In which I pay $$$ for textbooks from a door-to-door salesperson...

[EMS83]

I still haven't heard from DH, so... :leaving:

 

They look like basic textbooks, broad, shallow, & colorful.  BUT this could be a good spine for what is supposedly standard.  They're meant to work with online resources for which one needs a subscription (no timeline or accountability), so that's neat, but I don't know if I'll pay monthly.  My goal justification is that it will show us any gaps we have, as we move toward high school/college, and will at least offer a little blurb as a jumping off point for deeper study.  ;)

[73349]

I hope you find you got your money's worth! Lots of used textbooks are also available online, often for little $.

 

 

[EMS83]

I know there are.  DH isn't mad, at least.  I think it's too hot, lol.  This supposedly spans 12 grades on all subjects one might learn in a brick & mortar schools.  It's really just to make me feel like we have a fall back "thing."  It'd be a good spine; we don't actually use textbooks for content.  I'm look[ing] at it like a huge expensive list of things they could learn about and/or are "supposed to" learn about, that I didn't have to spend any time compiling.

 

Edited for grammar.  Good grief.  See?  I need help!  :D

Edited July 13, 2017 by CES2005

[alisoncooks]

Well, if it gives you peace of mind, then it's worth the money. :)

Hope you love them.

 

 

[shawthorne44]

I wonder if this is a thing now?   I had someone try to sell me something like that the other day.   It looked sort of Childcraft-ish, of which I have two sets.   But, children's books door-to-door is new for me,   

 

[teachermom2834]

What I believe is the same company comes around every summer here. The salespeople we have had actually make people really uncomfortable because they are very pushy.

 

Last summer it was a bit of a drama as the kid that was selling had an accent and some people got themselves convinced he was part of a sex trafficking operation and that he was looking for kids.

 

It kind of surprises me that this is even a thing anymore. We have Amazon now. Lol. But then I do hear about people buying the books so I do see they make some sales.

 

I am glad you are happy with your books! Books are awesome :)

[ktgrok]

What I believe is the same company comes around every summer here. The salespeople we have had actually make people really uncomfortable because they are very pushy.

 

Last summer it was a bit of a drama as the kid that was selling had an accent and some people got themselves convinced he was part of a sex trafficking operation and that he was looking for kids.

 

It kind of surprises me that this is even a thing anymore. We have Amazon now. Lol. But then I do hear about people buying the books so I do see they make some sales.

 

I am glad you are happy with your books! Books are awesome :)

 

Actually, the person doing the selling might be trafficked himself, if it was a teen/young adult. This article is about groups using US teens, but there have been other stories about foreign workers. https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2015/jul/16/people-trafficking-door-to-door-sales-us-abuse-exploitation-polaris-report

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[Meriwether]

It is Southwestern. We had a young man from Poland stop by last week selling the same thing. I didn't buy anything, mostly because we are redoing our basement and I really shouldn't be spending money just because. The resource looked fine, but I have so many resources already that I'm not fully utilizing.

[desertstrawberry5]

i had someone come to my door when we first moved in. they are nice books, and it was quite persuasive, but the price is high, and I cam e to my senses.  :lol:  i am surprised this is a thing, too. I thought maybe because we are rural, but that doesn't really make sense. 

 

The guy who came to my house expresses disappointment that there are so few children here. As I recall, it was the off season and most of the houses were closed up. Our houses are far apart. It was a lot of walking for very little result. they haven't been back. 

[Serenade]

It is Southwestern. We had a young man from Poland stop by last week selling the same thing. I didn't buy anything, mostly because we are redoing our basement and I really shouldn't be spending money just because. The resource looked fine, but I have so many resources already that I'm not fully utilizing.

I sold books for Southwestern years ago, and I bought a set for my kids when they were younger. Now when the salespeople come around, I offer them a glass of water and the bathroom, if they need it. I remember those days, just hoping somebody would be nice to you, even if they didn't buy your books. It's a tough job.

 

For those who don't know, Southwestern recruits college kids to work in the summer.

 

I, too, am surprised that Southwestern is still in business using the old model. I guess it still works. Back when I sold books, selling one or two sets a day gave a modest return at the end of summer, but man, is it hard work.

[GinaPagnato]

Or you could dust off your copy of TWTM and use the exhaustive lists there!  ;)

[Meriwether]

I sold books for Southwestern years ago, and I bought a set for my kids when they were younger. Now when the salespeople come around, I offer them a glass of water and the bathroom, if they need it. I remember those days, just hoping somebody would be nice to you, even if they didn't buy your books. It's a tough job.

