How to Save Money on Books, Movies and Music

With the economy the way it is, we are all looking to save a few pennies. But we don't want to deny ourselves fun things to do like reading a new book, or listening to a new CD. I have found some websites that I absolutely love that take care of this problem. You can trade books, DVDs, or CDs on these sites. The way these sites work is that you list books, DVDs, or CDs you would like to trade. Someone requests your item. You mail it to them which costs you about $2 or less. You receive a credit at the on-line site for doing so, and then you find something you are interested in and request that item from another member of the site. You receive your new book, dvd, or cd in the mail. And you have just save yourself some money while procuring new entertainment.

Paperbackswap

This is the site for swapping paperback books, hardback books, and audio-books. I have been using this site for a few months and I have gotten 14 books from the site. Nothing I have gotten has been the wrong item or severely damage. Currently there are 3,019,323 books listed on the site and the site claims that its members have saved $11,040,112.95 by trading books. That's an impressive number. It claims that I have personally saved $63 by trading books. And if you think about it, it makes sense. Instead of selling a book I don't want for pennies on the dollar on-line or in an used book store and then dropping $8-$10 for a new book. I am getting a new book for $2.23 or less. $2.23 is the media mail rate for a standard paperback. You can even buy postage through the site so you don't have to go to the post office to mail your book.

But wait, what if there is nothing on the site I want to read? Well, there are quite a few books on the site, and many of them are good books by top authors in their genre. You can also create a wish list if there is something you want in particular. If someone posts the book and its on your wish list, the site will hold the book from the general public. It will then email you to say a book on your wish list is available, and would you like to get it. You have two days to respond to a wish list notification or you can set books on your wish list to auto. With the auto function, if a book on your wish list comes up and you have a book credit, it will be automatically sent to you.

The site has lots of other functions as well. You have a buddy list so you can use the site as a social networking site. You can review or read reviews about books on the site. There is also a referral system so that you can get free book credits for referring your friends and family.

The site is easy to use with an extensive help section. You can even message an on-line helper with your questions, if you can't find the help you need in the help section. There is an easy to see and find search engine at the top of the web-page for searching for books to request and an easy post books function under the "Your Account" Tab. Its a really nice system and I would recommend it for anyone who loves to read but can't afford it right now.

SwapaDVD and SwapaCD

These two sites are sister sites of paperbackswap. On these sites you can swap dvds and cds in the same manner that you swap books on Paperbackswap. They have the same layout and functions of Paperbackswap and work the same way. The only difference between any of the sites is that there is a small fee for trading cds on SwapaCD (49 cents a trade). This fee keeps all three sites up and running as membership to all three sites is free. I haven't requested any dvds or cds, yet on these sites. But I have posted a few items. The nice thing about these being sister sites is 1) they all work the same way, master one and you are good for the other two 2) you can swap credits in-between the sites. For example, say I have a lot of CDs I want to get rid of, but I would rather get books instead CDs. No problem. I can switch my SwapaCD credits for Paperbackswap credits and get books instead of CDs. This is a really easy process and works great. I have swapped SwapaDVD credits for Paperbackswap credits simply because I am into reading a lot more now than watching movies.

You can also transfer credits between members. For example, on SwapaCD they have a discussion board where you can list CDs that are not in the SwapaCD database. You can list your CD there, say an anime soundtrack for example, and if someone wants it, they can transfer a credit to you and then you send them the CD. This is a good system for all those special CDs that just don't happen to be in the SwapaCD database.

I have enjoyed using these sites and I think you will too. Plus it will save you lots of money on your entertainment costs. Check them out today.

Swap Your Used Books - PaperBackSwap.com

Swap Your Used DVDs - SwapaDVD.com

Swap Your Used CDs - SwapaCD.com