They have paid a hotel, travel expense, baby sitter, and meals, etc. They have come to this convention to sell their product, of course, but they have a vision for homeschooling and take the time to tell the customers how great their items are and how to use them. Most of these companies also offer mail order service and are available in their homes to answer phone calls about products. Without the dedication of these people there would be very little way for homeschoolers to talk to a live person about what products are on the market or to see and study the books before they buy. For the most part, these companies are homeschoolers who have personally used the products they like and sell.
Discounters hire homeschoolers to write reviews for their catalogs.
When you actually call that company, you will only get an order taker who cannot tell you about the product. Alan and Lori Harris cannot afford to purchase in case quantities to receive maximum discounts. In the instance of special orders, we often are purchasing only one copy of a book from a wholesale company just to fill the order. We cannot match their prices and stay in business. They want to be the only kid on the block.