Money Making Student

20 Places to Buy, Sell, and Rent Cheap Textbooks Online

Martyn @ MMS — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 15:47:04 +0000

photo by Plutor

This guest post is by Karen Schweitzer from OnlineCollege.org

Buying university textbooks from a campus bookstore is expensive, and selling never yields as much as one would expect. Students who are looking to save money should go straight to the web. There are tons of places online offering deals that cannot be found in a campus store.

Here are 20 places where students can buy, sell, and rent cheap textbooks online:

Buy

JS Campus – JS Campus is the UK’s leading student bookseller. Students can receive regular deals on textbooks and shipping.

Better World Books – Students can buy both new and used textbooks through this online book seller. Shipping is cheap–only $3.97 worldwide.

Amazon Textbooks – Students who shop Amazon can save from 30 to 90 percent on new and used textbooks. Amazon is also a good source for study guides, reference books, and prep guides.

Buy.com – Buy.com is a great place to find cheap textbooks online. Students can choose from new and used books and can save more 10 percent off Amazon book pricing.

Powell’s – The largest independent book store in the world, Powell’s offers a wide variety of in-print and out-of-print textbooks at discounted prices.

Waterstone’s – Waterstone’s offers significant discounts on books and free shipping in the UK.

Blackwell – Nicknamed the "knowledge retailer", Blackwell has one of the largest collections of academic texts online. Books can be purchased new or secondhand.

Biblio – With millions of new and secondhand textbooks, chances are Biblio has the text you need. Biblio also features wonderful customer service for students who need help with textbook buying.

The Book Depository – This online book seller offers free worldwide delivery on textbooks and other academic texts.

iChapters – This unique site allows students to decide how they want to purchase textbooks. Students can buy an entire textbook or single chapters.

Sell

AbeBooks – Although they are better known for selling books, AbeBooks also has a buyback service for students who want to sell their textbooks. More than one million titles are eligible for buyback.

Student Books – This site offers a free place for students to auction their old textbooks. Sellers can also bid on other items.

Half.com – Students can use this eBay company to sell their textbooks to other people around the world. Half.com allows sellers to set their own price.

PriceMinister – PriceMinister is an excellent place to sell textbooks. Listing items is free and sellers are allowed to set their own price.

PlayTrade – PlayTrade is another favorite among students who want to make money off their textbooks and other old stuff. Selling on the site is easy and commissions are low.

UniTextbooks – Students can list old textbooks for free on this site and then arrange to meet the buyer face-to-face to avoid paying a seller commission.

Preloved – Preloved makes it easy for students to sell secondhand textbooks. There are no listing fees, no selling fees, and no commissions to pay.

Rent

YungJunk – This site offers more than one million textbooks that can be rented for free. Students pay only for the shipping.

Zilok – Students who want to find cheap textbooks online can rent books from other students through Zilok. The site allows buyers to name their price and decide how far they want to travel to get the books.

Find Guru – University students can search for rentable textbooks on Find Guru. Site members can also use Find Guru to rent out books.

Guest Post from Karen Schweitzer, the About.com Guide to Business School. Karen also writes about accredited online colleges for OnlineCollege.org.

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5 Ways to Save Money When You’re a Student

Martyn @ MMS — Sun, 24 May 2009 19:17:02 +0000

photo by Jeff Keen

This guest post is by Heidi Taylor from Graduate degree online.

It’s not something most students are programmed to do, but it’s something that makes really good sense. The habit of saving for a rainy day is an aberration for the young, what with their tendency to live for today and take tomorrow as it comes. But the cost of university is high, and if you don’t realize that today, you’re going to end up with a huge debt and no way of repaying it when you graduate, especially because of the way the economy is and because jobs are hard to come by. If you’re looking for ways to save money while at university, here are a few tips to help you along:

Don’t use your credit card: We’ve all heard that a penny saved is a penny earned; in the case of credit cards, a penny not spent is more than penny saved when you calculate the amount of interest you’re saving. Don’t get into the habit of charging things to your card. Remember, you’re spending money that you do not have but which is borrowed, and on which you will owe interest if you don’t repay it within a certain time.
Make your own food: If you live at home, this should be pretty easy to follow since you can bring your lunch with you. But if you’re in a dorm room on campus, it’s best to eat at the cafeteria rather than buy expensive meals outside. It’s also more cost-effective to make your own coffee and carry it in a Thermos and eschew bottled water in favour of tap water that you can tote around in your bag.
Spend less on booze and cigarettes: I know you think you’re entitled to a little fun and relaxation, but that’s no reason to spend what little money you have on alcohol and tobacco. For one, they’re not good for your health, and for another, they are pretty expensive when you indulge in them on a regular basis.
Use your discounts: Most places offer a discount if you’re a student, so take advantage of this and shop at such places as much as possible. You could also make an effort to choose the cheapest entertainment options like attending a matinee show or renting a DVD and watching it in your room (you don’t have to shell out money on expensive snacks at the theatre as well).
Go secondhand: It’s not something you need to be ashamed of if you’re seen buying used goods, especially when it comes to something as expensive as and as necessary as books. You could also try and find bargains online when shopping for other necessities like electronic gadgets and appliances.

