beaners Posted November 24, 2014 Share Posted November 24, 2014 WHY is the first book of every program I'd like to order right now SO expensive? One of the math books someone mentioned the other day had a price tag of $1900 when I looked it up on Amazon!!! Yes, I know it's a pricing algorithm, not a real person pricing the books. There is a direct instruction language program that looks like it would be perfect for my boys, but the presentation guide for part A is almost $200. The guides for B, C and D are all available for $30. A few books at $30 would be a stretch for the homeschooling budget this time of year, (and a couple kids *might* already be getting some schoolbooks for Christmas) but those higher prices are obviously completely out of the question. Ugh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneStepAtATime Posted November 24, 2014 Share Posted November 24, 2014 :grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug: Have you checked Abe Books? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beaners Posted November 24, 2014 Author Share Posted November 24, 2014 I've checked all the usual sources. Most of them are the same seller, listing in multiple places. I will probably try to go through the publisher for the math program, but the publisher only sells the other book as part of a (very expensive) complete teaching materials kit. Guess I better hope I win the lottery... :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneStepAtATime Posted November 24, 2014 Share Posted November 24, 2014 Do you have any homeschooling groups in your area? You might ask there. I just lent out a ton of stuff to some local homeschoolers. Someone happened to mention how expensive something was. I realized I had what she was talking about and lent it to her which led to someone else asking about the next level which led to someone else asking about a completely different subject that I also had resources for. Do you have any used book stores? Sometimes they have stuff. And I just got several Life of Fred books for free from a homeschooling mom in process of graduating her last child. I hope I am not annoying you with suggestions you have already tried. Just hoping something might help. I sympathize with your frustration completely. :grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beaners Posted November 24, 2014 Author Share Posted November 24, 2014 Not annoying! :) It is possible but both of these are pretty specific, non-typical homeschooling choices. Not Saxon or SOTW, you know? The language program I'm nearly certain most people wouldn't have or use, since it is for teaching preschool and kindergarten children the very basics of speaking English. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneStepAtATime Posted November 24, 2014 Share Posted November 24, 2014 Good luck beaners. Maybe the prices will drop? I usually keep quite a few things in my cart and prices change all the time. As soon as something drops low enough, I get it if I still need it. I have gotten some great deals that way. Of course, on some items I have had to wait a few weeks or even months, but for those particular items, the wait was worth it. :) I am sorry the prices are so completely out of whack, though. $1900. Good grief. :glare: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boomerangboom Posted November 26, 2014 Share Posted November 26, 2014 Thriftbooks or homeschoolclassifieds? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustEm Posted November 26, 2014 Share Posted November 26, 2014 In the past I have contacted sellers on Amazon when a book is ridiculously overpriced and been very frank about the fact that I'm interested in their book but their silly algorithm has priced it so no one in their right mind would ever buy it. I then make a reasonable offer on the book and have at times been granted that offer. It is certainly worth a try. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jyhwkmama Posted November 26, 2014 Share Posted November 26, 2014 Have you tried half.com? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shawthorne44 Posted November 26, 2014 Share Posted November 26, 2014 Is that the cause of those outrageous prices? I never understood those. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lanny Posted November 26, 2014 Share Posted November 26, 2014 The $1900 book probably is not in stock. One Amazon Seller that we have purchased 2 or 3 used textbooks from during the past 2 years frequently has textbooks listed at extremely high prices. i believe those are just "place holders" to keep their listing active and that when they actually have the book in stock they will change the price and price it correctly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orthodox6 Posted November 26, 2014 Share Posted November 26, 2014 One of my "best friends" is this website: http://www.fes.follett.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shawthorne44 Posted November 26, 2014 Share Posted November 26, 2014 The sellers that have the outrageous prices get a ding in my mind. Maybe they all do it. But when I see outrageous prices I get annoyed, and then when I have a choice of sellers I'll pick one that hasn't annoyed me lately. Maybe they all do it and I've only noticed certain sellers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shawthorne44 Posted November 26, 2014 Share Posted November 26, 2014 The $1900 book probably is not in stock. One Amazon Seller that we have purchased 2 or 3 used textbooks from during the past 2 years frequently has textbooks listed at extremely high prices. i believe those are just "place holders" to keep their listing active and that when they actually have the book in stock they will change the price and price it correctly. Do you know what the benefit of that is? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest2 Posted December 6, 2014 Share Posted December 6, 2014 When I sold books on Amazon I did the same thing. Usually it was a busy time or vacation, and I didn't want anyone to buy during those time , so I just added zeros to everything. My husband later told me there is a procedure that can be used for this, but I didn't see it and it wasn't intuitive. Sorry, I have been on the buying end too and it is beyond frustrating . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alessandra Posted December 6, 2014 Share Posted December 6, 2014 One of my "best friends" is this website: http://www.fes.follett.com/ I just ordered from them through Abebooks. The so called used workbooks looked new and pristine, came in 2-3 days, same as an Amazon Prime order I made at the same time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted December 6, 2014 Share Posted December 6, 2014 Yeah I'd probably try to just find something else. Not too many things are worth that kind of money! That is frustrating. I hate when someone tells me about a great book and I go looking for it and it's just insanely expensive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beaners Posted December 6, 2014 Author Share Posted December 6, 2014 There are multiple different sellers with high prices, so I'm pretty sure it isn't one person going on vacation or having run out of the book. Maybe though? That follett site looks awesome! I will poking around there and see what I find! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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