Comments on: Seven Websites That Saved Me Money in the Last Week

By: Lillian

Lillian — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 16:55:06 +0000

I use Paperback Swap myself but your claim that the books are free is misleading. Yes, the books you request are free, but in order to get the credit to request a book you have to send a book to another member. So each free request costs you the postage to send a book to someone else.

So – assuming that the postage to send books is about $2.25 each, your six books actually cost you $13.50. Still a good deal – but not free.

By: Toni Graybill

Toni Graybill — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 00:26:32 +0000

While retail giants like Borders and Barnes and Noble are struggling to refill their shelves, used book stores like http://www.yelp.com/biz/the-almost-perfect-book-store-roseville are growing by leaps and bounds. This store reminds me of Terry Pratchett’s library at Unseen University, and you expect to see The Librarian swing down at you from some secret and hidden corner of the book store. I have always felt that a good book is the cheapest form of good entertainment. And, unlike TV, your imagination expands and grows as you read.

By: Peg

Peg — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 17:55:04 +0000

Don’t forget to ask for the MEDIA MAlL rate when shipping books and CD/DVDs…it’s a lot less than the regular first class postage rate…..

By: Lenore

Lenore — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 15:16:08 +0000

One of my favorite bargain hunting sites is:

http://www.bradsdeals.com/

As an aspiring poet, I’m all about helping writers earn money. I see little difference however between using an online book swapping service and shopping at thrift shops, yard sales or used book stores. There will always be some people who prefer to have new copies of books, movies, music, etc. Limited as my income is, I’ll splurge on a new paperback by an author I really love now and then. I think swap sites also inadvertently support publishing because I defy you to look at what’s available without thinking of newer books on similar topics that you just can’t wait to read.

By: Judie

Judie — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 08:15:41 +0000

Trent, don’t forget to factor in the KNOWLEDGE you gained installing your fan. Can’t put a price tag on that.

By: Jessica

Jessica — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 21:04:53 +0000

Bertrand Russell rocks – I find his arguments very compelling. He seems a lot more down to earth then some of the newer writers on the subject.

By: Tom

Tom — Sat, 02 May 2009 18:55:43 +0000

http://www.enbargain.com is another great blog that helps people find deals and save money.

By: D. Lynn

D. Lynn — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 20:43:07 +0000

PaperBookSwap.com is a great website, especially for those of us who have been saving our new books forever. I used to sell my used books on e-Bay but trading them is much easier. I’ve seen a lot of complaints from writers about the fact that swaping books doesn’t earn any money for authors. That is true, but what else are you supposed to do with a book you’ve read? Even if you donate it to your local library no money will ever get back to the author and people will continue to read it over and over for free. People have always traded books between each other to save money, so using a website for this isn’t any different. As a published author, I too think it would be great if everyone bought books that are new, but it isn’t really practical in today’s economy. At least the books being swapped were purchased at some point by someone. We don’t want to destroy all used books so everyone has to buy new, do we??? :)

By: MHR

MHR — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 18:03:42 +0000

We mainly use coupons.com, valpak.com and supercoups.com. The good thing is that these sites provide something for everyone. And in today’s day and age, it is smart to be frugal with your expenses.

By: marshas19

marshas19 — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 14:48:02 +0000

Another good web site is http://www.valpak.com.

Valpak.com gives consumers the option of getting coupons online for a specific ZIP code. Consumers can access from home, or office: so if you are at work looking for a restaurant, or your oil changed on your lunch hour, you just plug in your ZIP code and find a business nearby.

Use the RSS feed to get Valpak coupons delivered to your computer every day.
Thanks!

By: Jenny

Jenny — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 23:54:34 +0000

shortcuts.com is also a nice website. You can load coupons to a shoppers card and it automatically deducts them at the register when you use your card. There’s limited things that have coupons, but the ones they have are nice.

By: Jeremy Day

Jeremy Day — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 04:07:02 +0000

Hi Trent,

This site saved me a ton on textbooks when I was going for my MBA.
http://www.findbookprices.com/
It lists the lowest prices to buy books anywhere on the web.
It is probably worth hundreds of dollars in savings for any college student!

