Top Twelve Questions about the Build Your Bundle Sale...Answered!

If you’re on any email lists or homeschooling groups, you’ve probably heard of the Build Your Bundle Sale by now.  It is the biggest homeschooling sale of the year, and it gets a lot of attention for about two weeks…enough that you’ve probably considered doing some unsubscribing…but the real question is – is it worth the hype?

With discounts of up to 86% off, the bundles themselves have the potential of saving you a ton of money…but are they really good products?  Is it something you want to use?  These are questions that I often see asked during the sale…so we’ve put together an FAQ to help guide you through the process and see if it’s right for your family.

You may also be interested in: How to Get the Most Bang for Your Buck at BYB!

What is with ALL the emails??

I get it.  I’m getting 100+ emails regarding the sale, too, and it can be very overwhelming.  It makes me want to unsubscribe from every single person who sends one…but this year that would include myself!  It’s only a week…we can get through this.

Until this year, we’ve just been purchasers – not contributors – so I know exactly where you’re sitting.  It’s difficult to plow through your inbox when there are a million sale emails there.  Sometimes it makes me want to scream!

But like any blogger, I can tell you this - we’re going to give it to you straight and do our best to help you make the best decisions for your family.  Do I want you to purchase through my link?  Absolutely.  So much so that I’m offering special bonuses for folks who do (scroll down). 

But am I willing to sell my soul to make a sale?  Nope.  It’s more important to me to see that you, fellow homeschool mom, are taken care of…whether it be through finding the right fit for your family, saving money on a product you were already going to buy, or passing on the sale entirely.  I also promise not to bombard you with emails.  There will be more than the one-a-week that you’re accustomed to, but it won’t be every single day…and it’s only for this week!

Is the Build Your Bundle Sale worth the price?

Even if you hit a sale for every single product you want, I don't believe you could ever get as good a deal as you do with the Build Your Bundle Sale.  Yes, I am a contributor this year, so I have a vested interest, but I wasn't a contributor for the past six years, and I have consistently purchased a couple of bundles each year.

See for yourself.  These are all of the bundles included this year, along with their sale price and retail price.

Are these good products?  Are they things I want to use with my family?

We haven’t personally used everything included in this year’s sale, but we have used products from nearly every company here during our decade of homeschooling.  One thing I’ve always liked about the Build Your Bundle Sale is that they use different products each year, so it’s not the same products being offered continually.  The sale includes both secular and religious materials for every grade level, so you’re looking at a wide range of quality!  Some of our family favorites are:

• Fascinating Chemistry & Physics
• Video-based courses that are perfect for upper middle and high school students!  We've used these two courses in the past, and you can see full reviews for chemistry here and physics here.
• Literary Adventures for Kids
• With 40+ books, and more on the way, there are hours of fun, self-led, educational activities within this book club!  There are books for elementary, middle, and high school students here, making it a great activity for the whole family.  You can see a full review here.
• Microbiology
• Mixing both text and video components, this high school course begins with the history of microbiology and continues through issues we face currently.  There are hands-on activities, quizzes, and vocabulary exercises, and the class makes this big topic very accessible to students!
• Homeschool to College
• Perfect for helping high schoolers take that next step from homeschool to college, this book & work text set will help with the steps of college and scholarship applications, as well as brushing up on study habits and life skills. The book includes thirty-three modules addressing College Prep, Study Skills, and Life Skills.
• I Survived Curriculum
• With unit studies for several books in the series, this is a great option for upper elementary and middle school students!  It covers literature, grammar, and geography, as well as bunny trails and the fun stuff.  Each unit is about six-weeks long, so you could make this into a full-year course.  Personally, we like to use these for summer and need-a-break fun studies.
• A Journey Through Learning
• The kids simply adored these when they were in elementary school!  They are lapbooks - early unit studies - covering a multitude of topics, and it's a great way to get kids to love learning!
• No Sweat! Cooking Bundle
• This three-book bundle helps mom (or dad) to meal plan and always have dinner on-hand!  Includes Freezer Cooking Through the Year, A Slow-Cooked Year, and Another Year of Freezer Cooking.  Recipes are organized seasonally!

How can I maximize my money and get the best deal?

Choose as many products as you like (excluding Premium Products), so long as the total minimum retail value is $100. At checkout, a certain percentage discount will be applied based on a graduated system. If, for example, you select $100 in products, a 75% discount will be applied so that you pay only $25. Here are some other examples:

• Select $100 in products – save 75% – pay only $25
• Select $200 in products – save 80% – pay only $40
• Select $400 in products – save 85% – pay only $60
• Select $800 in products – save 90% – pay only $80

What if I won’t use everything in a bundle?

If it were me, and I was going to use 75% of the stuff in the bundle, I’d go ahead in purchase it.  In fact, I’ve done just that many times!  With the steep discounts, I can usually pick up an entire bundle for the price of the one item that I really wanted originally…and it gives us a chance to check out other things that we probably wouldn’t have seen or used. 

And you know what?  I found that some of those products I wasn’t too crazy about ended up being things that my kids really liked best!!

However, if you’re really sold on getting only the products that you know for sure you want, just use the build your bundle option.  You can pick and choose exactly what you want…but if you’re not sure, and you want most of the items in a bundle, I encourage you to take a risk…you never know what gems you might uncover!

There are just SO MANY options.  How do I know what to pick?

Personally, I’m a planner.  I like to take the first day and go through everything.  I give the kids a movie day and just plow through it.  But not everyone has that kind of time, or kids old enough to entertain themselves for a full day, so here are some worksheets to help you out.

First, head over to the site and just peruse the different products.  Check out the bundles that fit your homeschool first – for example, I’d be checking out Upper Grades Bundle #1 and Upper Grades Bundle #2.  Check out the premium products.

Maybe none of the bundles do it for you, but you see a lot of pieces you’d like to pick and choose.  No problem!  Printthis shopping list to help you build a bundle.

Are there any freebies?

Everyone who places an order receives a special freebie from the sale hosts!

Everyone who purchases through our link gets a free gift from us, too!  Just send us your receipt (feel free to remove your credit card or other personal info), and we'll send it to you.

• Email your receipt (take off credit card numbers or stuff like that) to homeschoolshack @ gmail and we will send you a coupon for $10 off anything in our store!  (Expires 8/31 for Flash Sale)
• It's that simple.  😎

Are you going to get anything, Yvie?

Absolutely!  Although, as someone who wants Upper Grades materials, and a contributor to said bundles, I’ll most likely be going a la carte this year.  The site has a wish list function, and you’re welcome to check out our list here!

With everything being digital, won’t it cost a fortune to print?
There are some resources, such as e-books, that don't need to be printed.  Other products will have printable components, but many that can be accessed directly online.  And any e-courses are going to be completely online.  If you do need to print something, we've vetted two fantastic options - that are both cost-effective and speedy - to make your life a bit easier!  Check out The Homeschool Printing Company and Family Nest Printing.

What if I have a problem?

Build Your Bundle has an excellent customer service team that works 24 hours a day during the sale!  They will make sure that you are taken care of…just contact Customer Service.

Anything else?

What other questions do you have?  Use the comments section, or just catch us on Facebook, to ask.  We’re happy to help walk you through choosing the right fit for your family.  But don’t wait too long, the Build Your Bundle Sale ends on May 18^th!