Greetings from Me and My House,
It’s that time of year when many home educators begin thinking of resources for “next year” – unless you, like us, continually plan and buy all year round. Either way, this is something to think about when buying and selling.
Homeschool Stewardship
‘Tis the season for homeschool shopping. Everyone’s planning what to use next year. Curriculum fairs and Conventions fill the calendar. Catalogs fill the mailbox. And EBay, TUAC, and Veg-Source are ablaze with Homeschool resources changing hands. As you set out to buy and sell this spring and summer I want to challenge you to do it with a steward’s heart.
Many home educator’s have one thing in mind when they begin looking for resources – CHEAP! Most even have a good excuse for doing so. Most homeschoolers have a limited single income, and a larger than average family, and they have learned that those funds have to really stretch. But I want to challenge your thinking – as God has not called us to be cheap, but to be good stewards; and they are not the same thing.
Stewardship is glorifying God with your money and possessions. It is being wise in our purchases. It is not just getting the “cheapest price” (or selling at the highest dollar we can get) while allowing our integrity to wane.
This point touched my heart once again recently, at a homeschool parent’s meeting, as one mom shared (and my grown daughter reaffirmed) how online “Christian ” homeschool sellers “mask” (usually not out-and-out lie about) the quality or “important information” (such as version) of a book/resource – all to “sucker” another person into “making up” their own loss from a purchasing mistake, or to get their own costs back out of something they got good use out of – and the resource shows it.
This is nothing unusual. Christian homeschoolers, unfortunately, have a horrible reputation of being cheap to the point of being unscrupulous, never wanting to pay “their due” for the things they use and buy, only wanting the cheapest, preferably free, things they can fanangle – a horribly sad but sometimes true commentary, and even more horrific witness. A stereotype we must try to overcome by our own integrity.
I’m sure all our hearts go out to the mom who was cheated in making that purchase. We think it’s horrible that a Christian homeschooler would hide the truth just to make a buck. Hopefully, we also will think twice in advertising our own things, as to whether we’ve been fair and thorough enough in our descriptions. None of us want the reputation of being a “cheat”.
But especially, in this time of conventions and such, we need to look at another side of this same problem. That is, as a buyer. Do we try to cheat a seller out of their “due wages”? Elijah Company has long ran an article in their catalog as to why they don’t discount. It is well worth your reading. [Below is an update from Elijah Company who has, since the original publication of this article, closed down their catalog sales, due to the very problem I discuss here.] Now, I’m not saying you should never buy anything at discount again, rather that this is a perspective we all need to take a look at and some have probably have never thought of.
Perhaps the biggest abuse of this is from people who take the “free” information given by one seller and then go and make their purchase from another seller, because “it’s cheaper through them.” Never giving a second thought to the fact that they are robbing the “workman of his due wages”. Many vendors, usually the smaller ones, offer much “free” advise, consultation, and workshops as a “ministry”. (In fact , most of the time they have to pay to give a workshop – as well as for printing handout sheets, etc.) Most care deeply and passionately about the products they sell, only sell ones they have personally used and can give a high recommendation of, and will talk to you about your personal situation. The cost of this service is many times just thought of as included in the price of the resources they sell, and they usually don’t discount. They aren’t usually big enough to be able to offer discounts, even if they wanted to, and the time they invest into each sell is far more than they are being compensated for through the profits of the sale.
The big discount companies rarely do workshops, give free consultations or advise. The salesperson may be just that, an order taker, paid to take your order who may know nothing about any of the products being sold, let alone recommendations for your particular situation. Yet, it happens over and over. A small vendor will take the time (and perhaps pay out of their own pocket) to do a workshop, take a phone call, or answer an email, giving the buyer information, helping them to make their decision. Then the buyer says, (by their actions if not their words), “Thank you very much for all your help. Now I’ll take my business dollars elsewhere – to where they discount or have on sale.” – robbing the vendor of the wages they have earned.
They may feel they have been good stewards. They have gotten “free” advise, and a bargain price as well. But in reality they have acted without integrity, which is not good stewardship at all, as it does not glorify God, and has harmed their Christian witness. [Here’s the updated info from Elijah Company.
” • Elijah Company’s catalog has always been one of the most respected—and requested—resources available to home schoolers. People say, “Everyone must have the Elijah Company catalog, especially new home schoolers!” For years, many thousands of home schoolers have turned to Elijah Company for their home schooling needs. However, in the past couple of years, although everyone wanted an Elijah Company catalog, many would use it to purchase from home school discounters. Eventually, we could not compete with these companies and we have had to close our store. Yet, the Resource Guide is still an invaluable resource for anyone wanting to know what long-time home schoolers consider valuable and useful.
• We are happy to offer you our 22 years of homeschooling experience and you may buy our new Resource Guide for only $5.95. (The $5.95 covers printing and shipping inside the 48 contiguous States).
Even though we are no longer offering home schooling materials, Elijah Company hopes to continue to help parents raise their own children at home for many years to come. You’ll love our new Resource Guide.”]
Perhaps this has shown you a side of the coin you’ve never considered was there before. Hopefully, you are one that makes your purchases (and sells) with more than the bottom line monetarily, as your primary factor. The bottom line is always to bless – as a buyer to bless those who bless you (purchase from those who provide you with the info, especially personal info), as a seller to bless others as you have been blessed – and if you have made a mistake or were ripped off yourself, to humbly accept the lesson learned, and still to bless.
As a seller of your used materials, this means to fairly represent and fairly price your items (this doesn’t mean you have to give them away or underprice them – just be fair). As a buyer this means to purchase from those who give you personal information.
So, can you never utilize the bargains and discounts? Not at all. When you don’t need any further info about a resource than the discount catalog or display gives – go for it. When you do need more, and you get that info from another source, buy from that source – paying the workman their due wages, even if it isn’t the cheapest price you can find.
One last thing about Homeschool Stewardship. Many times people just send for or take anything “free”. Please realize that “free” catalogs aren’t really “free”, they cost the vendor – and they aren’t cheap. They are their advertising expense. If you plan to purchase from a vendor, by all means take their catalog. Even if you think you MIGHT purchase from them, they are glad to invest in you. If you know you’ll never buy from the vendor, please don’t take (or send for) their catalog – especially just because they give better descriptions and pictures than the cheaper suppliers you plan to buy from. Suppliers offer their catalogs (many times for free) to get them into as many hands as possible, but it is for the purpose of sales. If you won’t buy, don’t take and then throw in the trash their hard spent money.
So, pour over those catalogs you get and internet sites. Find the materials you’re interested in. Then ask the seller that you will buy from any further questions you have. And spend those hard earned, sometimes hard to take from other budget needs, dollars in a wise way by being both fair and a good steward.
At Jesus’ feet,
Lisa
[Update on us: We are currently an Affiliate of CBD, a discounter. We still give much free councel, but also can not afford to compete with the big discounters, to earn our “return”. So we just ask that if you are benefitted by the ministry of Me and My House that you would place your orders through our website, to CBD to get their great discounts, and we will get a small return from them.]
[Another related issue is copyright. See this site.]
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