Curious about Winter Promise

[heidirenata]

I have been browsing the Winter Promise website and a lot of their stuff looks really interesting. Their prices are a bit spendy and I'd really like to hear from people who have bought from them. What did you think? Are they worth the money? Pros and Cons of their programs? Any info would be appreciated.

[sagira]

Bumping up for you. There haven't been many threads on WP lately, but there are a few devotees left here.

[LearnLaughLove]

I found them too choppy, all over ability within a grade level, has too mant meaningless crafts and activities, and is a customer service and shipping nightmard. Their no resale policy sucks, too.

[clarkacademy]

They up the prices of the books. The said the guide was "free" not really though. They charge more for the books than I have seen at the actual publishers price. The say you cannot resale their exclusives which is an outright lie. I think they went to e-books so people couldn't resell which really aggravates me because if I buy it and I don't need it why shouldn't I be able to sell it?

 

The stuff I could sell that I don't need could be used to buy new stuff for the next school year. They don't have very good shipping and alot of the programs are scattered. The programs are a great idea but I have never seen anyone who doesn't have to tweak it. I also think their shipping policy is junk.

[KirstenH]

Well, we use WP and love it and plan to use it next year, too. You don't have to buy the books from them (although we did), and I don't care about reselling the guides because I like to mark them up.

 

What I love about WP:

 

It's pretty close to open-and-go. I usually sit down for thirty minutes during the weekend and go over the week ahead, putting bookmarks in books and making notes ... but if I don't have a chance, it's easy to tweak things on the fly. I never feel lost.

 

I love the LA. It's a solid base to build on, and doesn't teach anything stupid. My son loves the themes.

 

I love that it's more "boy friendly" than Sonlight. My son does not want to sit around reading emotional books nonstop and talking about them. The books choices for WP include more non-fiction and images, which my son appreciates. We're looking forward to the engineering-focused projects in QAW, which we'll be doing next year.

 

I love how easy it seems to be to combine ages. I haven't tried it yet, but I'm looking forward to it.

 

What I don't love:

 

The guide doesn't always lay things out intuitively. I can easily use it as written, but it's often smoother if I tweak something here or there.

 

Shipping really is absurdly slow. I recommend buying your exclusives through WP and then getting the books elsewhere.

 

The WP textbook I'm using has a few editing issues. I knew that going in, so I was prepared for it. If I hadn't been warned ahead of time, I think it might have been a bigger turnoff. The book is a great resource, it's just not perfect.

 

----------------------------

 

All in all, WP has been a perfect fit for our family and right now I plan to use them at least for the next several years.

[heidirenata]

I'm glad I asked. I was looking at the Children Around the World

program which seemed like a great idea. I have to admit I was a bit put off by seeming push to purchase ebooks. I happen to like actual books more and didn't like that I couldn't view their "exclusives" (no sample pages etc) I wouldn't buy the other componants that are available from amazon etc. I was more curious about their stuff because the website doesn't show much in the way of samples. I hate to spend $30 dollars on a single book (plus $10 shipping) if I'm buying it just based on the title and their description.

[heidirenata]

oops, sorry about the right align of previous post...how annoying.

[1shortmomto4]

A few years ago I loved WP - I used their QAW and AW and Sea & Sky. I guess what I loved was that everything was planned out (I need planned out). After awhile I did find that the skill-level was all over the place and so were the assignments. I tried AS 1 and we would be reading about one subject but the assignment for the note booking page was entirely different (and not something we had even covered).

 

I emailed some questions concerning their LA and the readers. I couldn't quite gauge what the true reading levels were for the younger sets and the books for the middle school levels were the same for the high school - huh? I was not given a straight answer but was told that all home schooled kids are advanced readers so the books they schedule are much more challenging. Well, the "all home schooled kids" turned me off because, ugh!, I don't have advanced readers at my house (dyslexia got in the way of that). I want to deal with a company that respects and understands all types of kids and their needs.

 

The final straw was when I was actually considering using the CAW program and finally was able to see a few samples for their spine (written by WP) and the subject was Africa and Kenya in particular and guess what - the information was wrong. How do I know - I personally lived there for 4 years.

 

Now, again, I find myself looking at the new fancy catalog but noticed all the ebook stuff and they've eliminated the read-alouds - I need to sit down and do the math and compare last year's catalog with this year's catalog but I'm not thinking the costs are any lower as claimed? Don't hold me on this but something was just not sitting right in my mind.