Cheers,
Jeremy

By: Dave

Dave — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 00:51:30 +0000

I would agree bianca, except now those two websites are the same website. I do believe sites like http://www.smarthealthbuyer.com that provide price visibility in the medical field will eventually lower the costs for consumers.

By: reulte

reulte — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 12:16:38 +0000

I must say that I disagree with Kate (#47) that reading a used book is monetarily detrimental to the author (uh, not that I’ve written too many books lately).

If it wasn’t for used books, many people wouldn’t be introduced to new authors. Every book on these swapping sites has to have been purchased by somebody at some time. Some people buy on-sale books simply so they can bookcross them.

Personally, I haven’t bought a new book (except for 1 textbook) in years – and that was before I was introduced to these sites. Of course, even I think that’s a bit extreme at times . . .

By: Bianca

Bianca — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 18:08:46 +0000

http://www.smarthealthbuyer.com Its like the site that Amy posted, it gives prices for different things like optical, cosmetic surgery, accupuncture, and dental based on your zipcode.

By: Amy

Amy — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 22:42:08 +0000

This site saved me money within the last week, http://www.dentalpricecompare.com. It shows prices for dental procedures based on your zip code. So i knew what my dentist should be charging me for what i needed done.

By: evelyn

evelyn — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 09:41:54 +0000

If you’re looking to either get or get rid of various unwanted items, check out http://www.freecycle.org/ There are local groups all over the US and Canada. Folks list items they want to get rid of and you can claim them. Or, if you have something that still has life in it, list it and it will be picked up by someone wanting. Great program!

I’ve used paperback swap, cd swap and dvd swap for ages and love them all.

By: Kate

Kate — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 04:02:54 +0000

As I said, I do use libraries myself. (Especially for research!) And that’s a good point in comment #53, about them tracking use. That hadn’t occurred to me. However, since my first books were all paperback originals, I suspect I didn’t get much in the way of library sales in any case. (I know my mother bought and donated a lot of copies to various libraries, though!)

But I do wish we could adopt the European system. It works out much better for writers.

By: Jeff

Jeff — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 23:15:09 +0000

Thanks for the sites to check out!

Here are a couple of my favorites when looking for something to buy (book, electronics, DVD, etc.)

1) http://www.booksprice.com (price shopping for books, find a Great deal on one or many books, DVDs, or games)
2) http://www.dealcatcher.com and http://www.dealnews.com – whether I’m looking for a deal on a computer, LCD monitor, even Legos, I’ll check this site out. Lots of great deals including 1/2 off gift certificates from restaurant.com every so often
3) http://www.salescircular.com – when I’m looking to pick up a memory card, some blank CD’s, or a monitor and I want to pick it up TONIGHT and not wait for shipping, I can find out what local stores have things on sale!
4) http://www.shoplocal.com – again when I want to find something on sale close by, like a lawn mower, weed wacker, computer game or just about anything else…

Oh, and re Kate’s comment… I LOVE the Library! And some library systems have free access to NetLibrary.com for patrons, which could give you access to a whole lot of audio books or electronic books online… for free, if your library participates!

By: NJK

NJK — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 16:51:59 +0000

Kate (comment #47) — Thank you for urging people to SUPPORT WRITERS BY BUYING NEW BOOKS. These sales are the lifeblood of publishing, and when the flow stops, the choices become more and more limited.

However, I have to disagree with you about library use. WHEN YOU CHECK A BOOK OUT OF THE LIBRARY, IT BENEFITS THE AUTHOR. Why? Because the library tracks circulation. If they see that a book is circulating, they’ll order more copies (new) and increase their order on the next book from that author. Libraries are power-buyers and vital to an author’s career.

There is no down side to borrowing a book from the library. It’s free, no strings attached, no club to join, no shipping charges, no hidden charges. Plus it’s “green.”

Pretty much my fave American institution. :-)

TRENT: I would love to see a well-researched column about the benefits of using the public library. :-)