Money Saving Mom®

Welcome to October’s series on 31 Ways to Earn Extra Cash Before Christmas. In this series, I’m highlighting simple and legitimate ways you can earn extra cash in the next three months for those of you who could use a little extra cash to help you pay for Christmas — or just for your living expenses if you’re in a tight spot right now.

If you’ve found a great way to make extra cash before Christmas that doesn’t require an outlay of cash upfront, please email me your tip. I’d love to hear it and possibly share it during this series!

I wrote about making money with Amazon’s Trade-In Program earlier. That’s a great way to earn Amazon credit for used books, DVDs, CDs, and electronics. However, if you have lots of used books you’d like to sell, I’d recommend taking the time to check out how much you’d get from a few different sites.

Often, the price you can get for your books will vary between the different sites. So it’s worth it to spend a little time checking out multiple sites to see which one will pay you the most for your books!

Here are four recommended sites to check into if you have used books to sell:

1. Cash4Books

Type in the ISBN number of your books on Cash4Books.net and you’ll instantly be given a quote for how much they’ll pay you for your books. If you chose to accept their offer, you’ll be able to print out a postage-paid label. Then, just ship your books to them.

Once they receive your books, you’ll receive payment via Paypal or check. Payment is processed within three business days of your books being received and processed by Cash4Books.

2. MyBookBuyer

MyBookBuyer is very similar to Cash4Books. However, they specialize in buying back textbooks and you’ll often get a higher rate for textbooks from them than you’d get from Cash4Books.net.

Again, just type in the ISBN number, accept the quote (if you like it!), and print the pre-paid shipping label. Once they receive the books, they’ll pay you via check or Paypal within three business days of receiving your books.

Here’s what Krista said:

I saw the Cash4books site on your extra earning page and decided to check them out. I didn’t have much luck, so I decided to see if there were other places out there.

I found MyBookBuyer and started checking books with them. I am getting ready to send in 17 books which, if all are accepted, will net me $68. On the other site, I was only going to make $21. So, if you’re considering selling books, it pays to check multiple sites! -Krista

3. Amazon’s Trade-In Program

I wrote more extensively about this here. The gist of it is to search for your product on the Amazon Trade-In Store to see how much Amazon will pay you for a Trade In. If the price seems fair, click through to verify the condition, title, and price.

Follow the steps to print the postage-paid shipping label. You can choose to go with free UPS shipping (you’ll need to drop your package off at the nearest UPS location) or shipping via the U.S. Postal Service (you can give your package to your mail carrier or drop it off at the nearest post office).

Ship out the item in a timely manner. Once it has been received by Amazon, they will check it to verify that it is eligible and in the condition you promised. Items considered to be not acceptable will be returned. Return shipping is free, but you will not receive any Amazon.com Gift Card amount for the returned items.

After your item has been received and approved by Amazon.com, they will issue your Amazon credit. You can use this credit to purchase anything on Amazon.com.

4. Half.com

Half.com offers an Instant Sale option which is similar to Cash4Books and MyBookBuyer in that you type in the ISBN number, get a quote, accept the quote, print a label, ship your books, and get paid within a few days. However, you’ll likely make more money if you list your books individually and wait for a buyer to purchase them.

I’ve done this successfully many times and made good money — especially when Jesse was in law school and we’d sell his textbooks after he was finished with them! The downside to selling this way is that you have to hang onto your books and wait for someone to purchase them at the price you are asking.

It could take weeks or even months for a buyer to come along. And when they do, you have to package up the book, pay for shipping, ship the book within 72 hours, and wait to be paid. It’s not as convenient as the Instant Sale option is, but you will likely make quite a bit more money if you’re willing to have more patience and go to the effort of shipping a book every time an order is placed.

 Have you sold used books before? If so, I’d love to hear about your experiences — and any tips or suggestions you have for the rest of us!

Welcome to October’s series on 31 Ways to Earn Extra Cash Before Christmas. In this series, I’m highlighting simple and legitimate ways you can earn extra cash in the next three months for those of you who could use a little extra cash to help you pay for Christmas — or just for your living expenses if you’re in a tight spot right now.

