scrapbookbuzz Posted March 14, 2011 Share Posted March 14, 2011 Have you tried to piecemeal Sonlight and then just finally decided to buy the whole lot from the company instead? Or have you gone the other route - bought the whole lot then decided to piecemeal it together? What were your deciding factors? What have you discovered about the pros and cons of each? Thanks!:bigear: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bee Posted March 14, 2011 Share Posted March 14, 2011 I didn't save any money by buying the materials new from various sources. If I have the money to buy a full Core all at once it's just so much easier. Everything comes in 1 box and it's easy to track and quickly shipped. Con- biggest one is that I end up with some books that will never get read in my house but I can usually donate them somewhere. When I first started using SL years ago I thought I could get many of the literature books from the library but had a very hard time finding them when I wanted to use them because there were other people using the books at the same time. Since then I 've always bought the books I planned to use for the school year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LindaOz Posted March 14, 2011 Share Posted March 14, 2011 I tend to piecemeal it but only because the postage is exorbitant to Australia. The first year I ordered everything from SL and then got slammed for more money to get the boxes through customs. So now, I order the IGs and SL-specific materials direct from SL and get other books locally or from Book Depository. If I lived in the US, however, I'd get it all from SL. It's so much easier getting everything all in together and their customer service is brilliant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennay Posted March 14, 2011 Share Posted March 14, 2011 I am blessed to have a huge, and I mean HUGE, used book sale near me every spring. I've been piecing together Cores way in advance - I usually pay $1-$2 per Sonlight book this way. The rest I buy from the used SL boards, the for sale board here, Rainbow Resource, or 4 for 3 from Amazon. So far I've bought the IG's new from SL for Core K, 1, and 2 but I bought the Core 3 and 4 IGs (and LA) for great prices here on this board. It has saved me a tremendous amount of money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abacus2 Posted March 14, 2011 Share Posted March 14, 2011 I tried piecemealing for next year and while I saved a little money, it wasn't worth it. The only books I already owned or found used were already inexpensive anyway. The majority of the books were not available and/or cheaper elsewhere. The 10% discount and free shipping for a year on everything is very valuable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephanieZ Posted March 14, 2011 Share Posted March 14, 2011 I bought them all from SL for the first 5 cores until I got heritage status (free shipping & 10% discount for life). Now that I can get the discount and free shipping on smaller orders, I piecemeal to avoid purchasing the missionary & bible books I don't use, and to get some used ones elsewhere. . . I find what I can elsewhere, buy what's cheaper at Amazon, and but the IG & rest of it from SL. Definitely cheaper this way now that I get free shipping & the 10%. When I didn't get the free shipping & 10%, it was worth it to buy the whole core from SL to get that. Now the $$ savings is worth the hassles. If you want all those bible/missionary books and/or you don't have heritage status, I'd just buy it all from SL b/c I doubt you'll save enough to be worth the hassles of piecemealing. But, if you don't want all the books, it can be worth it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom@shiloh Posted March 14, 2011 Share Posted March 14, 2011 I have bought SL Cores K-5 used. Usually I try to buy a complete core, but sometimes have to search for a few things that are missing. I try to purchase at least a year in advance to give myself time to search for the best deals. I enjoy the "hunt" and have purchased all the cores for about half the price of new. It takes some time, but I think it's fun. If I didn't enjoy it, or it made me feel stressed I would buy it new. So you probably need to evaluate it you would like the search enough to spend time on it, or if you'd rather just buy new. Jean Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.... Posted March 14, 2011 Share Posted March 14, 2011 Cores K, 1 and 2 - I've been able to find almost entirely at the library. I had to buy a few of the books. Core 3, I have them sequenced and am buying them gradually. I buy the Readers in a set from SL, tho. I've bought the TMs from SL, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mryann Posted March 14, 2011 Share Posted March 14, 2011 I've done both. I think the answer depends on whether you already have some of the books and/or intend to use the entire core. We are Catholic and I replace the missionary stories with saint stories. I often find the books cheaper at Rainbow, unless they are published by Sonlight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom28kds Posted March 14, 2011 Share Posted March 14, 2011 I have just bought what my library doesn't have. I try to get what I can from the library so I don't have to buy a whole bunch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southcarolinamom Posted March 14, 2011 Share Posted March 14, 2011 I've bought my Sonlight Cores "used" (but in excellent condition) from ebay or Sonlight's used book forum... and saved about half the cost of buying them new from Sonlight. When we are finished with the books, I've been able to re-sell the cores for practically what I paid for them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JudoMom Posted March 14, 2011 Share Posted March 14, 2011 I purchase the IG new from SL, and then purchase the books from either Rainbow or Amazon, which ever is cheaper. I saved well over $100 doing it this way for Core 6, and from my calculations for Core 7, I'll save close to $200 by doing it the same way. Some of the savings are because I already own the SOTW books (last year I owned a few readers as well), and because I don't use the Bible portion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TKDmom Posted March 14, 2011 Share Posted March 14, 2011 I bought my first 4 cores new from SL. It was nice to get everything in one box and know that it's all there ready for you to use. The disadvantage is that I have several books that we will not use. I don't care for most of their missionary stories, and some books are just too intense for my sensitive dd. You cannot return just some of the books from a core without losing the perks that come from buying a whole core, so I have to go through the hassle of trying to sell them here for half price. When I got halfway through Core 3, I decided to switch to 3+4. Since I had half the books already, and I get the 10% discount + free shipping, I decided to buy the rest of the core piecemeal. I checked all the prices from SL and Amazon, and bought the cheapest ones. I saved some money doing it this way, but I found that I had missed some of the books, and had to go back and buy them (it