 

For those who don't know, Southwestern recruits college kids to work in the summer.

 

I, too, am surprised that Southwestern is still in business using the old model. I guess it still works. Back when I sold books, selling one or two sets a day gave a modest return at the end of summer, but man, is it hard work.

I do try to be polite. I've purchased books from Southwestern before, but I just couldn't justify it this time. I almost did just because he came all the way from Poland to earn money for college.

[RootAnn]

It is Southwestern. We had a young man from Poland stop by last week selling the same thing. I didn't buy anything, mostly because we are redoing our basement and I really shouldn't be spending money just because. The resource looked fine, but I have so many resources already that I'm not fully utilizing.

 

Yep. I have a bunch of these from when my kids were really young. They came back about 10 years later and tried to sell them to us. I brought my books out (barely used!). He tried to sell us the reference book thing like what I think the OP bought. It looked so dry & I knew it would never fly here. I already have 10" of Southwestern books on my shelves that I'd prefer to give away so I can have that space for stuff we DO use.

[teachermom2834]

I am polite because I do know it is a legitimate company and I do feel so bad for them. I also warned the kid the other day that our neighborhood is skittish and will chase him out of there and it might not be pleasant.

 

I have seen some kids from Southwestern do things like stick their foot inside a sceeen door when a homeowner is trying to close it, entering screened in porches without being invited. That kind of thing can get you shot in these parts so I worry about the whole thing.

 

My uncle sold for Southwestern 30 years ago and calls it one of the best experiences of his life. Seems miserable to me!

[Serenade]

I do try to be polite. I've purchased books from Southwestern before, but I just couldn't justify it this time. I almost did just because he came all the way from Poland to earn money for college.

Now that surprises me, that Southwestern is recruiting people from other countries. Unless they are here already attending college. If somebody came from overseas just to sell books, I think it would be very hard to make a reasonable return. I hope SW is not taking advantage of these kids.

[Serenade]

I have seen some kids from Southwestern do things like stick their foot inside a sceeen door when a homeowner is trying to close it, entering screened in porches without being invited. That kind of thing can get you shot in these parts so I worry about the whole thing.

It is not cool for the salespeople to do something like that. I hope that is not what they are teaching them today!

 

I do remember that once I made a smart-ass comment to somebody who was rejecting me, and I still feel bad about it today.

 

My uncle sold for Southwestern 30 years ago and calls it one of the best experiences of his life. Seems miserable to me!

Your uncle sounds like my brother. My brother did it for at least 3 years, but once was enough for me.

[RootAnn]

The two that I have personally talked to both came from Eastern Europe. My DH would be able to tell you exactly what countries, but they were both definitely from overseas and only here to sell the books.

[magnificent_baby]

This happened a few years ago. I ended up calling the police because the girl was so pushy, had a hard time accepting no and wanted to know which neighbors had kids and what time they would be home. She even asked what kind of vehicles they drove and mentioned exact color/make/models that she noted were coming and going in the neighborhood. It gave me the overall feeling they were casing the neighborhood. 

[teachermom2834]

This happened a few years ago. I ended up calling the police because the girl was so pushy, had a hard time accepting no and wanted to know which neighbors had kids and what time they would be home. She even asked what kind of vehicles they drove and mentioned exact color/make/models that she noted were coming and going in the neighborhood. It gave me the overall feeling they were casing the neighborhood.

Yes- this has been the MO of the Southwestern kids we've had over the last three summers. They ask names of kids, makes of cars, schedules. One of the three we have had was from Eastern Europe. The other kids were from the southern US.

 

Now that we have been through it multiple years I know who they are and what to expect. I had one two weeks ago at 7:45 am. I know it is a legitimate company but their tactics are awful. I can't believe it is even a thing. I feel bad for the kids and actually worry about their safety too.

[vickjul]

We  own a few sets of Southwestern books and enjoy them, but I refuse to purchase directly from the company due to its exploitative business practices. When their sales people come by here, we offer them a cold drink and a bottle of water for the road, then send them on their way. I think we finally got dropped from their route a couple of summers ago after I brought one of their sale people inside, showed him that we already owned the sets of books he was peddling, and told him that I bought one set in like new condition for $29.95 on eBay and found the other for $0.50/book at Goodwill.

[EMS83]

Yeah, later that day I found them on Amazon for about $30 each.  :D  But she had these in her car, which means she already paid for the books.  I had three days to request a refund, but decided not to.  Normally we don't make purchases like that, for a lot of reasons; it was just the stars aligning.  I could feel dumb about it, but I don't.  I have plenty of other, better things to feel dumb about.  ;)