HOUSTON – The school bell rings in just a few weeks for many students in our area. That means it is time to get those school supply lists and start shopping. If you just can't get excited about hunting for red pens and glue sticks in a store, consumer expert Amy Davis has good news. Shopping for school supplies online is easier this year.
On the website Teacher Lists, type in your ZIP code and look for your child's school. When you find the school supply list for your student's grade level, you can select where you want to buy the supplies. When you choose Amazon, Walmart, Target or Office Depot, the items automatically populate in your virtual cart.
Davis chose a second-grade supply list from a Houston Independent School District elementary school. She found a huge difference in the price for the same 39 items from each retailer.
Amazon was the most expensive at $217.93. The problem is that small items that should be inexpensive, like a plastic pocket folder, are more than $7 on Amazon.
At Walmart.com, the same 39 items would cost $107.32. Most items online are more expensive than they are in the store.
Office Depot's price for the same items is $83.
The lowest price we found for the supplies online was at Target. Our total was $61.15 with free shipping.
Davis took the same list to a Target store and found the prices online are the same as in the store.
TeacherLists.com doesn't have every school supply list on its website, but if your school hasn't uploaded theirs, you can ask them to.