wasn't a big deal, since I also have Amazon Prime, just a little annoying). I don't think I buy a whole core piecemeal if this was my first purchase from SL. Some people enjoy doing it, but if I can afford to buy the books new, it really is nice to just get them all at once. With the Core discount and free shipping, there isn't a big price difference between buying the books from SL or from another source. If I was planning to utilize the library or buy used books...obviously, there would a huge price difference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnM Posted March 14, 2011 Share Posted March 14, 2011 I have never bought an entire core. Thankfully a gal near me sold me Cores 3,4 and 5 about 3 years ago and we aren't even throught that yet. However, if I can't do that, I buy the IG used on a board like this one and there is a used homeschool store near me that sells all paperbacks for half price. I go there and buy about 10 weeks' worth at a time so that I don't have to buy all at once. They almost always have all the readers there. I do sometimes have to buy the consumables from SL though if I can't find them used. My budget used to be $300 per YEAR for curriculum. I often had to sell something to buy anything above that amount. I have had to up the budget to about $1,000 per year for all 3 kids, including everything, so a core for one child would about burst that budget! So I have to find a way to make it work! Dawn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gobblygook Posted March 14, 2011 Share Posted March 14, 2011 I've only done the preschool cores, but I have got them piecemeal used and through the library, and it's worked fine for us. I just don't have the budget to spend several hundred dollars for preschool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom0012 Posted March 14, 2011 Share Posted March 14, 2011 This is our 6th year of using SL and I've never bought a whole package from them. There's no way I could justify it. Just the idea of spending $70 on the IG alone when I can find used copies all over the place that are just as good is enough to deter me from considering it. I have always been able to pick up a used instructor guide for $20 or less and then I can buy most of the books on Amazon with their buy 3, get the 4th free program. Depending on my budget, I have also checked my library for the readers and only purchased the ones they didn't have. So, I still wind up with almost all new books, but I know I don't spend anywhere near what SL charges for a core. Lisa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparrow Posted March 14, 2011 Share Posted March 14, 2011 I'm going to try and piece Core 6 together this year because I already own 6 of the titles and I don't use the missionary books. In the past, I have always bought a complete Core. Where is the best place to look for used IGs? I must be looking in the wrong places at the wrong times because I don't see them that often. Do you buy them here, at the Hive? How about selling a used IG? I have a few to sell, but they to have tiny, penciled check marks (yeah, I'm a box checker). Do the pencil checks need to all be erased? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MerryAtHope Posted March 14, 2011 Share Posted March 14, 2011 LOL, I've done both! Years I haven't had the funds, I've piecemealed, buying everything used that I could. First I shop local curriculum and used sales, then I look online. Sonlight is popular, so it's usually pretty easy to find things if you're willing to spend the time. Whatever I couldn't find used, I picked up new. However...I greatly prefer to purchase new when I can! I like getting it all in one box, it saves me lots of time, no worries about something not being in the condition you expected (though I'd say 95% of my online transactions have been positive), plus the SL bonuses for buying a core. So...when I can and it makes sense, I do, when I can't, I buy used. The other time I've piecemealed was when I was subbing out parts--for example, right now I'm using Mystery of History with Core 6, so I didn't get the IG or all of the books as MOH 1 only covers half of core 6. HTH you decide! I don't like using the library for school, I don't go regularly enough, but I know that works well for some people. Merry :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5Millers Posted March 15, 2011 Share Posted March 15, 2011 I bought Core 1 complete from SL and loved the convenience. This year we decided to do Classical Conversations with Core 2 and I needed to conserve some curriculum $. Next year I plan to buy the entire core 3 from SL or used. We have a great library, but it's still a hassle to have to think ahead, reserve books and wait if someone else is using them when we need them. I don't like to get off track!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnMomof7 Posted March 15, 2011 Share Posted March 15, 2011 Well, we are in Canada, so if I try to piecemeal it together online, shipping will kill me. I did get a 1+2 core used for a great price, but that only works for us if I can get the WHOLE core. Our library is small and rural, so I really need the whole core. I normally have a few of the books on my shelf already, but if I can buy used the savings are worth the duplicate copies. Unfortunately, I don't ever get free shipping from SL to Canada (wish I could!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sands1978 Posted March 15, 2011 Share Posted March 15, 2011 I live in South Africa and we cannot rely on the Lybrary. I buy from SL with all the differant shipping rates and taxes piece meal the curriculum would not help. SL give us lower shipping than other I pay around 26% shipping and 16% taxes. It is steep but what can I do... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrapbookbuzz Posted March 19, 2011 Author Share Posted March 19, 2011 Thank you, all, for your heartfelt and insightful responses! I'm just trying to think things through. The way our life has gone in the past year, we have wound up with this: currently we are using Cores K & 5. Next January (maybe before), we will go back to Cores 1 & 6 and finish them up. Then we will move to Cores 2 & 7. My challenge right now is that sometimes I can't find the books we need at the library. However, God has been good to us and provided, albeit piecemeal, along the way. ;) I was just trying to decide if I should start saving up to buy entire new cores from SL next spring or piecemeal it again. It would not be the first time I bought a new core from Sonlight. But I've not yet bought TWO new cores at the same time! Methinks, based on some of what I've read here, that I will look for used Instructor Guides and then, perhaps, just buy all the other books (history, readers, and read-alouds) new from Sonlight. Yes, I can piecemeal it and have. While I mostly enjoy it, it does get tiring trying to find them here and there. BUT (and I can't believe I hadn't thought of this before!), I may follow in the footsteps of the one gal who says she looks for her Core(s) a year ahead of time! :woohoo: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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