Back to School Supplies and Deals in Wichita

Its back to school shopping time! I have done the research to make it easier for you to find the best deals in Wichita, KS for school supplies. I went off of USD 259 supply list but most of the other districts are similar. Even if you don’t have school-age kids, use these sales to stock up on office supplies for around the house. You won’t find better prices all year. 

This list of the best school supply sales only includes what I see as the really good deals.

For comparison when you’re shopping the sales, use my School Supply Price List as a reference. It lists prices I expect to see, as well as prices I hope to see when there’s a really good sale or coupon. 

I recently updated my Tips for Saving on School Supplies. The tips are an accumulation of things I’ve learned by experience and from other smart people.

Here are a few really basic tips for Back to School Shopping:

Tip 1: The key to saving the most money on school supplies is to just buy what’s on sale each week (or what’s cheapest at each different store). In Wichita, most of us have all of the major stores conveniently located within a few miles of each other, so you’re not really having to trek all over town and waste gas. When school is about to start, you can go finish off your list at the big blue discount store.

Tip 2: Some stores you might not even think to shop will occasionally have very good deals on school supplies. Keep an eye out for school supply sales at Menards and Walgreens, for example. Their sale prices might beat other stores’ “regular low prices.”

Tip 3: Shop at home. See what you already have. I bet you will be surprised on how much stuff you already have at home. 

Tip 4: Dillon’s and Walmart have the best deals on supplies like crayons and paper while other stores had better deals on backpacks and dorm room décor. Keep reading to find out more. 

Tip 5: Plan ahead for stocking stuffers. Markers, crayons, paper, etc. are terrific little gifts for little kids! Buy extras now while they are on sale and keep them hidden away for the holidays.

Tip 6: Note about brand-name supplies: Many  teachers these days  specifically request Crayola crayons, Expo markers and sometimes Ticonderoga pencils because the generic versions don’t work as well. But other supplies- like loose leaf paper,  plastic school boxes, disinfecting wipes, etc. – are probably just as good in most cases.

Tip 7: Have fun with it and make it a learning experience . Turn it into a math or budget lesson. 

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Top school supply deals and information by Store:  

This is the short list of the very best deals I have found locally in Wichita, KS. Posted 8/02/2022 so some deals might change.  

Dillon’s School Supplies Deals and Information: 

Dillon’s has a great deals on your crayons, markers, paper and more. They are doing 10 items for $10.00 deal. That means everything listed below is $1 with you Dillions plus card. The plus card is completely free and it can save you time, earn you fuel points and get you grocery rewords. 

Dillon’s is a local brand of Kroger grocery store. Dillons’ has been very competitive on school supplies in recent years. Generally, Dillon’s has switched to “season long prices” rather than weekly school supply sales.

If you don’t need all 10 items, no problem. You don’t have to get all 10 to get the deal. 

Some of the items at Dillions that are 10 for $10:

• • Crayola colored pencils (12 count) 
  • Crayola (10 count) of class color markets
  • Elmer’s washable school glue sticks (3 count)
  • Crayola fine line (10 count) of classic markers
  • Top Flight Marble Wide notebook with 100 sheets
  • 150 top flight standard wide ruler filler paper 150 sheets
  • Big Pins ball point (10 count)
  • Wire bound notebook 180 pages
  • Bic white-out (1 count) 
  • Bic gel pins (2 count) 
  • Paper Mate pink pearl eraser (3 count)
  • Sharpie pro king size black marker (1 count) 
  • Hi-liter (4 pack)
  • Much more 

Also checkout the Dillions app for more deals. They change weekly but sometimes they have a coupon where you can save 10% when you spend $20 or more. 

If you shop at a Dillon’s Marketplace that has clothing, keep an eye out for their coupons in the weekly ad and their CLEARANCE racks! We’ve found some good deals on shoes, tops, etc. for teens and adults.

