TOS Crew Review -- Lobster Network

Ever buy a great looking book at a used curriculum sale only to return home and find you already have the same book on your bookshelf? Reassuring yourself that it really must be a good book isn't much comfort.

How about in prepping for a new year you cannot find a book that you thought you had. You decide to purchase this must have item only to have someone that had borrowed it return it to you not long after.

Lobster Network is an online community that can help with these types of scenarios as well as many others. As per their website, LobsterNetwork can meet these needs. Some of the ways it can be used are highlighted in this acronym:




Product: Lobster Network
Details: Lobster Network is a free place to inventory your belongings as well as offer them to others for sale or borrowing. You can also use this record keeping device to find needed items from others and set up a community of your own for inter-loaning.
Price: FREE!


What we loved . . .

• Versatile. The uses for this site are limitless. You can use it to simply inventory your own items, or use it to network with others through loans or sales. You could likely come
  
• Secure. The site is set up in such a way that you can determine the visibility of your information. Items that you record for your own personal inventory are only visible to you. Items that you would not mind loaning out can be viewed by "friends" in private communities that you establish or join. Items for sale can be viewed by everyone if you choose that.
  
• Easy to search. You can quickly search for items you are interested in and find just what you are looking for.
  
• Requests. If you are looking for an item, you can put a request out for it and see if someone else might be willing to part with it.
  
• Open to suggestions. his is a fairly new site and they are always looking for ways to improve their site. They want this to be a help and resource to families, homeschooling or otherwise.
  

Some considerations . . .

• Takes some time. Initially putting your information into this site will take quite a bit of time, but it will be well organized and helpful to yourself and others if you take the time to do so.
  
• Still use caution. Anytime you are using the internet to network with people, especially those you do not know personally, you should be careful about how and how much information you share. This is a great tool if it is used wisely.
  

Lobster Network offers many uses, and is very easy to use. They even have some instructional videos to walk you through the process if you need them. I look forward to prowling around the site even more in the future. I really want to take full advantage of this place to inventory my books and network with other homeschoolers.



For more TOS Crew reviews on this product, check out the TOS Crew blog.

Disclaimer: This service was provided to me free of charge through Lobster Network as part of my participation in The Old Schoolhouse Homeschool Crew. I received no additional compensation and the opinions expressed here come from my personal experiences and sincere thoughts.