Archives for March 2010

Federal Family and Medical Leave Act: Know Your Rights

March 18, 2010 By Jonathan Ping 20 Comments

Dealing with a serious illness in the family is a very stressful event. I did not really understand the Federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) until recently, and I think everyone should be familiar with it. This law helps ensure that no worker is forced to choose between a job and his or her health or family’s needs.

In general, if you work for a business with 50 or more employees and have worked with their for at least a year, then the FMLA requires them to allow you up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave within a 12-month period in the following situations:

to care for a new child, whether for the birth of a son or daughter, or for the adoption or placement of a child in foster care;
to care for a seriously-ill family member (spouse, child or parent);
to recover from a worker’s own serious illness;
to care for an injured servicemember in the family; or
to address qualifying exigencies arising out of a family member’s deployment.

This is in addition to whatever paid leave benefits your workplace may offer.

Individual states have enacted laws that reduce the minimum business size and also expand the definition of eligible family members, for example to include domestic partners or grandparents. The Wikipedia FMLA page offers a good summary.

Many employers will not volunteer this information to you, as it often puts them in uncomfortable and costly positions due to having to find temporary replacements and also holding your job for you. They may even put up resistance to it. Definitely read up on this law and know your rights.

If you feel you have experienced a violation of the Family and Medical Leave Act, you can file a complaint with the Department of Labor. Contacting a lawyer who works in that area would also be wise, especially if you seek damages.

What about health insurance benefits during unpaid leave?
Under the FMLA, an employer must maintain the employee’s existing level of coverage (including family or dependent coverage) under a group health plan during the period of FMLA leave, provided the employee pays his or her share of the premiums.

More reading
U.S. Department of Labor
Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 Fact Sheet
National Partnership for Women & Families

Filed Under: Career

Last updated: March 18, 2010

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Entrepreneur Group Interview: Etsy.com Shop Sellers

March 17, 2010 By Jonathan Ping 16 Comments

A couple weeks ago, I was looking to interview a reader who sells on the handmade online marketplace, Etsy.com. I was surprised to get over 30 inquiries, and so I made up a short questionnaire to help better understand what it’s like to sell goods on the site. 16 shopowners responded, with folks selling everything from soap to jewelry to vintage fabric.

Here are my questions and a compilation of all their responses.

How did you get started with Etsy? When?
There was a wide range of dates given, the earliest being April 2006 and the most recent being September 2009 (The site first launched in June 2005). Most respondents indicated that they were already active in their craft area beforehand, and Etsy simply offered them a new (and often better) way to sell their goods. Competitor sites that were mentioned include eBay, Artfire, and JustBeads.

Primarily, people learned about Etsy via word-of-mouth from discussion forums, other crafters, or friends. A couple of folks mentioned magazine articles.

What is your top-selling item? Why do you think it is so popular?
I asked this because I wanted to see a good representation of popular items. Positive features mentioned included that their item appealed to a broad crowd, was priced fairly, and made a great gift idea. Below is one item from each seller, along with a link to their store (in order of e-mail response). Many sellers sell one-of-a-kind items, so the item may be sold, but you can look around for similar items. Item prices range from $2 up to around $40. I love the variety!

Sterling silver chain bracelet, Pandora style [susansheehan]
Scrabble-style Glass Pendant DIY Kit [AnnieHowes]
“Abandoned Fender Electric Piano” photo print [GatoRanch]
Garnet Briolette Oval Lace Earrings [prettycheap]
Cheerful and Fearless Giclee Print [111collagedesign]
Toddler Aprons [EMCreativeDesigns]
Happily Ever After Gift Tags [seasonaldelights]
Linked Loops Petite Earrings [unkamengifts]
Vintage white posies [papertales]
Custom Map Pendants [XOHandworks]
Natural Lavender Soap with Shea Butter & Oatmeal [krugsecologic]
Crubbly the Nightmare Snatcher journal [Spiderbite]
[BendinWire] Violet Niobium Spiral Ear Cuff
Custom portrait work [Lavatican]
Swarovski Crystal Red Ruby Briolette Set [pinkymonkey]
Cable Knit Coffee Cozy [waysideviolet]

What is your revenue per month?

