Whether you run a one-person home business or a huge Fortune 500 company, the right office products are an absolute necessity.  You may quickly run through things like pens, paper, and envelopes – but you also can’t work without them.

However, just because you need a constant supply of office products doesn’t mean you have to spend a fortune on them.

If you are looking for ways to spend money on your office supplies, take advantage of these 5 tips:

1.  Look for deals online

Did you know that many of the brick and mortar stores offer better discounts online?  That’s right… you can actually pay less by shopping online than you can by getting into your car and driving across town to the same store!

In addition to lower prices, when you shop online, you can take advantage of things that you can’t get in person – like free shipping.  Plus, shopping online makes it easier to take advantage of bulk purchasing.

After all, why would you settle for 50 envelopes, when you can pay less per envelope when you buy 500 of them?  You’re going to use them all eventually; you might as well get a deal on them!

But, on the world wide web, you don’t necessarily have to shop with the big retailers.  In fact, an office products outlet store may offer much lower prices – and all it takes is a quick Google search to find them.

Why are office products so much cheaper online?  Internet retailers do not have to worry about many of the costs that brick and mortar businesses do – like paying rent on a storefront and paying cashiers and salespeople.  That means they can pass their savings onto you.

2.  Negotiate

You may be able to negotiate a better price on your office products – just by agreeing to do all of your purchasing from a certain retailer.  Usually, only big companies get to take advantage of a situation like this – but it certainly can’t hurt to ask.  And, the bigger your company is, the better of a deal you can likely strike.
3.  Look for off-brands

The big-name office product brands that you see advertising all over the place will charge you more.  After all, they have to pay for all of that advertising somehow!  But if you shop carefully and pay attention to price tags and features, you will see that some brands are much cheaper – but offer the same quality performance that the big-name brands do.  Remember, for many office products, you really don’t need a name brand.  After all, a pen is a pen, right?  Why spend double the price for a name-brand pen?

4.  Look for customer loyalty programs

Many retailers offer special programs for people who regularly buy their office products and supplies.  If you sign up, you can get rewards after certain purchases – like after you make your 10th purchase or spend $500.  That way, you can get money for spending money!

5. Shop with a rewards credit card

Some office equipment – like furniture, computers, and other electronics – can be a major expense.  But you can lessen the blow a little bit by using a rewards credit card.  And, if you really want to shop wisely, you can take the rewards you get from your office products and put them back into your business.  That way, the cash you get back can be used to invest in other areas of your business – or the airline miles you rack up can be used to send people to a big industry conference.

Related:

• Home Office Furniture
• Laptop Stands