Imperfect Genius

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I haven’t run across any blogs that have written about this, although I am sure they’re out there. It’s being talked about on message boards and email lists but somehow I didn’t learn about it until yesterday, so I figure a few of us must still be in the dark about this.

Teacher’s editions are now prohibited on Ebay. A few examples of the things you can cannot list or sell:

• Teacher’s editions, instructor manuals and other books intended for teachers that might contain solutions and answers, regardless of antiquity, purpose, or publisher
• Ebay users are concerned that this far-reaching policy also restricts items such as lesson plans, learning guides, classroom resources, and other books that a teacher might use

When this policy went into place Ebay canceled auctions that were selling teacher’s editions – including listings that were selling these textbooks as part of packaged curriculum sets. Their policy goes on to state that if you list prohibited items you might have to forfeit your auction fees, limits could be placed on your account privileges, and your account could be suspended.

In my opinion, Ebay is no longer a homeschool-friendly place. Even though some materials can still be bought and sold on the auction site, this policy directly discriminates against homeschoolers because they have chosen to prohibit all teacher’s editions, even those made exclusively for private educators. This effectively limits sellers who offer items like all-in-one curriculums, homeschool teaching manuals, and student/teacher textbook sets. It also cuts off families who seek these products.

There are potentially millions of homeschoolers affected by this decision, as so many have come to rely on Ebay as their source for educational supplies. This policy has gone into effect at a time of year when many families are in the process of buying materials for the coming school year. It could severely limit the ability to sell the items they no longer use and to find teaching materials they need. This decision will undoubtedly have a financial impact, as many families budget carefully and plan to buy a significant portion of their items secondhand.

Many people have written to Ebay about their concerns, but at this time Ebay is standing firm on their decision. In reply to homeschoolers they say:

“Since eBay strives to be a level-playing field, all teacher’s edition textbooks will be covered under this policy. Unfortunately, home-schooling teacher’s editions are not exempt from this policy.”

“Concerns were voiced regarding the sale of teacher’s edition textbooks on the site; as such eBay has used its discretion to prohibit the sale of such items. While we do understand that this policy may be upsetting to those in educational communities, teacher’s edition textbooks will no longer be permitted on the site.”

Ebay has said the ban is to prevent students from buying materials that help them cheat. They feel teacher’s editions should only be used by qualified persons, and the primary reason for this policy is that they cannot tell if the person buying the materials is a student who wishes to cheat or a legitimate customer.

I certainly don’t want to help kids cheat, but after thinking about this policy for a while, I’ve realized it really doesn’t make much sense. It’s plagued with too many unanswered questions.

First, why all teacher’s editions? Ebay is referring to the cheating that is taking place at an alarming rate in public schools. But thousands of materials are marketed specifically to homeschoolers and are not used in any public classrooms. Public school students cannot use these books to look up the answer sheets to their tests and exams, so why ban them? How does this level the playing field? I must ask: Who is disadvantaged by the selling of homeschool teacher’s books? This decision doesn’t seem to “equalize” anything. In fact, it’s quite the opposite – it’s rather blatantly unfair to homeschoolers.

Secondly, how are students getting their hands on these teacher’s editions in the first place? To buy something from Ebay you must have a checking account, a credit card, or a paypal account. You also must have a billing and mailing address. This leads me to ask: How is a seventh grade student purchasing these items without getting caught by their parents? Does no one notice when a bulky package arrives in the mail? Doesn’t anyone check their Visa bill from time to time?

Third, many parents have asked: If eBay can regulate the sale of adult materials (and a list of other items) then why can’t they can find a way to regulate the sale of teacher’s editions? Items that are restricted to particular age groups are sold without problems on Ebay. So why couldn’t Ebay just restrict teacher’s editions to adult purchasers? Seems to me this would effectively eliminate the problem they’re concerned about. Was this option even given consideration before the ban was put into place? Is it really necessary to take a drastic action like banning, when it negatively affects an entire community?

Fourth, who exactly complained about this practice of selling and buying teacher’s editions? Schools? Teacher’s unions? Text books publishers? Perhaps this issue has been covered in the news, but I am not aware of it being a huge problem. Is there a hidden agenda here? It is well known that Ebay is the #1 source homeschoolers use for educational supplies. But, as one homeschooler put it, “Somebody with more clout than a few million homeschoolers seems to have gotten their ear.” It is certainly food for thought.

So, what can you do? Well, you do have a few options.

Speak Your Mind

An online petition has been started that asks Ebay to revise this policy. I am not sure what good this will really do, I mean even though we make millions of purchases from their site each year we are still but a tiny percentage of their sales. They seem pretty convinced about their decision. Even so, signing this petition can’t hurt, and surprising things happen all the time.

Also, Ebay has directed folks who are unhappy with this decision to express their feelings on the matter by completing a suggestion form. They say, “Although you may not see the policy change immediately as a result of your email, the appropriate personnel will be made aware of your position on this issue.” As most of us know through life experience, letters which are well-written and to the point have a better chance of making a difference than rambling, angry comments.

Shop Elsewhere

Alternative auction sites catering to homeschoolers are getting underway. One such site is This Little Piggy Stays Home, and it was created in direct response to this Ebay policy. To entice us, the site is offering unlimited, free listings for the first 3 months as a registered user.

Homeschool Bid welcomes both homeschooling and non-homeschooling items. Things such as used/new curriculum, computer hardware and software, household items, clothing and more can be listed and sold here. Best of all, it’s free to post and buy items.

A pair of resourceful Ebayers started Homeschool Auctions, an online trading site for home educators, in response to the many suggestions from visitors of their Christian homeschooling site. There are no listing nor membership fees.

Share Information

If you have a favorite source, please share it in the comments section. Since we’re looking for replacement services similar to those offered Ebay, let’s concentrate on sites which allow parents to buy and sell both used and new homeschooling materials, including teacher’s editions. Alternative auction sites are especially welcome!