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Office Stationery: Best Buys

Unnecessary stationery is a waste.

Save money by going online
See who we chose as our top contenders
Prices

Are you setting up your own business? It's important to find an affordable, reliable supplier to avoid any last-minute envelope crises or stapler emergencies - and most importantly, save time, money and effort in the long run.

There is something strangely satisfying about choosing stationery, but it can easily become yet another hassle if you run your own business or use stationery at work on a daily basis.

Even if you don't have your own business, it's worth reading on for some tips on getting good-value stationery deals.

Here are some other useful articles for anyone setting up a business:

How much do I need?

On average you should set aside about £200 for your initial office supplies, although it does depend on your business: how much it is office-based and what size it is.

Try to resist the temptation to spend your whole budget on the latest "look-at-me-I’m-James-Bond" gadget. It may look good, but make sure you have a desk, chair, pens and paper to get things going first.

What you will need depends on your type of business. However, there are basic essentials all companies are going to need such as: paper, pens, files, a hole punch, a stapler, CD-ROMs, a shredder, a desk and a chair.

We picked out some of the key office items that any small business would need to keep going in order to find the all-round best value providers.

Go online

Our advice is simple. Do not buy your office supplies on the high street because it will almost certainly cost you a lot more than it needs to.

There is now a huge number of sites offering discount stationery at much more competitive rates than the high street, particularly when you buy in bulk. It's also much easier to compare prices online so you know that you can find the cheapest prices without traipsing around town.

Online suppliers will also offer free delivery if you spend over a certain amount (usually around £30) so it's a good idea to buy for the long-term and save even more money.

In our experience, there are constant special offers on stationery which are updated all the time so if you have the time to search, you can usually find some great offers on specific products.

We've made your life even easier by searching online for you to compare delivery prices, returns policy, ease of use of the website and of course, price.

Other useful tools are price comparison websites like these:

Do use all three to compare prices to cover as many companies as possible.

Our Top Three

Last time around we tested twenty different outlets including high street names and websites.

We found that there were three top all-round performers when it came to price, reliability, after-care and returns policy.

They were Rebel-Rebel, UK Office Direct and Staples.

Now there are some new contenders to add to the mix - Euroffice and Discount Office Products.

Here are the new top suppliers and the reasons why we chose them:

1. Rebel-Rebel is still the site that came out as the cheapest all-round supplier.

We saved ourselves £45 at Rebel-Rebel compared to UK Office Direct.

Verdict: Our best-value performer

2. Euroffice was a close contender to Rebel-Rebel on price.

They even say that if you find a competitor offering the same product for less they will refund you 100% of the difference.

Euroffice also won us over with its website design. It was by far the easiest to navigate with really specific search options and prices automatically organised by price (low to high).

Even better, Euroffice reward customers who buy in bulk with price cuts - so the more you buy the less an item will cost you. For example, one ream of A4 copier paper costs £2.79 but if you buy 5+ reams the price per ream drops to £2.51. If you buy 15+ the price per ream is just £2.37.

Verdict: A close contender on price and a winner for ease of use.

3. Staples was a slightly pricier choice but it does have a 30-day return policy and the cheapest delivery price.

Staples also has the same 'buy more, save more' rewards system as Euroffice.

You can also opt to select Order Care which allows you to return unwanted items anytime within 12 months of purchase. They will even collect the items for free.

Verdict: Long returns policy makes it the top choice for items you're unsure about.

All of these websites were simple to use with accessible search facilities and a large range of products. They were also the best for long-term value.

In addition, Discount Office Products and UK Office Direct are both worth a look and offered some great prices on certain items.

Compare Prices

Here are items we compared:

White, multifunctional A4, 80gsm paper
Black ballpoint pens (pack of ten)
Highlighter pens (pack of 6)
A4 Lever Arch files
Shredder (Cross Cut with min 8 sheet capacity, min 22 litre capacity)


Supplier Item	Rebel-Rebel	Euroffice	Staples	Discount Office Products	UK Office Direct

Paper	£3.35	£2.38	£5.59	£2.86	£2.99
Pens	£1.61	£1.29	£1.99	£0.99	£1.37
Highlighters	£1.95	£1.48	£2.49	£1.06	£1.69
Files	£9.90	£8.39	£20.90	£8.50	£9.99
Shredder	£40.99	£53.55	£59.99	£85.22	£79.99

Delivery Charges	£6.95 or free for orders £35+	£3.95 or free for orders £30+	£2.90 or free for orders £30+	£2.98 or free for orders £30+	£5.95 or free for orders £30+

^{TOTAL =} Including VAT	^£67.91	^£78.80	^£106.88	^£112.53	^£112.84

Prices shown include discounts and were correct on 25 September 2008

Many of the websites sell products by the same brands. One brand in particular seemed to come out on top quite regularly for price - 5 Star Office.

Find 5 Star Office products at Rebel-Rebel, Euroffice and UK Office Direct.

Returns Policy

Rebel-Rebel - Email them within 14 days and they will collect the items for free. The items must be unused and in original unmarked packaging.

UK Office Direct - Products returned within the fourteen-day cooling-off period will be refunded in full after delivery costs have been deducted.

Staples - Standard returns policy is 30 days. If you contact them within 7 days they will collect items for free, otherwise they charge £3.50.

Optional care order £1.60 - allows you to return unwanted goods anytime within 12 months of purchase and collection is free.

Discount Office Products- 7 days to return and you must notify them in writing and pay for the return delivery charges yourself unless the items are faulty, or damaged.

Euroffice - 14 day returns policy. Items must be undamaged and in the original packaging. When you contact them they e-mail you a returns number and collect the goods for free within three days.