lovelaughs_times_three Posted June 21, 2011 Share Posted June 21, 2011 I am intrigued! We have nothing like this here. Maybe it is something I'd like to start? Those of you who have this in your town.. How does it work? Do you live in a large town (we only have about 60,000 people)? Do they buy your used books or consign them? What percent do they offer you (if they consign)? How do they set their prices? Do they offer only used or also new? If new, what products do they offer? Do homeschool companies give them licenses to sell their products? Tell me more! I'm interested! I'm wondering if something like this could work where I live! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G5052 Posted June 21, 2011 Share Posted June 21, 2011 (edited) I know of a homeschool consignment store and will tell you that they don't make a lot of $$$ with it, and but have side businesses associated with it (i.e. tutoring, testing, classes, etc. ) that also bring in income. I haven't consigned there, but they sell in the store and also through Amazon Marketplace. They also have certain criteria for consignments and don't take just anything. At one point they did sell new, but got out of that because most of the online vendors (Amazon, Rainbow, Christian Books) could beat them on price. Edited June 21, 2011 by GVA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ilovemy6kids Posted June 21, 2011 Share Posted June 21, 2011 We have a homeschool store in the next town over. I drive about 15 miles to get there. I just googled the town and the population is over 16,000 people. So it is much smaller than yours. The owners of the store tell me that people have driven for several hours to come to the store. I know they do alot of mail order business and go to quite a few conventions during the year. They send out a catalog. They do not take consignment or buy used, I sooo wish they did!!! They charge full price on everything except for Apologia Science and LLATL. I think those are about 20% off. They have workshops where you pay about 10-15 dollars and then get a 5.00 credit to spend at the store that night only. I know they sell alot on those nights. They sell popular curriculum, like Apologia, LLATL, SOTW, MOH and Explode the Code. They will order things for you if you ask. They also have books and games. Their website is http://www.legacyhomeschool.com. I hope this helps, Sheri Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenL Posted June 21, 2011 Share Posted June 21, 2011 (edited) There's one in the town next to mine. Everything is brought in by consignors aside from a few novelty items (pencils & bookmarks). They do sell brand-new copies of Cathy Duffy's 100 Top Picks as well. I consign there all the time and keep a running balance on my account. They don't take everything, but I haven't yet figured out how they pick & choose. Prices are usally 30-80% less than retail. It's truly a used bookstore loaded with homeschool, teaching, and educational supplies. They even offer games and higher end used toys like Playmobil. Here is their website: www.thehomeschoolroom.net They also have 2 classrooms attached to the store where local homeschool moms/dads/artists/music teachers/etc. offer classes daily. The classes right now consist of Spanish, writing, economics, an assortment of math (Algebra I & II, Trig, Geometry), and a variety of music lessons. Everyone who works there has been or still is a homeschool mom, and they have to have been doing it for at least 3+ years. They are currently working on opening one about 40 minutes north of the current location. I love & cherish this store. It's saved me SO much money, and I can find almost any curriculum ever mentioned on here there. I only wish I had thought of opening it myself! :D Edited June 21, 2011 by jenL added website Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YLVD Posted June 21, 2011 Share Posted June 21, 2011 (edited) There are quite a few homeschool stores here. They are a lot of fun to visit. I have not seen any that were consignment though. I live in a large city. Edited June 21, 2011 by YLVD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dani3boys Posted June 21, 2011 Share Posted June 21, 2011 We have a homeschool store in the next town over. I drive about 15 miles to get there. I just googled the town and the population is over 16,000 people. So it is much smaller than yours. The owners of the store tell me that people have driven for several hours to come to the store. I know they do alot of mail order business and go to quite a few conventions during the year. They send out a catalog. They do not take consignment or buy used, I sooo wish they did!!! They charge full price on everything except for Apologia Science and LLATL. I think those are about 20% off. They have workshops where you pay about 10-15 dollars and then get a 5.00 credit to spend at the store that night only. I know they sell alot on those nights. They sell popular curriculum, like Apologia, LLATL, SOTW, MOH and Explode the Code. They will order things for you if you ask. They also have books and games.Their website is www.legacyhomeschool.com. I hope this helps, Sheri I just drove by there last Friday on my way to pick my son up from camp! I have bought things from them at the MACHE conference. Do they buy and sell used books too? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovelaughs_times_three Posted June 21, 2011 Author Share Posted June 21, 2011 They have workshops where you pay about 10-15 dollars and then get a 5.00 credit to spend at the store that night only. I know they sell alot on those nights. What kind of workshops? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovelaughs_times_three Posted June 21, 2011 Author Share Posted June 21, 2011 Prices are usally 30-80% less than retail. They also have 2 classrooms attached to the store where local homeschool moms/dads/artists/music teachers/etc. offer classes daily. The classes right now consist of Spanish, writing, economics, an assortment of math (Algebra I & II, Trig, Geometry), and a variety of music lessons. What percent of the sale do they give back to you when they consign an item? Do they set the price or do you? Who teaches these classes? Do they charge? Is this part of the stores profit, or does the store simply charge rent for the space? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovelaughs_times_three Posted June 21, 2011 Author Share Posted June 21, 2011 There are quite a few homeschool stores here. They are a lot of fun to visit. I have not seen any that were consignment though. I live in a large city. If it's not consignment, what do they sell? Do they have partnership agreements with the major distributers? (Apologia? Sonlight? FLL?) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmmetler Posted June 21, 2011 Share Posted June 21, 2011 I just visited my first one this week. We don't have any in my area. It was about 3/4 new materials-Veritas Press, CAP, Horizons, Saxon, IEW, ABeka, plus lots of trade and literature books and about 1/4 consignment, and also apparently has classes and workshops. Prices were cover price on books-which really isn't all that different than what I'd pay through Amazon in many cases-I bought four of the "Sir Cumference" books there, and the price was the same as Amazon. Veritas Press cards were about the same as I'd seen online. Apparently, there are multiple hybrid schools where kids go one day a week and homeschool the rest and co-ops, so they have a lot of the materials for those programs. They have a small "play area" with a lego table, books for kids, and a play kitchen, which is set up well so that you can browse and keep an eye on younger DC (and keep them out of the merchandise for sale). It was GREAT getting to actually see many of the curricula as opposed to just ordering from Rainbow sight unseen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZooRho Posted June 21, 2011 Share Posted June 21, 2011 There is one in my area too. Moore Expression I don't go over there too often. They do sell mostly used materials, but I do think they get some new stuff, but I'm not sure. I have never taken anything over there for consigning so I don't know how that works. They do host "events" for homeschooling parents, offering different things once a month. I have gone to a few, one was about our local eloop, and another was about Sonlight Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RahRah Posted June 22, 2011 Share Posted June 22, 2011 Our town has a "Teacher's Store" so it didn't limit itself to just targeting homeschool families, but advertises to families who homeschool, those who afterschool or want to do more enrichment with their kids, and, of course, area teachers who need supplies, posters, etc. In addition to a huge selection of workbooks, texts and such, they carry bulletin board packs, manipulatives, paper supplies, educational games, a good selection of readers, things for scouts, art supplies and a pretty good selection of Melissa & Doug, HABA and other high-end toys. They do really well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carrie12345 Posted June 22, 2011 Share Posted June 22, 2011 There are no homeschool stores in my area. Dh and I have talked about opening a homeschool consignment store. Our area covers a population of more than 160,000 people (we're not really a "town" kind of place), and homeschooling (plus cyberschooling) is pretty popular here, but I've been afraid to take the plunge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lcelmer Posted June 22, 2011 Share Posted June 22, 2011 It works just like any other bookstore with licensing, but with more HS specific books... Their consignment info is on the site.. and they do offer music lessons, I am not sure if they just rent the space to the teacher or not. :-) Here is my "local" store.... Exodus Books Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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