HS Yearbooks Are $75?!!! What a racket.

they are getting expensive

but if i recall - ours 25 years ago, were like $40

gina

Hardcover books with glossy pages and color are not cheap to make. I know ours were $45 and that was over 20 years ago. I couldn't imagine not buying them.

I graduated 12 years ago and ours were $70ish then.

I don't know anything about publishing so I have no idea if it's a "racket" or not. But both of my kids bought one. Dd especially wanted it. She was big into the social scene. lol.

Both kids have looked at theirs every once in awhile. They also have gotten out mine and dh's to look at. So yes, I think it's a fun thing to have and worth keeping. My kids' high school asked for donations to help with the cost of yearbooks for kids who couldn't afford it. PTA pledged to cover the rest if it was needed, so that every kid got one. The middle school did the same, although that one was NOT as expensive.

Ours are about that unless you pre-order at registration.  Then they are $60.  And they distribute books at registration so they don't even get written in.  Doesn't seem to bother any of the kids.  

Question:  next year both kids will be in high school.  They should both get a yearbook, right?  DS said he doesn't need one but I think he might want it in the future.  Maybe I am wrong.  Maybe I could skip his freshman year and get the next three?  

They always have been expensive and we have always bought them. All 4 of my kids got them every year in high school and when the oldest moved out, they took them with. My dh and I still have ours and I have had good laughs looking through them with the kids. It always brings back pleasant memories. 

I will say that it didn't appear that all students purchase them these days whereas I think everyone got them back in the day. On a side note, not many kids purchase class rings or letterman jackets. My daughters each got rings but not the boys - their choice. My youngest daughter was the only one who wanted a letterman jacket AND she did wear it. Neither of those two items were cheap.

DS's is $80 ($86 for personalized) and I think DD's is $70 ($75 personalized) this year. DD always buys one and DS has no interest, but will probably get one Senior year.

The books are much higher quality that anything I have from HS.

I don't mind getting the HS ones, but never bought the elementary or MS versions.

We bought the elementary and middle school ones too, although they weren't hardcover and were considerably fewer pages. But we LOVE looking back through them and seeing everyone's kids when they started kindergarten. In fact, when dd graduated we had a party at our neighborhood community center for eight of the girls who had all started kindergarten together, and who had stayed together as friends all through middle and high schools. We took a lot of the photos from the old yearbooks and made a retrospective dvd of all the girls. Only problem was that we forgot to put out kleenex for all the moms who shed a tear or two. lol

They distribute last year's YB at registration? What about the kids that have graduated?

I like the way DD's school does the distribution. YB are handed out on one of the last Fridays and they have a school BBQ/dance that night (outdoor students manning a sound system, not a formal dance) so kids have lots of time to pass them around for signatures.

Yep, last year's book at registration for the following year.  It seemed strange to me but I guess they have done it that way long enough that they don't know different (and it is not unusual in our area at all).  It is nice because it is truly a representation of the entire year-from start to finish. 

Graduates generally come back to pick up as most have not left, but it can be mailed to you at no charge if you want.  

Mine were 35-45 back in the early 80s, so yeah 75 doesn't sound too out of line. And the ones now are so much nicer than what we had in 1980. Full color, much larger, etc.

I was the yearbook editor at my high school and our books were $65 - and that was 23 years ago. $75 now sounds completely reasonable to me.

I still look at my yearbooks occasionally and especially my senior one - some of the notes that my close friends wrote to me are still very meaningful to me. I can't imagine skipping that.

I still look at mine and I graduated a long time ago. My boys might have done without them, but I pushed - and I want to say around the $75 mark 5-7 years ago. Not to mention the special senior page I did that cost to put it in. And-double that, because I had twins! Don't miss spending all that money.....