Getting rid of clutter around your house can be one of the most annoying things to do. I know from experience that sometimes you just want to dump it to Goodwill or some other charity rather than trying to get anything for your stuff. However, some of the stuff in your house can be worth something.

There’s a rather new service out there called Listia that allows you to auction your stuff for free. In return, you can get points that can be used toward other things. So, in truth, it is kind of like eBay but you don’t have to send anyone any money and you can still get rid of things in your house that you may think is worthless.

The best part of the site is that there are plenty of auctions on the site right now that are offering items that are actually in high demand. How about an Amazon Kindle? Those sseem to be extremely popular and Chrismtas is just around the corner. You could bid on a Kindle with points that you get from “selling” things that you just have laying around your house that you no longer use.

One thing that I really enjoy about the site is that there are no fees, unlike eBay. Just a month or so ago, I decided tto try to sell a lot of things on eBay to raise some money to pay for a new iPod. The fees totaled to around $50 just to sell about $275 worth of stuff.

So, check it out if you’re looking for free stuff online or are a fan of free stuff in general.

With the holidays just around the corner, coming up with extra cash can be a bit difficult. Some people turn to things like payday loans to get extra money, but that isn’t such a great idea when finances are tight.

So, here are five ways that you CAN make a bit of money throughout the holidays.

1) This is probably the most important, get a job. It doesn’t have to be a permanent job, there are plenty of places that are hiring just for the holidays right now. Temporary work may be the best kind that you can find right now.

2) Clear out your closet and sell that junk! You can make some extra money by selling your stuff on eBay or through a garage sale. I was recently able to raise $300 by selling some of my more useless junk on eBay. I was able to sell an old iPod that was broken for $40…you would be surprised as to what some things can sell for.

3) Work extra hours if you are able to. Not everyone has the option to work overtime anymore, but if you do time and a half is not something to turn down. I’m sure that there are lots of people who have the ability to work overtime and are taking the time.

4) Spend less than you earn. This is more of a tip as to have more money during the holiday season. This would probably be a better tip for earlier in the year if you were trying to save up for the holidays. However, if simply don’t overexert yourself financially then you would have plenty of money left over for the holidays.

5) Eating in versus eating out. Again, this is just another tip to help you save money, but it is still important to remember how much money you can save if you eat in rather than eating out.

Well, it appears as though Chris’s eBay issue has been resolved…after only 7 weeks of not being able to log into his account.

So, what did it take to finally get into the account? It appears as though the secret was to call eBay and tell them that he wanted to cancel the account. Last week he came to the decision to sell everything on my account and that he should just go ahead and cancel his.

He started listing things on my eBay account on Monday. He called Monday afternoon and told them to cancel his account. At that time they told him that he had 180 days to change his mind. Today, Wednesday, Chris tried to log into my account and typed in his username and password by mistake…he was able to finally log in.

As strange as it is, everything is working fine now. Other than having a nearly two month old backlog of feedback to leave and messages to respond to.

Of course, the first thing he did was update his credit card information to try to make sure that something like that doesn’t happen again, or at least to reduce the chances of something like that happening again.

Update: Chris is on the phone right now with eBay and it turns out that no one ever actually put a note on his account to cancel the account. There is some strange kind of breakdown in communication over at eBay.

I don’t understand how eBay customer service is supposed to correct anything if they don’t talk to each other, or at least leave little notes on the accounts of users to let other customer support people know what the issue is with the customer.

Gah.

Okay, so as some of you may know, we have been having some serious issues logging into Chris’ E-Bay Account. So far whenever we go to log in to his account it says

“Welcome Half.com member. Please read important information below:

Because of the closer alignment between Half.com and eBay, you will need to review and accept the eBay User Agreement before continuing to use Half.com and eBay. Just click the Continue button and complete a couple of steps, and you’ll be able to bid and buy on eBay and Half.com.”

It then goes on to ask for  a credit card number to register with the site. This has been happening ever since our bank canceled our previous debit card due to fraudulent purchases happening with the card numbers with other bank customers.

Since this issue began, Chris has tried to contact Ebay, staying on the phone for HOURS at a time trying to fix the situation. He also has called many times to try to resolve the situation.

The problem arises because Chris has almost $200 in Ebay fees to pay (Which he is MORE THAN WILLING to pay), but he is simply not allowed to because he cannot log into his Ebay account. When he is on the phone with the company, they tell him over and over to log in to his account and pay from there.

Chris has been getting emails from the billing department at Ebay saying that if he does not pay that his account will not only be closed but they will also send the bill to collections. COLLECTIONS for a bill that he wants to pay them and has contacted them repeatedly to do.

This entire situation has gotten completely out of hand. Ebay has failed us and if this goes to collections, I don’t know what we’re going to do because a ding like that on his credit report is going to look bad for both of us.

It looks like GM has found a way to sell some of its cars that may not have been able to be sold otherwise. Through a program with Ebay, GM in California only at this time, will begin selling new cars through the auction site.