• Everyday Living lunch kits or thermal beverageware, $5.99 ea.
• 40% off select apparel and casual shoes (We’ve found some really good deals here. You need to go to a Dillon’s Marketplace to find the clothes.)

Plus, this time of year grocery stores have sales on lunch meat and other school-lunch items. Stock up and freeze lunch meat, cheese sticks, and more to have inexpensive lunches for the next few months!

Also, shopping for school supplies at Dillon’s comes with the extra perk of getting fuel points. Remember to check your app for digital coupons or the website before you shop. 

Walmart Back to School Deals:

This is a one stop shop and typically one of the cheapest big box stores. Make sure to look for the Pen+ Gear brand it is WAY cheaper than the name brands. 

• No. 2 wood pencils (12 count) for $0.47
• Pink eraser (2 count) $0.47
• Elmer’s glue sticks (2 count) $0.52
• Crayola classic crayons (24 pack) $0.50
• Elmer’s washable school glue (4 oz bottle) liquid $0.54
• Crayola classic color markets (10 count) $0.97
• Wide ruled filler paper 150 count $0.84
• Cra-z-at school crayons (24 pack) $0.35
• Subject notebook wide rule (70 sheets) $0.35

• 2-pocket paper portfolio $0.15 
• Plastic folder $1.27
• Pen + Gear pencils, 12 ct, $0.47 
• Bic mechanical pencils, 24-ct $3.57 
• BIC Cristal pens, 10-ct $0.97 
• Sharpie pocket highlighters, 12 pack, $5.97
• Papermate Flair felt tip pens, 2-pack, $2.74
• Pen + Gear felt tip pens, multi, 10-ct $4.97
• Crayola markers, 10-ct $0.97 
• Crayola washable markers, 10-ct $2.47
• Crayola colored pencils, 12-pk $0.97
• Crayola colored pencils, 24-pk $2.97
• Crayola crayons $0.50 
• Crayola watercolors, 16-pan $3.97
• Elmer’s glue, 4 oz.,  .50
• Elmer’s glue sticks, 2-pk, $0.54 
• 1-subject notebook, 70 sheets, $0.35
• Filler paper, 150 sheets $0.84 
• Index cards, 100 ct $0.72
• Copy paper (500-sheet ream) $5.27 – last year it was $3.97
• Fiskars 5″ scissors $1.48
• Expo dry-erase markers, 2-ct $1.97
• Expo dry erase markers, black, 6 pk, $4.36
• Expo dry-erase starter kit with 5 pens, cleaning fluid, eraser $7.64
• Pencil box (aka school box) $0.97
• Binder pouch $0 .97
• Great Value disinfecting wipes $1.88 

Five Below School Supplies:

This is a newer store to Wichita. They didn’t have the best deals on supplies but had a great selection of backpack for only $5. The quality was great and they were very on trend. They also had tons of electronic accessories, organizing supplies, dorm room deals and nice water bottles all for great prices. If you have not been to the store its worth checking out. I would recommend this store for your larger items like backpack and electronics accessories. 

Sam’s Club Supplies in Bulk: 

If you have a Sam’s Club membership, you can get a few good school supply deals there this week. But you will want to pay attention to unit price; not every bulk buy is a better bargain. These are the good ones I’ve found but some are online only: 

• Ticonderoga pencils, 96-ct $11.29
• BIC Round Stic Xtra Life medium point ball point pens, 96 ct $7.74
• Sharpie 24 count assorted colors $9.78
• Member’s Mark paper towels, 15 rolls, 80 square foot each roll, $18.98

Walgreens Back to School Shopping: 

It won’t surprise regular readers here that Walgreens is one of the best places to get school supplies at a discount – but only when there is a sale. Each week they have something on sale for a crazy low price, and occasionally you may be able to match a coupon with the sale to get a super deal. 

Like Dillons, Walgreens has coupons you can load to your card.