 

I put the catalog down and walked away....

[heidirenata]

The final straw was when I was actually considering using the CAW program and finally was able to see a few samples for their spine (written by WP) and the subject was Africa and Kenya in particular and guess what - the information was wrong. How do I know - I personally lived there for 4 years.

 

 

Thanks so much for this info because I've run into textbooks with that same issue. I don't want to be teaching my kids incorrect info, especially if I'm not aware it's wrong. I'm good at science so I can spot an error when I'm doing lesson plans but history and social studies are not my thing (I'm learning along with the kids) so I have to assume the literature/textbooks are correct. I guess my biggest reluctance with WP is their disinclination to allow you to view the materials before purchasing.

[heidirenata]

There is no such disinclination.

 

I think a lot of these aspersions cast are sort of suppositions.

 

 

if you want to see something please try contacting them. As I said CAW is undergoing some changes, so if it is not available its likely bc it isnt ready.

No offense intended I am spoiled with Rainbow Resource and Amazon with their Look Inside the Book features. I was interested in looking at their exclusive books not their teacher guides. Perhaps they are updating and that will be available in the future.

[KirstenH]

For the record, we are using CAW, the current, non-revised version, and it is fine. A little bit outdated (particularly Material World, which is from 1994), but perfectly fine. It's actually been a good opportunity to show DS how much things can change in 20 years. We compare the Material World numbers alongside numbers we look up in the CIA World Factbook. It only takes a few seconds to do this.

[1shortmomto4]

I understand that history books have misinformation - and depending on your views that can be a deciding factor on whether or not you use such book - and discuss/edit for content, etc. What bothered me about the CAW book was this is a spine, written by WP that you are to read to your child and it about a culture and the typical day or traditions that a person from that country would do/experience. This is not historical fact, yes, but when studying about cultures it should be pretty close to fact - especially if you've narrowed it down to an area or city. The info on Kenya was really, really not correct - so, it made me pause to wonder what else was written that was missing the mark - if it were written by a textbook publisher blame them but this was written by WP. Granted, they had a bad editor - just like a bad shipping company, and a bad catalog company, etc..........

 

There are plenty of people who have had awesome, wonderful experiences (I was one of them a few years ago) and then there are those that did not. I recommended WP to a new home schooler a 2 years ago and felt so bad that she had to call WP at least 8 times to get all of her items that she ordered - it shouldn't be that way.

[SnowWhite]

WinterPromise got me started in Literature Based Education. If it had been up to me in the beginning to choose books, schedule them out, and do some hands on alongside, we would have accomplished very little.

 

Now, as an experienced homeschool mom with two students whose needs overlap but are very different, I prefer to design my own lesson plans (using scholaric.com, which is a brilliant online planner for $1 per month).

 

I do find that I always use multiple WP-chosen books though. I agree that their choices are more progressive than old-fashioned. They schedule books by Bruchac and Avi.

 

I never did have huge complaints about their customer service.

 

Now that their schedule is a PDF, it makes perfect sense not to allow it to be resold. Most PDF purchases are single customer purchases.

[FairyMom]

I found them too choppy, all over ability within a grade level, has too mant meaningless crafts and activities, and is a customer service and shipping nightmard. Their no resale policy sucks, too.

 

This was my experience, of course, that was three years ago. Too choppy, things were way advanced or too easy all in the same grade; large, meaningless paper crafts, etc. The customer service/shipping nightmare was the biggest complaint I had. I received my package in so many different shipments that by the time everything got to me, 3 months later, my 30 day return policy had long since expired. Just a warning.

[kristin0713]

They have moved to selling digital packages of their exclusives (which, btw, they always shipped in a timely fashion).

 

IIRC it took 3 weeks to receive my Journeys of Imagination guide last year. I felt that was way ridiculously long, given that the guide was not even bound! It was freshly printed from their printer and mailed to me in a plastic bag. Really, this is bad business. They should have those guides ready to ship and ship them out within two days. I felt that guide was fine for what it was--basically, a pre-school schedule for read-alouds--but a little pricey for *just* that. I don't think I would order from them again. I've found other curricula that I just love so much more, and that I feel is more worth the price. And don't get me started on their no-resale policy.