The sale is set to start tomorrow on the site and GM is hoping to drum up some business.

Automobiles on the site will not be set up like an auction. They will be set up at buy it now fixed pricing with a “Submit Best Offer” button attached. You can submit your best offer for the car and the dealer can either choose to accept or reject it.

While the program is only for California buyers right now, it could spread nationwide as early as September if it is a successful venture for the company.

I think that this could be a good thing for buyers who are looking for a GM car. After all, it takes a lot of the pressure of going into a dealership and haggling away. Some people find haggling prices to be fun, I find it to be stressful and embarrassing. This way you can tell the dealership what you are willing to pay for the car and they can either accept your offer or not. I prefer this to having to hear a lengthy sales pitch about a car that I don’t want (this happened when I walked into a dealership wanting to ask about a smaller car and the salesman tried and tried to upsell me to the larger sedan. I want a smaller car because I don’t like large cars).

Of the GM brands left standing, Cadalliac will not be participating in the program. I suppose they find these cars to bee too valuable to go onto ebay? Buick will be participating, though. And even though it was supposed to die along with the “old” GM, Pontiac cars that are left overs will also be joining in on the program.

Who could forget the classic iPod commercials? While it seems like a long time ago, it was just 5 years or so ago where you would see the shadowed people dancing against the colorful backgrounds. That was the beginning of the iPod trend.

Apple had come out with a new and revolutionary product that became the number one item on most wishlists. Now, just a few years later, it is looking like the reign of the iPod at the top of the portable music player is coming to an end.

At the time the iPod came out, many people bought them because it was so much easier than the bulky cd players and as more people got them, they became trendy to own. I actually still currently have the fourth generation iPod and it stays connected to the dock in my car (because having an iPod adapter in the car is just the norm at this point).

However, as time went on, more phones were able to do the same things that the iPod did and the iPod found itself trying to keep up with phones instead of the other way around. I can name a handful of things that the iPhone can do that the iPod can’t and you can buy a used iPhone on ebay and use a lot of the features without even having a cellular connection (at least that’s what I’ve been told). Many other cell phones are able to double as music players now too. While my iPod is connected to the car, i have been using Pandora on my cell phone instead at times.

In the future, Apple will likely focus more on the iTouch than the iPod as far as portable music players go. At the same time, it would be  nice to see some features that are on the iPhone that aren’t on the iPod touch. Things like a camera and a microphone would be nice. This seems to be easily implemented if Apple would just use the iPhone, but took out the cellular chipset. Then again, I don’t know too much about how chipsets are configured on the devices.

The good news is that Apple’s technology doesn’t seem to be losing demand and won’t be anytime in the near future thanks to the Macbooks and iPhones.

“Skype is a great stand-alone business with strong fundamentals and accelerating momentum,” said eBay CEO John Donahoe. “But it’s clear that Skype has limited synergies with eBay and PayPal. We believe operating Skype as a stand-alone publicly traded company is the best path for maximizing its potential. This will give Skype the focus and resources required to continue its growth and effectively compete in online voice and video communications. In addition, separating Skype will allow eBay to focus entirely on our two core growth engines—e-commerce and online payments—and deliver long-term value to our stockholders.”

Ebay paid $2.6 billion for Skype in 2005, but has unsuccessfully implemented the service into it’s main marketplace business. Unlike PayPal, Ebay just missed the target on Skype. Now, it can offer more to eBay as a separate entity than part of the company.

PayPal’s expansion is a welcomed change considering eBay’s stock drop of 80% since 2004.

Speaking Wednesday during a day of briefings for analysts, PayPal President Scott Thompson said the service should double in size in the next three years, processing between $100 billion and $120 billion in annual payments by 2011.

EBay shares jumped 39 cents, 3.6 percent, to $11.49 in afternoon trading.

PayPal, which has 70 million active user accounts, processed $60 billion in transactions in 2008. It runs local sites in 17 languages and accepts 19 currencies for transactions.

Source

Ever wanted a Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities beach towel? Well, you can get one here, for just over $100 (with a few hours left at the time of this posting, of course).

Or how about a tote bag? You can “buy it now” for only $500!!! Link to the tote bag

Well, with the towel and the tote bag, you HAVE to complete your beach ensemble with this beach chair!

Hmm, I’m sure you could also find some great drug company products on ebay too. After all, those should also be considered collectibles.

The Amazon Kindle is an electronic book reader. You can download book directly to it and minimize your entire collection down to a small electronic device.

I don’t personally see the appeal of the Kindle. Especially since resale on eBay is around the same price (and exceeding) most entry-level laptops. I don’t need to understand the appeal for it to be an amazing product though. To an avid book reader, the Kindle may be the best thing imaginable, like to a music lover, the iPod was a God-send.

Frugality means spending smarter and becoming creative with the ways you shop. When utilizing all resources available, dollars can be stretched further and wallets have a bit more cushion.

