Can you make money by collecting?

[Kaye]

I mean, could a Sim make a living by collecting rocks, gems and such and selling them?

[amyrose]

Yes most definitely, especially if you have the Collection Helper Lifetime Reward, showing you where the gems, rocks, beetles and butterflies are.

[Janna]

I had a sim that I had collecting, she was getting the normal gems, metals and insects, but also collecting seeds, was able to get as high as 36 simeleons for some of them.  I think they were probably death or money tree seeds. 

I did keep some of them, got my gardening skills up mainly by reading at the library (Riverview's library has up to Gardening vol 3) and planting a few veggies.  Carrying veggies and fruits are a big help when your sim is getting hungry and you are quite a ways from home.  Give her an apple and it helps tide her over. 
Tip on the gardening (unless you are planning it as a career) if you just want to get where you can grow money tree seeds, don't get the sprinklers.  I had to fight my sim on her playing in the water.  I would tell her to go to bed and turn around and she was out playing in the water.  Her energy would be way, way, way down and she was still playing. 

But to your question, oh yeah, you can make quite a bit of money.  Visit China as soon as you can, you can find lots of gems there.  Went on a trip and found over 4,000 simeleons in gems, space rock and metals.  More than covered the cost of going there. 

[CSquared2]

Absolutely.  I've had many sims who thrive doing nothing else.  I think it's a special kind of fun for me to search the map for items.  Once I've got a few queued up, I unpause the game and let them sim run while I keep looking.  It is time consuming, however.  I'd pick a home lot close to a few spawners.  That way your sim can run out to grab up a few rocks each day while they bring in the mail.

[Twinmum]

Oh you can make a fortune from collecting gems, especially if you have the collection helper as others have said, but also you need to cut them and for even more money get the display case and try your hand at transfiguration (especially with the metals)
Take a look at the guide for transfiguration.

[Kaye]

Oh you can make a fortune from collecting gems, especially if you have the collection helper as others have said, but also you need to cut them and for even more money get the display case and try your hand at transfiguration (especially with the metals)
Take a look at the guide for transfiguration.

I didn't know about this. Thanks!

[Nyxi]

Here is a tip for collecting - make a dog in CAS and train him in hunting. Eventually he can hunt for collectibles and even locate them, removing the need for a collection helper! I found multiple pink diamonds and tiberium with him. Also, go to China and pick up Martial Arts, then complete the Timber Terminator challenge, which will give you random gems for every broken space block.  You can also get the Telescopic Metal quest there which shows every metal on the China map.

[CSquared2]

Here is a tip for collecting - make a dog in CAS and train him in hunting. Eventually he can hunt for collectibles and even locate them, removing the need for a collection helper! I found multiple pink diamonds and tiberium with him.

Those and many, many more.  Supernovium, plutonium, woohooium, rainbow gems.  I wouldn't be surprised if they were gems dogs can't find, I don't think I've ever had a dog come across anything that's available in a WA location like jade, but that list is going to be a short one.

[Nyxi]

My dog found platinum and I believe that's a metal from China... So he could probably find anything. He also found the biggest space rock I have ever seen in the game.

[amyrose]

Cats with the hunting skill can find some very rare minor animals as well. My cat has found a lot of rare beetles from China and Egypt, selling for around 700 simoleons each.

[warr2098]

This gives me an idea. (Not telling you what it is though) 

[Kaye]

Alright. I started off in Lunar Lakes. Already made over 100 dollars/simoleons by harvesting and selling fruit.

[Wai]

I know this thread was started some time ago, but, I make most fo my Sim's money collecting metals and gems. 

To really make it big, you need Carter's Display XL.  (1,250)

Place an expensive metal ingot (value arround 600), not Supernovium or compendium, in the top left hand corner, then add another seven metal ingots.  Anything will do so long as there are 5 different types.  This is a good place to use those low value copper or lead bars.  Total cost including 500 transfiguration fee should be around 1,400 to a maximum of 2000.  Result will be a supernovium ingot worth approximately 7,000 to 8,000.  A nice little earner.

Alternatively Place a medium-high value gem in the top left corner.  Now add four more different gems.  Finally add three gems of the same cut a one of your lower value gems.. It is vital here that you use 5 different gems and exactly 4 different cuts.  This is a place to use up those low value emerald cuts of which you probably have plenty.  Transfigure (cost 500) result is one4 un-cut soulpiece around 2500 to 3500 in value.  Get it heart cut and it's 5 times it's original value or about 10 times your original invstment.

Transfigeration takes almost no Sim time!  It's the collecting that eats up sim time.  My preference for collection is France as metals are of high value, fequently found near the road side and the map is small enough that a sim can collect a lot in a short time, especially if they can jog between finds.  There are some excellent locations for high value finds, but I'll leave you to find them.  Remember that wherever you go in WA, the collectables do not start to appear until the day after your arrival on your first vist.

Revel in the money.

[Janna]

I tried the Transfiguring and didn't seem to make it worth the cost, some of my transfiguring ended up with my losing money.  I'll have to try it again, to see if I can make it worth while. 

I never seem to have luck in France, but great luck in China, I take the adventure of finding five metals for someone and the locations show up and I find LOTS of metals and also gems on the way, along with areas to excavate.  Go home without turning in the metals and then retun to hunt.  I think the next step is to find mercury and then three  bugs and last to convince three families to turn out their lights;that mades a LOT of money, some ancient coins and I think visa points that way. 

[Pam]

I tried the Transfiguring and didn't seem to make it worth the cost, some of my transfiguring ended up with my losing money.  I'll have to try it again, to see if I can make it worth while. 

The trick to making money with transfigurification is to get Compendium.  Then use your Compendium in the mix for the next time.  Each Compendium bar will be worth more and more.  You can get to where a single bar is worth hundreds of thousands of Simoleons.  Maybe more.  Also, check Carl's guide for more information about transfigurification.