Ebook selling business: Has the bottom fallen out?

As I wait to have my baby - any day now, I'm thinking of ways to make a few additional dollars to help pay for diapers, baby clothes and all of the other baby items that it takes to start a new family - not to mention the cost of college education. After spending several hours of free time (probably the last free time that I will have for the next 18 years), I've decided the following businesses have little if no potential now.

1. Ebook store. There are plenty of websites out there that sell the same ebooks. The market is flooded with bad ebooks that give the industry a bad name. Most of them seem to be written by people who have a 4th grade education. They are full of typos and incomplete thoughts. Over the past few years, I was lured by the promises of wealth and free reselling rights for purchasing these ebooks, and found that after spending $50 to $100, I've only made $10 or $15 on my investment. 

2. Write and publish my own book. This is a time intensive process. In addition to research, writing, editing, and finding markets for the book, there are the hard costs of printing and promoting the book. I self-published an ebook and marketed it through Amazon.com for use on the Kindle ebook reader. After spending $40 for my ISBN and hundreds of hours writing the book, I've only made back around $50 - over 2 years. 

3. Writing for magazines. This isn't a bad deal, but it is still hit and miss on the income stream. The best deal that I've gotten was back in 1997 when I wrote a two sentence suggestion to Better Homes and Gardens (25 words) and was paid $2 per word. With the current economic crisis, many publishers are going out of business, but before they do, they eliminate any extra costs, including freelancers. This is happening throughout Santa Barbara.

4. Photography for magazines/newspapers. I have won awards with my photography, so this isn't too bad a deal. However, the trick is to keep updating the camera equipment. When I started promoting digital photography, a 2MP camera was the standard. Now, most publishers will not accept less than a 12MP photo.  The new equipment can be very expensive. I stay away from stock photography sites, because nowadays, there is so much competition that publishers can by cover photos for under $10. Compare this to the good old days when that same cover photo could go for $2,000.

After all of this searching, there seems to be only 2 areas of low investment and high profitability that I've found to be tried and true that are almost turnkey businesses: Ebay and selling handmade jewelry in the local Santa Barbara high-end boutiques. I hope this helps my readers save some money as you start looking for additional income streams in these challenging economic times. 

Switching to a Mac

In late April, I switched from being a lifelong PC user to being a Mac user so that I could be more efficient for my day job. Mac computers are very easy to use, and in many ways they are far superior to any Windows based system. 

1. The start up menu pops up within 15 seconds. This is a lifesaver when I'm on a deadline.

2. Most of the software that comes with a Mac is software that I actually need. New Macs come with a program called I Life which offers photo software, basic text software, video software, and Itunes. The only program that the computer came with that I don't use is Garage Band. I suppose I would use it if I was a music composer, but at this point, it is just wasted space.

3. For under $100, I was able to purchase IWork - a program that is very similar to Microsoft Office. It includes a spreadsheet program, a more sophisticated word processing program, and a presentation program. I can create a document using these programs and then export it to a PDF, Word, or Excel document.

4. No more worries about computer viruses! No more updates to my antivirus software, because hackers just don't bother creating viruses for Macs. 

My favorite new addition to the computer is the video camera and built in microphone. With this, I am able to talk with my family who are thousands of miles away. I'm going to have a baby any day now, and hope to bring the mac to the hospital with me so that I can do a Skype video call and introduce my new baby to all of my friends and family. More on Skype in a later post.

The main drawback about the Mac vs. the PC is that all of the money that I've spent over the years on Windows based software is now in the trash can. I invested in hundreds of ebooks that I can't open unless I purchase an add on like Windows Vista for the Mac. Also, the Microsoft Office suite that I purchased a couple of years ago will not work, so if I ever want to use a true MS Office app, I'm out of luck. Probably the most annoying thing about the Mac is that the touchpad does not offer two mouse buttons, and the computer doesn't include a mouse. I've invested in a new mouse this week, to bring the functionality back.

Macs are more expensive than PCs. Nowadays, you can get a decent PC for under $500, but to get a decent Mac, plan on spending $2,000. Normally, I would not suggest investing such a large amount of money on a computer, but after my experiences with Mac, I'll never go back to a PC for work. I know people who have had Macs for 10 years, and they say that their computers are just as fast today as they were when they purchased them. I have never heard the same praise for PCs.

What is your experience with Macs vs. PCs?

Money from books

For several years, I've purchased used books from garage, estate, and library sales for a dollar or less. After reading them, rather than allowing them to collect dust or clutter the house, I sell them on Ebay, Half.com, Amazon.com or through my own garage sale. For the books that don't sell, I would send them back to the library as a donation and take the tax deduction at the end of the year. This worked well, but I found that my book collection was building up in boxes while the books were waiting for new owners. At Ebay, Half.com, and Amazon.com, I would need to wait until someone contacted me to buy the books.

Last week, I found a new site called http://www.cash4books.net/. It is as easy to use as Amazon.com and Ebay. Simply register for free, enter the ISBN (number found on the back of the book), and see if there is a buyer for the book. If there is, you will see how much the company is willing to pay. Just affix the free postage label and pop it in the mail. I made $23 in around 25 minutes by sorting through all of my books. They will not take all of your books. In 7 out of 8 cases, my books were too old to take, but the process was so easy I was able to enter in over 100 ISBNs within 25 minutes to see the ones that they would take.

