Turn your old media into cash... or something different

Who doesn't have a bookcase filled with books, CDs, DVDs or video games? Once we've read it, listened to it, watched it, or played it, we often never look at these items again. But most of us continue to buy new items. The environmental impact can be staggering. The Green Press Initiative claims that:

Over the past 3 years, the U.S. book publishing industry has consumed an average of approximately 20 million trees per year to print books sold in the U.S.

Regarding CDs and DVDs, the EPA details the life cycle of these items and the energy intensive process to create, distribute, and recycle them. Aluminum, polycarbonate, and gold are just a few of the resources required to make them.

We also know that buying these items isn't cheap. Some books can easily cost over $20 and some DVD seasons sets can cost as much as $50 or more! So what can you do about it?

1. Turn unwanted media into cash. Amazon sells just about everything, and so can you. Using Amazon's extensive data of media information, selling is as easy as listing items using the barcode, waiting for people to buy, and shipping. Check out Amazon.com's "Sell Your Stuff" page.
2. Turn unwanted media into different media. Swaptree allows you to easily list unwanted media, specify items that you want, and it finds matches with people across the country to make a swap. Just like Amazon, it's easy to list items using barcodes or ISBNs. You just pay shipping (usually around $2 per item).
   
3. Rent instead of owning. Most everyone has heard of Netflix or BlockbusterOnline. How about BookSwim to rent books? Or what about BooksFree?
   

I've had great success with these sites. I sold a ton of media on Amazon. There are no fees to list items, and buyers automatically pay for shipping. It's generally easier than eBay since it allows you to take advantage of information in their databases. Just by entering a barcode, Amazon almost always finds the basic information about the item and a picture. Swaptree is also fantastic. All items are rated according to their condition, so you know what you're getting. I intially listed only a few items, yet I instantly recieved matches. The site allows you to approve/disapprove each match. I recently swapped a DVD someone gave me for a DVD set that sells for $40. And I love Netflix. All of the envelopes concern me, but they are beginning to offer streaming movies over the internet. No waste at all! There are many more sites out there, just do a Google search. Always be aware of the type of site... buying/selling, swapping, or renting.

This idea may seem like one small drop in the bucket, but each little action can add up to something profound.

Image: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Bookcase.jpg