The Swap's Purpose and Mission:

The Swap was created by Kay Crowley to provide an arena for homeschoolers across the United States and Canada to resell the school books and materials they had used but which they no longer needed. It was and still is intended to give homeschoolers the opportunity for the one-on-one exchange of their own good used materials. This is the Swap's primary mission.

Second to that is the open discussion, debate, analysis, and critique of curriculum and issues pertinent to homeschoolers and their families, as provided on the several forums on the Swap.

Third, the Swap was begun in integrity, and all efforts will be made to maintain that integrity. In part, this is a reflection of the Christian testimony that is frequently mentioned on the forums. Maintaining mutual integrity is essential to the smooth working of any organization, especially one involved in the exchanging of money and goods.

NOTE: The Swap is not an overtly Christian website nor a parachurch organization. It exists to serve the needs of all homeschoolers.

These three purposes might be called our "Prime Directives", and will be upheld in all dealings. The Swap is a place for used curriculum commerce conducted in an honest manner, and a place to discuss issues related to homeschooling in a fair and friendly fashion.

General Policies:

Homeschooling materials that are acceptable for sale on the Swap are defined as textbooks, workbooks, source books, literature, math manipulatives, paper and supplies, computer SOFTWARE ONLY, and tapes/CDs that are specifically educational. Ads containing other items will be deleted without notice. Ads are automatically deleted after thirty days regardless of content, and are deleted at the ends of quarters if the subscriber has not renewed. This is not to offend, but to keep valuable Swap space open for homeschooling needs and purposes.

In keeping with the above Mission Statement of the Swap, all members and visitors are asked to maintain friendly and honest relations with each other. Religious tolerance and friendly discussion of homeschooling issues will be the rule on all forums, and are recommended for all transactions. Statements deemed slanderous by the Site Co-Managers will be cause for immediate deletion from the subscriber list and/or the forum registrant list, and offending posts will be deleted.

MEMBERS ARE ASKED TO ADVERTISE ONLY THEIR OWN USED ITEMS IN THE ADS. Absolutely no third-party ads will be permitted. This means you may NOT post for an off-line friend. If you post for someone else, you will be considered a Dealer, and your password will be suspended until your check for the price difference reaches the Swap. There have been numerous cases of Dealers pretending to post for offline friends, and that has necessitated this change.

IT IS THE POLICY OF THE SWAP THAT ANY LISTER MUST BE REACHABLE VIA A VALID EMAIL ADDRESS. The person who posts the ad is responsible for all aspects of the transaction, from beginning to end, from quality to delivery. The purpose of the Swap is to provide an avenue for person-to-person transactions. Placing ads that render the "responsible party" unreachable via the internet are counter to that purpose.

Keep Swap business separate from your home business. Post only Swap ads and comments to Swap ad pages. Do not piggyback your home business to your Swap ads. If your home business is homeschool-related, you may be eligible for a Dealer ad on the Business Page.

Member Classifications:

Individual Account: One homeschooling parent, issued a unique password to be used in posting, modifying and deleting ads. The current 30-ad limit at any given time per Individual Account will be enforced. This limit applies to all ad pages in total, including Want Ads. All ads are automatically deleted by the system after 30 days. Merchandise will be sold as described and delivered in a timely manner. Misrepresentation of goods will be considered grounds for complaint.

Any complaints against the member will be brought to the member for discussion and resolution to the satisfaction of both parties involved. Any confirmed abuses of policy or misrepresentation of merchandise will result in a warning to the member. Repeat offenses, duly confirmed, will result in revocation of the password.

The cost for an Individual Account is currently $5 for three months' usage. Any portion of a month is considered a whole month's usage. Please see "Subscription Information" for details of rates and payment.

Dealer Account: An individual or family business that buys and sells books and materials for profit. (If the materials were not purchased for your own use, but with the intent to resell, you need the Dealer Account.) All sales transacted as a result of Swap affiliation will be expected to be sold as advertised, in the condition advertised, and delivered in a timely manner. Remember, if you post as, or for, a third party, you are considered a dealer, even if you're doing it for a friend. The Dealer Account is $25 for three months, due in advance, as of February 1, 1998.

Any abuse of the Swap's good will, its members or visitors, its integrity, or its purpose in existing will result in revocation of the dealer's advertisement. Additionally, two (2) confirmed complaints of abuses as listed above, or of non-delivered goods, or of misrepresented goods, will result in revocation of the dealer's advertisement with no refund of monies paid.

Posting Ads:

All ads for home schooling materials must be placed by the individual selling the merchandise. The person placing the ad is personally responsible for the condition and safe delivery of any item(s) advertised on the Swap.