I promised to only share this information in aggregate. But my first impression was – Wow! Some people making serious money. Of course, at the other end, there are many people who are just starting out or are just treating it as a hobby. I forgot to ask if this was gross or net, but the fees are at most 10% of the gross, so it’s still very impressive.

Do you think the Etsy fee structure is fair? (20 cents non-refundable listing fee + 3.5% flat of each sale.) What would you do to improve it, or how does it change your behavior?
Interestingly, every single respondent felt that the fee structure was at least fair and reasonable. The fee can be significant, especially if you realize that it does not include PayPal transaction fees of 2.9% + 30 cents. You will notice that most items are at least $2, otherwise the Etsy/PayPal fees would kill all chance of profit.

Of course, people who really don’t like the price structure aren’t going to be Etsy sellers. However, many people noted that the fees were much cheaper than eBay. Also, selling items through a retail “brick and mortar” store or art gallery usually means giving up 30-50% of the retail price.

* Special Note: Re-listing Items
One common theme that I didn’t know about is the concept of “listing” and “re-listing”. Apparently, the search results on the Etsy site are sorted by how recently you listed the item. Therefore, there is pressure to “re-list” items regularly so that your stuff shows up higher on search results and brings more exposure. If you have 10 of one item, it is better to re-list a single item over and over as they sell. Others complain that re-listing sometimes doesn’t work properly, with items either taking a very long time to show up, or a bunch of items all showing up at once.

Is this a hobby, part-time job, or full-time job?
Most folks were split between hobbyists (sales are erratic and not required to live on) and folks who treat it as a full-time job. Most full-timers said that Etsy was a big part of their income as artisans, but not the only part.

— End of interview questions —

Most shopowners seemed very happy to talk about their products and experiences. I think part of this is that this is a labor of love that you have to really want to get into. It’s not like being a receptionist where you’re just working so that you can eat while doing your passion. This probably is your passion.

In general, there were a lot of common views with entrepreneurs from around the world. Etsy shop owners love that they see a direct relationship between hard work and results, unlike some 9-5 jobs. Customer service is important. It can take a long time to build up sales and a brand, but many see improvement each month. Networking with other Etsy sellers is very helpful.

A more specific tip would be that taking good pictures is very important. Got more questions? Leave a comment! I will let the sellers know about this post.

Filed Under: Entrepreneurial

Last updated: August 9, 2018

Sprint Cellular Discounts for Credit Union Members

March 15, 2010 By Jonathan Ping 41 Comments

I was browsing my local credit union’s website when I saw a banner for discounts on Sprint discount service at CUsaver.com. It advertises:

10-15% off wireless plans
Waived activation and upgrade fees

You can view the discounted plans and phones on the site, which appear to be available to members of any credit union. It would be worth a try so see if the discount may be stackable with other discounts. To get the discounts, you must either call them or enter your phone number and they’ll call you back.

This seems like a great alternative if you can’t get in on a student or employee discount from a major cell carrier.

Filed Under: Deals & Offers, Frugal Living

Last updated: August 19, 2015

Free Equifax Credit Score Card

March 11, 2010 By Jonathan Ping 10 Comments

Don’t get too excited. Equifax is offering a free “Credit Score Card“, which in reality just gives you a range of what your credit score is. And the score is from their “Equifax Risk Score” system, not a FICO score. (You can still get 30% off a real FICO score with a current my FICO coupon code.) The Equifax Risk Score does range from 280-850, which basically the same as FICO from 300 to 850.

Well, it’s free and it’s from Equifax which has all my personal information anyway, so what the heck. Here are my results:

Key Factor(s) Affecting Your Score:
Because your credit score is in the highest range, you may qualify for some of the lowest interest rates and offers from lenders. Below are the top factors that may be preventing you from achieving an even higher credit score.

There is insufficient information, or no account history, for one or more types of accounts: for example, auto loans, mortgage loans, personal loans or credit cards.

The proportion of retail accounts, such as department store cards, compared to all of the credit accounts in your credit file.

It still seems stupid that to get a “perfect” credit score of 850, I’ll need to add an auto loan, a personal loan, and a department store card. I’ll hopefully never have any one of those, and I’m betting I can still get just about any loan out there. Nobody needs perfect credit.

