How To Find Extra Money In Your Pocket Every Week

Here is a way to literally "find" extra money in your pocket every week.

It's a simple technique. Something most people don't do because they don't want to take the time. In fact, I just started doing this a few months ago -- and when I did I started putting an extra $5.00 or more in my pocket every week.

What is it? Simple: Start checking your store receipts for errors. Especially grocery store receipts.

I used to never look at my grocery store receipts. I just assumed they were always right. After all, they scan the item and the computer rings it up automatically. It should be a fairly accurate system, right?

Wrong! Grocery store prices are very dynamic. The grocery industry has gone to using VIP and loyalty cards and many times an item that is supposed to be on special is not entered into the system correctly. The first time I checked my grocery receipt for errors I found two items that I was over charged for -- for a total of $6.50. After this I started checking all my receipts for errors and found that I was being overcharged an average of $5.00 a week.

Incidentally, I mentioned before that the grocery store industry has gone to the VIP and loyalty card system. I just heard an expert on a radio talk show say that you can save approximately 2% on your groceries by patronizing grocery stores that do not use VIP or loyalty cards.

Listing "How To" Books on eBay for Maximum Profit.

In the last post we discussed how to find How To books to sell on eBay. Today we are going to discuss listing your books on eBay and how to position them for the maximum profit.

Think Fast: When you think of listing "how to" books on eBay which category comes to mind?

If you are like most people you would say the "Books" category. That is where most people list their books -- how to or not. In fact I see most how to books listed on eBay in the Books > Fiction/Non-Fiction category.

But, if you think in terms of your prospective buyer who is interested in, for example photography, he or she is probably not searching in the books category for products about photography. They will probably peruse the Sub Categories under Cameras & Photos for items of interest. And, one of those sub categories just happens to be Manuals, Guides & Books. So, the best place to list a book about photography would be the sub category Manuals, Guides & Books under the main category of Cameras & Photos.

In fact, I just listed and sold a book about Black and White photography on eBay. My item, listed in the proper category, sold for $11.00 and had 4 bids. Another person selling the exact same item BUT listed in the Books > Fiction/Non-Fiction category had 1 bid and sold for $4.00.

So be sure to list your how to books in the category that is specific to the subject of the book. Many times there will not be a sub category for books on a certain topic but you can always find an appropriate sub category to list them under. If all else fails there is usually an "Other Item" sub category under most main categories.

Before you list your how to books do a quick search on http://www.abe.com/ and/or http://www.alibris.com/ to see what used book dealers are getting for the same book. You may find that you have something of collector interest that you can sell for a higher price. At the very least a quick Alibris or Abe search will give you an indication of what price to start your auction at.

As a general rule if I find a book is listed at less then $20.00 on Alibris or Abe I will start my auction at $1.99. That gives me a small profit even if the book only sales for the opening bid. Books that are valued at more then $20.00 I will generally start the bidding higher and I will also do more research to see if others have successfully sold the book on eBay in the past. If they have and the book closed at a relatively high price I will study their auction to see if I can figure out what they did that I can duplicate.

The next area you should look out when listing your how to books is keywords. You want to get as many relevant keywords in the item listing as possible. You can find a list of the most searched keyword phrases on eBay at: http://buy.ebay.com/ These are the top keywords that people are using to search for items on eBay. Look through this list and see if you can find other relevant keywords that you can include in your auction title. For example, one of the top keywords (as of right now) is Vintage If you have a book that is 40, 50 or more years old including the word Vintage in your title would be appropriate and may help your listing get more exposure.

Another thing that I do to "keyword load" my auctions is to scan the Table of Contents of the books I list and include the scanned text in the description. (note: scan as a document not an image) The Table of Contents is a goldmine of highly relevant keyword phrases. While I am at it I also scan the Dust Jacket description of the book and the cover image. I include the image as a Gallery Picture (extra 25 cent cost but worth it) and I use the Dust Jacket Description as the first part of my Auction Description. That along with a couple of lines about the condition of the book and the Table of Contents makes up my auction description.

In Summary

Find Hardcover How To book at:

Thrift Shops
Yard Sales
Estate Sales
Library Sales
Used Book Stores

Never pay more then $1.00 per book.