[Loudwater School]

They up the prices of the books. The said the guide was "free" not really though. They charge more for the books than I have seen at the actual publishers price.

 

I just went book by book through the list for Quest for the Ancient World, and what I found was that about a third of the books were cheaper on Amazon or CBD, a third of them were the same, and a third were actually less expensive at the WinterPromise webstore.

[clarkacademy]

I just went book by book through the list for Quest for the Ancient World, and what I found was that about a third of the books were cheaper on Amazon or CBD, a third of them were the same, and a third were actually less expensive at the WinterPromise webstore.

 

 

A few years back I added it all up one night out of boredom. Buying all the books elsewhere was actually cheaper than buying from them. To me that did not make the guide free at all. In all reality what company is actually going to give away their stuff?

[warneral]

A few years back I added it all up one night out of boredom. Buying all the books elsewhere was actually cheaper than buying from them. To me that did not make the guide free at all. In all reality what company is actually going to give away their stuff?

 

I did the same thing earlier this spring before their updates with ebooks and their book prices were much higher than RR & amazon

[ebrindam]

No seller can conpete with amazon period which is why bookstores are DOA.

 

 

SL does the same thing- free guide with package.

 

This. We are big WP fans here and I honestly can't even understand how anyone would *expect* them to offer same prices as Amazon. They are a tiny company and even Barnes and Noble doesn't compete with Amazon. We have had no problems in ordering just exclusives from them. They usually arrive within 2 weeks.

[clarkacademy]

This. We are big WP fans here and I honestly can't even understand how anyone would *expect* them to offer same prices as Amazon. They are a tiny company and even Barnes and Noble doesn't compete with Amazon. We have had no problems in ordering just exclusives from them. They usually arrive within 2 weeks.

 

It is not about what I expected, it is about they said the guide was free and it wasn't not after they jacked up the book prices, which I have been told they get at discount for ordering bulk. I was told this by an actual person who worked for a cirriculum company.

[Bensmom]

We have completed 3 WP programs (just finishing AS 2 now) and have been very pleased. Previously we had used SL and found that the gentler nature of the WP books, along with the hands-on activities, made WP a better fit for us. We are looking forward to using Children Around the World this coming year! I am buying it used, and when I have not been able to find the programs used, I too buy from other sources and just get the exclusives from WP. My orders have always arrived in a timely fashion...just sometimes in several small shipments. I have tweaked each of the programs and have already made plans to tweak CAW by adding titles from SL core F, but I feel like they are solid enough as is and would recommend them to anyone wanting a literature-based program with plenty of optional extras in the IG and hands-on activities.

[KirstenH]

It is not about what I expected, it is about they said the guide was free and it wasn't not after they jacked up the book prices, which I have been told they get at discount for ordering bulk. I was told this by an actual person who worked for a cirriculum company.

 

As far as I can tell, they don't order anything in bulk. Every non-WP-exclusive book I've ever received from them has shipped directly from Amazon. Did the person you spoke to work for WP, or a competitor?

 

Sonlight charges more than Amazon for their non-exclusives, too. You don't see everyone complaining about that.

[clarkacademy]

As far as I can tell, they don't order anything in bulk. Every non-WP-exclusive book I've ever received from them has shipped directly from Amazon. Did the person you spoke to work for WP, or a competitor?

 

Sonlight charges more than Amazon for their non-exclusives, too. You don't see everyone complaining about that.

 

No they didn't work for WP. Out of the 6 cores I own from WP all bought complete from them that all came in several shipments I have only gotten 7 books that had an amazon reciept with them. I have Animal Worlds, American Story 1 and 2 Sea and Sky the early phonics program Hideaways in History and All American 1.

 

Perhaps the way things are worded rubs people the wrong way this thread is proof others have issues as well.

[amyrjoy]

Once I ordered two WP exclusives, I received them within two weeks.They look great.We haven't used the program yet (it's the Equine Science one) but to me things look wonderful.

[heidirenata]

I do have have to say I was put off by a $10 charge to ship a single book making a $30 book $40. That's a 25% increase and as someone who ships and purchases a lot of books and pays shipping I think $10 is excessive especially if it's going to take 2 weeks to get to me.

[heidirenata]

No seller can conpete with amazon period which is why bookstores are DOA.

