What to do with Overrun Copies

What are Overruns?

Overruns are extra yearbooks you may receive on delivery day. During our printing process, we are extra careful to make sure you get the amount of high-quality books you ordered. Our friends at KC usually print extras to make sure you have plenty of copies and that every book you receive is top-notch. We save a few for our own libraries, and then we send extras — if available — to you so you can profit from selling them. So, what can you do with your overruns? And how can you sell them to put a little extra cash in your yearbook fund?

What you can do with extra yearbooks

Here are a couple ideas of what you can do with overrun copies of your yearbook.

Set aside books for contests (including Portfolio!) Send an overrun to us as a submission to Portfolio 29. We’ll happily take one with page one removed. Just don’t forget to have them to our office by July 1 (spring delivery) or Sept. 30 (summer/fall deliveries). If your city and state aren’t on your spine and you remove page 1, please add a Post-it with that info so we can easily connect your book and form. You can also send your book to contests and critiques at the local, state and national level. Receiving feedback from the experts in your field is a great way to improve for next year!

Save copies for school offices, the library or admin. Building up your yearbook library for future staffs is always a great idea. Make sure to save a copy or two for you to look back on. Check if your school library could use a copy. After all, yearbooks are the best way to save all the memories, events and faces from each school year. Create a historical archive in your school’s library! 

Sell, Sell, Sell! Once you have submitted for contests and stocked your library, put your staffers to work selling every book. Try posting on social media or in the summer newsletter to parents. We recommend selling books at full price and using them as a fundraising opportunity. Start with the students who would be most likely to be disappointed if they didn’t get a book. Run a list of non-buying seniors (or eighth graders) and reach out to those people with a personal email through Send and Sell. Something like this: You’re in luck! We received a small number of extra books that we are happy to offer to students who did not pre-purchase a yearbook this year. Quantities are very limited, so please act not to take advantage of this one-time offer. 

Use social media to your advantage. Get the word out to grandmas, grandpas, aunts and uncles. Consider using very concrete information — “We have 15 books left, and no more will be available.” When you successfully sell every book, make sure to promote your sell-out. You may see a bump in your next book’s sales as a result.

Once you have exhausted all possible ways to sell overruns, you do have the option of requesting a credit. Check with your HJ Rep or CSA for more information. There is a deadline you need to meet to be eligible for credit. Find more ideas and FAQ’s about overruns here.  

HERFF JONES YEARBOOKS