For most/all of these deals, you will need to get a Walgreens card; it’s free, and you’ll earn points on purchases so it’s worth using it. These are Wexford brand unless otherwise noted.

Online Shopping School Supplies:

You can find good prices on school supplies online, although sometimes it means buying bigger boxes (fine if you have multiple kids in school). And/or you can use the free ship-to-store option for many brick-and-mortar stores, then pick them up at your convenience.

Here are some of the online deals I’ve found on school supplies that are worth getting. These links are affiliate links, meaning I may receive a small commission if you make a purchase through them. There’s no extra cost to you, though.

Online prices can change at any time.

• Expo dry-erase markers, 6-piece starter kit at Amazon
• Scotch brand scissors (various types/sizes) at Amazon
• Sharpie markers and highlighters, 12-pk at Amazon
• Member’s Mark copy paper, 10-ream case at Sam’s Club (pick up in store)

Amazon Back to School Deal:

An obvious benefit of shopping for school supplies at Amazon is free 2-day shipping right to your door (if you have Prime). But you can also find some deals at Amazon. (The deals change frequently, so keep checking back.)

Amazon prices are subject to change at any time. 

• Dixon Ticonderoga #2 pencils, 96-ct $10.28
• Expo dry-erase markers, 6-piece starter set with eraser and cleaning liquid
• Expo fine tip dry erase markers, multi, 4-pack
• Sharpie highlighters, 12-ct
• Kids character backpacks (Disney, Star Wars, Hello Kitty, etc.)
• Scotch Magic Tape, 6 rolls
• 20-ct BPA-free plastic meal containers

Office Depot School Supply Deals

Office Depot/Office Max just really didn’t bring it this year with the school supply deals. They may have some computer or furniture deals. Unfortunately, I have seen some other money-savings blogs advertising “deals” at Office Depot/Max, but they aren’t deals! Over $2 for loose leaf paper or a plastic ruler? Ugh. (And they aren’t better quality than what you can get at Walmart or Dillons, so why pay more?)

Menards Back to School Sales

Menards didn’t wow me with deals this year either. Advertised prices are usually “after rebate” – i.e. if you don’t mail it in, you don’t actually get the discount. The rebate is in the form of a merchant credit, so you have to spend it at Menards.

Target School Supply Deals

I like Target for deals on basic kids’ clothes, because they usually have some t-shirts for $4 and jeans for $8 at least once during the school-shopping season. 

And they usually have a good deal on scientific calculators; sometimes the lowest price of all the stores on that specific model.

As far as school supplies, you’ll pay more if you don’t comparison shop carefully. You could easily spend up your savings with one wrong purchase. (Example: their 1-subject spiral notebooks are “on sale” for .99 each; Dillons has 1-subject notebooks for .25 ea. Both are the store brand.)

Target has price-matched some school supply deals, so bring the competitor’s ad with you (either paper or on your phone).

Coupons for School Supplies

So many coupons for school supplies are store-dependent now – meaning you have to go to the store website and load them onto a shoppers card.  Coupons that you print or clip are still out there, of course, and you can usually use them at any store that accepts coupons. 

Coupons are great for matching up with a sale, and school supply sales + coupons sometimes = FREE merchandise. (I like that math.)

More Back to School Savings Tips

Lunch tip: Walmart has 16″ Supreme Super Subs in the deli for about $6. They’re big! If you need to save time, buy one and cut it into sections to send as school lunches. That could be lunch for a week, depending on how big your family is.

I am currently updating a school supplies price list that will include what I consider a decent deal on the most common school supplies. How this can help you: You’ll get an idea of what is really a sale and what’s just being advertised as a “sale.”

Feel free to use it while you shop. (This is not adorned with cute fonts and clipart! I love those too, but this one is just an all-business price comparison list for school supplies.)

TIP: Plan ahead for stocking stuffers. Markers, crayons, paper, etc. are terrific gifts for little kids! Buy extras now while they are on sale and keep them hidden away for the holidays.

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