 

 

I have to disagree with you there. I buy hundreds of books and 85% of the time Rainbow Resource is cheaper than Amazon. I would say about 50% of the time I can find the book cheaper on a different site, often the reason I buy from Amazon is more about one-stop-shopping and time constraints than bargain hunting. With regard to brick and mortar stores, I would say yes Amazon is often cheaper, less overhead and all that but just as often my local bookstore is the same as Amazon especially on new releases and mass market paperbacks. It just depends on what I am buying and whether I have time to go to an actual store (that is a rare day in my month I barely have time to grocery shop) I have no problem paying top dollar for a unique or unusual book but I wanted to know if the books were worth it which is why I started this thread.

[KirstenH]

I do have have to say I was put off by a $10 charge to ship a single book making a $30 book $40. That's a 25% increase and as someone who ships and purchases a lot of books and pays shipping I think $10 is excessive especially if it's going to take 2 weeks to get to me.

 

Almost everyone who isn't Amazon charges for shipping, some more than others. I chose not to buy HWT through Sonlight because of their shipping fees. When it came to EHE, though, I had no choice because it was an exclusive, so I sucked it up and paid the shipping. I didn't like it, but I didn't feel robbed. Likewise, I paid $20 shipping for my WP theme, and I think that was fair. I wasn't thrilled to pay it, but I didn't feel ripped off.

 

Is this "nitpick WP" day at the Hive or something? I'm saddened, because they're a small company with a great product and I'd like to continue buying it. A thread like this one could really damage their reputation when it shows up on Google. I think a lot of the criticisms are overblown and many of the older concerns have already been addressed by the company. I would hate for people to be discouraged from trying a curriculum that might be perfect for them because a couple of people decided to loudly air their grievances -- grievances that might equally apply to other, more popular curricula providers.

[Mrs. Lilac]

Just have to say, I was considering using WP, but hesitant after seeing threads like this one and various similar negative blog posts across the web.

 

I called them, spoke to the owner, Don- I told him I was concerned about what I had been reading and wanted to ask him directly. He was very appreciative that I took the time to do that, and he didn't make excuses or get defensive. He freely admitted they had mightily struggled with getting their shipping straightened out, and admitted they had hired an inept editor, which caused them a lot of problems. I found him to be very pleasant, easy to talk to, and was impressed that he was willing to give me a direct answer for everything I ask. I really was impressed when he said, "As the homeschooling dad in this family, and the leader of this company, I really take it to heart that these things have hurt our reputation." They're only human. It sounds like they have the vast majority of their issues worked out.

 

Sometimes on the Internet we do things we would never try to get away with in a "real" relationship. No one likes to be gossiped about behind their back. I would suggest that people call Winter Promise directly, and see if you are comfortable with their responses to your questions, or not. Everyone deserves a fair shake.

[kolamum]

We enjoyed using AA-1 last year, & will be using Sea & Sky next year for one student & CAW the year after for another student. I actually wrote a rather detailed review, it's a bit lengthy to cut & paste it to a post here.

 

My only disappointment with the programme is that the ebooks aren't cheaper then the bound books. That seem kinda silly to me because in general you pay less for an ebook due to the reduced need for paper & ink. I'm not sure I see an advantage to paying $80 for an ebook over $80 for a paper copy.

 

The other thing to remember is that they get a pretty bad rap for their Customer Service. I never had an issue & I'm living overseas, BUT I took what I heard from other people & worked around that.

 

The biggest complaint was that the Non-Winter Promise books are slow in coming. So, I ONLY ordered things from WP that they specifically wrote & could not be purchased elsewhere. In short, The actual Core, the timeline, & I splurged on Bible & Art. I wouldn't do that again, but I would splurge on their Timeline Pieces for specific cores {Sea & Sky for instance!}

 

I purchased books directly from Book Depository because I got free shipping & I purchased the HSITW CDs {that's what they use for geography & Core AA-1} directly from TOS because you get free shipping. :D

[Mandy in TN]

S&S was a huge hit with my 2nd ds. AW was a huge hit with my youngest ds. QAW wasn't a good fit for us mainly because MOH isn't our cup of tea.

 

We haven't used WP in several years, but I am excited about using CATW next year!

 

I like WP as a company and like their products. The company is small and personable. Their products don't require any more tweaking than any other literature based product I've used.

