods—they might just be the quickest way to your next big payday. And who knows, maybe they’ll feel just a little bit illegal in the process!