domestic_engineer Posted July 21, 2019 Share Posted July 21, 2019 Are there brands of school supplies that you have been disappointed with? If so, why? For example, I was disappointed in Index cards from storeXYZ because they were much thinner than what I was expecting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
historically accurate Posted July 21, 2019 Share Posted July 21, 2019 Never, ever buy RoseArt anything. 28 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted July 21, 2019 Share Posted July 21, 2019 Yeah, Rose Art was the brand that came to mind. Also, Ikea. I know that sounds weird, but Ikea does have a school supplies section with paper and folders and sticky notes. But the sticky notes aren't sticky, the paper is all A4 (we're not in Europe, Ikea! This is only good for drawing on!), the folders are also all A4 so nothing will ever match US standard stuff. Just don't do it. Any pencils that are colorfully decorated in the dollar section. The leads are cruddy and poorly aligned. Dixon Ticonderoga forever! In general, I've found that some things from the Target and Walmart in house brands are really cheap. The index cards are, indeed, one of them. And the pencils, of course. And the pencil sharpeners. The folders and basic notebooks are fine though. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktgrok Posted July 21, 2019 Share Posted July 21, 2019 14 minutes ago, Farrar said: Yeah, Rose Art was the brand that came to mind. Also, Ikea. I know that sounds weird, but Ikea does have a school supplies section with paper and folders and sticky notes. But the sticky notes aren't sticky, the paper is all A4 (we're not in Europe, Ikea! This is only good for drawing on!), the folders are also all A4 so nothing will ever match US standard stuff. Just don't do it. Any pencils that are colorfully decorated in the dollar section. The leads are cruddy and poorly aligned. Dixon Ticonderoga forever! In general, I've found that some things from the Target and Walmart in house brands are really cheap. The index cards are, indeed, one of them. And the pencils, of course. And the pencil sharpeners. The folders and basic notebooks are fine though. Also, their kids' paint is NOT washable!!! Who gives little kids pain that is labeled that it can/will stain?!?! 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted July 21, 2019 Share Posted July 21, 2019 33 minutes ago, Ktgrok said: Also, their kids' paint is NOT washable!!! Who gives little kids pain that is labeled that it can/will stain?!?! Europeans, apparently. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted July 21, 2019 Share Posted July 21, 2019 24 minutes ago, happysmileylady said: Honestly, I know everyone here has loved them, but I was disappointed with Ticonderoga pencils. We still had a billion broken leads. Plus, the truth is that we lose pencils like we drink water. If I am going to be dealing with broken lead and finding new pencils every 15 minutes a day, I don't want to pay good money for them. I am sure Ticonderoga are great for kids who are careful about dropping and losing pencils, but those aren't my kids. I do however agree with roseart. Never buy roseart anything. Ever. It could be your sharpener. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmasc Posted July 21, 2019 Share Posted July 21, 2019 I need a new electric pencil sharpener for this year. I haven’t bought one in like, a hundred years, so I hope we end up with a good one. I’ll probably go with the best amazon rated one. Anyone have one they love? I think those off-brand binders, and even Avery ones actually, are pretty awful. They’re too plastic-y and tear easily. Nothing beats the Staples Better Binders. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted July 21, 2019 Share Posted July 21, 2019 3 minutes ago, happysmileylady said: I think it's because my kids bang them around and break the leads That'll do it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itsheresomewhere Posted July 21, 2019 Share Posted July 21, 2019 I prefer Black Warrior pencils over Ticonderoga. They don’t break with my heavy handed kid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa in Australia Posted July 21, 2019 Share Posted July 21, 2019 2 hours ago, Farrar said: Yeah, Rose Art was the brand that came to mind. Also, Ikea. I know that sounds weird, but Ikea does have a school supplies section with paper and folders and sticky notes. But the sticky notes aren't sticky, the paper is all A4 (we're not in Europe, Ikea! This is only good for drawing on!), the folders are also all A4 so nothing will ever match US standard stuff. Just don't do it. Any pencils that are colorfully decorated in the dollar section. The leads are cruddy and poorly aligned. Dixon Ticonderoga forever! In general, I've found that some things from the Target and Walmart in house brands are really cheap. The index cards are, indeed, one of them. And the pencils, of course. And the pencil sharpeners. The folders and basic notebooks are fine though. What size paper do you guys use? everything here is A4. the folders hold A4, home photocopiers are A4, shhet protectors are A4 - just about everything. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ausmumof3 Posted July 21, 2019 Share Posted July 21, 2019 I have a few though they might be irrelevant in the us. Big W Brand folders tend to come apart at the binder bit and drop paper out randomly two of my kids love prisma colours but the 3rd dislikes them so he’s getting Derwent next year. Our filing cabinet that came with the desk is very disappointing as it doesn’t fit either foolscap or a4 files properly. We can put the a4 files in on an angle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted July 21, 2019 Share Posted July 21, 2019 6 minutes ago, Melissa in Australia said: What size paper do you guys use? everything here is A4. the folders hold A4, home photocopiers are A4, shhet protectors are A4 - just about everything. Americans, in our absurd quest to never ever do anything that works with everyone else's stuff, use standard size paper. It's 8.5 inches by 11 inches. Close to A4, but not quite. It's like how we refuse to use metric. And our electricity is different. We're just... like that. 4 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hippiemamato3 Posted July 21, 2019 Share Posted July 21, 2019 I really dislike most Crayola. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcadia Posted July 21, 2019 Share Posted July 21, 2019 2 hours ago, happysmileylady said: I think it's because my kids bang them around and break the leads My youngest does that so my husband buys the 96pack for $9.96 from Amazon. Think it was the cheapest we could find. I do use the nice Bosch electric sharpener at the library to sharpen them since I sharpen at least twelve at a time. https://www.amazon.com/Ticonderoga-Wood-Cased-Graphite-Pencils-13872/dp/B00125Q75Y/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcadia Posted July 21, 2019 Share Posted July 21, 2019 19 minutes ago, Melissa in Australia said: What size paper do you guys use? everything here is A4. the folders hold A4, home photocopiers are A4, sheet protectors are A4 - just about everything. 10 minutes ago, Farrar said: It's like how we refuse to use metric. And our electricity is different. We're just... like that. Daiso in the US also carries A4 stationary. Think Kinokuniya does too. Another thing different is that US use 3-ring binders and need a 3-hole puncher. Australia and other countries use 2-ring binders and a 2-hole puncher. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcadia Posted July 21, 2019 Share Posted July 21, 2019 15 minutes ago, Ausmumof3 said: Our filing cabinet that came with the desk is very disappointing as it doesn’t fit either foolscap or a4 files properly. We can put the a4 files in on an angle. For A4 files, IKEA Expedit/Kallax cubes were the best fit. We have plenty of A4 files because we brought over legal documents when we relocated to US. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
domestic_engineer Posted July 22, 2019 Author Share Posted July 22, 2019 2 hours ago, mmasc said: I need a new electric pencil sharpener for this year. I haven’t bought one in like, a hundred years, so I hope we end up with a good one. I’ll probably go with the best amazon rated one. Anyone have one they love? I think those off-brand binders, and even Avery ones actually, are pretty awful. They’re too plastic-y and tear easily. Nothing beats the Staples Better Binders. Not electric but the pencil sharpener at https://classroomfriendlysupplies.com/ is pretty awesome. It’s quiet and doesn’t need a lot of rotations to get an awesome point. We actually had a Better Binder break this year 😞. So now I’m less confident in their product. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmilyGF Posted July 22, 2019 Share Posted July 22, 2019 5 hours ago, happysmileylady said: Honestly, I know everyone here has loved them, but I was disappointed with Ticonderoga pencils. We still had a billion broken leads. Plus, the truth is that we lose pencils like we drink water. If I am going to be dealing with broken lead and finding new pencils every 15 minutes a day, I don't want to pay good money for them. I am sure Ticonderoga are great for kids who are careful about dropping and losing pencils, but those aren't my kids. I do however agree with roseart. Never buy roseart anything. Ever. Besides the sharpener, pencils seem to become more breakable over time. So I've started getting a box of pencils every other month so that I don't end up with a. bunch of old pencils at the end of the year. Maybe it's my imagination, but I'm happier this way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vonfirmath Posted July 22, 2019 Share Posted July 22, 2019 19 