Book Fairs

General Information:

Books Inc. executes large-scale, on site school book fairs throughout the school year.

We select books based on Books Inc. store bestsellers, recommendations from Books Inc. children’s book specialists and our local publisher sales representatives, with a focus on quality and popularity.

Our fairs vary in sales from $10,000 - $50,000 net of tax.
·During the Fall, we ask that the school expect at least $17,000-20,000 in sales.

·During the Spring, we ask that the school expect at least $10,000 in sales.

Donations are determined by sales, on a sliding scale:

All sales of less than $15,000 net of tax = 15% donation

Sales of $16,000-16,999.99 net of tax = 16% donation

Sales of $17,000-17,999.99 net of tax = 17% donation

Sales of $18,000-18,999.99 net of tax = 18% donation

Sales of $19,000-19,999.99 net of tax = 19% donation

All sales of greater than $20,000 net of tax = 20%

However, should the school choose to accept the donation as a Books Inc. store gift card and / or buy books out of their donation at their Books Inc. book fair, 5% will be added to the donation total determined by sales.

IE: If your school did $17,000 in sales, but took their donation as a Books Inc. gift card, your donation percentage would be 22% instead of 17%. This is a particularly good option for schools who do not expect to exceed $15,000 net of sales.

What The School Provides:

·Effective promotion of the fair to its community, including parents, friends, faculty, board members and administration. Advertising for the book fair should be included on the school’s website, calendars, newsletters, bulletins, and emails. Both print, online, and on campus.

·One contact person representing the school to interface with the Books Inc. representative, and is responsible for alerting the school to all logistics.

·Secure an adequately sized space for the book fair and tables for the book fair inventory for the duration of the fair. The room must have at least two outlets, and must be locked when not monitored. The school is responsible for the safety and security of registers, electronic equipment and inventory.

·An appropriate amount of volunteers to adequately staff the fair. At least 1 volunteer to be on the floor during open hours, at least 5 for set up and break down, and a max of 2-3 dedicated cashier that will be present for the majority of the fair.

·Potential volunteers must be present during set-up. If more than three volunteers are allowed to use the Books Inc. point of sale system, any losses in accounting at the end of the fair will be deducted from the donation.

Books Inc. Provides:

·An appropriate selection of titles based on your community, past sales, suggestions from Books Inc. staffers and store sales.

·Delivery and Pick-Up of inventory and all supplies.

·Cash registers with computerized inventory, credit card machines, and a box of supplies including calculators, pens, bags, bookmarks and other items needed for sales transactions.

·Inventory that includes every effort to obtain community requested titles. However, if there is a demand for a book in quantities of 10+ that is not obtained through the typical Books Inc. channels, the cost of unsold books will be deducted from the donation total.

·Reconciliation of all inventory and accounting.

·Delivery of prepaid special orders to the school or closest Books Inc. location in a timely manner.

·Assistance with set up and break down.

·A Books Inc. trained children’s specialist on hand during busiest sales times and for any scheduled book talks.

·Book stands, sections signs and table cloths upon request.

Other Services Offered:

·Books Inc. can arrange author visits to the school in conjunction with the school book fair. However, order forms provided by Books Inc. must be used diligently by the community, to ensure day-of sales for the visiting author.

·Books Inc. can provide order forms and handle all sales for said order forms, for summer reading or required reading lists.

·Shopping Nights / In-Store Book Fairs: If the Books Inc. book fair program is unrealistic for your community, shopping nights or in-store book fairs are a great, low-cost alternative. Store managers schedule these events, and store buyers handle all special requests. The same donation scale is used for shopping nights as for book fairs.

For more information, contact School Programming Officer, Caitlin Ayer:

cayer@booksinc.net