Besides this, you need to manage the money that you do have wisely. If you budget well and stay within the boundary lines of this budget, there’s nothing you need to be worried about when it comes to your finances.

This post was contributed by Heidi Taylor, who writes about the graduate degree online. She welcomes your feedback at HeidiLTaylor006 at gmail.com

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Student Loan Interest Rate 09/10 Uncertainty

Martyn @ MMS — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 23:07:24 +0000

*UPDATE 18/05/09* From September 09 the interest rate will be 0% for post ‘98 loans. For Pre ‘98 loans the interest will be -0.4%. Find out more here.

Will student loan interest rate be negative next year?

Yes, if the Government follow their method for calculating interest rate for post (and Pre) 1998 loans. The rate as of March 2009 stands at 1.5% (post ‘98). This is calculated, according to Student Loans Company website (the company who collects and distributes the money on behalf of the Government):

“Student loans are not like commercial loans. They are subsidised by Government and attract a low cost interest rate. This interest rate is based on the annual March Retail Price Index (RPI) or the highest base rate of a number of major banks plus 1%; whichever is lower.

To date, the RPI has always been the lower of the two. The reduced bank base rate plus 1% is now lower than the March 2008 RPI so we have presently adjusted the student loan rate to 1.5%.

However, if the bank base rate goes up again, then the interest will also go back up again – although it will not exceed this year’s rate of 3.8%.”

Pre 1998 loans do not get the same treatment and follow the March RPI:

“You will not be affected by the change in rate if you took your loan out for a course starting before September 1998. Your loan is repaid through a fixed term (Mortgage Style) repayment scheme. You will be charged interest, based on the RPI. As from 1st September 2008, the interest rate is 3.8%, and this rate will apply until 31st August 2009″

But, for 2009/2010 the RPI for March 09 is -0.4%, so will the Goverment keep to their word? Will student loans shrink? There has yet to be confirmation, I’m not the only one who isn’t confident. Martin Lewis of Money Saving Expert has raised awareness of the lack of confirmation and promised in his weekly email newsletter (well worth subscribing to) to launch a campaign if there is no confirmation.

So we await an announcement…

Fingers crossed,

Martyn.

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Money Making Report No.16

Martyn @ MMS — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 22:16:54 +0000

photo by jenn_jenn’s

Welcome to the sixteenth money and possibly last making report, here’s the last one.

I’ve decided that although it may be interesting to read, (I hope!) it seems pointless to produce a post monthly that seems to vary little. So it may appear occasionally, who knows…

With uni work and exams, MMS will probably need dusting down!

But, for possibly the last time, here’s the figures…

So my earnings so far -

Adsense

So far earned: $73.09 (approx £49.94) [+$11.29]

Received: $0

Matched.co.uk - now defunct

Total Earned: £124 (approx $184)

Received: £124

Money4Banners

So far earned: £65 (approx $96.49) [£0]

Received: £65

Private Advertising

So far earned: £77.45 (approx $113.49) [+£29.35]

Received: £77.45

Private advertising seems to be the way to go, there seem to be many advantages. The main advantage is you are dealing with real people, you get feedback, you get to manipulate to your customer needs. Where the robotic nature of Google ads or the disjointed nature of affiliate marketing can seem so impersonal. Although the returns could be potentially greater than private ad sales, I have yet to actually confirm that. Plus there is no ‘real’ alternative to Google. By ending or reducing the number of money reports is not a sign I’m giving up, it’s just a reflection of how busy my life is at the moment. As they say Time = Money…

Best of luck,

Martyn

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British Airways is helping British talent take off

Martyn @ MMS — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 22:16:28 +0000

British Airways is looking for talented people who are ambitious and committed to excelling in their field. Whether their interest lies in fashion, art and design, innovation, sport, community or performing arts, British Airways could help them.

In the spirit of the London 2012 Games, British Airways is launching GreatBritons, a scheme dedicated to supporting emerging British talent. This scheme will look for individuals who demonstrate the values associated with Olympic and Paralympic Games and who strive to be the best that they can be.

There are 180 flights available to any British Airways destination in the world, to give people the opportunity to follow their dream to the next level.

All they have to do is share a little about themselves and say how they would use this great opportunity to develop their talent. Final winners are decided by public votes, so it is a chance for them to get plenty of exposure too.

Whatever their passion is, it’s easy to take part in this once in a lifetime chance by clicking here to visit the Great Britons website.

