Buying Office Supplies Online - What are the best internet office supply stores?
The Internet is a great way to buy supplies and products that you consume regularly and don't require a lot of research or hands on selection when purchasing. Office Supplies fit neatly into this category - no need to squeeze the printer paper for freshness or smell the toner cartridges or hand-pick a stapler from a pile. More than likely, you already know the particular brands and products you want (you may have an empty ink cartridge in front of you, or an empty box of staples), and you can save a lot of time and money by ordering online and having them shipped to your door within a few days.
Not surprisingly, the offline retail leaders in the business and office supply world also have the leading online sites for buying office supplies. Let's start with Staples. You've probably visited their big box stores when you need anything from office furniture (desks, chairs, chair pads, filing cabinets, trash cans) to pens, paper, and computer supplies. On their website, you start by entering your zip code where you want delivery made to. Then you can shop by brand (3M, Avery, Hammermill, etc.) or by product: binders, boards, easels, calendars and planners, desk organizers, envelopes and forms, filing supplies, labels, mail and shipping supplies, paper, post-its, ink and toner (Brother, Epson, Canon, HP, Lexmark, Minolta, Sharp, Xerox, and more), teaching and art supplies, and writing supplies.
On the technology side, they offer batteries, computer accessories, copier and fax supplies, drives and media, monitors, networking cables, calculators, and much more. They'll even send you a free office supply catalog. They offer free delivery on orders over $50. We highly recommend Staples.com
Business and Office Supplies Part 2
OfficeMax is another offline leader that also has a great website for ordering office supplies and equipment for your business, with the same kind of selection as Staples above (of course, they likely use the exact same suppliers and distributors, so their inventory (apart from furniture) is very similar. The OfficeMax site also includes some nice features like buying guides for paper, batteries, safes, pens, etc. Also check out some of their small business related articles - document shredding tips, check fraud, business record keeping, etc. They offer 30 day no hassle returns, either through the mail or at a retail location.
Office Depot is our third player in this retail/online mix of the big office supply companies. Like the others, they break their product lines into office supplies, office furniture, and technology products. Orders over $50 are eligible for free shipping, and orders received by 3PM get next day delivery - that sure beats a drive to the mall, battling traffic, to get a new ream of paper and some post-it notes! They can also save your user profile and shopping list so it is easy when you need to reorder refills, supplies, etc. - your prior shopping list is there and waiting for you and you don't have to remember or track down part numbers or product codes.
A few other sites worth mentioning: Quillcorp.com, Viking.com (part of Office Depot now) and Reliable.com.
Do you have a quality site or product that belongs in this guide? We are always happy to evaluate or review new products and websites. Feel free to contact us at the email address below and let us know about you. If you have a demo product you'd like us to look at, please contact us before sending anything. Thank you.