How to Shop for School Supplies in Bulk

Back to School Time

Its now the rush to start getting in school supplies for your children. By now, most parents have received their individual class lists for each child. Whether you have or not, there are some basic supplies that are needed every year anyway, and these are the supplies best bought in bulk. Before we start talking about shopping for back to school supplies in bulk, lets cover the basics of back to school shopping.

How to Shop for School Supplies

Two of my articles, Top 10 Essential Back-to-School Supplies for Highschoolers, and Where to Buy Inexpensive School Supplies in Delaware County, PA can help you with the basics of back to school shopping. Although the second one is geared toward Delaware County, all stores I included were also accessible on line. With the Internet it is so much easier and cheaper to buy your back to school supplies. You can easily compare prices, distance of stores, or even have them shipped to your home. Some people are home bound or do not drive, so it is wonderful that we now have this resource. The best way to shop for back to school supplies is with the list that the teacher has sent you, as there are certain specifics that not all classes ask for. However, there are a lot of things that are needed universally, no matter the grade. This is where bulk school supplies come in.

Why Shopping for Bulk Back to School Supplies is A Good Way To Go

If you have more than one child, as I'm sure you've already figured out by now, school supplies really add up fast. The best reason for shopping in bulk is when you have more than one child. However, even with one child it can get a little outrageous. There are certain supplies as I mentioned that are pretty much universal. There are also a lot of supplies you can buy that will not go bad and can be used the next year if there are leftovers. Don't forget to take a little of that extra though to to Donate Extra School Supplies. Also, you can go in with other parents and split the costs two or three or even more ways, saving you even more money.

Strategies in Bulk School Supply Shopping

First do a little research as to where to buy in bulk. I have made it a little easier for you by pulling together a few and including their links in the next paragraph. Next, make a list of things that will not be wasted if not used immediately. Keep in mind, your daughter may not want kittens on her folders next year, so anything you buy in bulk should be plain, but you can add a little flair by getting their favorite colors, as these seem to stay the same. Next, try to calculate how much you will need. Remember that pens, pencils and erasers especially seem to disappear on a regular basis. Here's a list of some great things to by in bulk:

Folders-plain, with holes so they can be put into binders
Loose leaf paper (believe me when I say, you can never have enough of this)
Computer paper
Marble copybooks
Single subject ringed copybooks
Black pens
Blue pens
Red pens
Pencils
Erasers
Highlighters

There are many more supplies your child will need, but these are the best things to buy in bulk as they are used pretty much every grade and they are not different for different ages.

Where to Look For Bulk Back To School Supplies

There are two options. You can either buy bulk from the comfort of your own home via the computer, or you can go to the store yourself. Either way, you should hop on line and compare prices even if you plan on shopping at the store. Also keep in mind the distance of the store (gas) and it would be good to call ahead and find out their delivery day and go the day after delivery. If you go the day after their delivery, everything will have been restocked on the shelves, thus saving yourself from a second trip due to diminished supplies.

Three places for great bulk buying on line or in person:

1) Dollar Days - no minimum order required, accepts credit cards, deals on shipping and a customer service telephone number for questions or concerns. This site has some amazing deals whether you choose to buy in bulk or not.

2) BJ's Wholesale Club -Bj's wholesale is now in fifteen states with close to two hundred stores*. You can also buy on line, but you will have to search each thing you are looking for individually as there is no specific "back to school" results if you put that into the search. This is a well known organization with a good reputation and available customer service.

3) Geddes -is an amazing place for bulk supplies. As with BJ's, you need to search individually but the site is easy to maneuver. To give you an example of the prices here, one hundred folders (the plain kind) for a box of 100 , is a mere $20.00. Over all the years your children are in school, these will be used, over if you are going the way of getting in on supply sopping with other parents, this is an awesome way to go. This is an on line only store, but has free shipping and an excellent customer service base.

personal experience
*http://www.bjs.com/general/locator/index
http://www.dollardays.com/
http://www.raymondgeddes.com/