Saving Money on Music & Movies

Sure, you can download music for free. But if you're like me and you actually like buying stuff, head on over to the worlds most dangerous marketplace, eBay. eBay's marketplace makes the NASDAQ seem staid, so bid carefully.

I buy discounted iTunes cards there, usually at a 30% discount. Do an all categories search for "iTunes cards" and almost 200 will come up any given day. Mixed in among the iTunes cards are iTunes codes for a free song, which I prefer. These are delivered to your email and then you input each code into your iTunes store account on your computer. It's very easy, but the caveat with the codes is that they're usually one code per song, so you cannot use them to download whole albums (unless you download song by song). Keep in mind that if you bid on an iTunes gift card just make sure that has the PIN unscratched on the back of the card. Also, if you are willing to buy music within a short period of time, you have a better chance at scoring a deal- all codes have an expiration date and some are only a week away.

For cheaper movies do an all category search for "Fandango tickets". The seller will email you a code for a free movie ticket to be used at checkout on Fandango's site. In NYC, Fandango has just about every movie theater, with the exception being the art houses. Also, since our ticket prices are so sky high, I find that I can win most auctions because $12 for two tickets is nearly half off for me, but more expensive for others. Read the fine print on the Fandango auctions, for many codes you can only use one code per transaction, so you'll have to go through a separate purchase for each ticket. Any eBay item is feast or famine, and right now there's not a whole lot of Fandango codes. Just periodically check back.

You can pretty much look for a gift card from any big box store. Read all similar items and make sure yours has the same fine print, like the unscratched PIN on the iTunes card. Check the expiration date and if it's not posted ask the seller. Just remember that eBay is eBay, so make sure you check feedback and ask questions before you bid. I only bid from sellers who have sold the iTunes & Fandango cards/codes recently and have stellar feedback to show for it. I also only bid on items that have free shipping. Request that any codes sent via email are emailed to you with eBay's emailer, so that there is a record within your eBay account and a seller doesn't claim they sent it and it got lost in the effluvia of your spam filter.

And remember, since eBay brings out the inner fiend in all of us, pick a ceiling and walk away. Do not get in a bidding war. That is so un-PiggyBankBlues.

illustration "Wicked Headphones" by Brandon Boucher