One humungous office errand (Staples in general)

Member Name: misterwriter

Product:	Staples in general
Date:	19/05/05 (482 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: big selection on every type of product, Out of town convenience, Lots of parking

Disadvantages: Photocopying service a bit sloppy

Staples is an uncontrollable out of town monster in the world of stationery supplies. Go in with the sole intention of buying a pen refill and you'll come back with bags more, I'm sure.

In Northampton, Office World was, in terms of shelf space, its closest rival (about half the size but having plenty of the essentials). Now a recent deserter (no doubt driven out by Staples success) the competition is a bit pitiful.

WhSmith simply doesn't have enough of any one thing. Its range of pens is good but notebooks and other similar stationery go too far down the designer route, in my opinion, to be a worthy rival. Rymans has all the basics but it's still small. Then it's just Wilkinsons, Woolworths and The Works for lovers of luminous folders, Monet-themed notelets etc. (Fun - but if you don't want to get laughed out of the boardroom what do you go for?)

If you're self-employed, run a busy office or an industrious student, it's best to look in Staples first. Because they have plenty of stationery products to choose from and they cover all markets - whether you're satisfying your budget or an executive lifestyle.

If anything sets Staples apart from the rest it's the folders and plastic refills department. Taking up almost one side of an aisle I found smart flip-over folders for business presentations, report covers, plus plastic sleeves designed to hold bulky brochures in a ring binder, photos and documents of all shapes and sizes.

Paper is also impressive - available in many different thickness, finishes (for every type of printing) and in lots of colours.

Without launching into a long list, what else do they stock? Well, bubble wrap, box files, art and design materials, software, a good selection of business-oriented books, laptops, electronic hardware ( monitors, printers, webcams, fax machines, etc), plush briefcases and filofaxes (yes they still make them), in-trays, bins - to name but a few. They even stock coffee (to save you stopping off at your local supermarket).

At a section at the back of the store they have an area devoted to office furniture - office chairs (from typists to swivel) computer and office desks and filing cabinets (in wood effect finishes or standard metal). Unlike Argos, you can see them for real, perhaps trying out the gas powered lift of a swivel chair and saying "You're fired" (Alan Sugar style) to the manager as you sit at an executive desk.

In the corner there are its printing services. On my last visit I noticed that they offer printed stationery from templates, lamination of documents, business document binding and the production of customisable rubber stamps.

From my experience I have found that its basic photocopying service is not as good as Office World. At around a few pence a copy for black and white, you can't grumble but quality could be better. The paper is very thin and sometimes there are occasional black splodges where they haven't cleaned the photocopier glass as often as they should. OK if you are after a cheaply printed document for filing but not quite good enough if you are using it as a presentation piece. It is probably best to ask them to show you the first print-out, before they press the button that will churn out a hundred more copies.

Alternatively, if you prefer the DIY approach, you can use the self-service photocopier using coins or a coin card.

In addition to all this, there are baskets dotted around near the front of the store tempting you with cut-price merchandise, often coinciding with the return of school after a long summer break. The pickings are sometimes good. Just after Christmas, I snapped up a pencil case for 50p and a pre-inked rubber stamp for a paltry 10p (originally £2.42).

All in all, a great place to get stocked up.


*This review was previously published by myself under the name simoncjones at Ciao*

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