Filed Under: Credit Cards

Last updated: October 15, 2011

New PineCone Research Application Link (Paid Surveys)

March 11, 2010 By Jonathan Ping 4 Comments

Here is an updated application link at Pinecone Research, which is again accepting new members. (May expire at any time, so apply now if you’re interested!) Looks open to all, but only one person per household can sign up. Link via Realm of Prosperity.

PineCone Research remains one of the better paying and reliable survey companies, with a payout of $3 (check or PayPal) for each 15-minute online survey. The hardest part is getting accepted, as they only take applications intermittently. Some users have reported an increase in unpaid “weed-out” surveys, while others seem to remain happy. I got kicked out a while ago for missing some surveys when I moved, so I’m afraid I can’t provide any comment.

The four survey sites that I have been most active with nowadays are NFO MySurvey, Opinion Outpost, BzzAgent, and SurveySavvy. I like it them because they consistently offer me paid survey opportunities, they pay out reliably (important!), and they don’t mind if I don’t do every single survey offered (unlike Pinecone which does).

I shared my thoughts on Pinecone and paid surveys in general here. I call them Bored Money – not terribly efficient but you can do it at your leisure and occasionally get to try some neat things like shampoo, dog food, new soda flavors, and once even got a new $100 Sonicare toothbrush to keep.

Filed Under: Bored Money

Last updated: February 9, 2017

PSA: Monoprice.com Possibly Hacked; Credit Card Data Stolen?

March 11, 2010 By Jonathan Ping 24 Comments

Although relatively new, Monoprice.com has quickly become a very popular place to buy cheap but high quality audio/video cables and adapters online. I recommended shopping there if you’re trying to connect your laptop to your TV (and maybe drop your cable subscription?). I’ve probably bought from them five times in the last year, and I don’t even shop online that much.

However, if you bought anything from them recently, I would check your credit cards for any fraudulent charges. Monoprice shut down their site today and placed this message up:

A few of our customers recently reported to us that information from credit cards they used on the Monoprice website had been misused. We promptly began an investigation with the help of expert computer forensic investigators to determine if any card data had been stolen from our computers.

To date, the investigators have found no evidence that card information has been stolen from Monoprice’s computer network. As a precaution to ensure that our customers’ information is not at risk, we have taken our website offline temporarily while we and our investigators complete the audit of our computer network.

Filed Under: General

Last updated: March 11, 2010

E-File Your Federal Tax Return Extension For Free

March 10, 2010 By Jonathan Ping 7 Comments

April 15th is only a month away, and you haven’t started your taxes yet. Time to file an extension! The IRS automatically grants a 6-month extension to anyone who asks. Asking a search engine will often direct you towards websites like FileLater.com that charge upwards of $20 to file the form, but here are two ways that anybody can e-File for free. Apparently, the only thing keeping these sites in business is lack of education!

Method #1: TaxACT
This is how I did my extension last year. Just sign up with TaxACT and e-file your extension for free through them. It’s quick. It’s easy.

You don’t even need to actually use them to file your taxes later, although TaxACT is also free for federal taxes with e-File included regardless of income, and is only $14.95 for state returns including free e-File. That’s cheaper than TurboTax or TaxCut, although if you’re already familiar with those programs it may be worth the extra bucks to stick with them.

Method #2: Free File Fillable Forms
This one’s a little harder to find, but here are some step-by-step instructions. Go to the Free File Fillable Forms site (say that 5 times fast) and click on “Start Free File Fillable Forms”. Click “Sign-in” on the top left, and create a new account.

After you’re signed in, click on “Continue” and pick your form. Go with 1040. On the top right, you should see an icon with the label “File an Extension”.

This will bring up Form 4868, Application for Automatic Extension of Time to File U.S. Individual Income Tax Return, a long title for a really short form. You’ll need to estimate your total tax liability for 2009. This form only extends the time to file, not the time allowed to pay. Overestimate your tax liability to avoid penalties. Here is how I estimated my tax liability.

You can even request your estimated tax payment to be withdrawn electronically by supplying your bank’s routing and account numbers. For identification purposes, you’ll need your adjusted gross income (AGI) from your 2008 tax return.

Got state income taxes as well? Here is a helpful page on manually requesting state-specific tax extensions.

