Is new curriculum cheaper at a curriculum fair?

Discussion in 'Homeschooling' started by Aidensmommy22, Apr 26, 2013.

  1. Aidensmommy22

    Aidensmommy22 New Member

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    I am looking into going to a homeschool convention & curriculum fair. Does anyone know if it's cheaper there than ordering from the companies website? I know it costs to get into the fair but I would like to see & touch the curriculum before I buy it.
     
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  3. Actressdancer

    Actressdancer New Member

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    Sometimes.

    Some publishers offer on-sight discounts; others do not.
    Usually though, if you call the publisher, they'll tell you what their fair policy is.
     
  4. crazymama

    crazymama Active Member

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    Well take this with a grain of salt since I have never gone to a convention, but I would say in the end, no.

    1st you have to pay to get in (at least the ones "around" here you do... they are still far away and require a hotel room or an exhausted drive home).

    2nd you have all that shiny new curriculum in front of you.. way too tempting to buy something beyond or different than you planned. You aslo have all the sales people who know how to reel you in.

    Granted, you might be strong enough to not give in to temptation, but I know I'm not..lol
     
  5. Jackie

    Jackie Active Member

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    If you go, go with a list of what you want and shop around. Take a notebook with you, and record how much it is where.

    Some vendors give deals, some do not. TEACHING TEXTBOOKS DOES NOT!!! (Or, at least, it didn't!) TT also didn't care their products with them; you ORDER it, and they only provide free shipping if you get a complete set. That really bugged me!!!

    Other companies have great discounts. Rainbow Resources usually brings a lot with them. If they don't have what you want, you can order it and the shipping is free.

    Another thing to keep in mind is that you will be paying tax at the conference, which you usually don't have to do (yet) if you buy on-line.
     
  6. Shelley

    Shelley New Member

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    I go to our annual book fair every year. I've noticed that some offer special discounts [could be a percentage off or free shipping] while others offer extra items with your purchase. My main reason for going, however, is not to get a special deal. I like being able to look at a wide variety of curriculum and see the whole book. I HATE purchasing online when all I can see is a few sample pages. I've ended up with some real stinkers in terms of curriculum simply because the sample ended up not being reflective of the whole text.

    Plus, our convention has a number of used book dealers and what I would call 'supplemental' texts. I found my favorite history supplemental texts there....would never have heard of them or seen them anywhere else.

    Our book fair also has speakers, and I've gone to some of those.

    Honestly, if you know what you're going to buy and have no interest in anything else, I'd say just get it online. However, if you're not sure what you're going to get and have nowhere else to view an entire copy of the alternatives you're interested in, I'd go.

    Oh, and if you go, you can find better deals towards the end of the fair as dealers are wanting just to ditch what they came with and will give you better discounts towards that end. :)
     
  7. chicamarun

    chicamarun New Member

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    I'm going to one tonight with the 13 year old. This year - we don't have a huge list which is actually pretty cool so we are going for fun. I have a list of what I would like to look for and the price I found them the cheapest online (including shipping) Granted that list is a whole 2 books this time.

    Last year we were suckered into Math-u-See..... Alexis loved it so we bought it. They ship to you so we were excited when we got it. Well.... she didn't like it when she got it -- she didn't like the and even though their practice test said she should start at BETA (she was 12) she flew through the book and it was really a waste. She knew the stuff easily enough.

    We did find a good deal on her Physical Science from Apologia last year which was exciting - and I was able to resell it recently for over 1/2 of what we paid - so all was good with that one.

    Just shop smart - like with anything else.

    Oh - and because we aren't a member - it's costing us $10 to get in.... same price as a year "membership" - it'd be $5 if it was just me.... or $10 for the entire family. No big deal as it's our "evening out" together.
     
  8. cabsmom40

    cabsmom40 Active Member

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    I usually see free shipping as one of the most common discounts and in some cases it can save a considerable amount of money. However, one publisher promoted that and made it sound like a great deal. I then realized that they always have free shipping.

    The best thing is to window shop on the internet and then compare.
     
  9. crazymama

    crazymama Active Member

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    TT I think always has free shipping.
     
  10. Jackie

    Jackie Active Member

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    If so, that's new. But it's been a a few years since I bought TT new, so I can't say for sure. It use to be only free shipping if you bought a complete set. For example, my son doesn't use the workbook AT ALL. He does the problems on the computer, and I learned real early that buying a workbook was a waste of money for me. So buying just the computer program without the workbook didn't qualify me for free shipping. But, as I say, it may have changed.
     
