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A new academic year is approaching, and that means it’s time for back-to-school shopping. Millions of students are preparing to go back to the classroom and millions more will be learning online, but all are united in the quest to find the best place to get school supplies.
Having trouble deciding which places to get school supplies? In this guide, we present a list of the 10 best places to shop for school supplies online. Below, you’ll find out which retailers offer the best deals for back to school, where to go for stylish custom-made supplies, and who offers the cheapest school supplies.
Target obviously needs no introduction, but one thing you may not know about them is that they have the best selection of school supplies. Through partnerships with dozens of top school supply companies like Post-It, Pilot, Bic, and Crayola, Target sells literally thousands of school products.
There are two ways to shop the Target website for school supplies. The conventional way is to order everything online and then pick up in-store or with contactless curbside delivery. The second option is with Target’s exclusive School List Assist. Just tell Target the name of your or your child’s school, choose your classes, and Target will instantly match that list to items you can buy now.
Walmart is known for its affordability, and this is certainly the case when it comes to its selection of school supplies. Walmart sells products from dozens of top school supply manufacturers. Another great thing about Walmart is its strength in categories like calculators, arts & crafts, and musical instruments.
The Walmart school supplies page is incredibly user friendly. You can shop by grade (pre-school, elementary school, middle school, or high school), category, or brand. There’s even a section highlighting $1, $2, and $3 school supplies.
Amazon sells more product categories than any other retailer, so it’s no surprise it also excels at school supplies. Like the other websites mentioned so far, it has products in virtually every category and from all the top brands.
Of course, what makes Amazon such a great place for buying school supplies is that it’s, well… Amazon. Nowhere else can you buy school supplies using Amazon Prime’s same-day shipping. And no other school supplies website makes it as easy as Amazon to build and save your back-to-school shopping list.
Staples is the place for office supplies, which by definition makes it a great place for school supplies. However, the reason we included Staples on this list is because of its office furniture, e.g. desks, chairs, and lighting. If your or your child’s school is teaching remotely this year, then Staples is the best place for setting up a home study area. It’s also a good place for furnishing a college dorm.
The Staples website is incredibly user-friendly. On the back-to-school page, you’ll see options to search by grade, product type, and a bunch of other categories. The Stables website will even tell you what you need, just by entering your zip code, school, and class. Staples offers three convenient pickup/delivery options: free delivery with no minimum purchase amount, curbside pickup, or in-store pickup.
Bed Bath & Beyond is another company that makes our list because of its home and office supplies. It has a small selection of high-end school supplies (like expensive pens) that are worth checking out. However, it is best used for fitting out a college dorm room or furnishing a dedicated study area at home.
The Bed Bath & Beyond website has a dedicated section for college students. This includes pages for the truly essential college products, including bedding, bath, room décor, laundry and cleaning products, and off-campus furniture. There’s also a new page for college from home, with products designed to make you feel like you’re on campus.
Paper Source is a high-end stationery and gift retailer. It offers pre-designed and custom supplies, including stationery and planners. It’s a good place for designing your own personalized stationery – or for buying stationery for a friend or relative who’s about to head back to school.
Whatever your style, Paper Source has it. Its personalized stationery comes in 460+ designs, all which can be further customized with your favorite colors. Although Paper Source’s customer stationery isn’t cheap, when we last checked out the site it had a 20% deal on back-to-school shopping with the code ENJOY20.
Etsy, for anyone not familiar with it, is the world’s largest ecommerce marketplace for handmade and vintage items. It has millions of products, including hundreds of thousands of products in the school supplies category, making it the best place to go for unique products your school friends don’t have.
Whenever you view a product on Etsy, there’s an option to read about and connect with the seller. Many sellers offer custom products. Just find a seller with a style you like, then start a conversation about custom school supplies.
DSW is best known for shoes, but it also has plenty of backpacks and lunchboxes. Its backpacks come in a range of styles, from big name brands like Nike to themes for kids, such as Minecraft and Frozen backpack sets.
Although it’s not especially known for its budget deals, DSW does have an extensive back-to-school deals page. There, you’ll find back-to-school products from big-name brands for under $50, including Nike and Vans kids’ shoes, backpacks, and more.
Sam’s Club is a chain of membership-only retail warehouse clubs owned and operated by Walmart Inc. Now mostly online, Sam’s Club is the best place for buying school supplies from big-name brands in bulk.
The most unique thing about Sam’s Club is its school meal supplies section. There, you’ll find all sorts of school snacks in bulk, including energy drinks, packaged meals, sandwiches, and more.
Where else but the Dollar Tree can you find school supplies for under a dollar each? That’s right, Dollar Tree has pens, erasers, binders, pens, pencils, pencil pouches, and more – and all for $1 or less per piece.
Not content with being the cheapest back-to-school shop, Dollar Tree also has an extensive selection. On its website, you’ll find supplies for every class. There’s even a section with decor for dorm rooms and home study spaces.
