School Supply pre-order

[irish dancer]

I know, I know, school isn't even out for this year so I know no one's thinking about school supplies but I received an order form from DD10s school to pre-order supplies for next year. They've never offered this before and while it sounds great - no hassle shopping for supplies - it seems kind of pricey. The total for DD going into 6th grade is $48.12. The only things not included are a backpack, gym shoes, art smock and jump drive.

Does your school offer this? If so, is this price in the same ballpark?

I usually shop the sales and pick up the paper, crayons, etc when they're $.01 or $.10 so it just seems a bit steep to get to $48.12 for one kid's supplies. I'm still going to have to shop for my middle and high schoolers so it's not going to eliminate the shopping plus I re-use the ruler, scissors, protractor, etc.

WWYD?

TIA

 

[luvmy3]

Our school offers it and the price is around the same, less for lower grades. Its definitely more expensive than shopping the sales, but you are paying for the convenience of not having to do that.

 

[thebeesknees]

I have to admit, I've been so tempted to do this, as well. Our school charges $60, though, and we still have to provide printer paper, clorox wipes, clip board, jump drive, backpack, lunch box, gym shoes and paper towels. Not to mention that I already had to shell out a $70 consumables fee per child for next year! If I didn't have it in by today, we forfeit our spot at the school for next year. And the bottom line is, I can get the school supplies for much less by shopping the sales. Last year, shopping sales, it cost me under $20 per child to get everything they needed on the list. Like you, we reuse the scissors, ruler and backpack, so I'd be paying for some things I already have if I get it from the school. It just takes a lot of time to shop the sales, and TBH, dragging 3 kids with me while I do it is NOT fun! If it was just for 1 child, I'd probably do it, but x2 it is too expensive for me to do with our tight budget. I guess it comes down to how much wiggle room you have in your budget and how much your time is worth to you!

 

[Lucky St. Louis]

Our school offers this but the price is lower (around $30 with two dollars going to the PTA). I've priced it out in the past and it is always cheaper for me to shop myself. Also, my kids LOVE to pick out their own folders and notebooks instead of generic/unisex colors. When I see a good deal on supplies, I buy extra so that we are stocked for the year. I hate paying full price for crayons in January when I can get them for $.25 a box in August! I'm also a total "pencil snob" and only buy Ticonderoga pencils which are the best ever made (easy to sharpen, good erasers, write well) but are not offered in our kits (I buy them at Costco for much less than regular stores). That said, the kits are a total convenience for my friends who have a lot of children or are working and don't want to waste time shopping at different stores for the best deals.

 

[maggiew]

Our grade and middle schools did this. You are really paying for the convenience. The price is usually the same if you would normally buy everything for retail, maybe a little less since they can get bulk pricing. So, if you normally just go to the store and pick out everything on the list without scoping out the sales, this is probably a nice, easy alternative.

If you scope out the .01 folders at Staples, and the .39 pack mechanical pencils at Walgreens and the .10 packs of notebookpaper at Office Max, then you will find the pre-made kits expensive.

So, I think it depends on what kind of shopper you normally are for the school supplies. If you enjoy being a bargain hunter and price is a concern to you, you should NOT get the pre-made kits from the school. If you hate school shopping time and don't care much about paying a little extra for the convenience, then get the pre-made kits.

Another couple things to consider is your kid. Do they like to pick out the puppy and kitten notebooks? Then the pre-made kits are not for you because they will be the plain red, blue, green, etc. notebooks.

Does you kid want to fit in and have exactly the same as everyone else? Or would they feel out of place if they have to bring their stuff to school in a grocery bag and everyone else has a nice container of stuff sitting on their desk when they get to school??

Maggie

 

[JamesMom]

Next year my boys will be in 4th and 2nd grade and their packs were $45 each. Yes, I could get the supplies cheaper (and do for the home ones - can never have enough crayons and stuff), but I'd rather contribute to a fund raiser with stuff I actually need rather than peddle magazine subscriptions and cookie dough. Plus it is pleasant coming to meet the teacher night and everything is already there in the classroom. So buy getting the supply packs I save time and energy getting the supplies and have a clean conscience when I say 'no' to the other fund raisers.

 

[marmalade]

Our schools don't do this as of yet, but I wish they would at least for elementary. I want this for a few reasons, first I am a procrastinator and always wait until the week before school starts to get my supplies. And 2nd, I hate when I buy something and label it with my kids names and they come home with something completely different.

 

[3boymthr]

It is pricey, and you can definitely do better if you recycle those highlighters and buy the rest on sale but your school does get a portion of the proceeds. It varies depending upon the company they use and whether they take cash or more school supplies. The school (or PTO as the case may be) doesn't make a huge amount on this though. It's generally much less than the fundraiser such as the wrapping paper, chocolates, candles, etc. which have profit ratios of 50%. I think the PTO said we make 5% or something like that. Our school provides it more as a service than anything else. For the parents of kids in K and 1 it's very popular, especially with the first timers but as the kids get older the % of families in the grade buying the supplies definitely goes down.

