question for those who use literature-based curriculum packages

[3Rivers]

Hi. If you buy curriculum packages such as Sonlight, Winterpromise, TOG, MFW, etc. etc. Do you buy their package from their store all at once, or do you buy all the books yourself and put it together yourself?

Which is cheaper? (If you put it together yourself, is the savings worth the time it takes to do it?)

[swellmomma]

I have been buying all the books etc I need for SOnlight next year used. I needed 3 cores and with the new shipping policy to Canada it was getting too expensive, I was up to almost $300 just in shipping once you factored in the exchange rate. I have found nearly everything I need used and have spent a grand total so far of $400 including shipping. A big difference from the $2600 I had in my SL cart. Many buy the books used but buy the newest IG, I opted to use older IG's (pretty much all 2002) because I could get them so cheap AND I planned on tweaking anyway so the year didn't matter much to me. The savings have been more than worth the time it has taken, and honestly it has not taken all that much time to find everything.

[mompotter]

I have done both! However, for the amount of time it took to put it together myself and all the "little" shipping charges added in from buying on Ebay, etc., it is not worth it. I have only done that once and I saved maybe $50-100 over-all. I have since bought the package deal.

 

I have purchased whole cores used. That is a good savings. That is what I did this year and it has helped a lot. I was able to find the core I needed from someone who used it last year with one child. Some books they didn't even use. You might check around and see if you can find it used.

[proverbs356lady]

I also have done both with mixed success. I agree with mompotter that my best deals have been buying whole sets used. It can take time and patience to track down but definitely worth it. This year I'm using my classic TOG from a few years ago and buying what I need. I've bought both new and used books and at this point have spent about the same amount as if I had purchased WP or SL new. It has taken much of my time but I'm very pleased with the schedule I've come up with and the books we'll use. Hope this helps. :)

[mom4him]

Hi. If you buy curriculum packages such as Sonlight, Winterpromise, TOG, MFW, etc. etc. Do you buy their package from their store all at once, or do you buy all the books yourself and put it together yourself?

Which is cheaper? (If you put it together yourself, is the savings worth the time it takes to do it?)

I always try to purchase used. Yes it does take time but for me has been well worth it.

I just found a new/used book sales that has been awesome as it has free shipping.

http://www.betterworldbooks.com/

I have ordered through them through Amazon several times but never realized until just recently that I could order from them direct.

With HOD I was going to get the TM from HOD but they don't do paypal so I found it on Ebay new, just a bit cheaper with postage and could use my pp funds.

[freeindeed]

I try to purchase all that I can used. I've been fortunate enough to get most of what I need that way.

[3Rivers]

Okay good to know. I've decided on Winterpromise for this year, though, and they have a "no-resale" policy on their own stuff so I can't find that used. So the problem with that is that if you buy their package deal, you get the manual free. Otherwise it's a whopping $70 just for the manual so I'm not sure if it's going to be that great of a deal. I guess I'll have to check around some more and hopefully find some WP users.

 

I'm hoping that after they are better established, they will lift the ban on reselling. It sure would make life easier. :glare:

[siloam]

Hi. If you buy curriculum packages such as Sonlight, Winterpromise, TOG, MFW, etc. etc. Do you buy their package from their store all at once, or do you buy all the books yourself and put it together yourself?

Which is cheaper? (If you put it together yourself, is the savings worth the time it takes to do it?)

 

I buy the books separately, but I start searching for books 6 months to a year before I need them, so I get quite a few off Book Mooch and Paper Back Swap, then I buy a lot of them used off of Half where if you buy for one shipper you get a discount on the shipping costs. If you try to buy all the books used at the last moment you wont save a lot. In buying used time is your friend. The right deal usually comes along if you give it the time needed.

 

It also works better for me that way because I get a little bit of money every payday. I don't get a big chunk once a year. I am sure I could set it up differently if I wanted to, but this just works for me.

 

Heather

[Julie in MN]

Hi. If you buy curriculum packages such as Sonlight, Winterpromise, TOG, MFW, etc. etc. Do you buy their package from their store all at once, or do you buy all the books yourself and put it together yourself?

