Selling on eBay Gets Cheaper!

If you've ever tried selling on eBay, you know that the fees really break the bank.

However, eBay is always changing and of the many changes that they have made the one that I thought might be of interested to those of you looking to make some extra cash from home, is a reduction in listing fees. On eBay a listing fee is the fee eBay charges you to just list an item. The amount of the listing fee is based on your starting price.

It's purpose, besides letting eBay scoop up your money, is to keep poor quality listings from flooding the eBay market. Imagine how easy it would be list each and every item in your waste basket for sale, if you didn't have to worry about paying a listing fee. Then if it sold, yipee! and if it doesn't sell, there's no loss to you. By imposing a listing fee, eBay keep those kinds of garbage listings off the market and improves their buyer's experience.

eBay has since realized that people who only list occasionally are being turned off by listing fees and now offer every seller 5 free listings a month. That mean's no listing fee, regardless of the starting price, for 5 items you list on eBay each month. So with less pressure, why not clean out some of your junk that other people might just pay for! Now just because you get 5 free listings a month, doesn't mean that you should waste them on rubbish items. List things that are in good condition and have a real value to them. Make it worth you time.

If you have things that you're pretty sure won't sell either wait for your next garage sale or think about donating it to a local charity. Of course, your donation to a non-profit charity is tax deductible, so make sure to get a receipt.

Good luck!

Cash4Books Pays You For Your Used Books

Got a bunch of books just sitting around the house? Maybe you've already read them, maybe you bough but now have lost interest in reading them. Turn those books into cash!

Cash4Books.net is a great company that pays you for your books. They even pay the shipping to get your books to their processing center. All you need to do is gather your books and visit their website. Enter your book's ISBNs and they will give you a quote. Then print out their free shipping label and send your books off. Once they receive and process your books, they send you a payment.



Books are typically pretty bad sellers at garage sales, so why not turn those books you don't want anymore into some cold hard cash. This is about as easy at it gets! Good luck!

A Real Paid-Survey Webiste offer Real Money

If you surf the net looking for ways to make money you have surely come across ads that say "get paid to take surveys."  Most of these ads are put up by people who want to sell you a list of websites that will pay you to take surverys.  The problem is that most of the sites are bogus.  You should never have to pay to sign up.  If you're looking for a legitimate place to make some extra money, I've got the site for you.  

Cash Crate is a very straight forward website that really allows you to make money by taking surverys.  They even give you a dollar just for filling out your profile. It took me less that five minutes to set up my free account and fill out my profile to earn my first dollar.  Then they list all of the survey offers and how much you will make on each.  It isn't a ton of money, most are between $0.25 and $1.00, but it adds up.  The other great thing about Cash Crate is that they tell you which offer will need a credit cards or which offers will require you to pay for something.

You can start making money right now!  The great things about Cash Crate is that you control how much money you make.  The more time you spend taking surveys the more money you will earn.  Best of all Cash Crate is completely free to sign up, no catch, no fine print, just an honest, straight forward company.  

You've got nothing to lose!

Monetizing Your Blog: Part I

This is the first in a series of posts on different ways to monetize your blog or website.  Check back for more articles on making money with your blog or website.

Blogging has exploded in recent years.  As websites make publishing content more and more simple, everyday web-surfers with limited knowledge of building a website (like myself) are able to blog.  Blogging is a good way to get your opinion out there, but if you have good readership the potential for generating from revenue is there.  

One of the giants in the world of monetization is Google's Adsense, however I'd like to introduce a few other companies that you should consider.

Chitika

One of the top alternatives to adsense is Chitika.  Chikita once offered multiple ad formats, but they have recently combined their formats into what they call Chitika Premium.  It still offers you the option of customizing you ad box to match the color scheme on your blog or website and they also have various sizes from which to choose.  This is a great place to start earning money with your blog.

AdBrite

AdBrite is another ad compnay that follows the same ad format that Google setup with Adsense.  They are fairly simliar to Chitika.  I use them more for advertising than for monetizing, but I've used them on a few of my blogs and generated some money.  AdBrite is another good place to start.  

Just remember not to over monetize your blog because a lot of ad clutter could turn some viewers off, however, under monetizing your blog could result in under performance when it comes to bringing in revenue.  

Gazelle Buys Your Electronics

Need some extra cash? Have unused electronics around the house? Gazelle fuses those two problems together and gives you cash for you electronics. Visit them on the web at http://www.gazelle.com.

GO GREEN! RECYCLE YOUR ELECTRONICS (Or at least trade them in for some dough.)


From Gazelle.com:

What Is Gazelle?

We provide an easy, fast, and safe way for you to sell electronics and recycle electronics. When you sell cell phones, mp3 players, laptops, or other gadgets to us, you'll earn cash and help save the environment by keeping old, used gadgets out of landfills. You get green while being green! The bottom line is you want to sell electronics and we want to buy electronics. A perfect match!

What Happens When I Sell My Electronics?

As soon as we receive your used electronics and gadgets (such as used cell phones, used laptops etc.), we inspect them to be sure their condition matches your evaluation. We'll notify you via email once your item has been received and inspected, and again when your payment has been sent. The whole process takes about a week once we receive a box from you.

What Does Gazelle Do With My Used Electronics?

Gazelle believes that electronics recycling starts with reuse. After we buy electronics and gadgets, we evaluate their condition. When we receive items that are still in working condition, we extend their lives by removing all personal data from them, and selling the electronics through a variety of retail and wholesale outlets. Items without market value are recycled responsibly.

Visit them on the web at http://www.gazelle.com.

More Information on Stock Photography

Anyone interested in Micro Stock Photography, check out Stock Photographer Resources.

They have information various websites and companies as well as information on contributing and purchasing images.

Microstock Photography Sites

I compiled a list of my top stock photography sites.  They all vary in different features.  I recommend checking each one out, however I suggest maximizing your profits by joins more than one if possible.  Good Luck!

ShutterStock

ShutterStock is one of the bigger microstock photography sites and has a high sell rate.  They do have a very rigid photo review process however, but once accepted you're photos will be well marketed to a large number of buyer.

iStockphoto

iStockphoto is another one of the big sites which has its upside and downside.  Thousands of potential buyers browse big sites like this, however they tend to be more picky than the smaller sites.  The registration process may take slightly longer than other sites, but once you're in and get some photos accepted you'll see the money start rolling in quickly.

Fotolia

Fotolia is a relatively new site that is causing quite a stir in the stock photography community.  They are well organized and have a quick registration process.  Although they have a moderately rigid photo review process, they do not penalize you for submitting photos that don't get approved.  Fotolia is growing and has a good customer base which translates to a high number of sales.

FeaturePics

FeaturePics has the least rigid photo review process and is your best bet for getting photos accepted.  The also have a fairly high commission rate.  FeaturePics frequently tried new ways to sell your photos and offer you the option to participate in new projects they have.  I recommend taking advantage of their new ideas, it will just boost your revenue.

123rf

123rf is right in the middle when it come to their image review process.  They accept more than most other sites on this list, but do reject a good amount as well.  I'm not too familiar with their sales volume as I just joined this site, but it won't hurt to give it a try.

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