This is a promoted post.

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Money Making Report No.15

Martyn @ MMS — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 21:07:37 +0000

photo by jenn_jenn’s

Welcome to the fifteenth money making report, here’s the last one.

A lack of time this month leads to a cut down money making report this month, so no dribble to start with. Here’s the figures…

So my earnings so far -

Adsense

So far earned: $61.80 (approx £43.33) [+$2.44]

Received: $0

Matched.co.uk - now defunct

Total Earned: £124 (approx $184)

Received: £124

Money4Banners

So far earned: £65 (approx $96.49) [£0]

Received: £65

Private Advertising

So far earned: £48.10 (approx $70.50) [+£0]

Received: £48.10

A lack of time down to uni and work commitments hit hard last month, even answering surveys for cash was put aside so I could concentrate on more pressing matters. Just one point of note, I signed up for Twitter, like many more out of curiosity. Odly enough I like it, I feel a post on the subject would be a better way to explain it. Although, if you can’t wait, you can ‘Follow Me’ @Martyn_MMS

Until next time best of luck,

Martyn

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How to Search Google, Effectively

Martyn @ MMS — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 00:11:49 +0000

photo by Danard Vincente

Searching Google or other search engines effectively can be time consuming. Knowing how to find the gold value websites from the fools gold can be a nightmare.

With the increase in popularity of starting your own website or writing your own blog, the internet is becoming full of ‘noise’. That is sites that are content poor, or not appropriate to the subject you are searching for.

Cutting out this noise is a challenge for everyone, search engines included. Although the likes off Google try their best in giving results that match what you search for, it doesn’t always work.

That gem of a website you were looking for could be on page 5. How are you expected to find/ know about that? Well there are some things you can do to cut out the rubbish, by using filters and other techniques.

Top 5 Google Search Techniques

Include – If you want to make sure all your search results contain a certain keyword use the ‘+’ symbol in front of that word. Example: Back to the Future +III Would give you links to sites about the film Back to the Future III, but not other films from the series, e.g I or II.
Exclude - The opposite to include, If you would like search results with a certain word excluded you can use the ‘-’ symbol in front of that word. Example: operating systems -Windows Would give results about non-Windows operating systems. Which would otherwise be difficult to find due to the popularity of Windows.
Synonyms – If you do not want to limit your search to the words you have requested and would like similar words included then ‘~’ is the symbol to use before the word. Example: ~latest TV shows would give results for latest/new/current (e.t.c) TV shows, therefore giving a much wider range of results.
Alternative – If you want searches to include a word or an alternative word you can use ‘OR’, note the OR must be capitalised. Example: pets hamster OR goldfish would give results about either keeping hamster and/or goldfish as pets.
Explicit Phrase – If you want to find a phrase within search results enclose what you want to find in “speech marks”. Example: “money making student” will give every mention of the phrase money making student. Particularly useful for me, to keep track of what is being said!

The five tips I have just given are just a beggining there are many more ways of improving or tweaking search results. I consider the five above the ‘essential tools’ everyone needs to get the best out of Google.

If you would like to learn more check out these sites:

Google – More Search Help
Google – Search Features
HubSpot – 12 Quick Tips To Search Google Like An Expert
Night Dreaming – Google Search syntax dissected

Best wishes,

Martyn.

p.s. I have no idea how I came up with those search examples either! But you have to get the word ‘goldfish’ into a post at some point!

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Money Making Report No.14

Martyn @ MMS — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 20:02:16 +0000

photo by jenn_jenn’s

Welcome to the fourteenth money making report, here’s the last one.

Ah well, with the world well and truly up to the neck in financial uncertainty, it makes me wonder whether good news still exists. I personally think the best way forward is to keep away from the general pessimism of the media. I know in a media driven society this is nearly impossible. But with any positive attitudes trampled on by the media, it seems any motivation to push towards economic recovery is tethered. Take the slamming of a British minister for saying “…she could see a few green shoots…”. Chin up and smile, that’s all I’m going to say! Now for some figures….

So my earnings so far -

Adsense

So far earned: $59.36 (approx £40.26) [+$4.81]

Received: $0

Matched.co.uk - now defunct

Total Earned: £124 (approx $184)

Received: £124

Money4Banners

So far earned: £65 (approx $96.49) [£0]

Received: £65

Private Advertising

So far earned: £48.10 (approx $70.50) [+£0]

Received: £48.10

Nothing of note to really mention at the moment, I have seen no return from TradeDoubler as of yet, but I suppose I am still experimenting with which adverts work and which don’t. Signing up for eBay again is a must, they used to be part of a network and then decided to set up their own. Which is a nuisance, but I reckon Amazon’s own affiliate system ain’t bad, so it could be ok!

Until next time best of luck,

Martyn

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