This post is somewhat related to my earlier post on buying and selling books for my reading habits.
I find that a good way to remember the content of what I have read, as well as capture my thoughts on the book at the point in time, is to write a review. I started off writing my reviews using the Virtual Bookshelf application on Facebook. Unfortunately, the application was stopped some time earlier this year as the developers had decided to focus their attention on other initiatives.
Not willing to stop what I think is a good practice, after googling online, I came across the site GoodReads. Basically, once you have signed up for an account (membership is free), you can write a review for the book, give it a rating, read other people's reviews, find similar books, and see what others are reading.
It is during one of my searches for a book that I came across the following website Fishpond. It is more than a website for books, as it sells music, toys, lifestyle items etc as well. What attracted me to this website was, besides offering books at a discounted price and having free shipping worldwide, it offers a cash reward in the form of credits which you can use to offset your purchases from the website.
One of the qualifying activity for the reward is to write a review for any product that is posted there. For example, you can write a review of a Lego toy that you have, or a boardgame that you have played before. To earn a reward ($0.20 per review), your review must be over 50 words. The review must be done on products which do not currently have a review, and must be your own creation.
Since I already have a habit of writing book reviews, I found it easy to continue this practice on the Fishpond website. Since I started a few weeks ago, I have written more than 10 reviews, and earned myself some credits which I can use for buying my next book. At $0.20 per review, it is not lucrative. However, I consider it an easy task, something I can complete in less than 5 minutes. Furthermore, as doing book reviews is something that I am already doing, to be able to get paid for it, I think it's not bad at all.
Sunday 20 November 2011
How to Earn/Save Money Online in Singapore Series - #2 Selling/Buying Books Online
Are you an avid reader? Do you like to buy books? If your answer is yes to both questions, then this post is for you.
Like you, I read whenever I can in my free time, on the MRT, or while waiting. I usually read my books once - there are simply too many good books out there with too little time. Sometimes, I re-read them years later if I had forgotten about the story. Yet, there were also times when I could not finish a book as the plot did not struck a chord.
My bookshelves at home are lined with books that I have accumulated over the years. Even though I have a National Library Board (NLB) membership, which allows me to borrow six books for three weeks (free renewal to 6 weeks), some of the books, especially the newest and popular bestsellers, may not be available. Therefore, the only way for me to get the books that I want to read is to buy the books through bookshops or online purchase via Amazon.
My bookshelves at home are lined with books that I have accumulated over the years. Even though I have a National Library Board (NLB) membership, which allows me to borrow six books for three weeks (free renewal to 6 weeks), some of the books, especially the newest and popular bestsellers, may not be available. Therefore, the only way for me to get the books that I want to read is to buy the books through bookshops or online purchase via Amazon.
Some months ago, I came across an article which wrote about the topic "Things you should buy second hand". The author listed books as one of the items we should buy second hand, for reasons such as people tend to read them only once, they take up storage space in the house etc. More importantly, books are hardy stuff. You can throw them around, sit on them or even spill water on them. They would not complain and would still be good to read.
Besides the brick and mortar shops such as Sans Bookshop and the occasional finds in flea markets, there appears to be an increasingly vibrant online second hand books store presence in Singapore. By that, I do not mean Ebay, as I personally find that it is difficult to sell books using that portal. Firstly, unless the books are priced really attractively, the time for auction (7 days) typically runs out before anyone bids on the item. Secondly, Ebay is HUGE. The variety of goods on offer is mind boggling, not to mention that it is on a global scale. Therefore, one could list the items there for weeks with nary a reply, and it's quite a hassel to keep relisting the item.
I found the following websites useful both for selling books and for buying second hand books.
1. Secondhandbooks.com.sg (http://www.secondhandbooks.com.sg/)
This portal is the best in terms of the sites I have tried so far.
From the seller's point of view, it allows you to open your own "bookshop". You can set the rules, like how you want to price the items... whether meet up is preferred or orders by post only... bank transfer, paypal or cash on delivery... Secondly, there's an avenue for the buyer to rate the seller, and for the seller to rate the buyer. Both ratings are available for public view. So, in that sense, there is greater transparency and I can trade my books with a greater ease of mind. Thirdly, the books you post are listed there indefintely. This means that you can post your books once, and it will be there on display until someone buys it.
From the buyer's point of view, the books on offer cost much less than what I would have to pay for a new book. For example, Sophie Kinesella's books can go for $3 - $5, when a new book usually costs $12 - $15. Furthermore, most sellers provide a picture of the book on the site. You can post them questions or negotiate for a better price too. That way, you are able to gauge the condition of the book or get a better deal before buying. Once you have finished reading the book, you can re-sell the book, which essentially means that there is little or no cost involved. There is also an option to keep track of the newly posted books by keyword (author or title keyword). Once a book having the keyword is listed for sale, the website auto sends you an email to let you know that an item fulfilling the criteria has been posted.
Did I mention signing up as a member is free?
Yes, I have an account there. In fact I am one of the top 100 sellers on the website. So far, the people I have made deals with are pleasant. The website is only about books, thereby making it a more dedicated portal with a more cozy community.
2. Bookfishing (http://bookfishing.com.sg/)
This is another local website you can use to buy/trade books. It appears to be more of a textbook place at the moment. I have bought a book from a seller through the website. The condition of the book I bought was excellent - like new. The seller was willing to let go of it at less than half the retail price, as he has two copies of the book.