I personally don't do it as I try to recycle as much of my kids' stuff from the current year as possible which last year meant I only had to spend $40 for three kids.

 

[zoemurr]

just decided to offer this next year. I got a flyer but it didn't have a price on it, or a list of materials.. guess they're just trying to feel us out.

DS was horrified. We re-use as much as we can and then he loves finding fun "novelty" items. Having the same things as everyone else was not appealing to him at all.

Definitely not for us.

 

[ceecee]

Our PTO organized this and made the profit from it so it was a win win situation. We still bought supplies (you do run out) so we had the fun of buying on our own with sales. The kids who ordered all had the same (and what the teachers really wanted) supplies. They also come in a study cardboard box that you could put their papers, art, etc in for the year....it had "2011 Memories" really cute. We also offered a bookbag one year (like $10) which did not sell at all.

 

[goofyredraider]

As a teacher and a parent, I can tell you a few things about these packs (at least the ones down here).

You will pay more and sometimes for less quality "stuff". PTA does make a profit on them.

You can get things cheaper on your own shopping sales. I totaled up my kids' lists for this coming year, and for a 1st, 4th, and 5th grader, I'd be spending $180 for their packs total. I *know* I can shop and get what they need cheaper, with better quailty items (for instance, the packs come with the cheapy paper folders that go like 1cent at Staples, and I buy the plastic ones that don't fall apart for .50; the packs come with cheap pencils, and I get Dixon pencils on sale for .01 at Staples, etc. You can get .01 paper and .01 spirals, too. ).

Aside from that, my kids LOVE school supply shopping and checking off their lists. I always did as a kid, too.

I also have already started picking up things and here and there...I don't do the back to school rush...only on stuff I know will go on sale later. However, I tend to have a "stockpile" from previous year's sales and pick from that first, and then go from there on what we still need....

 

[ktlm]

Our school does it and it is great. I think ours only runs around $30 though, which is about the amount we would spend anyway. You order it and then just pick it up at open house a couple of days before school starts. DD still gets to pick out her backback and lunch box from somewhere else.

I love it. It has the exact same things that are on the list to buy (and on everything other than folders and pencils our school usually includes specific brands on their school supply lists so what you buy is pretty much what is in the box). At our school, there is no concern about the kids all having the "same" and none being individual if you buy the box. Even if you buy your school supplies at the store they are not necessarily for "your kid". On the first day, everyone brings their school supplies and then they all get dumped into bins in their class room and intermingled. They pass out what they need as necessary for the kids. There are no "puppy or kitten" folders or notebooks" at our school. The school supply list will say "1 each solid red, green, blue, and yellow" folder. It eliminates any kids fighting over folders in the bins, or if everyone kept their own supplies any jealously or time spent on whose folder has what on it. People do bring different designs on pencils and basically, the kids draw for the order they get to pick those out of the bins originally. They get one, or maybe 2, at that time, and then it is pretty much go pick another one when yours becomes a stub or breaks.

 

[peimikes]

We have this here too (I'm in Canada). Last year was $30 for our daughter starting in Kindergarten. I paid it in May when she went for her assessment at the school.

Fast forward to October when the school sent a note home saying we never paid for the supplies. This was of course after we had taken her out of school for two weeks to go to Disney.....so now we looked like cheap so and so's who could afford to go to Florida but not cough up $30 for supplies. We live in a small town in the smallest province and it seems like everyone knows everyone else.

Thankfully I still had the receipt from May. I called the school and they wanted me to send it in with our daughter.....uhmmm no. They can't even keep track of receipts they already have (it was a carbon type slip) and couldn't be bothered to look it up even when I told them the receipt number. I took it in to get straightened out and the receptionist said this had happened to 4 other kids in my daughters class....they're a class of 12.

My advice if you do it is to keep your receipt.

 

[MrsPete]

I probably wouldn't do this particular fundraiser:

My kids always enjoy shopping for school supplies, and since it was something they care about, it's a good learning opportunity for them. They LOVE watching the Sunday newspapers to pick out which sales they should shop, and they take it very seriously.

We've always bought LOADS of supplies (we keep a big box of supplies so they can "shop" from it for the whole year), and I usually spend about $30 for two kids. That covers everything except backpacks and calculators, which -- obviously -- we reuse.

Having said that, if you aren't going to watch the sales, this isn't all that bad a price for everything the kid needs. And I don't mind paying for fundraisers; I just don't want to overpay for chocolate bars and wrapping paper.