 

HTH-

Mandy

[sunnylady303]

We just ordered Animal World and LA 1 & 3 from them about a month ago. I was hesitant because of threads like this but I too called and talked to Don. I was reassured and I LOVE their material. Their LA is way better than SL for our family and the kids are far more engaged in it than FLL. I really like it better than anything I've seen.

 

As far as Animal World it is already a huge hit and I think it will be more and more. I love that they now give you the power to buy so much in pdf and then purchase books wherever you can find them cheapest.

 

I really have been impressed. It sounds like things have changed with them and I hope that folks will give them a chance. Shipping was fast too.

 

We will stay with them for a while at least. For us it's like a less intense, more hands on, preplanned but easier to amend SL. And the LA is hands down the best I've seen. Hope that helps!

[unity]

I'm gonna defend WP here, even though their products don't work for my family.

 

First off, I totally agree that they are a kind company. I emailed them a few years ago with some kind of suggestion/complaint and I remember I got an incredibly long, personal email back from Karyn. Their customer service helped resolve my immediate concern and Karyn answered my more general gripe. Oh—I remember—it was about one of their resources being labeled consumable when it was clearly not consumable as there was essentially nothing to write in it about. I was very annoyed that I had bought multiple copies based on their recommendation. I didn't in the end agree with what Karyn was saying, but I did feel heard and important, if that makes sense.

 

Regarding prices, when I bought the package for QMA I spent a long time comparing Amazon and WP, and in the end WP was either cheaper or almost the same price as Az. I went ahead and bought from WP, and although some of my products came in multiple shipments, I was ordering at least 6 weeks before the start of my program so it was fine. That said, one item that I guess was from the craft supply kit came a laughably long time after I ordered---like, at least a year and maybe 18 months. I was mystified one day to get an odd package from WP, and this was well after we were finished with the program. It turned out to be about 10 foam boards, which I guess I was entitled to but had never received.

 

As I said, I have vowed I won't use their products again, but really this is only because they didn't work for my family. I love the catalog and the website and the idea, so I have gotten seduced a few times, and I almost need to be firm with myself about this. But AW and QMA were both not great for us, so I don't want to try a third time. I guess if I had to put my finger on our main complaint it was that it was too much and too Christian. Too much about animals (AW) and too long on the time period (QMA). And I found both of those programs very difficult to secularize. I'm Christian so I don't mind a little Christian flavor to my homeschool but this was too much for us. In AW it was pretty easy to just leave out the Christian books but in QMA the whole flow of the course was influenced by its focus on Christian history.

[Esperella]

I keep wanting to order WP so much, but I just can't bring myself to do it. I've requested a catalogue 3 times, twice I got an email back saying "we'll be printing and sending them soon", and the last time one saying "we've received your requests for a catalogue, and will get one to you asap". All of these emails were after I got an email saying "new catalogues are ready to go!". I still don't have one.

 

I'm not going to beg someone to sell me on their product.

[thefragile7393]

You are at the mercy of your post office here, not WP.

 

Catalogues are not a priority.

Not if they haven't left the facility yet. I believe that is what the poster is referring to...they never seem to be done with their catalogs.

[edelweiss]

I am a WP customer and I just got my catalog yesterday, so I can attest that the catalogs are filtering their way to those who are expecting them.

 

I like WP. I've used several of their programs (Animals and Their Worlds, American Story 1 and 2, Equine Science) and have generally been happy with the product. I am 90% sure that I will order Quest for the Ancient World for next year. I feel like I should try something else, but when I have researched the usual suspects that are mentioned here, I haven't found anything that I think we'd like nearly as much.

[5 Hikers]

I ordered all our stuff from WP this year. I had ordered CATW 2 years ago and had major shipping problems, but nothing to get upset about. Keep the first shipping list that is more a bill, and then check off items as you receive them.

 

I am expecting HIH, AW, LA7, LA3 and QMA. I have gotten pieces of all of them, but not a complete set yet. I ordered 4 weeks ago. I am not starting school til August. I didn't feel like messing with piecing it together myself. I called on Monday and Don is always super friendly. He is very appreciative of customers who are patient. I simply let them know that I wanted to start HIH in June and I am missing 2 books from that. He said he will make sure I get them this week.

 

I am also missing 2 books from AW, but he let me know that they were waiting on Dover. I am fine with that, but I will call again in July if I don't have them. I also have a list of missing books from the others.

