Where to find your Back-to-School Supplies

You may not want to do all your shopping at any one of these retailers. They each have their strong suit and provide best services as listed below.

Pick Your Strategy

Stocking one student’s list on a tight budget? Start at Walmart or Dollar Tree for pennies-on-the-dollar basics, then fill gaps with weekly deals at Target, Office Depot, or Staples.
Need convenience over coupons? Let Amazon auto-ship the list to your doorstep, but watch dynamic pricing.
Outfitting multiple kids or classrooms with premium brands? A single Costco or Sam’s run can save hundreds. Just split the giant packs with other families.

Walmart

Best Brick-and-Mortar Loss Leaders

Annual price audits show Walmart ringing up the lowest cost on a standard 20-item supply list – about 37 percent below national averages. Combine 25-cent notebooks, 50-cent glue sticks, and flash sales on Crayola packs, and a single-child list often lands under $30. Inventory vanishes fast; brand options thin out after August 1. For bulk class sets, you’ll pay more than Geddes because Walmart rarely discounts full cartons.

Dollar Tree (and Dollar Family)

Best Single-Item Price

Everything is $1.25 (or less with teacher rewards), so pencils, folders, and rulers rarely cost less anywhere else. Quality is “good-enough” for consumables, but you’ll find limited premium brands and almost no multi-packs. Great place for classroom organizers, bins, and decor on a shoestring, but calculate unit prices; a six-pack of glue sticks at Walmart may beat six singles here.

Target

Best Mid-Tier Mix of Style & Price

Target keeps 1,000+ back-to-school items under $5 and heavily promotes 25-cent basics and $5 backpacks each July. Their “Teacher Prep Event” also grants educators 15% off select supplies. Trendy designs and sturdy Up&Up-brand binders parents rate above dollar-store quality.

Amazon

Best Convenience & Lightning Deals

If time is money, Amazon’s same-day or overnight shipping is unbeatable. Prime Day and “Back-to-School Deal Days” routinely undercut brick-and-mortar on glue, markers, and backpacks. Prices fluctuate hourly; a cart left overnight can swing 20%. Watch multi-vendor listings – returns can be tricky.

Office Depot / OfficeMax

Best Penny-Sales for Teachers

Each July, these sister chains run “1-Cent” and “25-Cent” door-busters: filler paper, pens, and rulers with a small per-customer limit. Pair with the free Office Depot Rewards 20% educator coupon and you can stack big savings on mid-range tech or furniture. Not as cheap on everyday pricing; shop only the weekly ad.

Staples

Best Price-Match + Rewards

Staples promises to beat competitor pricing by 10% for identical items. Penny deals on notebooks and index cards rival Office Depot, and $5-off-$25 coupons appear weekly on the app. Combine those with classroom-spend rewards and gift-card promos for net-zero costs on some basics.

Costco

Best Quality in Mega Packs

Families with multiple kids love Costco’s bulk Bic pens (60 ct), 10-pack Elmer’s glue sticks, and $9.99 5-subject notebooks. Per-item cost can dip below dollar-store levels, but membership and supersized quantities don’t fit every parent’s needs.

Sam’s Club

Best Back-to-School Tech Bundles

Sam’s rivals Costco on bulk paper goods but edges ahead with Chromebook bundles, graphing calculators, and dorm-ready printer deals. Like Costco, you’ll need a membership, yet seasonal Instant Savings often make high-ticket items cheapest here.

Five Below

Best Trendy Extras Under $5

While not a traditional supply store, Five Below stocks locker decor, planners, pens, and wireless earbuds – all capped at $5. Perfect for tween/teen “wishlist” items that won’t break the budget.

source: raymondgeddes.com/blog