Office Supplies

Office Supply Providers

You can get office supplies at any number of stores and outlets.  Everyone from your grocery store, to the local Seven Eleven to

Amazon.com offers office supplies in one way, shape or form.  At Home Office Reports, we decided that the most important decision for the home based business owner was which of the "big 3" office supply companies did the best job meeting the needs of the home based business.  Therefore, we've limited our review to:  Office Depot, OfficeMax and Staples.

We think that choosing an office supply store should be based on five major criteria:

• Store Location - If there isn't a store near your home office, you'll either have to spend time and money driving to the store, or incurring extra delivery charges for residing outside the standard delivery area.  Either way it means more cost to you and your business.

• Range of Products Available and In Stock - If the store doesn't have what you need when you need it (or isn't available for next day delivery), you'll end up searching around or driving around trying to get the item you require.  If you're off hunting down office supplies, you aren't producing revenue - a net loss all the way around.

• Price - When isn't price important?
• Bonus or Rewards Programs - Some of the office supply stores offer bonus or reward programs where, based on your spending, you can receive 1 to 5 percent rebates on additional office supply purchases. 
• Range of Services - Although we're not necessarily convinced that the best place to purchase communications, HR, training or any complex technology is through an office supply store, the fact that these companies are attempting to provide the range of products and services that a small or home based business requires speaks well for their focus on this market segment.

Ready to go?  Let's look at the "big 3" in office supplies!

Web Home Office Reports

NOTE:  Our cost-effectiveness evaluation was based on an analysis of 62 items priced at the major chains' online stores.  Where and exact product match could not be made, we priced an item with the identical (where possible) features and functions.  If you'd like to see the results, you can download them (Adobe Acrobat) format here - Office Supply Pricing.

Office Supply Company Review

Office Supplies*

(Rankings - best, 5 symbols, worst, 1 symbol)

* A = Amateur, R = Rookie, P = Pro

Office Depot

Simple Start-Up - ¹¹¹1/2

Office Depot has 1,200 stores in the U.S. and Canada.  They also have stores in 43 countries.  Office Depot's web site isn't the easiest to navigate.  Unlike their competitors, you have to move through multiple screens just to see descriptions of what you're purchasing - let alone getting to your shopping cart to purchase the items.  Additionally, we found some of the product "groupings" a bit confusing when it came to finding all the items on our list - like the shredder.

Cost - $$$$

Office Depot was number two in our pricing - $51.43 more than Office Max and $228.68 less than Staples.  Office Depot provides free shipping on orders over $50 (and within their standard delivery area).  See our spreadsheet for details Office Supply Pricing.

Time Savings - ¹¹¹¹

If you live in or near a major metropolitan area, you'll probably have an Office Depot near you (and near enough to get free delivery on your orders over $50).

Ease of Use - @@@@

As noted above, we aren't big fans of the Office Depot web site.  Sometimes you can have too much on a page - and Office Depot's web site exemplifies this adage.  However their "search" function provides much more relevant results than the competitors'.

Works With - YYYY

Office Depot offers a wide range of products from a variety of manufacturers.  There's a good chance you'll find what you need - and that it is in stock and ready for shipment.

Support - pppp

Office Depot was able to deliver more than 90 percent of our test items in one day.

Features - iii1/2

Office Depot offered one of the largest selections of items available from the "big 3" of office supplies.  However, they do not offer some of the other "nice to haves" that their competitors deliver such as printing, copying and printing services.

Overall Rating - %%%1/2

Office Depot is focused on selling office supplies and technology to home based and small businesses.  They lag behind their competition in rebates and services.  However, if there is an Office Depot store near you (and no competitor), they'll meet your needs and beat the prices of small operators by a significant margin.

OfficeMax

Simple Start-Up - ¹¹¹¹

OfficeMax has almost 1,000 stores.  Their web site is fairly easy to navigate and they don't expect you to go through a raft of screens to purchase your items (but still a few too many!).  We found most of our items fairly easily - their groupings were sound, however, you sometimes had to know to ask for "more" to get at some of the items.

