• Mar. 25, 2008 - Beinging good stewards not just of money but of others talents as well.
This is the time of year when you begin to hear the sound of curriculum shopping. New catalogs are coming out. Homeschool convention session is soon to begin. On many loops you begin to hear money saving suggestions. These include you don't have to purchase from a company just pick up their catalog and use it a book list. Buy just the guide and use the library. If the book is consumable just make copies and then you can resell the book later. I got these neat freebie from such and such a company I'll send you the PDF file so you don't have to go get it yourself, etc.
And while I understand that at times we have no choice. We must do all we can to school at no or low cost or not be able to homeschool at all. But I have just a few thoughts gathered over a long time of homeschooling and seeing these things played out in real life.
Most companies that offer a packaged curriculum or books with guide are for the most part not making money on the sale of the guide. The profit comes from the sale of the books that are supported by the guide. Some have raised the price of their guides when not included with a package to minimize their loss. Now the thing is if a company can not make a profit they will go out of business and then there is nothing for anyone to use. I have seen other companies fold for just this reason.
Also along these lines are sharing of files received from free from a company's website. Freebies are often given to generate interest in a product or to get people to look over their site. When you share the file by passing the company you may be costing them a future sale or at the very least a contact. It seems like such a small thing and it was free anyway so what is the harm. The harm again is that the company could go under and now no one can benefit from it.
Another way to hurt your favorite company is using a book intended to be consumable in such a way that you get the benefit of the product and then resale it. For bigger companies it may not hurt as much but for a small home based homeschool supplier this can be the very death of the company. I have seen this happen over the years. It is so sad to go back to buy additional product and find out that company is out of business.
My final pet peeve is those who go to a convention and take a fair amount of time talking to a homeschool retailer, picking their brains, getting ideas and suggestions etc. And then for that same person to walk away and go over to a discount stand and make the purchase. While I have no problem with someone knowing what they want and taking advantage of a discount seller its just wrong to use someones time and not reward them with the sale. Its one thing if you decide a product won't work and decide not to purchase after spending time but to decide yes and purchase elsewhere is just not fair. Vendors pay a lot to be at most curriculum fairs or conventions. For larger conventions they may have to have paid help in the booth, etc. You usually don't get much service at a discount vendor which is why they can afford to sell at less. They may sell in higher volume as well.
So if you can afford it purchase a whole package or at least as much from the company as possible. If you have found a great freebie send a link to the original website so that others can pick it up for themselves while visiting the site. If its consumable then consume it and replace for the next child. If its reproducible for your family then reproduce it for all but the last one and then let them consume it. And if you take a vendors time at a convention and decide to make the purchase pay the extra bit more to cover the service you receive. If we all do this as much as we are able it makes it more likely that our favorite vendors will be around for years to come.
Climbing off my soap box now. |
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