Filed Under: Taxes

Last updated: January 26, 2012

Links: Free Online University Courses

March 9, 2010 By Jonathan Ping 12 Comments

A collection of links to free educational material online. The amount of information available online is expanding so fast, you can at least explore a new direction without leaving your house.

University-Specific

MIT OpenCourseware – Free lecture notes, exams, and videos from almost all the undergraduate and graduate subjects taught at MIT.
Webcast.Berkeley – Free podcasts and webcasts of University of California Berkeley current and archived courses.
Harvard@Home – Selected lectures and videos.
OpenYale – Access to a selection of introductory courses.
Indian Institutes of Technology – YouTube videos from courses in Engineering.

Collections

AcademicEarth – More lectures from various universities.
YouTube EDU – Includes a variety of content from universities including UCLA, Case Western, and Oklahoma State.
iTunes U – Includes audio/video from universities from around the world, National Public Radio stations, and famous museums. Many of the more popular ones are language courses.

Open Culture.com is a blog about free educational and cultural materials on the web. Here are some highlights (some posts are older):

Filed Under: College & Education

Last updated: February 9, 2017

SellBackYourBook.com Review: TextBook SellBack Scam?

March 8, 2010 By Jonathan Ping 64 Comments

The other site I used when selling back my old textbooks online was and SellBackYourBook.com. All the websites I used did indeed eventually pay me for my books.

Reviews on the Web
I did not spend more than couple minutes on this, but a quick search did not find any claims of non-payment or scam reports on SellBackYourBook.com.

I found two Better Business Bureau listings for this site. One gave No Rating and the other gave an A- rating. SellBackYourBook.com does advertise that it is an BBB Accredited Business, so if you do have issues I would file a complaint.

My Personal Experience
After typing in my ISBN numbers into BigWords.com, SellBackYourBook was the highest bidder for certain textbooks. Although I found their site lacking polish, I went ahead and agreed to their price and terms, and they provided me with a printable packing slip and prepaid shipping label. Here’s part of the email sent to me:

This confirms that your order has been placed with Sell Back Your Book. Please print a copy of your packing slip and include a copy of it in the box with your books. A link to print your packing slip can be found at the bottom of this email. Please mark your order number on the outside of your box so that we can quickly check in your books and pay you (order number is listed below).

It took me a couple of days to get around to going to the post office, and mail it out via USPS Media Mail (formerly known as Book Rate). 20 days later, I received a confirmation email, partial text below. There was no 2nd email confirming payment was sent.

Thank you for your order. We have received your books and payment will be processed with in three business days.

A check was made the same day, and three days later it was in my mailbox for the exact amount the promised me for my books. It was from “Ez Book Recycle Inc.”, for which SellBackYourBook.com is the sourcing arm. In total, 23 days went by from mailing out to receiving the check.

Summary Timeline

Day 1 – Sent out book via USPS Media Mail

Day 20 – Email confirmation of arrival

Day 20 – Check printed and mailed out

Day 23 – Check received successfully

Filed Under: Frugal Living, Reviews

Last updated: August 19, 2012

Valore Books Review: TextBook SellBack Experience

March 7, 2010 By Jonathan Ping 99 Comments

It’s been about a month since I wrote about selling back my old textbooks online. I ended up selling books to two websites, ValoreBooks.com and SellBackYourBook.com. I figured I’d do a quick review of each one, starting with ValoreBooks.

Reviews on the Web
There were some online accusations at RipOffReport and ComplaintsBoard from people who said that ValoreBooks was a scam because they mailed off their books and never received any payment at all. It’s hard to prove anything because ValoreBooks only covers your Media Mail postage to their warehouse, and it is your option to buy Delivery Confirmation or other sort of tracking. But if I’m only selling $15 worth of books, it’s hard to just paying another $1-2 in my opinion. Perhaps for a larger order.

The Better Business Bureau gives them a rating of A+, although I don’t really think it’s that hard to achieve such a rating. It does indicate that the company is willing to try and resolve issues, if you file a complaint with the BBB.

BBB processed a total of 21 complaint(s) about this business in the last 36 months, our standard reporting period. Of the total 21 complaint(s) closed in the last 36 months, 21 were closed in the last 12 months.