Which is cheaper? (If you put it together yourself, is the savings worth the time it takes to do it?)

 

I agree that buying in pieces might nickle-n-dime you to death, and the time would be a major factor for me.

 

However, I also wanted to add that buying from the curriculum writer is how we get good curriculum onto the homeschool market.

 

When I started homeschooling around 8 years ago, there were several curriculum writers who were very good, but few of them ever finished writing their materials. I had such a hard time finding American history for my high schooler, because everyone started writing Ancients & quit somewhere before they got to Moderns. Most told me that they couldn't compete with the used market. Some said they couldn't even compete with places like Amazon, where the writer gets like a dollar for a $40 book. It's not like they are mass-market writers or publishers. It's a small market & there needs to be support or they just won't be there for us in the future.

 

Now, I often purchase used if I just want to "try" something. I buy used & re-sell tons of things we just read for a short while. But if I fully use something, I buy new & rarely sell it (I may lend it to someone in dire straights etc.).

 

JMHO.

[Aurelia]

I bought the books for Five in a Row separately, it wasn't too bad because we have a local Half-Price books and the rest I bought from Amazon, so there was no tax and free shipping. It was time consuming and frustrating to go to a bunch of different places to try and find the books for a marginally cheaper price. I probably won't do that again.

 

For Moving Beyond the Page, I just bought the package all at once because it was so much more convenient.

[siloam]

I buy the books separately, but I start searching for books 6 months to a year before I need them, so I get quite a few off Book Mooch and Paper Back Swap, then I buy a lot of them used off of Half where if you buy for one shipper you get a discount on the shipping costs. If you try to buy all the books used at the last moment you wont save a lot. In buying used time is your friend. The right deal usually comes along if you give it the time needed.

 

It also works better for me that way because I get a little bit of money every payday. I don't get a big chunk once a year. I am sure I could set it up differently if I wanted to, but this just works for me.

 

Heather

 

By the way I did track my savings one year, the year we did Winter Promise Animals and Their Worlds and American Story I. In the end I did save several hundred dollars, but I think I am the exception rather than the rule. We have several Goodwill stores around us that get great titles in for $1 each, and I enjoy the whole process. I start by opening up all 4 (Amazon, Half, BookMooch and Paper Back Swap) sites up (I use Firefox, so each has a tab like Excel and it is really quick to hop between them bringing up the same book on each site), then creating a list in each one of the books I need for the year. On Amazon I list what weeks I need them for, it is my master list. That also gets me familiar with the books so I will recognize them when I am at Goodwill. From there the most difficult thing is remembering to delete a book from all the lists after I buy it. It is pretty quick to put together an order of the books I need for either half or Amazon, and with the other two they will show up on my available list when I can order them. It works for me, but is too much work for many people. I just love to book shop!

 

Heather

 

[HomesteadMommy]

We've been using FIAR and I hope to use TOG when my little ones are older. I've gotten so fed up with our local library's. They never have what I need and take forever to get them in. My plans were really mucked up by them this year. So I try to buy as many as I can. We are on a tight budget so I look for good used books (thrift shops, book stores, yard sales, library sales) locally. If I see a really good deal online I will try to get it. BUT being in Canada the shipping often makes the price the same as new with free shipping from amazon. :001_huh: I'm always trying to buy a head and that is a huge help. I'm planning on doing GTG in the new school year. So I've been keeping my eye's open for books to go along with that. I was very lucky at a local library sale I found some really nice books on my wish list.

[HomesteadMommy]

I have been buying all the books etc I need for SOnlight next year used. I needed 3 cores and with the new shipping policy to Canada it was getting too expensive, I was up to almost $300 just in shipping once you factored in the exchange rate.

 

$300 for shipping that is insane! :blink:

[G5052]

We used TOG for two years, and will finish our sixth Sonlight Core in September or so.

