Want to make money? Rent out your textbooks!

Recently, I've been really interested in ways to make extra money.

Not by going to my job... although, clearly that's the most stable way to create an income.

But people who make a living off their blog, or through an online shop, or writing for fun?

Well, that inspires me.

However, people that take their things that they are no longer using... 

dust them off, sell them & make money?

Well, that motivates me.

I've been going through all my things. Ask Sean... this place is a wreck.

But my purpose is to figure out what we don't use, want, or need and to sell it.

I have this great plan to pay off debt [student loans, anyone?] by purging our house.

I've been searching Google about where/how to sell certain things.

For instance, is Ebay or Amazon better? What about Craigslist? 

How should we sell DVDs, CDs and books?

Something I've come across in all my searching is Rentback.com.

It's affiliated with Campus Book Rentals which rents out text books to college students. 

But their rentback program, allows all of us who didn't understand the option of renting books, way back in the day, to now rent out the textbooks we previously bought, currently own, and definitely don't use.

Um, perfect?!

I've literally found so many things about this program that I'm falling for.

For example: 

- the company donates a portion of every book rented to Operation Smile.

- their rent back program gives people the opportunity to make 2-4 times more money by renting their books over and over again... compared to the amount made by selling the book once.

- it's totally free to ship all your textbooks to their warehouse.

- when someone rents your book and it's time to get paid, they'll pay you via Paypal.
- you're compensated for the entire rental amount (minus what it costs the warehouse to ship your book to the person renting your book).
- if you become overwhelmed with guilt about giving up your book (like I usually do) you can always get your books back.

But for now:

- it helps make space on my bookshelves for books that I enjoy. 

- it allows me to make money each and every time someone rents my books... again & again & again.

So, wait... I'm helping someone by offering them a textbook at a lower cost AND I'm making money?

This sounds meant to be.

I'm in so much debt because of all these college textbooks...

(and the student loans that accompanied them).

I think it's about time I put these books to work.