As the world goes more and more digital, we are experiencing growth in some new businesses that can save us money.
In the last decade we have seen enterprises like Amazon and eBay grow into mammoth organizations, providing us discounted prices on goods we used to obtain through department stores. With the emergence of devices like the Nook and the Kindle, many readers now store their literature digitally and are able to purchase the ebook version of their favorite books at deep discounts.
The trend took awhile to catch on, but eventually we saw the closure of Borders ā a store where I enjoyed buying music as well as books. While I very much appreciate the convenience and enhanced quality of life that the digital world has brought us, when it comes to books, I enjoy the good old printed text.
Not too long ago, I had a conversation with the Dean of our university library. She is forward-thinking and very much in tune with the evolution of media. Her prediction was that by the end of this decade, libraries as we know them today would be extinct. I was depressed for days after that conversation. But, go to the library and you can see an increase in computers and a selection of digital media that has been added to the texts. At the university, we have an online library that provides access to thousands of articles instantly, so the research conducted by our students is only clicks away. Efficient, yes, but it isnāt like the old days when we had to search the library āstacksā for printed versions of the articles.
Well, just when I thought texts were extinct, I found a new store in the Algonquin Commons – Half Price Books. It is located in the same building where Borders was previously. Half Price Books buys and sells books, CDs, videos, games, game consoles, and eReaders. This secondhand market provides access to used, as well as new, products at deeply discounted prices. You can take your used media to them and they will offer you a price based on the condition of the item and their assessment of its demand. If you like their offer, they will pay you in cash.
But before you leave the store, you just might find that book you have been looking for. For those of you who are educators or librarians, they provide an additional 10 percent discount off the already reduced price in the store. Half Price Books also has a website where you can buy online from a network of providers, similar to Amazon. Just go to www.hpb.com/117.html for the Algonquin store information and access to the online resources.
One additional feature that I found for my students is Half Price Books HBP Marketplace. Under this section of the website, students can acquire their textbooks for use in class. I couldnāt believe it when I found the text I currently use in one of my managerial accounting courses. The price of the text new from the publisher is over $100. At the HBP Marketplace, the price was $5.81 for a text labeled āin very good condition.ā If you are an avid reader, you have to visit Half Price Books. Itās a gold mine.
ā¢ Send your questions and ideas to: Sun Day, Frugal Forum Column, P.O. Box 7505, Algonquin, IL 60102, or, by email to: thefrugalforum@gmail.com