NOTE: It is standard business procedure for a seller or company to refund the buyer's money in the event the merchandise does not arrive safely at its destination. If you ordered from Sears or another retailer, you would expect them to back their delivery with a full refund. Nonetheless, if two users agree to other conditions, for example, that all sales are final, or that damages in the case of items lost in the mail are to be split evenly, their agreement will be considered binding in the case of complaints emanating from that transaction.

Wanted ads are for individuals only, not for dealers to advertise for materials for resale. The Wanted page is for individuals' specific needs and convenience (saves time). You must be a subscriber to enter a Wanted ad, since all ads are handled the same way by the editing programs.

Each subscribing member may post up to 30 ads at any given time. This is the total number of permissible ads for all Classified pages, not 30 per page or category.

As previously stated, no third-person sales are allowed, due to the difficulty in communicating with a seller who is not online, and the increased risk of misunderstanding over the transaction.

No dealers may place ads on the Classified pages. You may have one ad promoting your business on the Advertiser's Index page only. We will accept additional ads from dealers if the businesses are distinct from one another.

Ad Lengths:

Individual Account: Post one item per ad, unless several related items are being sold as a set. Post each ad to ONLY ONE PAGE. Ads that do not conform to these guidelines may be deleted without notice.
Each ad should be brief, consisting of:
1. Title of the item
2. grade level
3. concise description
4. price and postage
5. your particular sales disclaimers & policies.

Dealer Account: You may post one ad per subscription.
It should consist of:
1. Business name
2. brief description of the nature of the business--no more than 10 lines
3. the way you can be reached.

Misuse of Swap Information:

Garnering email addresses from Swap ads, forum posts, or the profile area in order to use them for personal or business mailings is not allowed. In addition, using the personal message system for the same purpose is not allowed. This will be grounds for the recipient of the mail to file a formal complaint with the Swap management. Swap addresses are never to be used as targets for unsolicited mail--this is called junk mail, or spam. Access will be pulled and denied if such actions are confirmed.

In the unhappy and unlikely event of a bad check that is not covered, promised goods that are paid for but not delivered, repeated emails that are ignored when a problem has occurred, or other abuse of the Swap's mission, passwords may be revoked and a list will be kept in order to prevent further abuses of the good will of our patrons. The Site Co-Managers have no intention of playing "SwapCops", but do want to be notified of any problems. The Site Co-Managers will NOT intervene in actual disputes between users, but will maintain a collection of information about those who abuse the Swap in any way, whether it be the disregard of Swap rules or a blatant abuse of the trust that others have placed in them.

The Swap was created to support all homeschoolers, regardless of religious affiliation. Tolerance for other religions, other methods of homeschooling, and links supporting homeschooling for those of other religions is REQUIRED. Civil discourse on the forums will be maintained when dealing with all issues, religious or secular. Debate and the respectful, friendly airing of ideas are encouraged; they are healthy for personal growth. However, please keep issues related to the forum in which you are posting.

Problem Resolution Procedures:

Any complaints against a member will be brought to the member for discussion and attempts at resolution to the satisfaction of both parties involved. Any confirmed abuses of policy or misrepresentation of merchandise will result in a warning to the member or a loss of selling privileges.

In the event a dispute is brought to the Swap management's attention, it will be handled as follows.

1. The one accused of an offense will be notified that a complaint has been lodged against her/him.

2. IF the following criteria are met, the complaint will be recorded in the Swap Complaint files:

a. both parties have accurate records of when checks were sent, received, cashed, or deposited,

b. when the item(s) was sent and the buyer notified,

c. and if 4 weeks (US) or 5 weeks (CAN) have passed since the item(s) was sent.

3. Failure to respond to emails from site co-owners will result in a negative record and loss of membership privileges.

4. No Dealer disputes will be handled. Dealers are responsible for their own transactions and all details involved, as is true for all independent businesses. Complaints do need to be brought to the attention of site co-owners.

5. Subscriptions may be voided, without return of funds, at the discretion of the Swap management.

Disclaimer of Responsibility:

Due to the nature of the transactions that occur via the Swap, Swap management is not able to guarantee the content, condition, or availability of any items advertised here, nor the continuing existence or availablity of the Swap itself throughout any subscription period.

All transactions are solely at the risk of buyer and seller.

Site Co-Managers are not and will not be held responsible in any way for any trouble arising from any difficulties between any users of the Swap, whether those users are paying subscribers in any category or non-paying buyers.

All situations involving revocation of passwords will be at the sole discretion of the Site Co-Managers, and their decision is final.

Checks dated after August 1, 1997 will be assumed to be from subscribers who have read and agree with these policies.