Taking The Guesswork Out Of Back-To-School Shopping
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DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - We're weeks away from sending children back to school and that means parents could be dropping hundreds on supplies and gear.
Families with kids in grades K-12 are expected to spend an average of $673.57 on back-to-school supplies this year, according to The National Retail Federation.
Lindsay Rose shared her second grade daughter's school supply list with CBS11's Consumer Justice unit.
Rose said this year's list isn't as long as the supply lists for kindergarten or first grade. However, it's somewhat specific with an ask for Ticondorago Number 2 pencils and 4 count Expo Dry Erase Markers in black.
"I kind of laugh because we probably have two dozen Elsa, Anna character pencils in the drawer over there. But I'm going to have to go out and get the Ticondorago number 2 pencils, two packs, 12 count," said Rose.
CBS11 hit three stores and Amazon with the list to see what stores have all the items and for the best price.
"I'm curious to see if you can get everything all in one store. And if you are how much it is," said Rose.
At Walmart we found every item on the list for $42.29.
All but three items, the plastic folders, composition notebooks and the pencil bag, were the least expensive at Walmart.
"Delivering on price and value is always a priority at Walmart and this year is no different. Our customers can count on us to bring them the same low prices all season long on the items they need to get back to class," according to Walmart.
At Target, CBS11 found every item for $45.68.
The total was 7 percent more than Walmart but if you used your Target Red card it was only 2 percent more.
Target had the cheapest 24 count Ticondorago number 2 pencils for $2.44 and Twist-able colored pencils at $3.49.
Target told CBS11 that its free app "Cartwheel", will feature some back-to-school offers now through September. Also RED Card holders always receive 5 percent off their orders and also receive free shipping on Target.com.
At Office Depot the total was $57.06, which is 35 percent more than Walmart.
However, if you don't mind hitting a few stores a couple items were also inexpensive here including $.03 for four composition notebooks and $1.80 for three plastic folders.
Lastly, we typed our list into Amazon.
With shipping and handling the total was $96.20.
Not everything was available for Amazon Prime so some things would arrive after school started.
Amazon had the best price for hand sanitizer at one cent, three large Elmer's glue sticks for $.99 cents and a pencil bag for $.69.
Bottom line, fulfilling this list was cheapest at Walmart but you can save even more money if you buy a few things at each place.
"You have to weigh the benefits of shopping around and going to a bunch of stores to save $4 on crayons," said Rose.
This weekend is the perfect time to do your back-to-school shopping.
Texas's sales tax holiday starts Friday and ends Sunday, which means no sales tax for clothing, shoes and school supplies under $100.
CBS11's Consumer Justice reached out to all the stores in our school shopping comparison.
Neither Amazon nor Office Depot responded to attempts by CBS11 for a comment.
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