If you’ve found a great way to make extra cash before Christmas that doesn’t require an outlay of cash upfront, please email me your tip. I’d love to hear it and possibly share it during this series!

You’ve probably seen the signs or ads promise you can make hundreds of dollars every month by shopping and going out to eat. And you’ve probably though it was too good to be true.

Well, those advertisements are likely a little over-the-top and just designed to get you to sign up for some overpriced list which you can find yourself with a little searching online. But mystery shopping is a very legitimate source of income and in many areas, the jobs are plentiful and the pay is decent.

Reader DB Landes says:

I do mystery shopping to get free groceries/take out and earn a bit of extra cash. You won’t get rich quick but by doing shopping I already do I get around $10-$25 extra every month by working for Market Force, plus I get reimbursed for what I eat/buy. -DB

What Skills Do You Need to Have to Become a Mystery Shopper?

A good mystery shopper is someone who is attentive to detail and thorough in everything they do. In addition, it is very important that you keep accurate records and follow instructions carefully. Many shops will require you to look for very specific things, keep track of the time, and ask specific questions — all without seeming suspicious or giving yourself away as a mystery shopper.

How Do You Get Started Working as a Mystery Shopper?

When I first began mystery shopping, I signed up for all of the mystery shopping companies I could find. I opened up a separate email account which was dedicated to mystery shopping emails and used that when I signed up. It took me hours to sign up with all of the companies and it was quite time-consuming, but the effort paid off as I ended up landing dozens of great mystery shopping jobs over the next two years.

Reader Cassie emailed in and suggested:

If your readers are interested in mystery shopping, they should check out the MSPA’s website (Mystery Shopper Provider’s Association) which acts as sort of a BBB for mystery shopping. The MSPA has a list of legitimate mystery shopping companies here that require no money out of pocket to shop for them.

IMPORTANT NOTE: You should never pay to sign up with a mystery shopping company. They may ask for a fairly extensive application process to make sure that you are thorough, detailed, and qualified. They will ask for your social security number and other personal information (always make sure the site is secure and the company is legit before giving out personal information).

But a legitimate mystery shopping company should never ask for money upfront. If they do, run far, far away and don’t turn back. They are a scam company and you do not want to get mixed up with the likes of them!

Erin emailed me about her experiences with mystery shopping:

I heard about the idea of “mystery shopping” a few years ago, when my husband was in between coming home from a tour in Afghanistan, finding a temporary job, and returning to Active Duty Military. We needed a little extra cash, and this seemed to work well with my schedule.

At that time, I only had my son, but I’ve continued to do these shops with my second child. There are some very simple shops that pay $5 and $10, all the way up to more complex shops that pay out up to $200!

I also have taken on jobs that have compensated me for meals that my family and I have eaten. I get paid very quickly and I have never had any problems with any of the sites I’ve used. A few of them are:

Mystery Shoppers Provider Association
ICCDS
Beyond Hello
Kern Scheduling
National Shopping Service
Trend Source

Again, these are all real businesses. I have done jobs for every single one of these companies and have been paid for all of my work. -Erin

How Do You Find Out About Job Opportunities?

If you’ll thoroughly fill out all the applications and have patience, you’ll likely begin to see quite a number of job opportunities sent to you. Many times, these jobs are filled on a first-come, first-served basis, so you’ll want to check your email for job openings a few times each day and be quick to respond to any which you are interested in. Some companies also have online job listings that you can apply for.

It typically takes a few months to build up a rapport with the companies. Don’t be discouraged if you get passed over for some of the better job opportunities in the beginning.

If you are patient and prove yourself, you’ll likely start to be offered better jobs. In fact, sometimes the company will start offering the job directly to you versus opening it up to others since they know you have done a great job in the past!

What Types of Jobs Are Available?

When I was mystery shopping, I did fast food shops, casual dining, high-end restaurants, gas stations, beauty supply stores, pet stores, and even a bowling alley, to name a few.

I found restaurant shops to be my favorite as they usually not only reimbursed for a meal for myself and my husband, but they also usually paid at least an extra $10 for the work involved. It was very worth it to me to get a nice free dinner date with my husband plus some cash, all for about 30 minutes of extra work!

