When it comes to back-to-school shopping , don’t forget about the office supply stores. You may automatically think of Target back-to-school sales or Walmart back-to-school deals when planning your shopping list, but the Staples back-to-school sale every year includes deals that are priced to compete with even the biggest retailers. And in 2025, they offered a handful of in-store freebies, including a free First Day of School Sign and freebies with a purchase (more on that below).
My local Staples is closer to my house than Target or Walmart, so it’s a no-brainer where I’ll be shopping for my school supplies. The Staples back-to-school sale usually runs from June through mid-September.
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The Staples Back-to-School Sale is an annual event that lasts about 14 weeks, with some of the best prices of the year on school supplies.
The Staples back-to-school deals start in June and continues through September, and the prices are sometimes lower than Walmart's or Target's.
KCL predicts the Staples Back-to-School Sale will start Sunday, June 14, 2026.
Staples hasn’t officially announced the next date for their Back-to-School Sale, but based on what they’ve done in recent years, we at KCL predict that it’ll take place starting Sunday, June 14, 2026, lasting through mid-September.
How did we make our prediction?
Sales cycles at Staples always start on a Sunday, and the Back-to-School sale historically kicked off on the third Sunday of July. But in 2024, Staples shifted earlier, starting deals on June 9 — about six weeks sooner than expected. In 2025, they repeated the early timing, starting on June 8 and running about 14 weeks. Since the sale still ends in mid-September, we expect the same pattern in 2026, putting the start date on June 14.
Here are the recent start dates for the back-to-school sale at Staples:
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June 8, 2025
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June 9, 2024
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July 16, 2023
Staples' Back-to-School Freebies 2025
Staples Four Weeks of Freebies was held in July and August of 2025. After the first four weeks, Staples offered an additional two weeks of freebie offers. These were available to redeem using either Staples.com or the Staples app, both in-store and online.
All the Staples Freebies Offers From July 20, 2025 - Aug. 30, 2025:
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July 20 - 26: Free pack of Astrobrights colored paper (the blue 100-count pack) with any purchase
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July 27 - Aug. 2: Free 16GB PNY USB drive with any purchase
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Aug. 3 - 9: Free Sharpie S-Gel Retractable Gel Pen with any purchase
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Aug. 10 - 16: Free Post-it Super Sticky Notes (8-pack) with any purchase
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Aug. 17 - 23: 100% back in Staples rewards points (up to $40) on all Post-it products, including flags, notes, and easel pads, when you activate the offer in the app.
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Aug. 17 - 23: Free 12-pack of Cra-Z-Art paints with online purchase and coupon code 59058 at checkout; pickup availability may vary by location
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Aug. 24 - 30: 100% back in Staples rewards points (up to $40) on all Sharpie products, including highlighters, pens, and markers, when you activate the offer in the app
Staples offered a free First Day of School Sign (a $0.75 value) in 2025.
During the 2025 back-to-school season, Staples gave out free personalized First Day of School signs (normally $0.75 for an 8" x 11" color print). Shoppers could head to the print desk, fill out a short form, and pick up one sign per student through Sept. 13. You could choose a design, add your child’s name and grade, and walk out with a free print. In our experience, there wasn’t even a wait — and we were able to get one for each child.
The Staples 2025 teacher discount ran through Sept. 13: 20% off back-to-school coupon (in stores only).
Teachers could score 20% off one in-store purchase by showing a teacher ID. The coupon was available in the Staples app under Easy Rewards and valid through Sept. 13, 2025, with a limit of one use. Exclusions included computers and many electronic devices.
Tips for Saving at the Staples Back-to-School Sale
1. Join Staples Easy Rewards to earn points and get coupons.
The Staples Easy Rewards program is free to join, and once you're a member, you'll unlock exclusive savings and perks to help with back-to-school shopping. You'll earn 1 point for every $1 spent, and you can pick up to three bonus categories to earn double points. Plus, as long as you're an active member, your points never expire. You can also rack up extra points by recycling unwanted tech, ink, toner, and more.
Members can also get coupons sent to their email. I received $5 off $10.
2. Recycle at Staples and earn points, discounts, and coupons.
The Staples Recycling program makes it worth your time to recycle. Easy Rewards members can start earning points just for dropping off used tech, ink cartridges, batteries, and more, plus get access to exclusive in-store discounts.
Here’s how the Staples recycling rewards break down:
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1,000 points when you recycle tech or batteries for the first time (new Easy Rewards members only)
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500 points per month when you continue recycling tech and batteries
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500 points per ink or toner cartridge, up to 6 per month — that’s up to $15 back in rewards
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$30 in points when you buy a qualifying HP printer and recycle your old one in store
All these offers are tied to your Easy Rewards account, and most are in-store only. Points can be redeemed like cash on future purchases, with 1,000 points equal to $1.
Recycling these items is completely free. Here's a list of products accepted for recycling:
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Backpacks
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Lunch bags
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Pencil pouches (soft and hard case)
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Writing instruments (pencils, markers, pens, crayons, highlighters)
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Rulers and similar items (protractors, triangles, etc. — wood, plastic, metal)
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Glue sticks and empty bottles
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Tech (calculators, headphones, earbuds, cables, USBs, etc.)
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Binders (regular and zipper — paper must be removed)
Sharp cutting instruments, like scissors and X-Acto knives, aren't included.
3. Stock up on Staples school supplies with prices that rival Walmart and Target.
At some points during the back-to-school season, Staples’ prices will even dip down below Walmart‘s. You’re gonna have to hang on for a couple of weeks before this is true for most products, though.
Here are the rock-bottom prices to look for from Staples — if you see them marked down this low, stock up:
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Elmer’s liquid glue, 4 oz : $0.55 (stock-up price: $0.50 each)
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Crayola colored pencils, 12 ct : $0.99 (stock-up price: $0.90 each)
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Crayola markers, 10 ct : $0.97 (stock-up price: $0.95 each)
4. Take advantage of Staples’ 100% Price Match Guarantee.
Staples offers a 100% Price Match Guarantee. If you spot a lower price on an identical item, just show it to a Staples associate, and they'll match it. You can bring a competitor’s weekly ad or use your phone to compare prices while shopping in-store.
And if you buy something from a Staples store and find it at a lower price in another Staples store or on Staples.com within 14 days, Staples will refund you the difference.
5. You can stack promo codes when shopping Staples back-to-school sales online.
True story! Staples issues product coupons in the form of promo codes, and also promo codes that apply to your entire transaction.
You can use only one transaction coupon on your entire order. BUT you can combine individual product coupons on top of that whole-transaction coupon when you shop Staples online.
6. Note the product exclusions for coupons on Staples.com.
The fact that you can use more than one promo code when shopping Staples online is pretty amazing. But there’s a long list of exclusions. You can never use an online coupon for any of these products:
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Laptops and tablets
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Streaming devices
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Apple products
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Bose products
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Google products
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Ultimate Ears products
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Wacom products
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TI graphing calculators
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Most ink and toner
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Gift cards
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Phone cards
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Postage
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Custom orders or promotional products
While there are a couple of big-ticket back-to-school items on that list of exclusions, the good news is that you can still use promo codes on the most common basics you’re likely to buy in bulk, like notebooks, crayons, and glue.
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