 

[descovy]

We've done it both ways (the prepaid and shopping for our own)

The folders and notebook paper and pencils, yes I can find them for 10c on sale. The tough stuff is to find the 12x18 construction reader and the *just right* handwriting tablets in 1st-2nd grade.

It is incredibly convenient. Our supply list is 40 items long with each grade needing a different array of tabs, graph paper, red pencils, etc...

And yet, in the last few years, I have bought our own. First off, there is nothing wrong with sending in last years scissors, etc., if fully functional. With 3 kids I may be able to make 1 complete box of colored pencils out of the spring left overs.

It's a decent deal. A timesaver with not a lot of overhead. I don't know for $40 of prepaid, you might spend $25 shopping on your own. You can decide for yourself if the $15 is worth your time. How many hours/gas will you spend shopping and schlepping. That's the other thing, at our school the supplies are waiting for your child in the fall at their desk. When you buy your own, you are carrying it all into the school.

 

[Aristocath]

I think the answers on this are going to vary widely by district and school. My youngest is still in elementary school and goes to a school of choice in a large urban district. The district has one school supply list for each grade level up to fifth grade. Schools aren't allowed to modify the list. So many PTAs in the district take this on so that teachers can get the supplies they actually need and use. The PTA at our school charges $25/child and buys for EVERY child, regardless of if that child's parents paid or not. So our PTA does not profit from this.

In the middle and high schools, we have a general idea of what my boys need but they won't actually get a supply list from the school. They have to go to each class to find out what each teacher wants. So of course the really good sales are over by the first day of school. I spend way over $25 each for them.

 

[StitchandPooh'sMom]

Our elementary school does the pre-packs, but it is not a fundraiser. The PTA prices it to break even - it is just done as a convenience for parents. Our middle school doesn't do them, so I can't compare prices - the elementary ones were usually $25-35.

We don't usually buy them because:

1. I can get supplies cheaper on my own.
2. My kids like shopping for school supplies and picking out their own things.
3. It is not a fundraiser at our school, so buying the pre-packs doesn't help the school or PTA.
4. I like specific brands for some things, like pencils, so I would buy those anyway. Even if the supplies are communal, I'd rather send Crayola crayons and Ticonderoga pencils. The kids also like specific binders.

 

[ktlm]

Our school does it and it is great. I think ours only runs around $30 though, which is about the amount we would spend anyway. You order it and then just pick it up at open house a couple of days before school starts. DD still gets to pick out her backback and lunch box from somewhere else.

I love it. It has the exact same things that are on the list to buy (and on everything other than folders and pencils our school usually includes specific brands on their school supply lists so what you buy is pretty much what is in the box). At our school, there is no concern about the kids all having the "same" and none being individual if you buy the box. Even if you buy your school supplies at the store they are not necessarily for "your kid". On the first day, everyone brings their school supplies and then they all get dumped into bins in their class room and intermingled. They pass out what they need as necessary for the kids. There are no "puppy or kitten" folders or notebooks" at our school. The school supply list will say "1 each solid red, green, blue, and yellow" folder. It eliminates any kids fighting over folders in the bins, or if everyone kept their own supplies any jealously or time spent on whose folder has what on it. People do bring different designs on pencils and basically, the kids draw for the order they get to pick those out of the bins originally. They get one, or maybe 2, at that time, and then it is pretty much go pick another one when yours becomes a stub or breaks.

I just went back and looked at my E-mail receipt- ours was only $20 for next year. I don't think I could have got it for that at the store. Ours isn't through the PTA either- it is something the school set up through the school supply sale website- so it wasn't a fundraiser, which is probably why ours was so cheap.

 

[PrincessMickey]

Our school does this as well and I love it. When my oldest DS went to K I found it to be so difficult to shop. His list was so brand, size, and color specific that I had a hard time finding everything exactly as they wanted. The next year I placed the order through the school, when we got the supplies it had everything they wanted down to the right brand color and size. They even had the clorox wipes and kleenex so I didn't have to buy anything extra. Super conveneint.

 

[irish dancer]

OP here - thanks everyone for your comments.

We have decided to do supplies on our own again this year.

I have no idea if this is a fundraiser, it could be but it wasn't presented that way. DD10 attends a smallish Catholic school so they are always looking for ways to pad the fund for extras for the school/teachers. They DO NOT have communal supplies, even those doing the pre-pack will have to take them home and label everything. I also know they are using all name brand supplies (Crayola, Dixon, Oxford poly folders, Elmers, etc) so the quality will be there. While it would be convenient to just pay the fee and let them take care of it I still have other kids to buy for so I'm going to be making the trip and I like finding the deals and shopping the sales. I also asked DD if she'll be OK not having the pretty box on her desk the first day of school with matching supplies and she looked at me like I was crazy and said "I don't care".