Scan:
Cover
Dust Jacket Description
Table of Contents

List books on eBay in a Subject Specific Category (not in the Books Category)

Good luck with your How To Book selling Adventures,

James

Here Is a Product Anyone Can Find Locally and Sell On eBay

A Quick Cash Technique Anyone Can Do

What I would like to do today is show you how you can make extra money on a part time basis by dealing in used how to books and selling them on eBay.

I like dealing in How To Books because they are relatively easy to find, their value can be quickly determined, they can be purchased for $1.00 or less and the market is broader then purely collectable books. Whereas a collectable book is of interest mainly to collectors of rare books a How to Book is of interest to people who want to learn a certain skill AND it may also be of interest to collectors of books in general or on a specific subject.

How To books will generally not bring the money that pure collectable books will but I have been surprised by the amount some how to books have sold for. For example, a quick search on eBay turned up these gems:

A 1948 Hat Making Book sold for $72.00
A book on Salmon Fishing sold for $42.00
A book on Building Log Cabins sold for $177.00
A book on How to Find Giant Bucks sold for $51.00
How To Service Your Own Tube Amp (stereo amplifier) went for $49.00
1981 Book Titled "How To Perfect Your Golf Swing" went for $36.00

You can get how to books from:

Thrift Shops
Yard Sales
Estate Sales
Library Sales
Used Book Stores

BookSaleFinder at http://www.booksalefinder.com/
has a list of book sales by state.

Now lets look at the types of books you will be looking for:

Pre 1980 (the older the better) OR Out of Print
First Printing is a plus
Hard Cover
Dust Jacket is a plus but not mandatory
How To / Informational / Hobby Books
Out of Print best but not mandatory

Note: Only pay $1 at the most for a book of unknown value.

Here are some specific types of books to look for:

Hobbies
Photography
Auto Specific Books ("How to Keep Your Volkswagen Alive" Book)
Blacksmithing
Clock Building and Repair
Woodworking
Magic
Treasure Hunting
Ironwork
Pipe Smoking
Dog Training (specific breed)
Prospecting
Antiques
Coins
Buttons
Medals
(just about any collectable)
Amateur Radio
Golf
Sailing (Yachting,Marine Life, etc)
Fishing (specific type)
Unusual Hobbies (rope making


Craft Making (specific)
Dolls
Leathercraft
Loom Weaving
Quilting
Baskets
Lamp Shades
Doll Houses
Pottery
Unusual or "lost art" Crafts (Tole Painting, Hat Making)

Art
Drawing
Painting
Sketching

Unusual
How To Stay Alive In Vietnam
How to Draw Occult & Horror
How To Belly Dance
How to Strip For Your Husband

Home and Garden
Home Decorating
Home Remodeling
Garden Trellis
Architecture
Koi Pond
Bonsai


Self Help and Motivational (Tony Robbins, Jay Abraham)


Misc
How To Repair (doll repair, watch repair, Violin repair)
How To Play (violin, banjo, harmonica, etc)
Old Maps
Lost Treasure
Early Aviation

I have several techniques I use to increase the amount I get for these books when I list them on eBay. I'll reveal these techniques in my next post amd also show you how to quickly determine the value of the used books you find.

Until then,

James

My First Blog Post

Hi,

Welcome to the first post of my first blog!

What I want to do with this blog is show you some of the ways that I am making money both on and off the internet. I am going to show you many techniques that will generate cash fairly quickly however I am also going to show you how I have built up several revenue channels that provide me with multiple streams of income.

You have probably heard the old adage about not putting all your eggs in one basket. When it comes to your income that maxim could not be more relevant. As you will find I am a big believer in creating multiple income streams so you do not have to rely solely on a JOB for your income.

Because building these income streams will usually entail some upfront work and some time to impliment they are not pure "Emergency Cash Generators." However once you get them set up they can produce income without much effort on your part. Therefore, if you will take the time and effort to set them up they can become much more then a source of emergency cash. They will become regular sources of revenue that will add to your existing income.

In the next post you will learn about a very simple -- and duplicatable -- fast cash technique that I have discovered to make extra money using eBay.

See you then!

James