Category Archives: Saving Money

Ebooks and Supporting Local Indie Bookstores and Authors

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Independent bookstores face increasing financial pressure from the rising use of ebooks. Amazon offers many ebooks at a significant discount. This makes it tempting for frugal readers to buy there, especially if they own a Kindle (which device itself is sold at a loss to entice owners to buy their ebooks from Amazon). But there are other options which support indie bookstores and authors directly.

Currently (July 2012) IndieBound.org (a community-oriented movement begun by the independent bookseller members of the American Booksellers Association) member bookstores will sell you Google ebooks though their bookstores’ websites, which gives the store you choose some share of what you pay. You can read Google ebooks with the Indiebound reader app for Android and iOS, with Google’s Play app, with Adobe Digital Editions software on Nook, Kobe, etc, and can be side-loaded onto Kindle. Find links to independent bookstores selling Google ebooks here.

Unfortunately Google has decided to stop the bookstore reseller program in January 2013. But keep an eye on IndieBound.org for a replacement program.

Other options:

Powells Books (in Portland OR and on the web) sells Adobe Digital Edition ebooks, and DRM-free PDFs ((meaning they are not locked to your use only).

A number of publishers sell ebooks directly from their sites. since I read a lof of SF, one of which I know is Baen. They also have an awesome FREE library of some of their older titles and 1st titles in a series. MacMillian will also sell your their ebooks.

Check the author’s website, as more are choosing to self-publish and self-distribute. And if you buy directly from the author more of the money actually goes to him/her since they don’t need to split it with a distributor.

Where to Find Free Cash This Weekend

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I’m old enough to remember the trick of checking the coin return slot when passing by pay phones – you can still do that for vending machines, but spare change isn’t worth what it used to be. And there’s far too much competition now for redeeming soda  and beer cans/bottles (though if you live in a household of heavy drinkers of either sort, you can probably redeem enough for an occasional latte).

But if you want better odds of finding a minor windfall, do this:

Visit bar parking lots at dawn (or before, if it’s safe) on Sundays!

My father had a regular route in his Lynn neighborhood, and would frequentlyy come home with $10-$25 left behind by bar patrons (who probably shouldn’t have even been driving) missing their pockets or pulling out loose bills as they fumbled for their car keys.

Korg Monthly Giveaway Until December 2012

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Korg makes all sorts of keyboards, synths, effects, etc. To celebrate their 10th anniversary, every month through December 2012 they will be giving away one of their Micro-series products. You may enter once per day for each month’s prize drawing, at this  page:

Korg Mega-Micro Giveaway

What Should That Used Instrument/Gear Cost?

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You want a piece of music gear, but can’t/won’t pay for it new. You can look for it used on eBay, CraigsList, etc. – but how do you know what a fair price is for it?

  • First, price it NEW online – I’ve seen used items advertised at a price for which you could get a new one!
  • Check www.prepal.com, which lists the current going price for many brands of band gear (guitars/keyboards.amps/etc), and whether the price is trending up (as it may for something rare that folks desire) or down.
  • Search for the item in completed listings on Ebay – to do this you must be logged in, then next to the Search button click “advanced”. On the Advanced Search page check the box for “completed listings” under Search including, then enter your search terms. This will show you both successful and failed auctions, whcih helps you to judge what price people consider to be too high.
  • Use the knowledge gained above to bargain with a CraigsList seller (e.g., “these are going for $$$ less than your price on eBay”).