Registration as a member on this site is free!
3. Usedbooks (http://www.usedbook.sg/)
This is one other local website which I came across recently. I have not had the chance to buy any books using the website yet. Registration as a member on this site is free too!
Have fun reading!
Besides the brick and mortar shops such as Sans Bookshop and the occasional finds in flea markets, there appears to be an increasingly vibrant online second hand books store presence in Singapore. By that, I do not mean Ebay, as I personally find that it is difficult to sell books using that portal. Firstly, unless the books are priced really attractively, the time for auction (7 days) typically runs out before anyone bids on the item. Secondly, Ebay is HUGE. The variety of goods on offer is mind boggling, not to mention that it is on a global scale. Therefore, one could list the items there for weeks with nary a reply, and it's quite a hassel to keep relisting the item.
I found the following websites useful both for selling books and for buying second hand books.
1. Secondhandbooks.com.sg (http://www.secondhandbooks.com.sg/)
This portal is the best in terms of the sites I have tried so far.
From the seller's point of view, it allows you to open your own "bookshop". You can set the rules, like how you want to price the items... whether meet up is preferred or orders by post only... bank transfer, paypal or cash on delivery... Secondly, there's an avenue for the buyer to rate the seller, and for the seller to rate the buyer. Both ratings are available for public view. So, in that sense, there is greater transparency and I can trade my books with a greater ease of mind. Thirdly, the books you post are listed there indefintely. This means that you can post your books once, and it will be there on display until someone buys it.
From the buyer's point of view, the books on offer cost much less than what I would have to pay for a new book. For example, Sophie Kinesella's books can go for $3 - $5, when a new book usually costs $12 - $15. Furthermore, most sellers provide a picture of the book on the site. You can post them questions or negotiate for a better price too. That way, you are able to gauge the condition of the book or get a better deal before buying. Once you have finished reading the book, you can re-sell the book, which essentially means that there is little or no cost involved. There is also an option to keep track of the newly posted books by keyword (author or title keyword). Once a book having the keyword is listed for sale, the website auto sends you an email to let you know that an item fulfilling the criteria has been posted.
Did I mention signing up as a member is free?
Yes, I have an account there. In fact I am one of the top 100 sellers on the website. So far, the people I have made deals with are pleasant. The website is only about books, thereby making it a more dedicated portal with a more cozy community.
2. Bookfishing (http://bookfishing.com.sg/)
This is another local website you can use to buy/trade books. It appears to be more of a textbook place at the moment. I have bought a book from a seller through the website. The condition of the book I bought was excellent - like new. The seller was willing to let go of it at less than half the retail price, as he has two copies of the book.
Registration as a member on this site is free!
3. Usedbooks (http://www.usedbook.sg/)
This is one other local website which I came across recently. I have not had the chance to buy any books using the website yet. Registration as a member on this site is free too!
Have fun reading!
How to Earn/Save Money Online in Singapore Series - #1 Doing Surveys
Most of us spend a lot of time on the internet everyday, be it surfing the web, doing online shopping, reading the news, finding out the latest gossips, watching online media, and the list goes on......
How nice would it be if we can use our time productively, and not waste them on frivolous stuff? Have it crossed your mind that you may be able to spend time online and generate income at the same time? I found out about SingPost's My MailMoment initiative two years ago through their booth at the Singapore Toy, Game and Comic Convention (STGCC). The person who was manning the booth approached me and said
"What do you think of the idea of doing some simple online surveys, that probably just take you 5 - 10 minutes each, and in return, you accumulate points which allows you to exchange for vouchers from NTUC, Golden Village, and Coffee Bean etc?"
I thought the idea sounded interesting and being cautious, i asked them if there are any upfront costs or membership fees involved. I was happy to hear that the service is free, and all I had to do was to sign up on the spot or online at their website:
Two years have passed since I signed up and I have completed quite a number of surveys... my guess is about 30 of them, in exchange for a few $5 NTUC vouchers and $1 Macdonalds vouchers, which are mailed to my house courtesy of SingPost. Most of the surveys take about 5 minutes to complete, and topics relate to general, everyday issues such as my ideal holiday, what I look for in a dream car, how I manage my financials etc. They are presented in multiple choice format, such as
"On a scale of 1 to 7, 1 being strongly disagree and 7 being strongly agree, please indicate how well you agree to the following statements."
"Please rank the following in order of how important it is to you."
"Please rank the following in order of how important it is to you."
You have a choice of the surveys that you want to participate in. In other words, you can choose to only do those surveys that you want to do.
For each survey that you complete, you get points that you can accumulate to exchange for vouchers once a certain target is reached. The number of points you get is dependent on the difficulty of the survey - the harder it is (more questions thereby needing more time to complete the survey), the more points are awarded. Oh, and each survey you complete entitles you to a chance at a lucky draw that takes place every quarter.
For those of you who are interested to have more chances for the lucky draw, my MailMoment has a Refer-a-Friend scheme which allows you to invite your friends to participate. For each successful referral (i.e. your friend has signed up and completed at least 3 surveys), both your friend and you will receive a lucky draw chance.
Before I sign off, please note that you should fulfill the following criteria to sign up as a member:
a) You should have a valid Singapore residential address, and you are currently living in Singapore.
b) You should be at least 17 years old.
Membership is limited to only one per person.
Easy isn't it? Sign up now!
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