Best Buy of the Week: Free Books!

I finally got around to clearing out all of the old books that have been collecting dust and that I don't read anymore. I loaded up three boxes worth of novels and non-fiction books (I particularly like business and history books) and put them in the back of my van. Sure, I could have tried to sell these books on a site like Amazon or Half.com, but I chose to take them to a couple of the local used bookstores instead.

The first store took only a few copies, and they offered me either cash or store credit. Since you don't get much cash if you choose to sell the books outright, I chose store credit. I racked up about $16.00 in store credit at the first store, which I can use to purchase other books. Most of the books at the first store were romance novels, so I will let my wife make use of the store credit.

I had much better luck at the second store. They accepted almost all of my books, and I had over $200 worth of store credit. If I had sold the books I might have received about $50 for them. I searched the store and quickly snatched up some volumes I had my eye on: "Your Money or Your Life", "An Underground Education", "The Millionaire Next Door", "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Dynamic Selling", "Six Sigma Demystified" (in a plastic wrapper, no less!), and "If You're Not Out Selling, You're Being Outsold" (yes, I sell during my day job). If I had purchased these books with cash, I would have spent about $50.00, but it cost me nothing but the time it took me to bring in my old books and search the shelves for the "new" ones. I still have more than $150 in store credit left.

Sure, I could have gotten these same books for free at the library, but I can read these at my own pace, and I get to keep them, or trade them in later.

Savvy Frugality Tip: Make use of your local used bookstore, particularly if they trade books or pay cash for used books. It's no-cost entertainment and a way of shopping and getting "new" books!