(Yicai) Nov. 24 -- Many Chinese celebrities are making good money on the side by selling clips of themselves endorsing a particular product or sending good wishes to an event, Yicai has learned.

Most of China’s actors and actresses are not highly paid and there are only a few top actors and actresses who can command a lot of money. Thus, second-rate actors and actresses and those whose fame has waned are all looking for other sources of income.

It normally costs a couple dozen Chinese yuan, equivalent to under 10 US dollars, for an ordinary message, but if it is from a celebrity the price can range from a few thousand yuan, or hundreds of US dollars, to hundreds of thousands of yuan, or tens of thousands of dollars. Prices need to be negotiated individually with each star.

There is always demand from companies and individuals for a well-known person to send their congratulations and blessings for an event, an entertainment industry veteran told Yicai. Appearances at ceremonies such as weddings are also popular.

One such actress, who is rarely on screen these days, charges between CNY100,000 (USD14,000) and CNY200,000 to appear at an event, the person said. She also does short videos.

Congratulatory messages sent by famous stars to businesses and individuals are popular products on e-commerce platforms that sell used goods, a vendor said.

But producing short congratulatory videos can cause problems as celebrities usually rely on middlemen to broker deals with clients and they themselves are not familiar with customers’ background.

The authenticity of some of the videos also needs to be further verified. Some celebs have even probed fake videos about themselves.

Editors: Shi Yi, Kim Taylor