Saturday, September 10, 2011

Purchasing Materials

So I've been thinking hard about ordering some materials.  There are many activities that can be done without buying specialized materials, and so far I've tried to focus on those.  However, there are some things I feel like Link is missing out on and I'm ready to get started!

At first, I decided to get what I can for $100.  Then I thought, no, I should get at least what I think Link will be really interested in right now.  After that I started exploring everything!  I get excited and often try to skip ahead, so I decided I should try to get things in the order I'll need them.  I used Gettman to make a list for each period.  Then I used the prices from IFIT to help me prioritize.  (I'll say more about why IFIT later)

First, I summed everything.  Then I just summed the things I think I need right now.  I should say that my need list is very subjective.  I am not as well versed in Montessori as many others, so I'm sure there would be those who disagree about what I need.  But I think to myself, wow, the brown stairs are $68, do I really need that? The things I left out are things I think I can either make, wait for, or get by without.



All
Need Now
Need Soon
Later
 Period 1




cylinder blocks
130
-
130

pink tower
32
32


presentation tray
25
make
25

geometric solids
42
42


land & water globe
18
18


forms
21
-
21






Period 2




brown stair
68
-
-
68
red rods
38
make


color tablets
30
make
-
-
geometric cabinet
120
-
120

binomial cube
21
-
21

tactile tablets
17
-
-
-
sounds boxes
22
make
-
-
single letter sp letters
28
28


metals insets
64
-
-
64
maps
112
28
28
56
classification by leaf
95
-
-
-





Period 3




constructive triangles
12
-
-
-
square of pythagoras
23
-
-
-
trinomial cube
29
-
-
-
double sp letters
22
-
20

number rods
20
20







Period 4




Movable alphabet
40
-
-
40
sp capitals
30
-
-
30
sp numbers
13
13


number tablets

come with


spindles
27
27
-
-
numbers and counters
17
make
-
-
bead material
200
-
-
-
number cards
12
-
-
12





Period 5 




knobless cylinders
36
-
-
-
teens
45
-
-
45
Totals
$1,364
$208
$365
$270



So why IFIT?  Well, I've read a few other people's posts about purchasing equipment and the comments people left.  The three I've seen the most about are Montessori Outlet, Adena Montessori, and IFIT.   I tried shopping at Adena, but I hate the way they do their prices.  They are one of those places that jack up their "original price" so that their sale prices look better.  Also, they like to put really high prices in the shopping cart, then take a big % off.  Just list the price already!!  A person's comment on this post seemed to sum up what I think the general opinion is:
I think IFIT is by far the best with shipping time, customer service, and quality. Outlet's quality is good but shipping is often delayed. I have been displeased with Adena's quality and problems with orders and I won't order there again.
There are also some comments here that also lead me to believe this is true.  A Plus Montessori seems to have similar prices, but I haven't heard much about them to say anything positive or negative.  I haven't personally dealt with any company's customer service except IFIT, but I was very pleased.  I emailed them to ask about availability of an out of stock item on Friday night, and they emailed me back that night!  But, before I order from IFIT, I'm going to try to find out more about A Plus Montessori. For the same materials, IFIT is cheaper than A Plus, but shipping makes the difference.  I end up saving $7 shopping at A Plus.  Now that I've seen that shipping is going to cost me $60 I almost want to wait until I can order enough to get free shipping.  But at A Plus that is $400 and at IFIT it's $500.  I'd rather not do that right now, but I don't want to waste almost $100 on just shipping!

I would love to have feedback about my purchase decision!  If anyone has shopped at these places, or has a comment about what I need the most or don't need, your comments are more than welcome.  Once I've decided what to do and have made the order, I'll be sure to post about how it goes!

5 comments:

  1. Hi there, Have you looked at Allison's Montessori? They have products for home use that are way cheaper than kindergarten quality items.

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  2. Hi Sheila,
    Thanks for the suggestion, I had forgotten about Allison's! At first I thought it would be cheaper as well, but after I put the same things in my cart, Allison's ended up being about $70 more. Most everything was close it price, but Allison's maps, globes and geometric solids are more expensive.

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  3. Hi Mel. I just wanted to recommend a little known about company called grandpas.ca. They are actually located in New York, and offer large discounts, if you email the lady directly. It is the same quality as many of the larger retailers, and my last order of over $300 worth of materials turned out AMAZING.... with super-fast shipping! I believe the $300 order was 30% off, with 35% off for a $500 order. Please feel free to message me if you want more details about my order and customer service.

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  4. Thanks Leann, I'll have to contact them!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I have been pleased with Kid Advance, in case you need to order again and it doesn't come out to be over $500. The broad stair got used A LOT by my son.

    ReplyDelete