The first step to frugal (and green) living can be summed up in an old and simple clich?: ?Waste not, want not.? Recycling not only can benefit your bottom line, it benefits the planet. Several different brands of lunch meat are packaged in reusable plastic containers. In my household, we now reuse these containers for leftovers. This way we don?t have to buy Rubbermaid or Ziploc containers. The other great part about these containers is they feature a plastic recycling number on the bottom so when the container has served its purpose, it can be recycled at a proper facility.

Recycling aluminum cans may not offer a large amount of money per pound (around $0.77) but something is better than nothing. Over three months, I can accumulate enough for around $20. That is $20 I would not have otherwise had. Some states offer cash back from deposits on glass bottles.

On the side of greener living, saving energy can save you money. Change the light bulbs to CFL?s. They use a quarter of the energy a regular light bulb does. Also, in the warm summer months, try to use a microwave or toaster oven in place of the regular oven, especially during the heat of the day. The heat from the oven can raise the temperature of the house by 2-5 degrees, making your air conditioner work harder.

Rising food costs add to the strain on our wallets. Every nightly news cast seems to mention that inflation is up and food costs are through the roof. The easiest way to stretch a dollar at the grocery store is coupons. The Sunday news paper is a great place to get plenty of coupons, but it is not the only place to find the discounts. There are now ample online resources for coupons (ex. http://couponmom.com/ ). After all that coupon clipping, to get the most out of the coupons, try to find a grocery store that doubles coupons (and find out up to how much they double them). Some grocery stores even triple coupons on certain days, which can lead to serious savings on items you may have purchased anyway.

Another tip that has personally helped me save hundreds of dollars: Purchasing second hand items does not mean that it has to look like second hand items. EBay is a great resource for used items (many in excellent, very good used condition, or even new but without tags). I recently purchased a pair of $70 jeans on eBay for $10 (shipping included). They were never worn, but were missing tags. As far as clothes shopping goes, make sure you know your measurements so you get clothes that fit. Getting such a great deal on clothes online isn?t a rare occurrence. I purchased a second pair less than a week later for $8 shipped. I understand that eBay isn?t for everyone. If that is the case, then local thrift stores also offer second hand clothes for significant discounts. Most weekends, no matter where you live, yard and garage sales can be found and deals are everywhere. Regardless of which option is for you, remember, you will have to dig around a bit for a great deal.

I believe the key to living frugally is cutting costs. Over time, the pennies and dollars you save add up and can help with things you are saving for. With a little practice anyone can become affluent in frugality.

This comes after eBay announced its layoffs. Both online companies are seeing less and less profits and more decline in their stock prices.

Sometimes companies have to rely on firing people rather than finding ways to reduce spending or increase marketing to increase profits. Hmm.

30 year old Joanne Smith from Chicago outbid 7 others to get the winning bid of a whopping $1.75 on eBay. However she will be responsible for back taxes and some serious clean up to the yard and house. She only bid on the house hoping to be able to sell it for a profit.

Saginaw, Mich. has been hit very hard by financial trouble and the town has a pretty high crime rate. City-data.com has Saginaw’s crime rate index at 1082.3; the national average is 320.9. And the population has been declining for the last decade.

The latest wave of new fees by Ebay gives ample reasons to list with greatly lower listing fees and the new 30-day listing features which where previously only available to Ebay Store owners, however it comes with a range of final value fees that differ by category. Before FFV where pretty much standard across all categories except autos now they differ “GREATLY” depending on your listing category. Click here for the new listing fees.

With sellers constantly having to come up with ways to save on listing fees and FFV fees, PayPal fees and etc we are left with fewer and fewer options as our costs rise. I and several other Power Sellers are experimenting with listing our items in different categories than what they actually are. Because of this I wouldn’t be surprised if the category “Computers & Networking” has a spike in listing because that category carries the lowest FFV, almost half of every other category, as long as you target your keywords right you should reduce your fees without harm to your over sales volume.

Who can really blame people for leaving? After all, they are providing the same service (which doesn’t cost them any more than it did a year ago) at a higher price. Ebay says that the changes in fee structure was made to encourage sellers to list more items. They cut the fees for listing, but raised the ending commissions on a completed auction ending lower than $1000 or a fixed price sale under $100.

What it seems like eBay has successfully done is allow “diamond power sellers” to flood the market. One of the largest “diamond power sellers” is Buy.com. There is speculation that because Buy.com has so many fixed price auctions on eBay, they are being charged nothing or next to nothing for these auctions.

To appease disgruntled sellers, starting September 16, eBay says they will begin allowing sellers (in the U.S.) to list an unlimited number of identical items for a month at a time for $0.35.

Will this really make people happy? Well perhaps for some, but I don’t list unlimited identical items…ever. I occasionally list a few things. There have been times after fees from eBay and PayPal, I could have gotten more for it at a thrift shop. With the fee changes for auctions, sometimes it’s just not practical to sell things auction-style, and I find that buyers don’t always like paying what you’re asking in a fixed-price auction.