On all of these sites, your books should be in good condition so while reading them, do not fold over pages or overtax the spine of the books.

Local Property Management companies

This week, I contacted several property management companies about renting out my 2 bedroom 2 1/2 bath townhome. Their listing fees and services fluctuated dramatically.

The least expensive property manager charged 6% per month of the rental charges, but he was a crotchedy old guy who was trying to drive the rental price down dramatically. With his negativity on the phone I could just imagine how he would be with prospective renters, so I declined his services. I'll leave his name off this list to avoid any liabilities.

We also contacted Sierra Property Management. They took a look at the place and said that they would charge 10% and recommended that we reduce the price for a quick rental.

The best deal that we found was with Town 'N Country Property Management. They charge a 7% fee. They are a full service firm that will manage all maintenance, finances, and screen candidates for the monthly fee. The person that I dealt with was amazingly friendly and competent and she spend a full hour with us touring the property. She said that what we were asking for was fair for the property. Since we aren't in a huge rush to rent it out, we are starting at the full price, and if it doesn't rent out by the time the baby comes, (we need more room) we'll drop the price.

This exercise drives home the point that any time you search for a service or a commodity, be sure to get 3 quotes and then follow your gut. The least expensive option is not always the best one, but neither is the most expensive option.

This weeks Ad Circulars

If you like meat, this is the grocery week for you. The stores realize that you will be having guests over this holiday weekend, and have chosen large cuts of meat so that you can feed your extended family. If you are only feeding your immediate family, buy these meats anyway. You will be able to eat for a week - as Julia Child said, "Feasting on Remains."

Albertsons

American Leg of Lamb, $3.99lb.
Cook this whole covered in rosemary harvested from your yard or 'borrow' some from your walk anywhere. It practically grows wild. Add mustard, salt and pepper and roast. With the leftovers, you can make a delicious curry.

Strawberries - 99 cents per pound. (strawberry shortcake or angel food cake for your guests?)

Split chicken breasts - 99 cents per pound. Stock up.

Nabisco crackers - buy one get one free.

Philadelphia cream cheese, 10 for $10 (how about strawberry cheesecake?)

Ralphs

Beef Rib Roast (prime rib dinner) - $3.47 lb.

Farmer John Full Ham (ham for Easter, ham and eggs for the following breakfasts, and use the bone for split pea soup.) 77 cents per pound

Green Beans - 88 cents per pound

Onions - 2 lbs. for $1

Radio Shack
In Sunday's circular I noticed a small ad about their trade in program for used electronics. I piled old digital cameras and a laptop into my car and drove to the local store. Even though the items worked, 2 out of three of them were too old so they wouldn't take them. On the third item - a 7 megapixel camera, they would be happy to take it for $17. This was a $125 camera last year and it still works well. I decided to pass on the deals. I compared selling these items on Ebay and found that I could get 300% to 400% more for the camera and that I could easily sell the items that Radio Shack turned away. Recommendation? Skip the trip to Radio Shack until you are ready to purchase items. Post your items on Ebay and then upgrade your electronics with your earnings.

Happy Easter everyone!

Grocery circular savings this week

Here are my favorite sales this week. For the most savings on the grocery bill, visit all three stores.

Ralphs

Ralphs Gallon Milk - $1.99
Large Haas Avocados - 68 cents each
Roma tomatoes - 88 cents per pound
Boneless chuck steak or roast - $2.99lb.
Celery - 99 cents each
Ralphs frozen vegetables - 89 cents for 14 to 16 oz packages
Philadelphia brick cream cheese - 10 for $10

Vons

Ocean Spray cranberry cocktail drink - $1.99
Lucerne butter - 99 cents for 16oz with coupon
Life or Cap'n Crunch - 99 cents with coupon
Foster Farms whole chicken - 77 cents per pound
80% lean ground beef - $1.67lb.
Boneless pork sirloin chops - $1.77lb.
Cross Rib Roast - $1.97 lb.
Broccoli - 88 cents per pound
3 lb. apple bags - $1.99 each

Albertsons

Pork spareribs 99 cents per pound
Lobster tails - $3.99 each
Large mangos 3 for 99 cents
Mini seedless watermelon - $1.99 each
Kiwi - 3 for 99 cents
Texas grapefruit - 69 cents each

Fun Pregnancy website

Today, I stumbled on http://www.whattoexpect.com/. This site is from the folks who write the series, What to expect when you are expecting and What to expect in the first year. The books are so trusted that my OB/GYN and insurance company sent me free copies as a congratulations gift. On the website, there is a great pregnancy ticker. It looks like this.

Get your free online pregnancy calendar from WhatToExpect.com



As you can see, I'm 26 weeks, 1 day along and have 97 days until the due date. It can be customized for whether you are having a boy or girl, or whether you don't know yet. Besides the cute bells and whistles, there are plenty of blogs, articles, and coupons to make this website a first stop when I need to choose a baby name, have concerns about new symptoms, or just want to daydream about when I get to hold the new delivery in my arms. If you know someone who is pregnant, be sure to share this website with them.