Cost - $$$$+

On a pure price basis, OfficeMax came in with the best prices - $51.43 less than Office Depot and $280.11 less than Staples.  OfficeMax also offers a 115% low price guarantee (find the exact same item for a lower price and they'll match the price less 15% more).  OfficeMax also has a rebate program (Max Perks).  If you spend $300 in a calendar quarter you receive certificates for more OfficeMax purchases worth 1 to 2% of your purchased total.  At year end, you can receive additional rebates if you spend - $300 to $1,000 - 1%; $1,001 to $2,500 - 1.5% and more than $2,501 - 2%.  Delivery is free on orders over $50 (within standard delivery areas).  See our spreadsheet for details Office Supply Pricing.

Time Savings - ¹¹¹¹

If you live in or near a major metropolitan area, you'll probably have an OfficeMax near you (and near enough to get free delivery on your orders over $50).

Ease of Use - @@@@

The OfficeMax site is useable.  We understand how complex it is to market thousands of products (and to make them easy to find!), but are still looking for a "better way" from these vendors.

Works With - YYY1/2

OfficeMax offers a wide range of products from a variety of manufacturers, but their selection is not as robust as their competitors'.  You'll probably find what you need anyway - and chances are that it is in stock and ready for shipment.

Support - pppp

OfficeMax was able to deliver more than 90 percent of our test items in one day.

Features - iii1/2

OfficeMax did not have as large a selection of products - but does have copying and printing services.

Overall Rating - %%%%

We like OfficeMax's pricing, rebates and copying and printing services.  If there is a store near you, purchasing from OfficeMax could be a cost-effective and time-saving way of purchasing your office supply and "some" of your technology product needs.

Staples

Simple Start-Up - ¹¹¹¹

Staples has 1,962 stores in 47 states, 11 provinces and 22 countries.  Their web site is fairly easy to navigate and they don't expect you to go through a raft of screens to purchase your items (but still a few too many!).  We found most of our items fairly easily - their groupings were sound, however, you sometimes had to know to ask for "more" to get at some of the items.

Cost - $$$$

On a pure price basis, was the highest - $51.43 more than Office Depot and $280.11 more than Office Max.  Staples offers a 110% low price guarantee (find the exact same item for a lower price and they'll match the price less 10% more).  Staples also has a rebate program (Business Rewards).  If you spend $250 per quarter with them, you can receive rebates up to 2 1/2 percent on other Staples purchases.  Staples rebate rates are:  $250 to $399 - 1%; $400 to $499 - 1.5%; $500 to $599 - 2%; 600+ - 2.5% (maximum $15 per quarter).  If you spend $1,000 in a quarter, you are automatically upgraded to their "gold" program where the rebate schedule is:  $250 to $399 - 2%; $400 to $499 - 3%; $500 to $599 - 4%; $600+ - 5% (maximum $30 per quarter).  You also get 20% back if you spend $50 at the copy and print center and there are other bonus rewards on featured products.  Delivery is free on orders over $50 (within standard delivery areas).  See our spreadsheet for details Office Supply Pricing.

Time Savings - ¹¹¹¹

If you live in or near a major metropolitan area, you'll probably have an Staples near you (and near enough to get free delivery on your orders over $50).

Ease of Use - @@@@

The Staples site is useable.  We understand how complex it is to market thousands of products (and to make them easy to find!), but are still looking for a "better way" from these vendors.

Works With - YYYY

Staples offers a wide range of products from a variety of manufacturers and their selection is comprehensive.  You'll probably find what you need - and chances are that it is in stock and ready for shipment.

Support - pppp

Staples was able to deliver more than 90 percent of our test items in one day.

Features - iiii

Staples has a large a selection of products as well as copying and printing services.

Overall Rating - %%%%

We like Staple's selection, rebates and copying and printing services.  If there is a store near you, purchasing from Staples could be a cost-effective and time-saving way of purchasing your office supply and "some" of your technology product needs.