Have you ever felt that way? I know that when I walk into my “classroom,” I am beginning to feel overwhelmed by the vast amount of...ummm...shall we say... “stuff I’m sure I’ll use one day, so I gotta keep it on the bookshelves.” I have to admit it: Hello, My name is Cyndi, and I am an “Educational Supplyaholic.”

It’s true! When we first started homeschooling, I bought every book, flashcard, notebook, pencil, map, puzzle, thumbtack, sticky note, folder, binder, video, CD, craft (oh, the crafts!), crayon, marker, paperclip, workbook, and glue stick that I could get my hands on. I was GOING to be prepared. I was GOING to be the BEST homeschooling mom there EVER was.

Well, four years later, most of those original “golden” purchases still remained on my shelves. I eventually realized that the value in homeschooling did NOT come from the amount of supplies I owned. It suddenly dawned on me that God wasn’t going to let me take all of this stuff to heaven. And He wasn’t going to let me in just because I had more stuff than everyone else! So, I decided that I needed to shed some of this extra baggage and let some other newbie mommy clutter her classroom with it for a while.

So I began listing some of my “extras” on eBay. It was really fun to see our items getting bids. It was fun answering the questions about the items … and about homeschooling in general. I actually made some great cyber-friends through the experience. But when it came time to put the items in the boxes and say, “Goodbye forever,” well … that was tough. However, it was done.

After a while, rules at eBay changed, and I was no longer able to list certain items (like teacher’s editions) for sale. This has been a sore spot among homeschoolers. However, leave it to The Old Schoolhouse to come up with a solution! Enter HomeschoolBuy.

I am sure that God sent Homeschool- Buy specifically to me. He knew that if I did not begin clearing my shelves, I would have to purchase a larger house— and He knew I couldn’t afford that. Also, since we have a very new business (Knowledge Box Central), we had been looking for a cost-effective way to advertise and get our products into the hands of the homeschool families. God knew exactly what He was doing. Isn’t it cool how perfect His timing is?

At first, I was a little leery of using a different online auction service since I am such a creature of habit. However, I knew that I really had to find a new way to peddle my wares. So I listed a few items on HomeschoolBuy. WOW! I was amazed at the ease with which the process worked! It was so simple, and the best part was that it was free! There are fees only if your items sells, and those are minimal compared to other online auction sites.

I can honestly say that Homeschool- Buy is the easiest online auction service available! It was so simple! The stepby- step instructions guide you through everything. I had no problems loading pictures either. This was a sore spot when I placed auctions on other sites. Pictures took forever to load and had to be certain sizes. Not so with HomeschoolBuy.

The greatest thing about Homeschool- Buy is that they already have a customer base ready for your products—it’s built in! As soon as you post your items, you have an audience of potential buyers who are all homeschoolers. How great is that? On other auction sites, you are not sure if buyers even know what homeschooling is!

Also, you don’t have to worry about questionable or inappropriate content on this auction site. On eBay, you will find categories for many inappropriate things, including pornographic materials. Who wants to continue to support an auction site that allows this type of product exchange? I can allow my daughter to browse HomeschoolBuy to search for more than books—she can also look for games, decorative items for her room, and so on. I don’t have to fear what she might see or read. That is a comfort you will find only on HomeschoolBuy.

As you can see, I’m hooked. Now I can clean off these shelves and promote our business at the same time! Why buy NEW when we can support each other by buying used? What a wonderful opportunity to practice the biblical principle of supporting one another.

Please don’t be afraid to try it. It is simple and not intimidating at all.

If you would like to check out my site, we specialize in lapbooking, copywork notebooks, notebooking, activity books, and more! You can find us at www.knowledgeboxcentral.com. Check out our newsletter subscription and Yahoo e-groups! Here is your special discount code: HBUY25 to receive 25% off any product on our site! This code is effective through April 1, 2007, and should be entered at checkout.