Sometimes finding exactly what you want for homeschool curriculum is frustrating, not to mention time consuming. Aside from hopping around to garage sales and curriculum fairs, there are some mega deals to be found online. The trick is to find them! Half.com and Ebay are both owned by the same company, but are two very different websites but both offer treasures to be found. However, there are some VERY important points to remember.

Ebay

Ebay.com can be intimidating if you have never used it, and there are a surprising number of people that haven’t – for that very reason. Registering for an account is extremely easy, and takes no time at all. Finding what you want isn’t too hard, but there are a few things to watch out for:

• Read the description- Duh. You’d think this would be a no-brainer, but statistics say that only about 25% of Ebay shoppers actually read the description of what they are buying.
• Look at the shipping charges-Some items have a calculator built in that will charge you actual shipping, just enter your zip code. Some charge shipping and handling charges, so know what you will be paying BEFORE you bid.
• Who are you buying from? This is VERY important. Ebay works hard at protecting their buyers, but ultimately it’s up to YOU. Look at the feedback. If they have very little feedback, you are taking a chance.
• Once you bid, you are committed to buy the item, regardless. So be sure it’s what you want.

This is a new tool I finally figured out so you could easily see what homeschool curriculum was available on Ebay:

Half.com

Half.com isn’t a bidding community like Ebay, but you will still want to look at who you are buying from and avoid questionable sellers. Half.com is very similar to Amazon, just a little cheaper on the shipping charges, and a little less protection from fraud. At Half, when you buy the book, a standard shipping amount ($3.49 for standard, more for expedited or international) is automatically added, and you can expect your book within a week or two.

Both Ebay and Half.com are excellent for finding good deals on homeschool curriculum or textbooks, and have policies in place to help you if something still goes wrong. It’s sort of like like online garage sale-ing!

Find homeschool curriculum at Half.com

Find homeschool curriculum at Ebay.com