Staples Advantage: 7 Questions Every Admin Buyer Should Ask Before Signing Up

What even is Staples Advantage? I keep hearing the name.

I'm an office administrator for a 200-person company. I manage all office supply ordering—roughly $80,000 annually across 8 vendors. When I took over purchasing in 2020, the first thing my predecessor said was, “Get on Staples Advantage.”

Staples Advantage is their B2B procurement platform—separate from the retail website. It's designed for businesses that need consolidated invoicing, bulk pricing, and someone to actually answer the phone when a $500 toner order goes missing. Think of it as the grown-up version of Staples.com.

Can I drop off FedEx packages at Staples Advantage locations?

Yes—this is one of those features that sounds small but saves real time. Staples Advantage customers can drop off pre-labeled FedEx packages at any Staples store. No need for a separate FedEx pickup or a trip to a shipping center.

I've used this dozens of times when we needed to return defective equipment or ship documents to clients. The store associates are usually fine with it, but I've learned to call ahead if I have more than 5 boxes. Some stores get overwhelmed during back-to-school season.

How do Staples Advantage toner cartridges compare to buying direct?

This is where the platform really shines—or rather, where it gets tricky. I've ordered toner both ways: through Staples Advantage and directly from manufacturers like HP and Brother. Here's what I found:

Staples Advantage pricing on toner is usually competitive—sometimes 5-10% below MSRP when you factor in their bulk discounts. But the real win isn't price. It's the supply chain visibility. When I order through the Advantage portal, I can see real-time inventory, estimated delivery dates, and get automatic notifications when stock runs low. Direct manufacturer sites don't always offer that level of detail for a single purchase order.

The surprise wasn't the price difference. It was how much hidden value came with the Advantage platform—things like automated replenishment and consolidated billing across multiple locations. That saved our accounting team about 4 hours a month.

Wait—bench press calculator? What does that have to do with office supplies?

Nothing at all. And that's exactly why I love mentioning it.

Staples Advantage includes a bench press calculator as part of their fitness equipment section (yes, they sell office treadmills and standing desks). It's a random feature that has nothing to do with paper clips, but it's surprisingly useful if your company has a wellness program or on-site gym.

The conventional wisdom is that a procurement platform should stick to procurement. My experience suggests otherwise—having access to tools like a bench press calculator means I can order fitness equipment and office supplies through one portal. One login, one PO, one invoice. That's a win.

What about the freight class calculator? Is that actually useful?

Everything I'd read about freight calculators said they're only for logistics people. In practice, I found that the freight class calculator on Staples Advantage helped me avoid a $2,400 mistake.

Here's the story: In 2023, we needed to ship 50 boxes of custom-printed packaging materials from our supplier to a conference location. The supplier quoted me a flat shipping rate of $600. I thought it was reasonable—until I used the freight class calculator to check the NMFC classification. Turns out, the correct class was 125, not the 175 they'd used. The real cost should have been $400. I pushed back, and the supplier adjusted the invoice.

Saved $200 by using a tool I never expected to need. (Should mention: I also double-checked with our logistics team afterward. They confirmed the calculator was accurate for our shipment weight and dimensions.)

What is highlighter makeup, and why should I care?

Okay, full disclosure: this has nothing to do with Staples Advantage either. But I get asked about it constantly because our HR team loves those “wellness swag” boxes that include things like highlighter makeup—those shimmering cosmetic highlighters that are huge on social media.

Staples Advantage actually carries beauty and wellness products through their expanded catalog. So if your company orders promotional items or employee appreciation gifts, you can get highlighter makeup through the same portal as your printer paper. One vendor, one PO, one invoice.

Never expected the procurement platform to be my go-to for employee gifts. Turns out, consolidating those random purchases saved us about 6 hours of administrative work per month. That's one fewer headache for me—actually, for our whole accounting team.

Is Staples Advantage worth it for a small business?

This depends on your volume. Here's what I tell other admin buyers:

• If you spend under $2,000/month on office supplies, the retail site is probably fine. You won't miss the discounts.
• If you spend $2,000–$5,000/month, the platform starts paying for itself in time savings alone.
• If you spend over $5,000/month, it's a no-brainer. The negotiated pricing, consolidated billing, and support team are worth more than any marginal savings from shopping around.

In March 2024, we paid $400 extra for rush delivery on a critical print order. The alternative was missing a $15,000 trade show. That's the kind of decision where the platform's reliability—not just price—matters. The certainty of delivery is worth the premium when the stakes are real.

So glad I signed up. Almost stuck with our old workflow of 8 separate vendors, which would have meant constant invoice reconciliation and late deliveries. Dodged a bullet.