Whether your kids still have a month left before school starts or head go back to school in a hot second, buying those back-to-school supplies now is a pretty great idea when you see the big discounts on school supplies that we’ve tracked down from top retailers. So this year, we’ve put them together in a handy guide as the next post in our 2018 Back-to-School Shopping Guide.
Hey, this way, not only can you save a ton of money, but that’s one chore off your list so you can get back to what you’re supposed to be doing in August. Summering.
CMP is an rstyle affiliate. All prices are accurate at time of publishing.
There’s no compensation for inclusion here, just the stuff we love that’s on sale!
Related: 5 of the top back-to-school trends, and where to find them for less.
Up to 60% discounts on school supplies at Pottery Barn Kids
Marvel lunch boxes, parents! Get them now for just $12.99 to $14 — that’s 50% off, which officially qualifies as a run-don’t-walk kind of deal thanks to the Pottery Barn Kids back-to-school sale. And if you check their back-to-school clearance category savings hit 60% on tons of popular backpacks, lunchbags, duffels and more.
I mean, $8.99 for Star Wars, Marvel and DC superhero water bottles that normally start at nearly 20 bucks? Yes please!
Other fantastic deals on school supplies we like include the Mackenzie rainbow lunch bag ($17.99), cute critter backpacks ($19.99), and a whole slew of great stainless steel lunch containers. I love this oval bento box for $29.99, down from $48.50 — an amazing price, knowing how much that thing will get used this year.
Related: 30 cool backpacks for tweens, teens and older kids | Back to School Guide 2018
20-30% discounts on school supplies at J.Crew
Even if your kid’s school shopping list is pretty cut and dry — you can only get X brand of pencils and Y color folders — there’s usually some nice wiggle room on a fun pencil case or other accessories. That’s where J.Crew’s back-to-school sale can help!
The unicorn pencil case at top is 20% off (ahem: so are the matching unicorn backpack and unicorn lunchbox!) and so is the glow-in-the-dark space pencil case above. And yes, the matching space backpack and space lunchbox are on sale, too.
Also: You can get 30% off your entire online order — including clothes, shoes, and accessories — right now with the code SHOPNOW. So, you know. Shop now.
Up to 50% discounts on new backpacks and bags at eBags
If you’re looking for a new backpack for the new school year (and who isn’t?), eBags is offering some awesome back-to-school discounts up to 50% off.
The JanSport Big Student backpack in this hot galaxy print above is now $39.99 (regularly $44.90) — and will last past the first week back to school. For older kids who have to tote tech, you can also find more than 300 laptop backpacks from brands like JanSport, SwissGear, High Sierra, North Face, Under Armour, Adidas and Samsonite — some for as low as $24.99.
For younger kids, find Hello Kitty sackpacks for $13.99, which are perfect for gym clothes or wet bags, and sturdy duffels for sports kids now on sale for $42.29.
Related: The service that saves you a ton of time and money on all your back-to-school shopping. Whoo!
Up to 60% discounts on school uniforms + clothes at Old Navy
This year marks my first experience with school uniform-buying for kids, so polos and khakis are as much on our back-to-school shopping list as are sticks of glue and No. 2 pencils. Old Navy is offering discounted pique polos for as low as $4, and khakis for $10, as well as girls’ uniform jumpers in navy and khaki on sale for $9.50 (regularly $18.99). That’s a pretty massive steal for any kind of back-to-school wear, required or not.
You can also stock up on tees for girls and boys starting at just $2. Wow.
Up to 70% discounts…plus an additional 25% discount on school supplies and clothes at JCPenney
Note that JCPenney is a recent sponsor, but we’d be remiss if we didn’t include their huge back-to-school deals here! Popular styles of JanSport backpacks are 25% off right now, get a Fuel backpack and lunch bag set for a mere $19.99 — that’s 50% off — but it goes down to 16.99 with the current online sale that gives you an additional 25% off already reduced prices online. (Use code 7BIGSALE)
There’s also a limited time special on hundreds of Arizona Jeans products, including a chic, fuzzy black mini backpack for $12, or 70% off, lots of sizes and colors of boys’ chino shorts for $9 each, and plenty of tees and other basics. Including denim for boys and girls on sale from top brands.
Also be sure to grab some new kids sneakers or shoes at big discounts! There are over 600 pairs on sale right now, from brands like Fila, Nike, Skechers, Vans and More. Great-looking Fila running shoes for $19.99 (shown here) that are regularly $60? Go!
BOGO offers and discounts on school supplies and clothing at Target
Target is always launching new deals and right now, there are over 100 BOGO deals on school supplies where you can buy basics like pen and pencil sets and get a second for 50% off. In the backpack sale department, you’ll find JanSport bags on sale starting at $28 and character backpacks for 10% off — not the biggest deal we’ve found, but if you’re shopping Target anyway, or your kid is in love with this Captain America backpack, it’s worth checking out.
There’s also a huge selection of kids tees for $5, along with polos and leggings, plus kids’ denim on sale starting at $8, which is a great deal when you need tons for your fast-growing kids. I mean, how great is that A Little Kindness…kids tee?
Up to 20% discounts on school supplies at Staples
Staples is a great go-to source for all that need-to-buy stuff, but they also have more fun supplies than you might think. And yay — all school supplies are 20% off with the purchase of a backpack, which is a nice deal if you’re planning to buy a backpack anyway. Also find those requisite wide-ruled composition notebooks for just $.75 each. Stock up!
Other back-to-school discounts at Staples I spotted include three-packs of pink wedge erasers for $2, beveled rulers for $.50, and Crayola 64-packs for $3 each, making it a good place to check off a bunch of basics.
