This past summer I went to a used homeschool curriculum sale.  As you all know, I’m all about saving money, especially on curriculum.  It gets so expensive with multiple children.

Through the sale I attended and through some online dealings, I have a few tips to offer to the rest of you when buying used homeschool curriculum.  Most of the time, you can buy used and save the difference, but you need to know what to watch.

Tips on Buying Used Homeschool Curriculum:

• Be sure and check the edition of the item you want to buy.  Many editions may be old and the workbooks or answer keys may be obsolete or not available.  Triple check that it is the current edition or the edition that you need to buy.  A quick look at the vendor’s website should help answer that for you.  Nothing worse than paying money out for something only to find out that you can’t use it and then have the hassle of trying to sell it to someone else.
• Make sure you thumb through the items you are intending to buy used.  Check for pen/pencil marks and missing pages.  I bought a book at this sale that was labeled as new and when I got it home, it was missing a bunch of pages.  It wasn’t obvious because they weren’t all in a row, just several here and there.  I had taken their word for it and not checked it myself.
• When buying online, require that the seller double check the item for you as far as edition, and if possible send lots of photos.  I bought a teacher’s manual from someone online that was described as like new.  When I received it, they had cut the binding off and it was a huge stack of unbound papers!  I was pretty upset!  Now I have it in a huge 3 ring binder that takes up more room on my homeschool shelf than the book would have taken.  I recommend paying through paypal online so you do have some coverage if the items aren’t shipped.
• Compare prices to original price.  Remember that many things do go on sale throughout the year.  Is it still a deal?  Also take in the price of shipping as well.  Sometimes gently used even at close to full price can be a savings when compared to new plus the cost of shipping.

Where to Buy:

• HomeschoolClassifieds.com – Search for the item needed and then email the seller to make purchase arrangements.
• Ebay
• Facebook: Find local homeschool pages and list what is needed.  As always, meet up in a safe place.
• Amazon: Save a bunch by buying used on Amazon.
• Local Co-ops: Reach out to local homeschool co-ops and find out if they will be having a sale.
• Friends: Ask other homeschooling moms for what you need.  Sometimes they may even let you borrow!

Have things you need to pass along?  Please also check out our article on How to Sell Used Homeschool Curriculum.