-Chapter
5:Now What?- We have discovered the different kinds of educational
ideas, which one your family uses, and which curriculums use these different methods. Now
we are going to get down to the nitty gritty of where to buy used homeschool books, how to
maintain them and how to save money using them.Confucious said
" To lead an untrained people to war is to throw them away." I am going
to digress a bit here. I want to tell you about my first used curriculum sale. It was in a
town to the north of me in a church basement. I had my two children in tow and my toddler
safely positioned on my hip. As I entered the fair I heard a buzz of anticipation. I
walked in...confidently might I add. Knowing that I would be able to pick up what I needed
while managing my children, going through curriculum, matching copyright dates etc. After
1/2 hour of wandering around, I found that I had no idea what books I really wanted, what
they looked like, what the copyright dates were, if what I purchased would even go with
what I had at home. I was as Confucius said "an untrained people" who was sent
into a used curriculum jungle and I did not gain a thing. I walked out of their empty
handed. Actually, I learned alot from that situation. It was what spurred on the idea to
open a used curriculum store Second Harvest Curriculum. It inspired me to create a catalog
and later an online catalog that would have the materials at curriculum fair prices
organized in an orderly way so people like me could browse at their leisure and not feel
overwhelmed.
There are several different places where you can purchase
your used curriculum.
Friends and Family:
1. Ask friends or other ladies in your support group if you can borrow or swap if she
has the books you need, I talked to a lady when we were at a convention in North Dakota
who’s friend had not had to purchase one thing new because she swapped or bough used.
2. But remember to write down what you have borrowed and keep it is better than you
would keep it condition. I can’t tell you how many times I recieve phone calls from
ladies looking for curriculum that they know they have loaned out but don’t know to
whom or to other women who have damaged or lost part of a curriculum and want to replace
it before they need to return it. So remember. Write it down. Keep it nicer than if it
were yours!
Used Curriculum Fairs:
1. Preparation time. Take some time to read and look over the various catalogs you
receive and know what you are looking for. Familiarize yourself on what books you would
like to buy, what they look like
2. A list of all the books you need...I suggest you organize them in a grid format so
you can include the Publisher, Copyright, Title, Grade that you need. Perhaps a brief
description of what the cover looks like. And if you are willing to use an earlier
edition.
3. Come Early!!! The early bird gets the worm.
4. Be equiped...I think that almost every homeschool mom has a cloth bag filled with
her "vital" books. Include in this a copy of the Abeka Catalog, the Bob Jones
catalog, a general homeschool catalog that describes books. Also, bring the list
that you created above.
WARNING!! Please be very careful with your dates and
conditions. Most people are not out to take you but at times things are not complete, or
they do not match to what you have.
Used Dealers:
1. Again, know what you are looking for. Read over materials.
2. Go into the site and study how they have their books marked. Read this over and know
how the site runs.
3. Make sure the copyright matches your copyright.
4. If it doesn’t is it compatible? Make sure!!
5. Try to match bar codes.
6. Find out exactly what condition YOUR book is in that you are ordering. Either in
e-mail or in a conversation on the phone. It is worth your expense to make sure the books
you are ordering are the ones you want in the condition you want. The grading code is very
much an overview of general categories that books are placed in for ease of pricing. There
is going to be some lee way in the condition of each individual book.
7. If you are unsure about something ask!!! There is no such thing as a dumb question.
The people in this business are there to answer your questions and serve you!!!
WARNING!! Find out the return policy. If there is no
return policy BEWARE.
WARNING!! Please be very careful with your dates and
conditions. Most people are not out to take you but at times things are not complete, or
they do not match to what you have.
WARNING!! Find out the return policy. If there is no
return policy BEWARE.
How do I maintain my equipment?
How do I take care of what I have? There is an old adage by
Benjamin Franklin "A penny saved is a penny earned." This applies to our
"equipment" by taking care of what we have. You can earn money by saving your
books. Most of these are common sense ways of maintain your investment. Did you know that
is what you have in your books? Sure, there are books that I would not part with. I want
to have them for ever in my library for my children’s children to use. But there are
other books that I must admit I want to sell and get some money back to I can invest it
back into MORE BOOKS! I saw a bumper sticker once that said. " Whoever dies with the
most Books wins!!!" I must admit I love books. And I daily handle books. I am going
to tell you what I look for in a book, how I price it, why I would not purchase it. I also
want to tell you way you can retain the value of your books with some tricks I have picked
up from other homeschool moms like yourself. First I will tell you what I look it will be
in italics. Then I will tell you how to preserve your books.
1. The Cover:
*I look at the cover. No exceeding wear or creasing, ripping, or water damage. (Who
says you can't judge a book by it's cover?)
A. Cover with contact paper or good old fashioned book covers.
2. Inside:
*I look for answers written in the spaces, white out, highlighting, doodles or
underlining
A. Text book answer questions on a seperate peice of paper.
B. Give questions orally.
C. Make a rule...you write in it you erase it.
D. Save the white out... it looks sloppy and never does a compete job covering ink.
3. Test and Quizzes.
* I look for pages missing, white out, pages written in.
A. A note book would be just great to write the answers in and record the score.
B. Some people use a clear plastic sheet and an dry erase marker and have the children
place it over the test and write on it.
C. To Photo copy or not to....NO, it is illegal.
4. Copyright
* I look and see if the book is current, compatable or out of date.
A. Before you shelf it for 3-6 years check and see what they are doing for
updating. If you prefer new/current then sell right away so you can get some money out of
it.
