Information about a popular scam on the internet today.

We hate scammers.  A user of ours notified of an “interested buyer” that was trying to scam her.  The “buyer” sent her an email saying he was interested in her item listed online.  He then said he would send her a check for $800 more than what her item was listed for on the condition she would cash the check then send it to a far away company.  He then said that company would take that money and arrange for the pick-up of her item.  She was so smart to realize that this was a scam.

By OVERPAYING you in a cashiers check, here is how these scamming scums work you:

You decide to sell your wonderful items on the Internet.

The scammer emails you about buying the item and tells you they will pay with a cashier’s check or corporate check from a bank.  The scammer will then send a check for much more than the selling price of the item.

You might wonder why the so called “buyer” will send you a check for so much and they will make up a story.  Don’t believe them!  They want you to deposit the check and return the rest of the money. 

Even if the bank cashes the check that does not mean the transaction was good!  Shortly after you send the extra money off to the “buyer,” the bank will find out the check is a counterfeit and will hold YOU responsible. 

The worst part of this deal is that the bank will demand that YOU pay them back the money for the check.  Now you have sent your item AND all of that money away. 

DON’T GET SCAMMED LIKE THIS!  Be careful when you deal with someone who does not live in your area and you can not deal with them in person.  Trust your instincts.  Even if the story the person is telling you might sound convincing, NEVER cash a check and wire money for someone. We want our users to have the best experience possible by using our site.  We will do everything we can to prevent scammers and spammers but sometimes they slip through our fingers. 

Here is more information on crimes like this so that you can protect yourself against scamming scum.
http://www.snopes.com/crime/fraud/cashier.asp
http://www.occ.treas.gov/ftp/ADVISORY/2007-1.html

Answering the age old question of, “Should I fix up my stuff before I sell it online?”

Ah, the age old question: “I have an item and I want to sell it online, but should I fix it up before I sell it?”  And the age old answer is, “It depends.”  Sometimes it is worth the effort to give your merchandise a little TLC before selling it online, and sometimes it is not even worth thinking about twice.

When selling something like an inexpensive car you will want to put as little money into it as possible.  Older cars may need a lot of work.  When you spend a lot of money “fixing up” these older cars, the buyer will most likely not give you much more money than the car is worth, not to mention all of the time and effort you put into it.  If the car is in poor shape, and you are asking a low price, then someone might even be looking to buy your car for its parts, and it wouldn’t matter if you fixed it up or not.  If it is an easy repair that will drastically change your asking price, then it will be worth it for you to make the repair. 

With furniture, it might be a good idea to fix up.  In fact it’s a great idea.  If you have an old piece of furniture you are willing to sell, you might be surprised that with a little elbow grease you might be able to make some serious cash when you sell your item.  Not only that, but if your item is more visually attractive you can also sell it quicker.

A friend of mine found an old vanity on the side of the road one day.  She picked it up, borrowed a sander and sanded the old retro paint off, painted it black, and replaced the hardware.  All of that cost her about $15-$20 and it was a great piece of furniture.  It looked so good that no one would have guessed would have guessed it’s humble beginnings.  When she moved she no longer needed it and sold it online for triple the amount she put into it.  It was a great investment of her time.

Take some time to decide how much you will have to spend on parts and add that to the asking price of your item.  Then take the time to calculate how much the labor will cost (especially if you are doing it yourself!).  Also consider about if there will be someone who will actually buy your item.  People are always looking for car parts, but are less likely to be looking for broken furniture.  You will want to fix up an item that you know will sell quickly.  And when it does sell, make sure it was worth it.

Information on how to get the most out of Alabama’s Third Annual Tax Free Weekend.

The fun begins at 12:01 a.m. (CST) on Friday August 1, 2008, and ends at twelve midnight on Sunday August 3, 2008.  On this day Alabama will hold its third annual sales tax holiday.  The state sales tax (4%) will be waived as well as the sales tax for participating cities and counties.  Participating cities will receive all of the 8% sales tax waived on their qualifying items.

This tax free weekend was created to give parents the opportunity to buy school supplies, computers and clothing free of the state sales tax or use tax before the start of school in the fall.  Although this weekend is intended for back to school shopping, shoppers all across the state will be enjoying the benefits. This is the third tax free weekend Alabama will be participating in and because of past success many stores have extended their hours and some are even hiring more staff to handle extra shoppers this year.

Tax exempt items for the weekend will include:
• Clothes priced at $100 or less per item.
• Computers and software priced at $750 or less.
• School supplies and art supplies priced at $50 or less. 
• School instructional materials priced at $50 or less.
• Books with a sales price of $30 or less.
A few details about what is covered might be helpful.  Clothing is defined as “all human wearing apparel suitable for general use, including sandals, shoes and sneakers.  To be exempt each article of clothing must cost $100 or less.  Clothing will not include any “items sold separately” along with the clothes.