 

I like the idea of E-books. I know you can't resell officially, but the pdf are still yours to do what you wish. You can print them. They are also including a discount form to have it printed at Staples.

 

I put the guides on my Kindle so I can pull it up during school and walk around easier than handling the amount of paper in the printed version.

 

They are somewhat choppy, but it can be easily smoothed over. I also feel like you can choose not to do the stupid paper crafts and focus on the bigger ones. CATW crafts included having a Guy Fawkes Day bonfire with dolls, blowing up a wooden snowman, having tea, visiting a nursing home and more. We ate special meals for every country we visited too.

 

I chose WP over SL, HOD or LBC because I like the plans and the books they chose better. HOD has way more pointless paper crafts IMO.

[Shellydon]

I like WP. We've used AS 1, AS 2 and WP. I am moving to Biblioplan next year, but may return to WP in the future.

[Guest lomajocoad5]

I made a huge mistake in ordering Winterpromise ($800.00 worth) for the upcoming school year. :thumbdown: I hate the guides!!! The parent and student schedules do not match. :confused: It took several weeks and at least five phone calls to receive a credit for an activity kit I never received...it was no longer available, but they took my money anyway. This bothered me so much that I was afraid to return anything...worried I would never receive my money back. And, actually the time frame for returning items to this company is ridiculous...I barely had the materials to decide if they could work for us. After realizing these products would not work for me and considering the issues I was having with receiving items and a credit, I decided to toss the guide and keep the books. I will be placing an order with Sonlight to get a new guide and purchase the rest of the books that SL has available in similar cores :001_smile:

 

Happy for others who have had a better experience, but I will never order from Winterpromise again.

[kolamum]

A few years back I added it all up one night out of boredom. Buying all the books elsewhere was actually cheaper than buying from them. To me that did not make the guide free at all. In all reality what company is actually going to give away their stuff?

 

I never buy my books from WP or SL. I can save $100 or more BEFORE shipping on the books that way. When you include shipping into that I save HEAPS. ;) I use Book Depository though. :D

 

I only purchase exclusives from companies.

[prissygirls]

I just recieved all of my Winterpromise materials. I order in March so it did take a while but nothing unreasonable. I am loving what I have so far. We are doing Animal World. The kids seem to really love it to. On future orders I will just remember to order two months in advance. I may just buy my books off amazon and just buy their ebooks.

[LoveBaby]

I just recieved all of my Winterpromise materials. I order in March so it did take a while but nothing unreasonable. I am loving what I have so far. We are doing Animal World. The kids seem to really love it to. On future orders I will just remember to order two months in advance. I may just buy my books off amazon and just buy their ebooks.

 

 

I think a professional company taking 2 months (or in many cases longer) to get their product out to their customers is incredibly unreasonable.

 

And the owners may be kind, sweet and grateful for patient customers, but that doesn't change the fact that there are glaring errors in many of their guides that they know about, have known about for quite some time and are *still* sending out flawed product. I totally get that they hired a crummy editor, but after you have customer, after customer, after customer pointing out errors, then as a reputable company it would behoove you to fix those errors and prevent further problems.

 

Furthermore, their return policy isn't a return policy at all. I had a friend who didn't receive many of her items until well after the 30 day period had passed. Upon inspection, she realized the guides were riddled with mistakes and when she approached Winter Promise about the problem she was basically told "too bad, so sad the 30 day period had passed." That is terrible customer service. Using long shipping times to get out of ever having to offer a refund to an upset customer because they are past the 30 day return period, even if they haven't received all the items at that time, is just wrong.

 

I am all for supporting small businesses and in many cases I offer a lot of grace for small mistakes and mishaps, but Winter Promise is way beyond small mistakes and mishaps at this point. They are still sending out guides that have errors that they have known about for over 3 years and haven't done anything about them. That isn't a mishap, that is knowingly defrauding their customers, IMO.

[heidirenata]

This thread has been very informative for me. I've never had a problem getting a catalogue they've been sending them to me for years, thus whetting my appetite for their product. Their catalogues are gorgeous IMO. I am very concerned about the shipping issues though. I wouldn't mind that they take a while I can just plan ahead but I'm concerned that it would come all separately. How can you decide on a curriculum if you only have certain pieces? Also, do they bill all at once or do they bill individually as they ship?

