Electronic recycling
October 1, 2008 by Cheap One
There are several ways to get rid of your ex-electronics on using some cool websites! We all have them (I have several phones that have been collected over the years that I will need to donate and/or make some cash from these websites as well!)
One site, VenJuvo.com, will recycle game systems, mp3 players, digital cameras, digital camcorders, gps systems, smart phones, laptops and HDTVs.
Gazelle.com will purchase cell phones, mp3 players, digital cameras, laptops, gps devices, camcorders, satellite radios and portable hard drives.
TechForward.com will go as far as sending you a free box, packing materials and a mailing label to keep the process easy.
MyBoneyard.com will accept music players, laptops, cell phones, pc systems and flat panel monitors.
CellPhoneTradeins.com Cellphones and IPods are their specialty.
CellForCash.com, you guessed it, the specialize in used cell phones
What a fantastic service to help not only you, but the environment as well.
Extended Warranties: Worth or Worthless?
September 30, 2008 by Cheap One
What is an extended warranty?
An insurance policy that a product will not break after the original warranty period. These can run from 1-4 years passed the original warranty.
How do you know if you need one? You probably don’t. Most saving gurus will tell you they are just padding the seller’s pockets with additional profit. So should you? And if so, when should you?
These are some exceptions:
- A truly breakable object
- An item that is new on the market or a new technology
- Future finances dictate having a prepaid peace of mind
If you do buy an extended warranty:
- Find out how long the warranty will be honored.
- Will the product be replaced or repaired?
- What if the store goes out of business?
- What limits have they put on the warranty? (usage of product?)
Basically, when you shop, shop for the best and you should be purchasing a product that is made to last. This takes us back to the simple but proving: “You get what you pay for”
and the ‘recurring’ secret is . . .
September 29, 2008 by Cheap One
As our economy has us running in quicksand with the proverbial answer lying just days/weeks/months away with the government bailout. What do we do to save our money now?
Within the service industry during this economy you will see two angles of the level of pricing (not service). Within the last 2 weeks I have see this 2 times. First when I needed to make a purchase of a product/service and the sales agent, who was the 3rd candidate, worked me over to figure out what the other 2 quotes were. I threw him a bone to see how that would affect the first number he threw out and it worked. He immediately did a standard quote “if you buy today, I will knock off 10% right now” This 10% put him at 5% under the closest competitor. As a buyer getting quotes that was entirely enticing and he knew that. I was obviously upset at the first price that was put in front of me as the “best” price, but realized it was his way of ‘going for it’ at my expense. When I didn’t bite, plan be was go for anything.
Next experience was a strictly service purchase I made today. The owner of the company came out to service our water pump which needed to be replaced. 3 phone calls prior to that and I knew what I was willing to pay for installing the pump. When he arrived he quoted $150, to which I told him I could get someone out here either today or Tuesday for $100-$125. He immediately looked at me and said “that is fair” and that he would install the pump for $100.
So the ‘recurring’ secret is: Haggle. We have an entire service industry that is fighting for business, so use that knowledge to your advantage and ask for that deal or discount. You can pay back the service companies by either having them use you as a reference or by handing them out as a referral.
In the case of the second vendor that I met with, I told him that he was the only company that I would recommend from here on in. I then put his contact numbers in my cell. Realistically, as a Realtor, I will give his company name out with phone number to 4-5 folks over the next year. Will I get great service with this plan? Definately and both he and I will benefit.
A lot of book (sites)
September 28, 2008 by Cheap One
There are so many books are free on the internet with the abundance of ebooks for almost any subject. That is the good news. However, for folks in college or for folks that still read hard copy, may not be able to find the book they are looking for easily so they need to get back to the basics of a hard-cover book.
We wanted to share a few websites that may help with saving your hard earned money.
bookswap.com Great resource for those of us with Libraries of books that we would like to change
swaptree.com You can swap Books, Music, DVDs & Video Games!
bookmooch.com Donate your books and in the process pick up a few by trade!
textbookx.com Text books new and used
chegg.com Rent your books!
booksprice.com Another book store ready to ship
gutenberg.org (yes an ebook site, download expired copyright books)
As always, please continue to send other ideas our way so we can update our readers!
Shoe-Betcha!
September 27, 2008 by Cheap One
Shoe shopping 101:
Some awesome websites for buying shoes!
www.zappos.com Their prices are great. Shipping and returns are free and you can return up to a year in the original box if the item is unworn. Two thumbs up here!
www.holabirdsports.com Fantastic selection and prices. Free ground shipping gives them a Two thumbs up too!
Know any others that you can recommend? Please comment and pass those along as well!