hours ago, domestic_engineer said: Are there brands of school supplies that you have been disappointed with? If so, why? For example, I was disappointed in Index cards from storeXYZ because they were much thinner than what I was expecting. Do you have a recommendation for a brand of index cards that are NOT much thinner? I've about come to the conclusion I need to make my own from cardstock 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vonfirmath Posted July 22, 2019 Share Posted July 22, 2019 (edited) 18 hours ago, Farrar said: In general, I've found that some things from the Target and Walmart in house brands are really cheap. The index cards are, indeed, one of them. And the pencils, of course. And the pencil sharpeners. The folders and basic notebooks are fine though. We have two pencil sharpeners from Wal-mart we really like. The first was a suction cup on the counter, hand crank sharpener. And the other is the sharpener attached to the plastic cup to grab the shavings. The latter worked so well for us we end up sending them in the backpacks to our sponsored kids with Manna 4 Lempira. Edited July 22, 2019 by vonfirmath 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vonfirmath Posted July 22, 2019 Share Posted July 22, 2019 15 hours ago, Melissa in Australia said: What size paper do you guys use? everything here is A4. the folders hold A4, home photocopiers are A4, shhet protectors are A4 - just about everything. Paper is 8.5" x 11" It is just ever so slightly off from A4 size. (I have no idea where this size came from) larger paper is Legal 8.5x14 Tabloid (larger, but smaller than Shop Drawing) is 11x17. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ausmumof3 Posted July 22, 2019 Share Posted July 22, 2019 15 hours ago, Arcadia said: For A4 files, IKEA Expedit/Kallax cubes were the best fit. We have plenty of A4 files because we brought over legal documents when we relocated to US. Ok: it’s just we have this like built in desk arrangement thing that includes a couple of hanging file drawers which are pretty much useless without files that fit. Otherwise it’s good desks for everyone, drawers and overhead storage Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
domestic_engineer Posted July 22, 2019 Author Share Posted July 22, 2019 2 hours ago, vonfirmath said: Do you have a recommendation for a brand of index cards that are NOT much thinner? I've about come to the conclusion I need to make my own from cardstock No, I don't have a recommendation. It's what got me thinking about the topic because I can't remember which ones I didn't like. haha. I did see that Walmart had Heavyweight Index Cards, though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bambam Posted July 23, 2019 Share Posted July 23, 2019 11 hours ago, vonfirmath said: Do you have a recommendation for a brand of index cards that are NOT much thinner? I've about come to the conclusion I need to make my own from cardstock I bought these (grid) several years (maybe 10) ago. I love them. https://www.levenger.com/300-nonpersonalized-3-x-5-cards-ruled-or-grid-8718.aspx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klmama Posted July 23, 2019 Share Posted July 23, 2019 I bought dc a new bound composition book at Target. Right after that I found an unused one at home. Yes, they were different brands, but the new one is only 80 sheets, while the one I purchased last year was 100. Just an FYI, if that matters to you. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vonfirmath Posted July 23, 2019 Share Posted July 23, 2019 1 hour ago, klmama said: I bought dc a new bound composition book at Target. Right after that I found an unused one at home. Yes, they were different brands, but the new one is only 80 sheets, while the one I purchased last year was 100. Just an FYI, if that matters to you. I remember seeing 70 pages composition books last year too. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desert Strawberry Posted July 29, 2019 Share Posted July 29, 2019 On 7/21/2019 at 2:19 PM, mmasc said: I need a new electric pencil sharpener for this year. I haven’t bought one in like, a hundred years, so I hope we end up with a good one. I’ll probably go with the best amazon rated one. Anyone have one they love? I think those off-brand binders, and even Avery ones actually, are pretty awful. They’re too plastic-y and tear easily. Nothing beats the Staples Better Binders. We have a Bostitch. It's held up longer than any of the others we have tried. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roadrunner Posted July 29, 2019 Share Posted July 29, 2019 Pens from Costco. I bought them and I don’t like them. Since they come in massive quantity, they will last me a lifetime. This is usually a positive thing, but not in the case of Costco pens. 😌 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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