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email this storyChain Price Wars: Staples vs OfficeMax vs Office Depot
Posted by: Melissa W. // January 29 2010
Buying office supplies is a mundane task, and if you’re like me, you don’t pay much attention to the price differences between the three largest office supply chains. Having been a Staples customer for over a decade, it was time for me to compare Staples prices against Office Depot and OfficeMax.
The Analysis: I chose 15 random items and checked “regular” prices at all three stores on the same day online. As with any chain comparison, the challenge was finding the same 15 at all of the stores. My review contains nine exact matches. In three instances, I compared the store brand (bubble wrap, manila folders, and proprietary multi-purpose paper), and in three cases I found the most comparable match available (dry-erase board, filing cabinet, and replacement rolls of calculator paper).
The Results: Office Depot had the best prices on seven of the items. In addition, Office Depot matched competitor prices on five additional items, making them a good supplier choice for 12 of the 15 items (see pricing table).
Observations: My price review of OfficeMax left me feeling annoyed by their price inflation. Here are three specific examples that didn’t sit well with me:
1. OfficeMax product descriptions claimed superiority on a few of the items I reviewed, but I’m dubious of these claims. They didn’t carry the Quartet Dry-Erase board, offering their own brand for an additional $14.23. Since all of the boards are constructed of melamine and aluminum, I suspect that the Quartet boards are comparable in quality.
2. The OfficeMax manila folders were more than double the price of the ones offered at Staples and Office Depot. Interestingly, the competitor’s manila folders use heavier stock (11 pt versus OfficeMax 10 pt.) OfficeMax also makes the claim that they are “Our highest recycled content folders,” yet the description does not note how much is actually recycled. The competitors openly claim 30% post-consumer content.
3. The Scott paper towels were $27.00 more than the competitors. That’s $2.25 MORE PER ROLL! This is an extreme example of unnecessary price gouging.
A note about house-brand multi-purpose paper: House brand multi-purpose paper was cheaper in two instances than the HP brand, but the Staples brand was more expensive than the HP. I noted that their brand is 22 lb versus the HP 20 lb, but this may be an unnecessary feature depending upon your individual needs.
Conclusion: Since all three stores offer free delivery on orders over $50.00, it’s a no-brainer for me to switch our purchasing from Staples to Office Depot. I ran a quick calculation to see how much I would save over the course of a year, based solely on laser paper, Post-it notes, hanging folders, manila folders, and recordable DVDs. The savings are easily over $150.00, which is well worth the five minutes it takes to set up an account online with Office Depot.
