Voting

I'm in line to vote. I've been here for about an hour. The problem is that we have two precincts, one of which is split in two. There are three machines and you can only use the machine for your area. If I was in one of the other two areas, I would be able to get in and out, but noooo...

At least I'll get to vote.

Wolf Camera Going Out of Business

I found out last week that Wolf Camera is closing.  Yes, I know retail jobs aren’t the best, but it’s still sad to see a former employer go out of business.  I had hoped to buy a new camera when my cash flow permitted it.  I may have to do it through Ritzcamera.com if they’re still available (they say they will be, under new management) or someplace else.  I don’t really have any loyalty to the site, as I worked in one of the stores, so it may be just as easy to get the camera somewhere else if I get around to buying one.

I knew when I left in May of 2009 that I wasn’t going to be rehired.  After a while, it became clear that I probably wouldn’t want to, as the store had a rotating lineup of manufacturers and sales incentives were either shrinking or disappearing.  I could tell that there wouldn’t be any room for me at any of the nearby stores.  I figured that the store would limp along for a while longer, so the closing came as one of those surprises that I saw coming. 

I’ll probably go back to the store in coming weeks to see how the store is doing.  From what it sounds like, the store will be open until everything is gone.  (From what I recall from my store’s liquidation, all the good stuff has probably already been sold.)  I just hope that everyone can find another job.

Of Fribiz and adf.ly

Again, I’ve lost track of posting time, especially with so little to post.

It looks like Fribiz did actually go under.  The site is no longer responding, and this was in the middle of an auction.  I sent an email to them using an address in the last message I got from them, but no response.  I figured something like this was going to happen.  They had one auction going at a time, and they were all these tablets.  It was impossible to get a response from them, it seemed, regardless of how you sent a message.

Also, I’m giving up on adf.ly.  It seems to be more trouble than it’s worth.  I was suspended from Yahoo! Answers and the only reason I can think of is that I used an adf.ly link in my references section.  I’ve been with the site for years now and I have yet to make more than $10.  I’ve removed the links and top banner from this blog, and I may go through and do the same for some other sites.  Whatever else there is, I’ll let sit.  I’m not going to go crazy for a few dollars.

Selling books

I actually got a check from Cash4books.net last week.  It was for $7, but it was off of a referral.  Apparently, someone found the link (I’m assuming through this site) and sold some books to them.

I have sold books to them before.  I’ll admit that it’s hard to find books to sell to them as they are very selective, but it’s easier than waiting seven days on eBay and hoping someone buys something.  You can also usually use eBay as a backup if necessary.

Selling books online is somewhat difficult, at least for cash.  This has also proven difficult in real life, as many used bookstores will only give credit.  Even then, there’s no promise that they’ll want any of your books.

Movies and CDs aren’t much easier.  Some sites and stores will take them, but often will only offer 50¢ each.  If you’re selling at a store, it’s often not worth the gas money.  Even if you sell them online, it may not be worth going to the nearest mailbox.

At this point, I’m hoping that you’re not expecting a solution.  I’m actually looking for suggestions, myself.  I don’t know that there is one.  After all, it’s supply and demand.  I used half.com for a while and at best, would sell one or two books per day and that was with an inventory of thousands of items.  If anyone knows of a site that buys lots of stuff or a place near Miami that’s worth visiting, I’d be interested in knowing about it.

ProTypers and Listia

I’ve been using ProTypers for a while now.  While I have cashed out a few times now, I’ve noticed a real lack of motivation to keep at it.  They’ve lowered the rates a few times and I’ve also noticed that it’s harder to get images to process.  I don’t know if more people are signing up or of they have lower demand for their services.  Either way, I only have two referrals and neither one seems to have kept up with it.  You need to have five referrals cash out before you can earn from referrals, so I’m not counting on that as an income source.

Also, it looks like Listia is allowing people to use points to buy things outright.  (I don’t know if I mentioned that before.)  Right now, I don’t have enough points to buy anything and I don’t know if I will any time soon.  I have to see if there is anything I can sell for more points.  (Or get a few more referrals.)

It looks like they have movies, electronics and gift cards among other things.  They’re things definitely worth saving up for.  I wonder how this will affect bidding if people are looking to do the same.  I can see people listing more things to get the points (meaning more competition) and fewer people willing to bid on stuff because they’re either saving up for an iPod or just bought an Amazon gift card.

If you’re thinking of signing up, but you can’t think of anything to list, I can recommend a few things.  The first two auctions I listed were gift codes that I got from Fribiz.  Since there was no physical card to mail, there was no need to spend money on postage.

Another similar idea is the codes you find for special promotions that you find in soda caps and candy wrappers.  I’ve found that a lot of times, I don’t use enough of the product to save up enough codes to get anything.  The down side with this one is that it’s hard to get a lot of points unless you list at least a half dozen codes together.  It’s worth a shot if you have them laying around, though.

For right now, it seems the easiest way to get money is to have a job.  That’s my best income right now.  If you have any suggestions, please let me know.

Fribiz Lives! and other things worth getting excited about

It looks like I was misinformed.  Fribiz isn’t shutting down.  (Yes, that’s the referral link and yes, I’m using an adf.ly interstitial link.)  They’ve been posting new auctions well past the date that they were supposed to be going offline.  I don’t know if they changed their minds or if I was reading something wrong, but I can’t say I mind.

In other news, a Where’s George app has been released.  It’s very basic, only letting you enter bills.  It doesn’t look like you can refresh at all, which I can’t say I mind.  It is a very early version.  My only issue is that it doesn’t always get the ZIP code right.  I haven’t tried entering a bill with it yet because of this.  I’m hoping it’s resolved in a later version.

Yes, it’s 99¢ and the only money I’m making off of it is the money I get from adf.ly when you follow the link.  It’s not so bad, I suppose.  I was getting these nag notices whenever I tried to enter a bill using Safari on my iPod Touch, so that alone was worth it.  I’m also supporting something that a lot of people were looking forward to.  It was definitely worth the download.

Another One Bites the Dust

I found out about a week ago that Fribiz will be closing.  (I'm not really sure why I'm putting the referral link in, either.)  Fribiz is supposed to be closing today, but I don’t know when it will actually go down, as they have several auctions going.  The site will probably close whenever they finish.  I also have no idea if anything will be replacing it.

I’m going to try to get whatever else I can on Fribiz.  If not, it’s no great loss.  I haven’t been using the site for a while now.  It was only because one of my referrals mentioned it that I knew about it.  At least I won a few items on the site, which is good.

There were two auctions, both gift codes, that I wasn’t able to use.  Fortunately, I was able to auction them off on another site, Listia.  I got points for the gift codes, but I was able to use the points to get something else I wanted.  (For those of you that have codes you don’t want, Listia is a great way to get rid of them.)

I was able to sell off a few items on eBay, although not for much.  For that reason, I decided to keep a USB pencil sharpener.  I figured that I wouldn’t get that much for it new, and I have a small need for one that stays attached to something, so I decided to try it.  At least I got a review of it on what’s now Yahoo! Voices.  (The referral link seems to be here.)  Worst case scenario, I may be able to auction it off on eBay as used.

In any event, I may look for some other site similar to Fribiz.  I don’t know how good it will be, but it’s worth a shot.