Save Money on Books, CDs, and DVDs

It is nice to get new movies to watch, CDs to listen to, or books to read, but they can get expensive. Unless you HAVE to have everything new and must see the latest and greatest, you can go to Amazon.com and purchase a used movie, CD, or book and enjoy it for much less than buying new or paying admission charges. It is also cheaper than Netflix or Pay channels.

And if you're a purist, Amazon still sells music on vinyl and cassette and movies on VHS. I just recommend you go for used items on Amazon that are listed as very good, like new, or even new (some times new stuff sells for pennies through a third party).

The best part is once you are done with these items, you can go to SwapaDVD, SwapaCD or SwapaBook and place them in your library (after you make an account). When you have 10 items in your library on any particular site, you can start dealing with other participants of the site. As they request your book, CD, or movie you mail it to them at your expense. Mailing one of these items usually costs around $2 (media mail). But once they receive one of your items, they let the site know and you get a credit on the site.

Now you can request an item and it costs you nothing. The person you request from pays the shipping and you get a new item. It may be a book, movie, or CD you have always wanted but could never find or it may be last years number 1 whatever.

You can of course build your library up and possibly your credits, by cleaning out all the stuff in your house you no longer watch, read, or listen to. Items in your attic, garage, or yard sale pile. Personally, I go to yard sales and buy this kind of stuff up real cheap and then list it on a Swapa site. If it costs me $10 for 15 CDs and three of them get requested on SwapaCD that gives me 3 CD credits for whatever I want. Three CDs for around $3.00 is not a bad rate of exchange (especially if the CDs are hard to find). Usually out of 20 items, I get 4 or 5 requested.

But be careful if you buy at yard sales to build your libraries. Some stuff just isn't worth the time or money even at a yard sale price. For example, Jump 5 CDs are numerous at many sales because nobody wants them. They don't want them on SwapaCD either. And when you buy at a yard sale, make sure the case has a disc in it (CD or DVD). I have been at several yard sales and opened a case to find it empty (one time it was a two DVD case and the DVD in the case was the extras - no movie). You have to be observant. Make sure the CD or DVD is the right item for that case. When buying books make sure the last few pages are there or that pages aren't ripped in half in the middle (that would be a bummer).

With the cost of stuff going through the roof it is sites like these that will provide some relief.

By Suntydt from Tazewell, TN