I was wondering...... I think someone wrote that you couldn't sell SOS. Is that true??? When we are done with it then what, if I can't sell it can you give it to someone to use?? I don't want to leave it on a shelf or worse yet throw it out!
You can give it away. However, if the person you 'give' it to decides to 'donate' money to your homeschool.... I think it is horrible of them to say you can't resell it. In my opinion you can do what you want with it... it belongs to you.
You're not 'supposed to' transfer it to anyone in any way. You didn't buy the software-you bought the licensing. You bought the right to use their program-they chose to us a disc as a mean to get it to you. What you actually, legally bought was the right to use their program and you don't legally have the right to sell that. Which I find utter baloney! I see the point, it's easy for one friend to buy XYZ software and let 10 friends borrow the disc-if the disk is say only $10-the XYZ company is then out $100. Most software is much more expensive than $10-so you see why companies make such a big deal-there is a lot of money to be lost when people share, rather than sell..... If you pay close attention to the fine print-you'll see it's in there. Rossetta Stone is known for having ebay and craigslist listings pulled quickly.
I never understood why they don't make it downloadable online. The company would save money on producing CDs and the packaging and people would understand it from the beginning that they bought a program for their computer. They could easily then charge just a few dollars more for each computer in your home. The same concept is used for, say, Microsoft Office software. You can pay $100 for one user or around $130 for three users. I also know home schoolers who make copies of the discs and pass them around so their entire co-op can use them. It's people like that who make it difficult for companies to be fair to honest consumers. All that to say, I sure wish they let you resell it. I bought some SOS subjects that I won't be using ever again.
I guess I'm in the minority. Copyright law is a big deal to me. I whole-heartedly understand why it's illegal to resell or pass around your copy. It's just like any other software; you pay to use it for yourself... once. You do not own it. You own the right to use it (for yourself alone). If companies didn't have the right to say that, they'd all go out of business. Think about it; how would you handle it if someone posted the software on a file-sharing site and hundreds of people downloaded it? Or if someone burned copies and passed them around at conventions or expos? Sure, you may only be reselling it to one person, but it's the same concept. Shorting the company of a sale is ripping them off. Ripping off a company once is not better than ripping them off dozens of times.
That is why I posted about the psychology of the consumer. If SOS changed the format to downloading to the user, people wouldn't have nearly the problem rectifying within themselves that they purchased the ability to use it, not the disc itself. I completely respect copyright, which is why I'd like to see them change the format to prevent dishonest people from driving everyone else's cost up. Edited to say....my respect for copyright does not, however, prevent me from lamenting my purchase.
I agree completely with you Brooke... I hate that I spent money on something that not only do I dislike a great deal, but I can't even recoup any of the cost.
Sorry, Brooke, I wasn't specifically responding to you. I got what you're saying. And you're right. The problem with that is that people are stuck on wanting a physical disk in case of back up. But if the product is registered through the download process, a couple of clicks should have you downloading again.
While I am big in following what companies want, I think there is some things that could be changed. For instance, when you buy a book, you are free to sell it once you are done (in most cases). So why not CD's? It is more expensive to make and all, but they charge more. I have a feeling in the future this will be different with all the book downloading possibilities. I also disagree with BJU. They let you pay to lease their DVD programs and you have to return them within 13 months. This means that you can't let more than one child use it, unless they use it at the same time. Plus, they are expensive.
SOS, BJU dvd, ABEKA dvd are all big risk. Up until this year I homeschooled 2 kids for less than $100/yr. This year with SOS it cost me about $450. If I could have recouped my money quickly, I may have given up on it not long after starting. But, the longer they use SOS, the better they do. I'm even considering using it for most subjects next year.
SOS offers online program called Monarch. Its about $10 more per subject but you can purchase individual subjects.
I bought learning adventures; and they ask that you not resell them. This hs family tried to make a go of it just selling curriculum but now have had to return to "real" jobs. So I see that, I do hate the idea of just tossing it, I might let someone borrow the first few weeks to "check it out" but no one here has been interested. We liked it, but it wasn't what we wanted going forward.