My Personal Experience
After typing in my ISBN numbers into BigWords.com, ValoreBooks was the highest bidder for certain textbooks. I agreed to their price and terms, and they provided me with a printable packing slip and prepaid shipping label. Here’s part of the email sent to me:

Please follow the steps below to complete your order:

1. Include your packaging slip with your shipment.
2. Package your books tightly in a cardboard box or padded envelope.
3. Cut out your prepaid shipping label and affix it to your sealed package.
4. Drop off your package at your local Postal Office.

It took me two days to get around to going to the post office, as you have to drop off the package in person for items weighing more than a pound. “No, this is not an explosive.” Would I really tell you if it was?

Then came the waiting game. Media Mail is notoriously inconsistent, so I almost forgot about the book when 15 days later I received the following confirmation in my email:

ValoreBooks Ship to Us Order: 1026XXX Arrived
Your sell back order has arrived at our warehouse and will be processed within 48 business hours.

I’ll never know if it really took 15 days to get there, or if they just sat on it for a while. In any case, one hour later I received another e-mail:

ValoreBooks Ship to Us Order: #1026XXX Confirmed
Thank you for choosing to sell your book(s) with ValoreBooks.com. […] Your order has successfully been checked in and you can expect payment within 10 business days to the following address: […]

Six calendar days later, a check was in my mailbox from “Bucks4Books” of San Diego, CA. I did get the exact amount the promised me for my book and reported condition. In total, 22 days went by from mailing out to receiving the check.

Summary Timeline

Day 1 – Sent out book via USPS Media Mail

Day 16 – Email confirmation of arrival

Day 16 – 2nd Email confirmation of payment approved

Day 19 – Check printed and mailed out from ValoreBooks

Day 22 – Check received successfully

Filed Under: Frugal Living, Reviews

Last updated: April 29, 2014

Library Sent Me To Collections!

March 3, 2010 By Jonathan Ping 22 Comments

People usually agree that checking your credit report regularly is a good idea, but after downloading all my credit reports just now I found out that I had overdue library fees of $40 from my old city and they sent me to collections! I am 99.9% sure I returned them. I received no mail notices and have received no phone calls from any collection agency either. It’s dated April 2008, although I’ve opened several bank accounts, brokerage accounts, and credit cards since then with no indication that my credit was anything but flawless. It’s only on my Experian report as well.

I’ll have to follow up on this later. Meanwhile, for you library users, I found this NY Times article Late Library Books Can Take Toll on Credit Scores. Well, not a big toll… 😛

Filed Under: Funny

Last updated: March 3, 2010

Wanted: Etsy Seller For Interview

March 3, 2010 By Jonathan Ping 11 Comments

I’ve recently been interested in the website Etsy.com, which is an online marketplace for buyers and sellers of handmade items (and craft supplies and vintage items). I know someone who makes some pretty cute baby clothes with hand-stitched animals on them.

For sellers, the fee schedule appears to be pretty simple. You pay a listing fee of 20 cents for each item (nonrefundable if it doesn’t sell in 4 months), plus a flat 3.5% of every sale. The average sale is about $15-$20. With over $10 million is sales each month, this can be a ~~easy~~ streamlined way for creative people to make some money on the side.

I’m looking for a reader who is an experienced Etsy seller to do a sort of Enterpreneur Interview-type of post. You’ll get a chance to share your story and also publicize your storefront and products. Sound fun? Contact me 🙂

Filed Under: Entrepreneurial

Last updated: March 3, 2010

Archives for March 2010

Federal Family and Medical Leave Act: Know Your Rights

Entrepreneur Group Interview: Etsy.com Shop Sellers

Sprint Cellular Discounts for Credit Union Members

Free Equifax Credit Score Card

New PineCone Research Application Link (Paid Surveys)

PSA: Monoprice.com Possibly Hacked; Credit Card Data Stolen?

E-File Your Federal Tax Return Extension For Free

Links: Free Online University Courses

SellBackYourBook.com Review: TextBook SellBack Scam?

Summary Timeline

Valore Books Review: TextBook SellBack Experience

Summary Timeline

Library Sent Me To Collections!

Wanted: Etsy Seller For Interview

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