It’s the end of the year and a lot of people are getting rid of their stuff. How can YOU profit?
How to become a dealer (of knowledge):
Some poor guy is down the street standing in line at the campus bookstore that is out the door and around the block. He is trying to sell his textbook back to the school, knowing that at best he’s going to get 1/3 of what he paid for Satan’s incarnate in text form, that put him through hell this last semester because he didn’t even open it. Sound familiar? That was probably you. Well I’m here to tell you that you can probably get a little more than 1/3 of the price!
Here are some tips, tricks, and apps that you can use to sell your old books, but keep in mind that I am still investigating some of these apps, and that selling back to one place might not get you the biggest bang for your buck, so shop around. Remember that saving money takes a bit of time and effort so don’t give up!
Bigwords.com: This website has saved my tush when it comes to buying books for the year. You enter the books you need and it will compare prices from websites all over to find you the cheapest place to buy the book you need. Keep in mind that some of the cheaper websites will take longer to get the book to you so make sure that you order your books early enough. It works the same way in reverse! You can enter your books into the website and it will tell you on which website you can sell it for the most money! Warning! Some websites require a minimum balance, (ex: my book is only worth $5, but the website won’t pay you unless they’re paying you more that $10 so I would either have to sell more books to this website, or find another website that will take it) so watch out for that. Bigwords will give you the top 20 or so places to sell your books, and I highly recommend it. Do remember that you might be buying your books from 5 or so different stores, and that it is important to keep track of shipping dates and fees.
BookScouter: An app for iOS and Android. It works similar to Bigwords, but its main purpose is to sell books. The app links with your camera, you can scan the barcode of the book you are trying to sell or enter the ISBN #, and voila! Presto! It will tell you the highest bidders for your book. Cons: It doesn’t recognize every book ISBN, scanned or entered manually. The prices aren’t as good as Bigwords, and the range of books that it can find is limited to popularly used books, but have no fear! It works on all of my U of I books, just not any of my community college books.
Chanel your inner Oscar the Grouch:
If you’re like me and you go a school that boasts about its diversity and that about half of the students are from exotic lands (like Iowa) and the other half are foreign, then you need to make it a priority to learn how to dumpster dive. Gross, right? Not if you do it right. I’m not saying hide out in a dumpster at the end of the year and wait for people to throw their goodies at you, but if every once in a while you HAPPEN to drive by a very nice apartment complex or private certified housing at the end of the year when all of the students who will be going back to their homes across the pond, and you HAPPEN to see a bunch of really nice stuff (mirrors, electronics, generic college dorm stuff, etc.) and you HAPPEN to load it all in your truck and sell it online, essentially making free money, then no harm no foul. One man’s trash is another man’s treasure: and that statement has never been more true than at the end of the year when everyone vacates a college campus. Hate all you want, but when I’m paying college tuition without having to take up poll dancing (mostly because I’m too clutzy to ever learn anything that required any form of grace) and you’re in debt 20 years down the line, you’ll wish you had dumpster dived like me.
Testimonials:
- My friend’s sister found a Prada bag in a dumpster. WHO DOES THAT?!
- I found a nice looking printer next to a dumpster. Cords and all. (I looked it up- it goes on Amazon for ~$220).
- I found a table. I’m keeping it, but it’s money that I don’t have to spend to buy a table.
Please do stay safe when dumpster diving though. There is no need to chase down the garbage man. Don’t just jump in the dumpster- that’s gross. If it’s on top, GREAT! If not, you should probably leave it. Don’t fight with the dumpster rats. They’ve been there longer than you and know the territory better. They’re more likely to form a rat gang and corner you in a dark alley at night wearing leather jackets and snapping- you get the point. Don’t do anything stupid. Fun fact: When reselling items in a manner where you have to meet up with the buyer, there are stores that have designated online selling spots (like parking spaces, or a corner of the parking lot with a sign). Stores like Walgreens and Walmart that run 24 hours and are well lit are good places to conduct your deals (that sounds kinda sketch, but you get it).
Good websites to sell your findings on are:
- Your local VarageSale website
- Amazon
- Ebay (only meet in well lit, public areas- STAY SAFE)
- Have a garage sale
- Specialty websites (ex: book websites, furniture websites, etc.)
Cash on the go:
There are many apps that allow you to make money simply by taking surveys and allowing ads on your phone, but what are they, and what are the pros and cons? I can honestly say that I do not outwardly seek these kind of apps, as they usually come up with popups that are annoying, or I can never find one that isn’t time consuming enough to be considered an efficient use of my time. However, I have run across a couple that are worth sharing, so here they are:
Google Rewards: This app is, unfortunately and as far as I know, only for Android users- but maybe Apple phones can use it as well? I believe that all you need is a google account, and since I have an Android, my google account is what everything backs up to. It is a very easy app to use, but you don’t get much money out of it, and what money you do get can only go towards things in the Google Play Store. You will insert basic demographic information and will receive an alert anytime there is a questionnaire to be answered. Cons include that I did not get a questionnaire right away- I had to wait for them to send them to me, and they don’t come on a regular basis (i.e.: one every Thursday or once a month like mother nature intended), and even though the questionnaires that I’ve had to fill out take about 10 seconds (convenient), I only get pocket change out of them, and I wouldn’t complain if I got more of them. But as it sits now, I’ve got $.58 in my account and I’ve taken 3 questionnaires. As a millennial I want things faster. I would happily sit here on my phone, filling out surveys about which sports I have and have not watched for hours if it meant I would earn money towards getting movies on my phone for trips and stuff. But that’s just me. You really do get paid for your time and it IS satisfying to watch the little money meter go up every time you fill out a survey.
Quick Thoughts: This app is much more forthcoming with its surveys than Google Rewards, but you can only receive money $10 at a time. You take surveys until you reach the $10 mark, and you can redeem that money through Amazon gift cards. The questions are a bit more personal, but nothing too serious, and you can choose to not respond to some, should you so choose. There is always a new survey to take which means you can sit around at your desk all day and answer questions- getting money to sit around and get money. I like that. Or I would if I didn’t have to dedicate so much time to studying….
Surveys on the Go: It is very similar to Quick Thoughts in that you are asked to do surveys and they pay you more for it, and they pay in $10 increments. However, it is different in that you are to turn on your location so that it can give you location specific surveys. So far it has paid the best out of the other survey apps, and you can redeem your rewards through three different sites (Amazon, Paypal, or Visa) meaning that you can choose how you get your money.
There are plenty of apps and websites that have surveys for money, but please be safe when using them! Don’t give away information such as, oh, idk, social security, credit card numbers, you know. The important stuff. DON’T BE STUPID PLZ. But also, earn a lot of money by sitting on your phone.
Have fun with this guys and save the money for a rainy day or your next vacation! All of my funds are going toward my vacation jar. ❤
RayeDeSol
rayedesol 