  11. chicamarun

    chicamarun New Member

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    ok - I was able to pick up some decent deals I was happy with. We spent about 2 hours there - mostly picking up literature books and some rod & staff math and penmanship for the little one. Rod & Staff offered 10% off... and of course since they actually had the stuff there there was no shipping. No one helped me at CLP - so I walked away to R&S to get the math. Understand - it wasn't that busy yet so I was a little upset.

    For literature books - we were able to grab about 8 books for under $25.... still a little shocked Alexis went for The Hunchback of Notre Dame vs The Prince and the Pauper... but hey - who am I to argue?

    Compared to Amazon - some had decent/comparable prices but were taking 10% off.

    What I would like to know is as a vendor of something such as Answers in Genesis... how in the world do you compete when the vendor themselves is sitting across from you? That was just a random thought.

    Rainbow Resources was there - I only picked up 1 thing from them... but again - didn't need much.

    Was able to get 10% off all my CAT tests for the year ;) YEAH!!! (yes that's only $7.50 but hey - that's a book)
     
  12. Renae_C1

    Renae_C1 New Member

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    CLE basically never has any discounts or anything, but they are already so low priced, I don't think they could take the hit if they did!
     
  13. crazymama

    crazymama Active Member

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    Seems you can get free shipping on the disk sets and the complete sets, since they don't list their books online I'm not sure if they have free shipping.
     
  14. kricau

    kricau New Member

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    I find that I get good deals online if you are paitent and use coupons :)

    You should check if you have a store around you that has curriculum. We have one called "The Homeschool Cottage". They have lots of new curriculum and used / consignment curriculum. I like to be able to look at the complete new sets and then shop for the cheap used of the same version :)
     
  15. Aidensmommy22

    Aidensmommy22 New Member

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    Thanks everyone for your input! The I'm looking at going to is in Nashville. It's a curriculum fair & convention. Since we are new to homeschoolnig, I thought I would like to attend some workshops there too. Anyone that has been before, are they worth sitting through or will I find all the information I need online? Also, the curriculum I'm leaning toward is MFW & MUS. Not sure is MUS offers a discount but a friend of mine told me she received a discouunt on MFW at a fair. I don't think MFW can be purchased anywhere online other than their website. I'm really not set on MUS yet so that's why I would like to look at my options there.
     
  16. kricau

    kricau New Member

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    The only "convention" I went to was just locl homeschool moms who talked about what curriculum they used and why, how they organize / plan, how to register with the state, etc. It was very boring! I knew everything they had said already,mostly from talking with fellow homeschool moms in person and on places like here. If you have specific questions you can almost always find them online or on here. But if you want to get other perspectives (and there are tons) on the homeschooling way of life a convention is a good thing. For me, I already know how / why I homeschool, it was a waste of time
     
  17. Shelley

    Shelley New Member

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    I usually attend some of the workshops at ours. As with anything, some speakers are great and engaging, and some are boring as toast. I had a couple of friends who went to one workshop a couple of years ago that they raved about for weeks afterward.

    Larger conventions can get really great speakers to come while others just get whoever might be willing to speak. LOL We're fortunate in that our convention is a larger one that has great speakers. They've got tracks of workshops geared towards beginners, special needs, parents of teens, etc. I don't go to all the workshops--- in fact, some years, I've gone to none; but I've generally enjoyed the ones I've been to.
     
  18. Renae_C1

    Renae_C1 New Member

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    When and where is the convention in Nashville? That is close enough for me to check out!
     
  19. OpenMinded

    OpenMinded Member

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    Mainly the cost break is that there is no shipping costs. It is nice to see and touch the curriculum, but the one I went to did not have many price breaks beyond the no shipping costs even if you had to order something.
     
  20. Aidensmommy22

    Aidensmommy22 New Member

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    It's May 17th & 18th at the Tennessee Expo center, says it's formerly the state fairgrounds, in Nashville. I've never been there. We are in Alabama & I was debating between this one & one in Atlanta. The one in Atlanta isn't until late July & I would really like to have curriculum to look over before then.
     
  21. libertybelle

    libertybelle New Member

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    I agree with most of what is posted. But, I would add, that I have found that if you shop around before the conventions, sometimes if you know you can get it for a certain price, they will negotiate some. Being prepared and knowing what you are looking for helps that process.
    I have been to a few, and have gotten some good deals. Some I bought at regular price, but saved on shipping by getting them there.

    ~ Kristi
     

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