When to begin shopping for best school supply deals?

[momtoclaire]

I just accessed the list of school supplies for my kiddos for the upcoming school year. In the past, I have used Edukit and have had them delivered to their desks for the first day of school. However, a friend was telling me I can get the supplies for at least 1/2 of that price if I keep my eyes peeled for good deals. What is the best time to begin shopping to get the "steals"? Also, what has been your experience in terms of which stores have the best deals? I looked up the items they need on Amazon and a lot of them are listed as "Add-on items" at decent prices compared to the Wal-Mart website. Wondering if I should grab them now or if I would I be better off waiting for even better prices? Opinions are appreciated!

[wallawala]

I almost never shop at Walmart for lots of reasons, but WAS there today.

24 count Crayola crayons were $0.50 ($1.50 at Target)
Crayola 10pc washable markers were $1.97 ($4 at Target)
Ticonderoga #2 pencils 24 pack $4.00 (normally $5 at Walmart)

I stocked up for DD's Kindy pack and bought extra's to donate to the teacher and for our craft bucket.
Even with those steals I saved $5 off the total cost of the online pack her school was selling ($18). So not worth a trip there for me, but if you need to be there anyway check those out!

Those were listed as "Rollback" prices and in thier normal slot, not a clearance thing. Not sure how long it lasts.

I prefer to shop a steal when I see it, vs waiting for the Back to School shopping because I feel like driving around for the deals stresses me out to save $5. But just my personality type.

[momtoclaire]

Excellent! The crayons, markers and pencils are all on both of their 2nd and 3rd grade lists!! That's even cheaper than the "add-on" deal at Amazon! I can't wait to hear about more deals!

[JBaxter]

Usually sometime in July I've gotten crayons at .25 before. Im not in a rush

[scrooks]

Usually sometime in July I've gotten crayons at .25 before. Im not in a rush
:yeahthat: It seems like the good deals start in late July. I wasn't at target this week but as of a week ago target wasn't even starting to get their schools supplies out yet.

[rlu]

I almost never shop at Walmart for lots of reasons, but WAS there today.

24 count Crayola crayons were $0.50 ($1.50 at Target)
Crayola 10pc washable markers were $1.97 ($4 at Target)
Ticonderoga #2 pencils 24 pack $4.00 (normally $5 at Walmart)



IIRC Walgreens sells the Ticongeroga #2 pencils, 10 (sharpened!), for $1 during their back to school sale. Worth it if local enough.

I'd def buy the crayons at .50, even if go on sale for a quarter elsewhere, is .25 worth the trip?

[kellij]

They always have .25 crayons at TRU every year. They also have buy 1 get two free crayola products at some point before school starts again at TRU. They usually have really cheap glue sticks at some point at Target too. They seem like they mark a few things down each week at each store, like Walgreens, Office Depot, Target, and Staples. It's pretty easy to get things extremely cheap at that time. I can't remember exactly when either, but I think it's closer to the end of July. Target doesn't have school stuff stocked yet and it seems like they get it in for a few weeks before the crazy deals start. That being said, I'm also always surprised how far before school starts that it is. So that's not super-helpful, but I definitely wouldn't be buying yet unless it's a steal.

[WatchingThemGrow]

They always have .25 crayons at TRU every year. They also have buy 1 get two free crayola products at some point before school starts again at TRU. They usually have really cheap glue sticks at some point at Target too. They seem like they mark a few things down each week at each store, like Walgreens, Office Depot, Target, and Staples. It's pretty easy to get things extremely cheap at that time. I can't remember exactly when either, but I think it's closer to the end of July. Target doesn't have school stuff stocked yet and it seems like they get it in for a few weeks before the crazy deals start. That being said, I'm also always surprised how far before school starts that it is. So that's not super-helpful, but I definitely wouldn't be buying yet unless it's a steal.
:yeahthat: It's totally worth waiting for a couple weeks. We'll have a thread on here about the steals, then we can all run out and fill up our trunks with super-cheap supplies. Our supply lists are never out at the time school supply sales are, but I grab plenty of stuff anyway and am able to fill all my DCs' lists with what I got. Actually, I'm going to email the principal now and see if she'll post the lists earlier this summer.
As for the sales, just hold on. There will be a ton. Just get ready to hit Staples, Office Depot/Office Max, a little Target and a little Walmart. They've been pretty faithful with their past deals:
Walmart $.25 crayola 24 packs
Target $1-2 crayola markers
Office Max Expo markers BOGO, cheap composition books, 1 cent deals
Staples folders, pens,
I forget what else. Search the old threads from last July and see what went on sale then. The hardest part of it for me was dragging my DC around or trying to do my shopping around DH's work schedule. It's awesome to get stuff for pennies on the dollar.

[WatchingThemGrow]

Here's a search on them. You can see things start trickling in July 7th, but the following 4-5 weeks have gobs of deals to fill your coffers. We just buy plenty and use up anything else at home for the rest of the school year. It's painful to have to restock something for home at regular prices.
In past years, many states have done tax free weekends, but I think ours is not doing it this year.
http://windsorpeak.com/vbulletin/search.php?searchid=1253327

[Corie]

I found my old post from last year dated July 8, 2013. This is when I started shopping last year. I always buy
as many of those mechanical pencils as I can. That is a super cheap price!!! Today (I just checked!), the exact same mechanical pencils are
$6 at Office Max.


Back to School supply deals at Office Max!!!

These are the items that I went to buy--
$1 for 4-pack of Expo markers (set of 4 black markers or set of 1-black, 1-red, 1-blue, 1-green.)
$1 for 4-pack of Avery glue sticks
$1 for 12-pack of Sharpie fine-point black markers
$1 for Papermate 2-pack Mechanical Pencils Clearpoint Starter sets

Plus, there is an awesome coupon in their weekly flyer for $5 off a purchase of $25.

[Momit]

What's that website that has categories like buy, stockpile etc. for all the various school supply items? I remember reading about it here last year. And now I finally have a kid going to school so I'm ready to start shopping!