 

I've always mixed-and-matched. I'm very blessed with a decent local library system, a large big-city library system 30 minutes away, lots of homeschooling friends including a good friend who has used Sonlight for 15+ years, a good used bookstore near my kids' martial arts place, and online sources including Amazon and Paperback Swap. We homeschool year-round and just start a new Core when we finish one, so I've been able to borrow a lot of books through the libraries and friends on the "off season." Then I've bought the rest used or at discount. And I resell or swap as soon as we finish with something unless it's something I'm sure we'll use again. I keep a list in my purse and on the computer, and shop about a year ahead although I'm pushing a bit further now because we have our "groove" and my kids are older.

 

If you borrow some books and can buy cheaply locally, you will indeed save. If I had to buy more online from multiple sources, I probably wouldn't save as much. Shipping can be a killer for single paperbacks.

[Mom0012]

I pick up the IG used and then I slowly collect the books by using amazon gift cards that I earn through my credit card. It probably costs me close to the same as it would to buy through SL all at once, but it sure doesn't feel like it.

 

Lisa

[razorbackmama]

Hi. If you buy curriculum packages such as Sonlight, Winterpromise, TOG, MFW, etc. etc. Do you buy their package from their store all at once, or do you buy all the books yourself and put it together yourself?

Which is cheaper? (If you put it together yourself, is the savings worth the time it takes to do it?)

 

It depends on the company. When I used TOG I shopped around for the prices on books and often found them cheaper elsewhere. But now that I use MFW, I found that their package deals are cheaper than buying the books individually elsewhere (for cheaper), so I just bought the whole package from them.

[Bee]

It ended up costing about the same amount either way. My problem is that I seldom use a complete core as written (I use SL). It doesn't pay if I buy the full core and then have to buy other books to replace the ones I won't use. I really wish they would leave the bible portion out of the upper level cores as they do the lower levels.

[TraceyS/FL]

Like others i've done both. The WP cost of the Guide made it easier to just buy from them - i couldn't buy used, but buying new from other places didn't save me much.

 

It makes for a nice "box day" when you can buy the whole thing - but saving $$ is way better! LOL!!

[cslbda]

I use Sonlight and have managed to find most reader and read alouds through our library. I do buy either new or used the books that we use as primary resources.

[calandalsmom]

I use SL and I have bought 2 cores (both almost complete) used via ebay or the used forum.

 

I bought core 4 new from SL.

 

I'll likely buy core 6 new from SL. The IG has been upgraded apparently and Im interested to see it plus honestly unless I intend to buy ALOT (and I did with core5) its way easier to buy new from Sl.

[shinyhappypeople]

I'm doing Core K with the girls next year. I got an older IG, and all the required history/geography books for about $45. I used eBay, amazon marketplace and the "used sonlight" yahoo group. ALL of the read-alouds are readily available at our library. I would love to be able to just buy everything new from Sonlight, but there's no way we could afford that right now. My husband has been laid off for the past 6 mos. Maybe next year (fingers crossed)...

[rafiki]

.

[swellmomma]

$300 for shipping that is insane! :blink:

 

 

No kidding! And that was if i kept my cart low. To buy 3 cores, plus the extra IG I needed, sciences, LA etc it adds up very quickly so let's say $2000. Shipping to Canada at $2000 is 14% so $280 PLUS Fed-ex surcharges, GST and then the exchange rate which is currently at around 17%. It does not make it plausible to buy full cores and extras from the company directly. Even with my provincial funding it was impossible. SO I bought used, I have a handful of books left to buy from each of the cores I am using but really I can use the library if I need to. I bought the sciences used as well. I even bought WP AS1 used including the IG to supplement what I am doing with SL. All in all the amount I saved was well worth it. Once I finish buying the items I need, I would say I will have saved at least $1500 this year.

[LadyAberlin]

I get a lot off of paperbackswap.com. For me the time and effort is worth it because I wouldn't be able to make the large Sonlight purchase all at once. But I find that those of us whose budgets are extremely tight find it worth it, where as if you have a large budget then the effort isn't worth it. For me just saving $5 is worth the time and effort. It is all depends on where you stand financially. I've saved hundreds of dollars.