Bookroo Book Fairs: The Best Alternative to Scholastic Book Fairs
Scholastic Book Fairs have long been a popular way to raise funds for schools and build excitement around reading, but Scholastic fairs have a number of shortcomings, including limited availability, restricted cashback opportunities, a large carbon footprint, and inflexible book catalogs. Because of these and other issues, many schools, educators, and families are looking for alternatives to Scholastic Book Fairs.
Bookroo Book Fairs are a new and innovative option for book fairs that solves the problems with the conventional fair model, making Bookroo Book Fairs the best alternative to Scholastic Book Fairs.
In this article, we look at some of the problems with Scholastic Book Fairs and why Bookroo Book Fairs are the best alternative to Scholastic Book Fairs.
What are the problems with Scholastic Book Fairs?
Scholastic Book Fairs have a number of shortcomings, including:
- Limited, predictable book selections
- Trinkets distracting from books
- High revenue thresholds for cashback
- Limited access and availability
- Inflexible scheduling
- One-size-fits-all book catalogs
- Inventory and administrative headaches
- Extensive volunteer hours
- Large carbon footprint
- Restricted fair outreach
- Limited free shipping
Below, we’ll look at each of these problems with Scholastic Book Fairs and explain how Bookroo Book Fairs solves them.
| Bookroo | Scholastic | |
|---|---|---|
| Book titles available | 10,000+ | ~200 |
| Cashback for virtual fairs | 10-20% | 0% |
| Minimum revenue for cashback | $0 | $3,500 |
| Accessible to all school types & sizes | ||
| Instant registration | ||
| Flexible fair scheduling | ||
| Customizable book catalogs | ||
| Focused on great books (no trinkets) | ||
| No inventory management | ||
| Automated sales tax calculations | ||
| Estimated volunteer hours | 2-3 | 20-50 |
| Reduced carbon footprint | ||
| Minimum spend for free shipping | $0 | $25.00 |
| Modern, fun shopping experience |
Why Bookroo Book Fairs Are the Best Alternative to Scholastic Book Fairs
Extensive, Fresh Book Selection
One thing we regularly hear from educators is their disappointment with the repetitive nature of titles in Scholastic fairs. The same titles, series, and authors appear on the shelves of the fair year after year. When you run a Bookroo Book Fair, you have access to literally thousands of titles to offer in your fair.
"Setting up our Bookroo Book Fair was so easy, and my students and I liked the wide range of titles compared to the limited selection available at other fairs. Plus I appreciated that the fair was focused entirely on books—students couldn't spend their money on trinkets like pencils and erasers. This is my new favorite option for book fairs!"
Better Cashback and Better Fundraising
Scholastic Book Fairs limit hosts to receiving restricted company rewards for fairs unless fair revenue reaches at least $3,500, and no cashback for online fairs. In contrast, Bookroo Book Fairs offer 10-20% cashback and 20-30% store credit for all fairs—with no minimum revenue thresholds!
"Running a book fair was extremely easy and made for another opportunity to promote reading in my classes. The students loved creating their book registries, and the cashback rewards were an added bonus, allowing us to further invest in our classroom's educational resources."
Accessible to All School Types & Sizes
Access to Scholastic Book Fairs is limited because of the nature of the fair model. Because books have to be shipped from fair to fair, there are only so many schools that can have access to a Scholastc Book Fair. This can leave out many educational groups, including small districts, charter schools, learning pods, homeschool groups, and private schools.
In contrast, Bookroo Book Fairs make the benefits of running a book fair available to all educational groups, from a single class to a large district, as well as charter schools, home schools, and private schools. Bookroo Book Fairs can also be set up by PTOs and school librarians and are especially ideal for individual teachers to raise funds for their class. Plus, class fairs can easily be linked with other classes to increase fair earnings!
"I recently completed my first Bookroo Book Fair, and I'm a big fan! I've run numerous book fairs for schools and know how much time and energy they require, but Bookroo's fair was effortless to organize (requiring under 2 hours of my time). Plus both parents and students were delighted by the diverse book selection, which resulted in high participation levels. I'm excited to host another fair in the fall."
Flexible Scheduling
Scholastic Book Fairs are limited in availability. Schools must find a time that works both with their school calendar and the company’s availability. Bookroo Book Fairs, in comparison, can be scheduled anytime that works for the host’s calendar.
Customizable Book Catalogs
With Scholastic Book Fairs, hosts are limited to the selections the company chooses to promote in its catalog. These selections might not appeal to students’ or their families’ reading preferences. In contrast, a Bookroo Book Fair allows hosts to customize book fair catalogs to suit the reading tastes and preferences of students and families. Hosts can browse our fun and exciting prebuilt fair catalogs, customize them, or create their own!
Focused on Quality Books—No Trinkets!
Additionally, educators also love how Bookroo Book Fairs are focused on books. One of the most common complaints we hear with Scholastic Book Fairs is that students leave the fair with low-quality, cheap books or trinkets like pencils and erasers. Bookroo Book Fairs focus exclusively on books because books (not erasers) offer the life-changing magic of reading.
"I seriously loved the books offered in our Bookroo Book Fair. I want books that last for a long time and that kids haven't seen before, so I'm very picky about the books that come into my classroom. I plan to keep using Bookroo Book Fairs because of the quality and variety of the books."
No Inventory Management
When we talk with educators about Scholastic Book Fairs, another headache they experience is inventory management. They have to check stock levels throughout the fair to make sure no titles run out of stock or go missing. Bookroo Book Fairs eliminate the stress of inventory management as students browse and shop digitally, then receive their physical books shortly after the fair ends.
Automated Sales Tax
Another common complaint we hear about Scholastic Book fairs is the dreaded task of handling sales tax. (After all, it’s a book fair, not a math bowl, right?) Bookroo Book Fairs automate the calculation and collection of sales tax, so you can keep calm (and keep reading)!
Reduced Volunteer Hours
Scholastic Book Fairs can require many hours of volunteer time to set up, staff the fair, and clean up again at the end. Bookroo Book Fairs eliminate the need for so much volunteer time. Creating a fair can be done by a single educator in less than an hour. After that, our technology handles the rest.
Eco-friendly Fair Experience
Bookroo Book Fairs also offer educators a more environmentally friendly way of running a book fair. Conventional fairs require transporting huge loads of books around the country from fair to fair. Bookroo Book Fairs reduce their carbon footprint by hosting the fair virtually and shipping only the books ordered to students.
Increased Participation
The reach of Scholastic Book Fairs is limited to those who are able to stop by the physical fair. We’ve built Bookroo Book Fairs to be both fun and easy to share with family and friends, so you can broaden your fair’s reach and enlist support from others for your students’ reading journey. The more people who know about your fair, the more books for your students and the more fundraising for your class.
Free and Flexible Shipping
Books can be shipped to the school or classroom hosting the fair, and these orders always ship free. The host also has the option of choosing to have books ship directly to students.
Simplified Browsing and Shopping
The process of ushering students to, from, and through a conventional book fair can be stressful. Bookroo Book Fairs can be run from the comfort of the classroom or home.
"I've found other book fairs can be a stressful experience, so I loved how easy it was to run a Bookroo Book Fair! My students liked the broad book selection and the experience of creating their registries, too. I'm already looking forward to running another one in the fall!"