Posted on 08/26/2006 10:22:51 PM PDT by jdm
A new policy by Internet trading behemoth eBay that bans homeschool teachers' texts from its auctions is prompting a tirade of complaints from the company's faithful customers.
"Really the homeschooling community is a huge participant in eBay when you get to thinking about it," said one customer who was identified as "Angelwings" on an eBay blog. "We buy textbooks naturally but we also purchase items like microscopes, slides, globes, maps, manipulatives, educational games, reading books, supplies for our classrooms … stickers, idea books, folders, sheet protectors, school supplies, software, educational movies, models, post cards … the list is enormous."
The policy, which is inclusive of all teachers' texts, was made known recently as those who were auctioning various books watched as their postings were deleted.
Another homeschooler on the blog said she questioned eBay when her listings were cancelled.
"They told me that it fell under their heading of 'illegal, dangerous, offensive, or potentially infringing,'" she said. "What are they thinking? I have a mess of curriculum here that I can't sell, and needing money from it to buy curriculum for the new school year."
The response from the company was posted for others to see.
"As you may know, eBay does not permit items that are illegal, dangerous, offensive, or potentially infringing. Additionally, eBay has just recently made the decision to prohibit the sale of Teacher's Editions of textbooks and solutions manuals that are intended solely for use by teachers. Since eBay strives to be a level-playing field, all Teacher's Edition textbooks, manuals and guides will be covered under this policy. Unfortunately, home schooling Teacher's Editions are not exempt from this policy and this policy will apply to all grade levels."
The company continued that those products often contain "special answer keys, exams, teaching tips, and guides."
And, it noted, "multiple organizations and publishers have voiced their concern to us over such books that may only be purchased through educational institutions by teachers."
"Where do they get off telling me that I don't have the right to buy, sell, or own a teacher's manual??? How could I teach my children without it???" another blogger asked.
Still another reported having a few 2006 teachers' edition textbooks for college classes pulled from the site.
"Now I'm stuck with them," the writer said.
"We are a major buying and selling force on eBay & once I got to thinking of all the things we purchase just for ourselves and our school it's amazing," said Angelwings. "I'm in the same boat as many of you….I've got three grade levels of books here I need to sell in order to purchase our supplies for next year."
WorldNetDaily did not get an immediate response from eBay about the situation. The website accepts e-mail questions but responds in 24-48 hours.
Its website explanation is straightforward.
"Teacher's editions of textbooks and solutions manuals that are intended solely for use by teachers are not permitted by eBay."
And it notifies users that "listing cancellation, forfeit of eBay fees on cancelled listings, limits on account privileges, account suspension" are all possible results.
"As a homeschooler I believe this directly discriminates against me since I have used Ebay numerous times to both buy and sell homeschool curricula. As a budget conscious homeschooling mother I like to buy used materials as often as possible. This means buying the teacher's materials used on Ebay and purchasing new workbooks directly from the publisher or distributor," Dana wrote.
eBay did offer a recourse for further concerns:
"We appreciate the fact that you may disagree with eBay's decision to establish this policy. If you would like to see these policies change, or have suggestions on how to make the site better, you may want to submit your feelings by completing the form at the following URL."
eBay's overview of prohibited items includes animals, artifacts, autographed items, academic software, bootleg recordings, credit cards, drugs and paraphernalia, government IDs, lockpicking devices, human remains, police-related items, used clothing and used cosmetics, among others.
One blogger noted that public school interests have been opposing homeschooling more and more, as homeschooling as grown substantially in recent years. Recent estimates have put homeschool attendance in the U.S. at more than 2.5 million. And the same comment noted book publishers also dislike having the products re-sold.
A public school teacher defended the policy, saying she cannot get a teacher's edition from a publisher unless she provides proof of her teaching employment. "It is quite costly for publishers to research and develop curricula and it is copyrighted."
But there also are other auctions that do allow the sale of homeschool texts. One location, which does require purchasers to be 18, is Schoolbookauction.com. Another one is Homeschoolbid.com and observers said there are many more available through an Internet search.
The Home School Legal Defense Association said it was aware of the situation.
"We have received many complaints about the eBay policy and we are actively working on a solution," Media Relations Director Ian Slatter told WND. That group is the largest organization of homeschoolers in the United States, with more than 80,000 member families.
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That's the part that I picked up on too. I'd think used clothing makes up a good deal of what's for sale on Ebay. So, I don't really understand that at all. In fact I've got a friend who's a big ebayer and she has definately bought and sold used clothing on there many, many times.
There are too many other ways for kids bent on cheating to cheat.
The bottom line is when they cheat, they really only cheat themselves. At some point they're going to have to prove themselves in the job market - and there they will pay dearly if they really don't know what they're doing.
The book company has every right to restrict sells to whomever they like. But once the book belongs to someone else, they too have the right to pass it on to whomever they like.
All states do not issue proof. Mine doesn't. All my Borders needs is my word. I like it that way.
Well, there it is...special answer keys. Why would a public school teacher need special answer keys? Answer, because they are simply parrots reciting what they are reading from the pages of the book without even the thought of actually knowing what they are teaching. That's why you have the football coach teaching math or science.
The special answer keys are to insure that the teacher does not have to actually read and understand what they are teaching.
Without exception, whether home schooling or teaching in a public school, if you don't fully understand what you are teaching from a book, you can't really teach simply because you can't answer questions that are not printed within the text. If asked the reason why (or how) and it is not printed in the book, without actual knowledge of what you are presenting, the answer will not be forthcoming.
In a nutshell, many public teachers are simply parrots. Their pay is based upon the piece of paper they have hanging on the wall that cites, just like in the Wizard of Oz, they have a brain.
Pingy
I think you have the real reason for ebays actions.
Or Edgio.com
I've homeschooled for seven in two states. In neither was there a requirement for anyone to prove they had the right to own a teacher's manual, nor should there be. In all my time on homeschool boards and in homeschool groups, I've never heard of having to "prove" eligibility to buy a teacher's manual. My county even gives old textbooks, including teacher's manuals, to anyone who wants them for free.
It's up to the parents of public and private school students to know what their kids are up to, not up to homeschool parents to prove a need. Once again non-parenting "parents" are taken completely off the hook while responsible parents are required to jump through hoops. Proving one has authorization to purchase a legal item is a slippery slope we as a society don't need to go any further down.
EBay, as a private entity, has the right to sell (or not sell) anything they choose for whatever reason they choose. But any individual should have the right to buy any legally available book somewhere without having to prove need.
Make that seven YEARS in two states--not seven children. Yikes!
What idiocy. Before long, ebay is going to have a longer list of banned items than allowed items.
BS alert! 'Used clothing'?
I just pulled up over 8,000 returns searching for jeans.......most are very obviously USED!
So, can you sell something 'used' as long as you don't call it 'used'?
List books and call the tools for learning or intelligence enhancers.
Maybe I should nit pick my way through EBay and report every single out-of-conformity item I spot in a separate email.
THAT should really fubar the world wide web for a while!
Geesh!
So...now Ebay considers itself an expert in educational standards?
I thought they existed simply as a massive garage sale.
We have bought lots of used clothing on Ebay!!!!!
[I don't know why eBay wants to limit its sellers constantly, but its not going to turn out bad for the online auction industry as a whole..just eBay.]
Yep. E-Bay has gone down hill, and their moment has passed. E-Bay really does have a lot of problem's in general, in addition to making stupid corporate decisions like this one against homeschoolers. Let's see - fraud, stolen goods, etc.
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