The tax exemption is good on a “single purchase” of computers and computer software with a sales price of $750 or less.
School Supplies are defined as “any items of $50 or less per item commonly used by a student in a course of study.”  School supplies include things such as art supplies, reference materials, official school list textbooks that are $30 or less per book.
Here are a few of the items NOT exempt during the tax free weekend.  Clothing accessories, including briefcases, cosmetics, handbags, jewelry, sunglasses, umbrellas and hair pieces, are not covered. Protective equipment, including safety masks, helmets, gloves, goggles, tool belts and masks, are also not covered.  Sport or recreational equipment such as ballet and tap shoes, spiked athletic shoes, sports gloves, hand and elbow guards, life preservers, mouth guards, roller and ice skates, shin guards and shoulder pads, will not be also not be including in the tax free exemption.

For more details on what is exempt and what is not, view the ADOR list of items.

A yard sale with a purpose is a success!

One of the best parts about summer is getting to spend so much time outside enjoying the weather.  When I think of summer I think of BLTs, lemonade stands and watching the sunset on my porch. 

One of the things that makes summer for me is yard sales.  I love browsing yard sales. And, of course, all of us here at TheFreeWay love a good deal.  At yard sales you get to see all kinds of items.  I like finding antiques or special house ware items that I know no one else will have.  Another great part about a yard sale is meeting people in your community.  I always can find warm hearted people at a yard sale and it really is a nice way to get your Saturday started. 

My friend Julie had a yard sale a couple weeks ago and it was fantastic!  It wasn’t just the items being sold that made this yard sale so wonderful; it was heart that went into it.  Julie and her daughter wanted to give back to a community less fortunate than ours.  Julie got involved with a program that helps get clean water to communities in Africa by building wells.  She was so moved thinking about mothers bringing dirty water to their children, knowing that it would make them sick because it was the only thing they had.  So she decided that her and her daughter were going to raise money to build a well. 

“Clean House for Clean Water” was now a yard sale with a cause.  By selling the items she wasn’t using she and her daughter were helping other mothers give clean water to their children.  It made a difference to the people that came too.  Once they heard the story, the browsers were more inclined to actually buy something knowing that the proceeds were going on to do something good.

Cleaning your house for a purpose is a great way to have a successful yard sale and it is a great way to do something good for others.  Think about who you can help and hold your own fundraising event!  Make sure you let us know if you are planning any yard sales in the future and we will help get the word out to the community.

(If you would like to donate to Julie’s cause you can either go to http://www.abassadorsforlife.org or email me at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) and I will get you in touch with her personally)

Where to go and what to do over the weekend!

SEE:
What is a Independence day weekend without fireworks?  Luckily, the Opelika – Auburn community has the opportunity to see two shows!  The city of Opelika will be having their Annual Freedom Celebration Thursday night at 6:30 p.m. on the OHS football practice field. This family night of fun and excitement includes giant inflatable games and activities for the kids, musical entertainment, skydivers, food and an incredible fireworks display.  The city of Auburn will be celebrating on the 4th of July with their own fireworks display and live entertainment.  The event full of family fun will begin at 6:00 p.m. behind the home side of the Duck Samford Football Stadium.

PLAY:
With gas prices so high your family may not be trekking down to the beach this year.  So go splashing in Lake Martin this weekend and get a little rest and relaxation in the sun.  You can even enjoy the 18th annual Fourth of July Boat Parade, which will be held at Kowaliga Marina beginning at 10 a.m.  But don’t forget your SPF!  The only thing you want to be cooking this weekend is burgers!

EAT:
Don’t grab the first mystery meat you see running through the MegaMart.  Go to The Meat Store at 1401 2nd Ave in Opelika.  Here you get the freshest meat and can ask for custom cuts.  Through this meat on the grill and you are sure to have a 4th of July hit for the whole family.

SHOP:
http://www.thefreeway.com
Look here for all of the items you could want, at prices you can afford.

If you’ve got a crafty side to you, learn how you can sell your hand made items online for some extra cash!

If you enjoy doing crafts why not make a few extra dollars by selling them in the online classifieds.  This is a great way for crafty people to use The Freeway to their advantage.  Most of the people who just do crafts in their spare time don’t have enough items to sell in a store.  By placing an ad in The Freeway other people can enjoy your creative works of art by shopping online.

The Free way gives you options to sell just a few items, or many items online.  If you just have a few pieces that you’ve created, you can take a few pictures and place an online ad and reach thousands of potential buyers in minutes.  If you have lots of items, call us and we will even create your own online store especially for you.

I had a friend that used to make rings in her spare time.  They were so pretty and unique that everyone who saw them wanted one.  Because she was a full time student and worked she didn’t have the time to go to craft fairs and sell her rings.  All she had to do was take some quick photos, create an ad and she would be making money at home by just doing what she enjoyed. 

Create greeting cards, purses, journals, necklaces, earrings, scarves, pottery, or paintings and sell them online! No matter what you have created, people love to buy one of a kind items.  So put your works of art online and enjoy some extra cash for your talented