Back-to-School Shopping Guide: Where to Shop for Deals

The upcoming school year quickly approaches, which means parents are getting ready to purchase all the items their children need to be prepared for classes.

Looking around for the right deals can help you keep back-to-school shopping as affordable as possible. Scotts Valley Patch takes a look at some of the sales you can find in local stores.

And don't forget, classes for Scotts Valley Unified School District students begin Aug. 28 (that's next Wednesday!).

Target currently boasts many discounts on items you’re likely to find on your shopping list. If you’re in the market for new clothes for your children, kids’ tops start at $5 and kids’ bottoms at $10. Shoes were recently on sale for buy one get one free. Target also has backpacks starting at $12 and lunch bags for as low as $10.

If you’re shopping for a college-bound student, Target also has some deals for you. Examples are hangers for $2, shower caddies and laundry baskets for around $3 and a rolling drawer cart for about $11.

Kohl’s, Capitola Mall

Have a child who wears a uniform to school? At Kohl’s, a Chap school uniform sale mean means you can get girl’s polo shirts for $11.99, boy’s pants for $17.99 and girl’s cardigan’s for $18.99, just to give a few examples of the sale items.

Other school-related deals available at Kohl’s range from backpacks for under $30, twin XL sheets (a common need for dorms) for $24.99 and alarm clocks starting at $20.99.

Office Max, online only

One trip to Office Max and you could cross a lot of school supplies off of your shopping list. Office Max is currently advertising sales related to students of all levels—elementary school, middle school, high school and college. Some of their recent sales have been buy two notebooks, get one free, 25 percent off of backpacks and filler paper for buy two get one free.

Bed Bath & Beyond, Clares Street, Capitola

If your list includes a lot of items to help get a student settled into a dorm room or an off-campus apartment, Bed Bath & Beyond has a lot of home items you’re probably looking for. Their wide selection includes lap desks for $20, shoe organizers for $15, table top ironing boards for $10 and desk lamps for $10.

Best Buy, 41st Avenue and Soquel Drive

Tech gadgets are now common on back-to-school lists, particularly for college students. You can find graphing calculators at Best Buy for as low as $57. If you’re in the market for a new computer, desktop packages start around $400.They also sell new and refurbished laptops for varying amounts.

Online Shopping

You might also want to consider signing up for online discount sites like Groupon.com, LivingSocial.com and NoMoreRack.com. Notifications will be delivered right to your email inbox to let you know about substantial discounts on everything from clothing and lunch bags to electronics. If there’s something on your list that’s a little too pricy in stores, you can try finding a discount on one of these sites so it doesn’t hurt your wallet as much.

Before You Hit the Stores 

Prior to beginning your school shopping adventures, take a little bit of time to check out the websites of the stores you’re planning on going to. You can see who has the best prices on what you’re looking for and might even be able to find coupons you can print out for even more savings. 

Editor's Note: This article was a result of user-generated content. Do you want to contribute something? Email jennifer.squires@patch.com