More on Ethical Purchases of Used Curriculum

by Andrea Hermitt | More from this Blogger

03 Apr 2008 05:42 AM

I recently wrote about the ethics behind selling curriculums from companies that forbid resale and instead licenses curriculum. This does not mean that there are not opportunities for purchasing second hand curriculum. In fact, there are many opportunities for purchasing pre-used curriculum programs and books for your child.

• Amazon.com offers many books that can be used for homeschooling that can be purchased used or new.
• Thebackpack.com offers affordable educational resources for public, private, and home schools.
• EBay can also be a reliable source for certain homeschool curriculums.

To prevent purchasing curriculums and materials that are not necessarily allowed to be sold due to publishers licensing rules, you should look for language in the listings that suggest tricks such as certain portions being added as "packing materials" and not part of the sale, or for some of the materials to be described as a free gift. If you see this, in an auction of listing, you need to check the publisher's website to find out if resale of these items is allowed.

There will also be times when an innocent seller or donor offers you items that the publisher has deemed non-transferable. Just because you and them are not aware of the rules does not mean you are breaking the rules. To prevent such errors from happening it is wise to fully investigate the curriculum you are seeking to acquire. It was just as important to find out the licensing and purchase information of the curriculum as it is to find out how effective the curriculum is.

Some things about curriculums that will tip you off as to whether or not a curriculum can be resold are:

• The curriculum materials are part of a homeschool program that is sold as a service. If so, then the accompanying materials may not be available for resale.
• The curriculum is sold as software of part of a software package. Most software is not available for resale because of licensing issues.

Learn more about Andrea Hermitt

Andrea Hermitt is a native New Yorker currently residing in GA. She has been married for over 16 years and has two teenage children.

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