Auction giant eBay has announced that it is prohibiting the sale of teacher editions of textbooks. Teacher’s editions of textbooks often contain study guides, solutions to textbook problems, and answers to exams, which are missing from the student editions.
With this move, eBay is knowingly and intentionally equating teacher’s edition of textbooks with dangerous, illegal, or offensive materials which are presently prohibited for sale on eBay.
Explains eBay, “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.”
While the ban applies to everyone, it hits the homeschooling community on eBay particularly hard, as homeschooling parents rely on the teacher’s editions of textbooks, and perhaps more than any other educators’ community, homeschoolers share and trade and recycle their used textbooks. In conventional schools, the teacher’s edition of textbooks are provided by the publisher to the school and teachers – often free of charge – but the same is not true for homeschoolers, who must find the teacher’s editions as they can, and pay premium price for them.
Complained one homeschooling parent, “Does ebay realize how many people homeschool and how much business they could lose by ticking the homeschooling community off? It’s not just the fact that they won’t let me sell it, it is the implications behind the decision.”
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Explained another, “I am homeschooling my youngest child, who is a Junior in High School this year. This is our 5th year of homeschooling. Since we are a one-income family I buy most of our books and supplies on Ebay. I usually sell the previous year’s books to have money to buy books for the new school year. In the last couple of weeks I had 4 A Beka homeschool book auctions cancelled because, along with the student text, they included either the Teacher’s Manuals or quiz or test keys.”
eBay’s response is that teacher’s editions of textbooks often contain “special answer keys, exams, teaching tips, and guides.” Oh no, can’t let peope have access to that!
eBay also stated that “multiple organizations and publishers have voiced their concern to us over such books that may only be purchased through educational institutions by teachers.”
Summed up one homeschool parent, “Where do they get off telling me that I don’t have the right to buy, sell, or own a teacher’s manual?”
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So, selling teacher’s keys is BAD, but selling pornography is okay? THey have a whole section of disgusting items but they decided teacher’s keys are just way too unethical to sell…
Wait! Wait! Wait! Ebay.co.uk can sell Teachers editions of textbooks but we can’t? Is this really the case and if so maybe we shouldn’t have fought the Revolutionary War after all.
We have created a group to help folks find the resources they need for homeschoolers, public school teachers, and vintage TE collectors. We promote This Little Piggy Stays Home, Wagglepop, and Blujay for legal TE sales. Join us at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/teachers_editions
Damn! I really wish eBay hadn’t done this. How am I going to get the books with all the answers in them now? Oh well, I guess I’ll just go back to paying Jenny to do my homework for me.
Yes, I can see the Teacher’s Union, School boards, etc. behind all this. I know that Homeschooling is really taking off in my area (state university town).
I think Gunner has it right. But we do live in a free market economy, and there are auction sites other than eBay to choose from.
Maybe some of the homeschooling websites should post the URLs of the auction sites that list the most teacher’s edition textbooks. After all we do live in a free market economy.
“eBay’s response is that teacher’s editions of textbooks often contain “special answer keys, exams, teaching tips, and guides.â€? Oh no, can’t let peope have access to that!
eBay also stated that “multiple organizations and publishers have voiced their concern to us over such books that may only be purchased through educational institutions by teachers.”
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If anyone wants to go digging I suspect they would find the N.E.A.’s hand in this as the principal organization complaining, it’s a turf thing. Homeschoolers are a threat to the N.E.A.’s little empire built on our taxes, after all if just anyone can school their children at home who will the teacher’s union collect dues from.