[heidirenata]

I think a professional company taking 2 months (or in many cases longer) to get their product out to their customers is incredibly unreasonable.

 

 

:iagree:Especially in today's world with express shipping etc etc.

[sunnylady303]

I've already piped in once but I will again just in case there are others like me. I really think a lot of these shipping issues are past issues. And if there is concern I think they can be eliminated by buying the non WP books oneself.

 

As I said I ordered and received everything within a week and a half. A friend in my HS group ordered AC and S&S. I got to look at the guides plus the AW we are using. It all looks good - not perfect, I guess, but I didn't find any mistakes. Plus the LA really is awesome. I would say again, not to be afraid of WP. And if you are considering them, but are worried about taking the chance on them, call Don.

 

I also understand why so many folks are irritated by the shipping stuff from before. I would have been really mad. But I guess I want to put forward the idea that it seems they really have changed.

 

So if you are thinking of them, don't write them off.

[teeniebeenie6]

Furthermore, their return policy isn't a return policy at all. I had a friend who didn't receive many of her items until well after the 30 day period had passed. Upon inspection, she realized the guides were riddled with mistakes and when she approached Winter Promise about the problem she was basically told "too bad, so sad the 30 day period had passed." That is terrible customer service. Using long shipping times to get out of ever having to offer a refund to an upset customer because they are past the 30 day return period, even if they haven't received all the items at that time, is just wrong.

 

This is what bothers me the most. The return period should not end until a person has received all their items. It just isn't right. Some people don't have months to wait to receive their curriculum. If their new school year has started and they haven't received their products yet they should have every right to cancel, it is not their fault if WP can't fulfill their end in a timely manner!

[FairyMom]

I think a professional company taking 2 months (or in many cases longer) to get their product out to their customers is incredibly unreasonable.

 

And the owners may be kind, sweet and grateful for patient customers, but that doesn't change the fact that there are glaring errors in many of their guides that they know about, have known about for quite some time and are *still* sending out flawed product. I totally get that they hired a crummy editor, but after you have customer, after customer, after customer pointing out errors, then as a reputable company it would behoove you to fix those errors and prevent further problems.

 

Furthermore, their return policy isn't a return policy at all. I had a friend who didn't receive many of her items until well after the 30 day period had passed. Upon inspection, she realized the guides were riddled with mistakes and when she approached Winter Promise about the problem she was basically told "too bad, so sad the 30 day period had passed." That is terrible customer service. Using long shipping times to get out of ever having to offer a refund to an upset customer because they are past the 30 day return period, even if they haven't received all the items at that time, is just wrong.

 

I am all for supporting small businesses and in many cases I offer a lot of grace for small mistakes and mishaps, but Winter Promise is way beyond small mistakes and mishaps at this point. They are still sending out guides that have errors that they have known about for over 3 years and haven't done anything about them. That isn't a mishap, that is knowingly defrauding their customers, IMO.

 

 

This is what happened to me. It took 3 months to receive everything. When I finally did, it wasn't what I was expecting and called right away. They told me the 30 period had already passed, and that I should have had a "feel" for the program by the parts I had already received. :001_huh:

[lexi]

Here's my disclaimer-I've never used WP and I don't think I have any plans to. But sometimes that catalog tries to suck me in. I keep resisting though.....

 

But when I did some searching about WP I came across a blogger who tried to use it but it didn't work for her. She included lots of samples and even examples of errors she found. She clearly explained all the problems that she personally had with WP. I found it very helpful to read and it might help someone else. Here's her blog.

 

This isn't my blog and I don't know this person......I just found it while searching for things.

 

I know no program is perfect but it does seem odd that they haven't fixed some of these errors and some seem needless and silly. But that's just me!

[heidirenata]

Thank you for the blog link Lexi. I will take the time to read it because I am curious what these "errors" are people keep referring to. I can handle the occasional typo but much more than that I find irritating.

[3peasinapod]

I think a lot of errors come in their exclusive book-type items, not the IGs. I have heard of a bit in the HIH book and especially in the Children Around the World book of CAW. There are a lot of typos in the Children Around the World book too.

[heidirenata]

Wow, I took the time to read the blog in Lexi's post. The blogger has posted back and forth conversations (email) between her and the company owner? (Don) The blogger CLEARLY states specific errors in the programs and I would feel cheated too.