Hottest Deals on School Supplies at Staples

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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. 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 next year.

The Staples Back-to-School deals start in June and continue through September. We're showing you even more ways to save when you shop the Staples sale.

For more smart shopping tips and savings hacks, text HACKS to 57299 or download The Krazy Coupon Lady app.

KCL predicts the Staples Back-to-School Sale will start Sunday, June 8, 2025.

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 here at KCL predict that it’ll take place starting Sunday, June 8, 2025 — 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 starts on the third Sunday of July. In 2024, Staples started back-to-school deals on June 9 — six weeks earlier than we expected. In 2023, the sales lasted eight weeks, putting the end in mid-September. We expect the sale to still end in mid-September, making the sale about 14 weeks long.

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 3 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.

Plus, members can get coupons sent to their email. I received $5 off $10!

2. Get a $10 off $30 Staples coupon for recycling

In 2024, the Staples Recycling program added the option to recycle backpacks and other school supplies. When you recycle backpacks and school supplies in stores, you'll get a coupon for $10 off your $30 purchase.

Recycling these items is completely free. Here's a list of products accepted for recycling:

Backpacks
Lunch bags
Pencil pouches (soft and hard case)
Writing instruments (pencils, markers, pens, crayons, highlighters)
Rulers and similar items (protractors, triangles, etc. — wood, plastic, metal)
Glue sticks and empty bottles
Tech (calculators, headphones, earbuds, cables, USBs, etc.)
Binders (regular and zipper — paper must be removed)

Sharp cutting instruments, like scissors and exacto knives, aren't included.

After recycling your used school supplies and backpacks, you'll get the $10 off $30 coupon valid on in-store purchases only. The coupon will expire the day after it prints. Other terms may apply, so be sure to check your coupon for more details.

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 next year — if you see them marked down this low, stock up!

Elmer’s liquid glue, 4 oz.: $0.50 (Stock-up price: $0.50 each)
Crayola colored pencils, 12 ct.: $0.97 (Stock-up price: $0.90 each)
Crayola markers, 10 ct.: $0.97 (Stock-up price: $0.95 each)
Pink erasers: $0.25 (Stock-up price: $0.25 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.

A laptop displaying the Staples website page for school supplies

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. Just note the product exclusion 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 looooonnnngggg list of exclusions. You can never use an online coupon for any of these products:

Laptops & tablets
Streaming devices
Apple products
Bose products
Google products
Ultimate Ears products
Wacom products
TI graphing calculators
Most ink & toner
Gift cards
Phone cards
Postage
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.