Just for your reference, here are some of the best prices on school supplies from previous years. There’s no guarantee that retailers will repeat these deals, but sometimes it’s nice to have a reference.
The table below shows some average prices during the school supply shopping season and what you might want to consider as your “goal” price. The important thing to understand about using this table is that you aren’t going to get the goal prices by shopping all at one place, or even all in the same week.
If there are blank fields, it’s because the prices range too widely or because I don’t know.
| Item | Avg Sale Price | Goal Price |
| 1. Binder | $1 | |
| 2. Paper folder | .15 | .05 |
| 3. Poly folder | .50 | .15 |
| 4. Filler paper | .89 | .50 |
| 5. Spiral notebook | .25 | .10 |
| 6. Composition books | .50 | .25 |
| 7. Index cards | .50 | .25 |
| 8. Glue sticks | .99 | .49 |
| 9. School glue | .50 | .25 |
| 10. Crayola crayons | .50 | .33 |
| 11. Crayola colored pencils | .99 | .49 |
| 12. Crayola markers | .99 | .99 |
| 13. Expo markers | $3.79 | $1.99 |
| 14. Highlighters | .99 | .49 |
| 15. Rulers | .25 | .15 |
| 16. Copy/print paper | $3 | |
| 17. Kids scissors | .99 | .49 |
| 18. Pencil box | $1 | .89 |
| 19. Pencil pouch | $1 | |
| 20. Gallon storage bags | $5 | $3.50 |
| 21. Quart storage bags | $5 | $3.50 |
| 22. Paper towels | .99 | |
| 23. Tissues | .99 | |
| 24. Backpacks | $3 to $10 | |
| 25. Athletic shoes | $10 to $25 | |
| 26. Scientific calculator | $8.99 | |
| 27. Graphing calculator | $49 |
*A note about athletic shoes: many schools ask that your student brings a pair of gym shoes to school to keep there. That’s what this item is referring to. For gym, shoes should be well-fitting, flexible, and sturdy, but they probably don’t have to be anything special since kids are only wearing them for an hour a day. (Obviously, specialty shoes for various sports are going to cost more, and that’s probably also the case for shoes your child wears all day, every day.)
I don’t break everything down by unit price, but different package sizes can sometimes make comparison shopping really challenging (for the math-challenged). So before I head out, I have certain unit prices memorized or written down on my list.
Ticonderoga pencils – less than 10 cents per pencil is good. That’s about half the price of this brand during school supply sale season.
Expo markers – try to get these for less than $1 per marker if you can. Package sizes and types vary so widely on these. There’s usually a “starter kit” on sale every year that includes eraser and cleaning fluid along with 4 or 5 pens. It almost always seems to be priced at $6.88.
Sharpies – here again you want to try to get under $1 a piece for black Sharpies. If you need multiple colors, there are an enormous range of packages sizes and prices to wade through. Try to resist unless you just feel like blowing a little fun money on them. (Am I the only one who always wants to grab the biggest, most colorful Sharpie pack at the office supply store?)
Copy paper – a ream should be about $3, but beware of those “reams” that have fewer than 500 sheets. Quality varies widely but I’m assuming you’re buying copy paper for school kids who don’t need the brightest luxury-weight paper.
Tissues – go for less than $1 per box of 80+ You might be able to get better than that by using a coupon with a rebate app.
Paper towels – same thing: less than $1 per roll is good target price. I don’t mean Target, the store, ha ha. But target, as in something to shoot for.
Disinfecting wipes – go for about 3.5 cents per wipe if you can. I’m basing this on the price at Sam’s Club right now for a 5-pack of Clorox wipes. (Generic might even be cheaper.)
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At Wichita on the Cheap, we’ve tracked back-to-school supply deals for more than a decade. Over the years, we’ve learned a few things: how store pricing trends shift, how to spot a genuine deal, and when brand names are actually worth the extra few cents.
This year, we’ve updated our School Supply Price Tracker to be more transparent and more helpful than ever. We’ve made it available as a printable shopping guide, and we’ll continue updating it as new sales are released by major retailers.
Each row in the tracker represents a specific supply in a specific package size (e.g., 24-pack of pencils, 10-count markers). Prices from multiple stores — including Walmart, Target, Dillons (Kroger), Amazon, Walgreens, and others — are listed side-by-side so you can compare easily.
We also calculate the unit price behind the scenes (e.g., price per pencil or per marker), so we can highlight the true best deals — even when package sizes don’t match.
If you’re a numbers person, you’ll appreciate how this helps you spot the better value at a glance. If you’re not, don’t worry — we highlight the best unit-price option in the printable version to make shopping simple.
Note: We love using store brands when the quality is similar — and many times it is. But with some school and office supplies, we’ve found brand name is just better. Here’s where we believe it makes a real difference:
| Supply Type | Brand | Why It Matters |
|---|---|---|
| Crayons, Markers, Watercolors | Crayola | Smooth wax, true color, strong pigmentation; generics often skip or smear |
| Dry Erase Markers | Expo | Writes cleanly, shows up better, lasts longer than generics |
| Permanent Markers | Sharpie | Deep ink, clean writing, better tip quality |
| Tape | Scotch | Cuts cleanly, applies smoothly, tangles less |
| #2 Pencils | Ticonderoga (or Office Depot) | Sharpen evenly, write better, have real erasers that work |
| Watercolor Paints | Crayola (or similar) | Generic paints lack pigmentation and don’t blend well |
We treat most other brands — including store brands like Pen + Gear, Up & Up, and Top Flight — as interchangeable. If a generic version of something meets the standard, we group it together with other store brands on one row. That way, the tracker stays simple and useful.
Every year, we see school supply prices drop at different times, in different stores. Not every deal is worth the trip, and not every price is a real bargain.
By using this tracker:
You can download the printable tracker here and use it throughout the back-to-school season. We’ll update it regularly with new deals and highlights — and we’ll always make it free.
Have a question about a brand or item we didn’t cover? Let us know! We love hearing from other smart shoppers.