How Much Will You Get Paid?

Most mystery shopping jobs pay between $7-$15 and include some sort of reimbursement as well. This is usually for an average of an hour’s worth of work, give or take. Once you’ve established yourself with a company, you may be offered jobs that pay $20 to $25 per hour, or more. These jobs are typically not offered to newbies.

Mystery shopping is a lot of work — especially in the beginning when you are first learning the ropes! If you stick with it, though, it can be a fun and rewarding experience that can also help supplement your income — or pay for some of your Christmas expenses!

Have you been a mystery shopper before? If so, I’d love to hear your tips and advice for someone who is considering dipping their toes into the world of mystery shopping.

Bing Rewards is a way to earn credits for searching online and participating in daily offers. By spending just a few minutes per day, you can easily earn a $5 Amazon gift card every month.

Here’s what Jennifer says about Bing Rewards:

My husband and I use Bing Rewards to save up for things like free Redbox codes, Amazon gift cards, Xbox Live passes, etc. It works very much like Swagbucks. You make a free account and for every 2 searches using Bing, you earn points. Points are redeemable for a whole list of prizes. There are other daily deals and specials to earn extra points. Plus, the more lifetime points you earn the more privileges you get. Imagine giving each each of your kids a few Redbox codes in their Christmas stockings for the movie of their choice on family movie nights! -Jennifer

1. How Do You Sign Up?

Click here and sign up for an account. It appears like a Facebook account is required and the sign-up process takes less than a minute to complete.

Once you’ve signed up, go to the Bing Dashboard and you’ll have a few different offers you can complete and ways to fill out your profile in order to earn some credits from the get-go. I was able to earn 25 credits just by completing these things.

2. How Do You Earn Credit?

Every day, log into your Bing Rewards account and do 30 quick searches. You’ll earn a credit for every two searches you do. You can also check your Bing Rewards dashboard to see if there is a daily offer to complete to earn you 1-2 more credits.

I like Bing Rewards because it has a cap on how many points you can earn a day, which is nice because it’s quick, easy, and done, and then you don’t have to dwell on it. I’ve been doing it for 3 months now. You get 1 point per 2 searches, so it’s not a gambling game like Swagbucks. I just click on “related searches” on the side until I hit my goal. -From an email written by Cat who blogs at Cartwheels and Windmills

3. How Much Credit Can You Earn Per Month?

You can earn 15 credits per day by searching (30 searches = 15 credits). Plus, you should be able to complete one or two daily offers each day to net you another 1-2 credits. This totals 480 credits in a typical month if you log in every day and earn 16 points. This gives you enough to almost earn a free $5 Amazon gift card in one month.

If you achieve Gold status (which you can achieve pretty easily by being an active member of Bing Rewards for two months), an Amazon gift card is only 475 credits — which makes it totally doable to earn one $5 Amazon gift card each month!

4. What Can You Get With Your Credit?

You can purchase Amazon gift cards, Starbucks gift cards, Groupon credit, Skype credit, Redbox rentals, and more! Plus, they also offer you the opportunity to donate your credits through DonorsChoose. Here’s what Cat says:

One of my favorite rewards is a DonorsChoose.org $5 gift card. DonorsChoose is a site where teachers can submit projects they would like funded for their classrooms and people or foundations can donate to them.  My sister is a teacher in a low-income elementary school and has posted a few projects to DonorsChoose. I told her I would alternate my Amazon gift cards with DonorsChoose ones–that was until Bing price dropped the DonorsChoose reward to 99 points!  So instead of giving my sister’s class $5 for the project, they got $25.  I’m throwing all my points at that until the promotion ends on 11/1.

5. Do You Have to Have Referrals To Really Make Bing Rewards Worth It?

Actually, no. In fact, you can only earn credits for the first 5 friends you refer. So this makes it fair for everyone — and those who have a larger social network won’t necessarily have any advantage over those who don’t have a big social media following.

Note: If you sign up, can you leave your referral link in the comments so that others can sign up under you? Update your comment to let us know when you’ve gotten five referrals. We want to help each other out as much as possible!

Have you used Bing Rewards before? If so, I’d love to hear about your experiences!