I've noticed a definite winding down of back-to-school sales in the past week or so. Back in late July/early August, I found a lot more school supplies cheap or free than I'm finding in the ads now. I dragged my kids (and a kiddie friend) to a bunch of stores today, all in the name of cherry picking. At Office Depot, I was able to grab 5 folders for free (instant discount), yet nothing else that was advertised as free (either instant or by mail) was available. Even shopping on a Monday was too late. I found the same problem at Staples when I went to grab some construction paper on sale and got shut out of that deal too. I do think that many retailers are simply not stocking enough of some of their freebies. Even at CVS I wanted the recycled pencil box, yet the slot on the shelf could only accommodate perhaps 4, and bear in mind that was a limit 2 sale. They want to entice you in, but don't want to give away too many goods for free, I suspect.
Still, if the empty shelves on the stellar deals are any indication, I think that consumers are a lot tighter with their money these days, particularly with back-to-school. I did manage to get 20 folders for a penny each at Staples and they even allowed my child's friend to buy her own 20 for her own class needs.
Are you guys noticing a definite decrease in back-to-school deals? I have everything on the wish list (except the post-its, which I refuse to buy since the teacher is asking the whole class to each bring in 5 pads ---- praytell, what do my tax dollars pay for?), but I am still hoping to grab more freebies and cheapies for later on in the year so I won't have to pay full price for pencils, pens, glue, etc. in a few months' time.
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