Saturday, July 10, 2010

Well Played Staples, Well Played


Once again I will be waving my freak flag for yet another post.
See those pencils?

Those beautiful bouquets of shiny, new pencils make me smile.  They are bundled and ready to go for the new school year.  Since the photo was taken, my aide sharpened each one and labeled them with the students' numbers.  At the start of every month I break out a new bundle and disperse them to eager recipients.

The reason I am able to neurotically pre-bundle a year's worth of pencils is because of the Staples .01 cent sales.

Historically, Staples has offered items for a penny in the months of July and August.  Their plan is to lure you into the store for the penny items and then have you impulsively drop several ten spots on additional merchandise.  They didn't account for me and my pocket full of copper coins to hit the Staples circuit.
With an accomplice.  

Because there is an items per person limit rule, but there is no age limit.  So he counts.

We literally have 3 Staples within 5 minutes of our driveway.  I have some form of compulsive disorder that forces me to go to each of the stores and stock up on whatever they are offering up that week.

Daily.

As in 7 times.  

At least.

Let's do the math.  7 days x 3 stores = 21 trips.  21 trips X 25 item max for teachers = 525 items

When that "item" is an 8 pack of pencils, we are looking at 4,200 pencils per summer.

At least.  Admittedly, I sometimes hit the triad of Staples more than once a day.

Sometimes more than twice.  

Plus, the items my son and husband are forced to buy as well.  It's an illness.

The 2 pocket, pronged folders are my favorite, but it doesn't matter what they are giving away.  I'm taking it.  

So the big sales start tomorrow.

Except, this year they are not being quite so generous.  The new ad reads, "WITH A $5.00 MINIMUM." 

Hmph! Boo hiss!

Good move on their part.

I suppose.

For those interested this week's sales include:

STAPLES .01 cent sale:
2 pocket folders
8 packs of pencils
(don't forget to use your Staples teacher card to get 25 vs the published maximum)
eta:  packages of copy/printer paper w/ rebate

WALMART:
Composition Notebooks .25 cents

WALGREENS:
Sharpies (12 pack assorted colors) $3.99
Paper Mate Mechanical Pencils (10 pack - makes a good addition to a gift set for students) .39
Hand Held Sharpeners/Rulers .29 cents
Expo Dry Erase Markers (4 pack) $1.99

CVS:
child scissors - free with Extra Care Bucks

Feel free to leave a comment with additional deals if you find them.  Happy Sunday.  Happy Shopping.


10 comments:

Marlene said...

This is what I plan on doing because of that- Target does price matching so i'm taking the Staples ad like I did last year and getting them at Target. I can easily spend $5 on stuff I need at Target.

Anonymous said...

Love it! I, too, look forward to Staples 1 cent sales every summer. Thanks for the heads up!!!!

Anonymous said...

Also a ream of white paper is ONE CENT!! I am going to buy 25 today and tomorrow. This saves me tons of "school money" that I normally spend $25 for 10 reams.

Clutter-Free Classroom said...

@ Marlene: I love price matching, but you need to make sure it's the exact same brand. Thanks for the reminder.

@ Anonymous: The reams of paper are after rebate so you'll need to pay up front and then get the money back. Still a good deal though. Thanks.

Ambs said...

thanks for the tip!!! I'm always ready to scour out a good deal!!!

grace grant said...

Target also has some teacher stuff in the $1 bin...not all of it is great, but, found some small pocket carts and desk top pocket charts!!

Anonymous said...

Be sure to check out the dollar section at Target. My local Target has started to put out school supply items including the great pocket charts that are small but perfect for focus walls,stations,etc.
I picked up some great items to go with my safari theme classroom also including a cute little monkey tote bag to be used by my "Top Banana" to carry home. Fun stuff and cheap!

John Deere Mom said...

I agree with the boo, hiss on the 5 dollar minimum. They are on to those of us who aren't easily swayed by shiny new, more expensive things. I am walking out of that store with only penny items! Alas, I did cave yesterday and bought a few of their $1.00 deals to get my penny pencils and folders.

Tchrgirl said...

I'm glad to know that I'm not the only crazy teacher out there stalking the back to school sales!

futureflstar said...

I'm bummed the first 1 cent deals ended today and not saturday along with the rest of the weekly deals. :(
We were on vacation...I guess I'm not THAT dedicated just yet LOL.
Hopefully next week they will have something I need still. :) Thanks for the heads up though!!!