"In-store book fairs are a lot easier and a lot better for parents," said Wendi Gratz, category manager for kids and young adults for Joseph-Beth Booksellers in Kentucky and Ohio, which recently added its seventh store. "If we do it at the school, we can only bring a small selection." She recommends providing coupons for the schools to distribute for the book fair. By having the book fair in-store, parents with coupons get all Joseph-Beth's regular services and selections, along with a discount. "Normally we give schools a 20% discount," Gratz explained. "They break it down however they want. They can split it and give a 10% discount as an incentive for parents."
The in-store book fair works particularly well with private schools at the beginning of the school year or semester. Joseph-Beth will get the entire year's, or semester's, reading list and bag and tag all the books. Parents can come in, purchase the books to benefit their school, and not have to worry that their children don't have all their reading material.
