We’ve seen big box stores pare down the number of retail stores from their roll, as well as cut physical space and try to bulk up online sales. Now it looks like office supply stores are the latest retailers to feel the heat from Amazon: Staples announced it would be shuttering 45 stores in Europe and speed up the closing of 15 more in the U.S. to try and save $250 million a year. [More]
staples
How The Stupid Shipping Gang Sends A Bottle Of White-Out
By 8.21.12
We’re sure that Staples has a very, very good reason for packing a single box of white-out in a massive box full of air pillows. Perhaps that product was in a different warehouse than the rest of the order going to Ian’s company. Perhaps they were out of small boxes or padded envelopes, and speed in shipping is more important than sanity in packaging. Or perhaps Staples employees fear the stink of correction fluid, and wanted to make sure everyone stayed very safe from it. Whatever the real reason: it’s ridiculous. [More]
Staples Enforces Loss Leader Limits, Makes Teachers Sad
By 7.11.12
Teachers in high-poverty school districts like Rachael provide, at their own expense, a lot of pretty basic supplies for their students. They do this with the help of back-to-school loss-leader sales at big-box office supply stores. Staples lets them buy twenty-five boxes of crayons for a penny each, and in return the teachers give Staples their undying gratitude and devotion. But Staples, at least in the Northwest where Rachael live, has stopped easing purchase limits for teachers. Teachers are now limited to two of each loss-leader item instead of as many as twenty-five. And while she understands why the company couldn’t continue this incredible generosity, it makes her sad. [More]
Staples Recycles Laptop By Cracking Its Screen
By 12.30.11
When you trade in your old electronic device for “recycling” while buying a new one, does that device have to work? Staples offered a $100 rebate this holiday season to customers who sent in their old computers after purchasing a new one. “Recycling” is in quotes because computers traded in had to be running, and include the charger, so they were bound for re-use rather than recycling. That was no problem for George, though — he traded in a working computer. Only the screen was cracked when it reached the center, and he didn’t get the full rebate. [More]
Yes, You Can Now Buy Actual Dunder Mifflin Paper
By 11.28.11
Between the rumored cancellation of Community and well, just about everything else it screws up on a regular basis, NBC can’t do many things properly these days, except merchandise licensing. First, there was Ben & Jerry’s Schweddy Balls ice cream and now comes actual paper from Dunder Mifflin, the paper company which is the subject of the longest continually running documentary on U.S. TV, The Office. [More]
5 Bad Deals In Extended Warranties For Holiday Shoppers
By 11.1.11
Extended warranty plans are generally known as being bad deals for consumers. But how specifically are they bad? An insider who works, begrudgingly, for an extended service plan company lays out some of the worst extended warranty deals to watch out for when shopping this holiday season. [More]
Peanut Butter Turns Into Budget Buster
By 11.1.11
If you’re about to run out of peanut butter, be prepared for some sticker shock next time you go grocery shopping. Due to the rising cost of peanuts, caused by one of the lowest harvests in decades, peanut butter manufacturers across the board are raising prices of jelly’s best friend. [More]
Will These Employees Please Stop Hijacking My Cart?
By 7.14.11
B. keeps getting cart-jacked in big-box stores. Not by fellow customers envious of the amazing bargains she finds, but by store employees eager to clean up the store who think that her unattended cart has been abandoned. Not so, she insists, raising another question altogether: how long can you reasonably expect to leave your cart alone before it is, indeed, cartjacked? [More]
Staples Canada Accused Of Selling Computers With Old User Data On Hard Drive
By 6.21.11
Staples stores in Canada have some explaining to do after a government audit found evidence that the office supply chain was violating Canadian privacy law by selling used computers and storage drives that still contained data belonging to the previous owner. [More]
Video Of Home Depot Easy Button Ripoff In Action
By 3.24.11
Reader Ed went back to Home Depot and took a video of that Home Depot ripoff of the Staple’s “Easy Button” getting pressed. The mechanized voice released from inside says, “Don’t see the product you want you want on our displays? The Home Depot can still provide it! Ask an associate to set up a CFP to locate the product you want!” That’s a lot more words than when you push the original button, which says, “That was Easy.” Nice job, big orange, you steal someone else’s idea and then totally ruin the whole concept by adding a bunch of extra marketing language. [More]
Package Of 100 Certificates Yields 96 Useful Certificates, 4 Stupid Bent Sheets
By 3.23.11
Perhaps Alan’s expectations were out of line. He bought a package of one hundred certificates at Staples, expecting it to contain one hundred certificates that he could use for whatever award he was giving out. Instead, four of the sheets had been folded and wasted. A small indignity in modern consumerism, but an annoying one.
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Home Depot Rips Off Staples Easy Button
By 3.14.11
At least one Home Depot has been so inspired by Staples “Easy Button” that they came up with their own knockoff. Reader Ed sent in this photo of one of these buttons he spotted in his local Home Depot on the desk in the flooring department. When I first saw the picture, I thought that when you pushed it a giant mechanical hand would grab one of the experienced retired contractors who Home Depot fired and replaced with cheaper labor and drop him in front of you. Sadly, the reality is, as usual, much more mundane than my fevered imaginings. [More]
Confessions Of A Staples Employee
By 3.8.11
It’s been more than three years since we received any confessions from an employee at Staples. Thankfully, Staples vet Dave decided to write us with the insights he gleaned from his time at the office supply superstore. [More]
Staples Makes Me Play Foolish Games To Get Advertised Deal
By 11.29.10
Jason is not a man. He’s a piece of iron. And that’s why he finally got Staples to honor an advertised computer discount program, despite several attempts by employees to derail him. [More]
Staples Offers PC Tune-Up Via Cold Call
By 10.1.10
Who hasn’t sat around bored and lonely, staring into a computer screen, wishing someone from a retailer would call with an annoying PC tune-up offer? [More]
Wow! That's A $&#!!% Ad! Staples Commercial Voted Worst Ad In America For 2010
By 9.29.10
It seems like ages ago that we first asked you to tell us which commercials were getting under your skin. And you responded by the thousands! We “took it seriously” and painstakingly whittled your suggestions down to the final nominees for our first ever Worst Ad In America Awards. And now, with more than 100 000 votes counted in our completely unscientific poll, we have a clear winner (or is it loser?) — Staples’ “Wow! That’s a Low Price!” commercial.
Is It Too Early For Back-To-School Sales?
By 6.24.10 — Updated: 7.8.13
Public school students in Union City, NJ, just wrapped up classes earlier this week. So Consumerist reader Juhgail was caught off guard when she popped into a Staples to pick up some supplies and came upon an entire rack of back-to-school items. [More]
Up-To-The-Minute Coupon Codes For Hot Sales
By 6.23.10
The deal aficionados on the FatWallet message boards have various discussion threads devoted to providing the most current coupons for a slew of stores. Rather then dig for them, here’s a master list of their official store coupons and clearance threads. Members routinely get rid of dead coupons and post new ones, so this is definitely one to bookmark: [More]
