Staples Advantage FAQ: What It Is, Top Categories, and Answers to Your Burning Questions

Everything You Wanted to Know About Staples Advantage (But Were Afraid to Ask)

I'm an office administrator for a 200-person company. I manage all our office supplies, printing services, and breakroom stocking—roughly $180K annually across 8 vendors. When I took over purchasing in 2020, I assumed the cheapest option was always the smartest move. After a few costly lessons, I learned that quality, reliability, and total cost matter way more than the sticker price.

Here's a no-fluff FAQ covering the questions I get asked most—including some you probably didn't know you should ask.

1. What is Staples Advantage?

Staples Advantage is the B2B arm of Staples—a dedicated procurement platform for businesses of all sizes. Instead of walking into a store or ordering retail, you get customized pricing, dedicated account management, consolidated billing, and integration with your purchasing systems. Think of it as a private-label supplier that also gives you access to thousands of products across office supplies, furniture, breakroom, janitorial, and even print services.

When I first heard about it, I thought, “It's just Staples with a different login.” Not even close. The real value is in the cost control and time savings. I consolidated 5 vendor orders into one, and our accounting team saved about 4 hours a month on invoice processing alone.

“I've seen the same products priced 15–25% lower on Advantage than retail, but only after you negotiate your contract. Don't expect those discounts to show up automatically.”

2. What are the most competitive Staples Advantage categories?

After 5 years of managing these relationships, here are the categories where Staples Advantage really shines:

• Core office supplies – Paper, pens, folders, tape. Their buying power means you will beat local office supply stores on most commodity items.
• Breakroom & janitorial – Coffee, paper towels, trash bags. Prices are surprisingly low, and you can set up auto‑replenishment.
• Print & copy paper – Especially if you order pallets. We pay about $0.005 per sheet for Hammermill 20 lb copy paper through Advantage.
• Basic furniture – Desks, chairs, filing cabinets. Not top‑tier ergonomic stuff, but solid mid‑range options at prices that beat most competitors.
• Packaging & shipping – boxes, tape, bubble wrap. If you ship products, this category alone can justify the account.

The 13‑pocket expanding file you asked about? Yes, they carry them from brands like Smead and Pendaflex. In fact, that category is one of their best sellers. I order about 60 – 80 units per year for our accounting department. The price is usually $4.50–$6.00 each depending on quantity, which is competitive with Amazon Business.

3. What is a printer?

OK, I'll answer this one straight. A printer is a device that transfers digital text and images onto physical media (usually paper) using ink or toner. But if you're on Staples Advantage, you're probably asking because you need to choose between inkjet, laser, or multifunction for your office.

Here's my rule of thumb after dealing with 3 printer replacements in 4 years:

• Laser printers – Best for high‑volume black‑and‑white (offices printing 200+ pages/day). Cost per page is 2–4¢. Toner lasts months.
• Color laser – Good for marketing materials, but color prints run 10–15¢ per page. Be honest about how many color pages you really need.
• Inkjet – Only buy if you print photos or very low volumes (under 50 pages/month). Ink cartridges are a trap.

Staples Advantage sells all major brands (HP, Brother, Canon, Xerox). I recommend Brother monochrome laser for most small‑to‑mid offices. They're bulletproof and the toner is cheap.

“Don't forget to factor in the total cost of ownership: base price + cartridges + paper + electricity + maintenance. The cheapest printer often costs you 2x in ink over a year.”

4. Does Staples Advantage carry fire calculators or eBay fee calculators?

I've seen those search terms pop up. Fire calculator usually refers to a financial retirement calculator (FIRE = Financial Independence, Retire Early). eBay fee calculator helps sellers estimate listing and payment fees. Neither of those is an office supply—they're web tools or apps.

Staples Advantage does carry desk calculators, scientific calculators, and even a few financial models from Texas Instruments and Canon. But if you need a dedicated fire calculator or an eBay fee calculator, you'll want to use online tools or specialty apps. (I personally use a free spreadsheet for eBay fees—saves me $2 a month versus an app.)

However, if you're looking for standard office calculators, Advantage has some of the best pricing I've seen. We buy the Canon P23‑DHV for $15.99 each—about $3 less than retail.

5. How does Staples Advantage help maintain brand quality in printed materials?

This is where my quality perception stance kicks in. I used to order the cheapest business cards and flyers online. Then I handed a client a card with slightly misaligned text and a washed‑out logo. They didn't say anything, but I noticed they didn't call back. That $50 difference in print quality cost me a $5,000 contract.

Staples Advantage's print services (they call it 48 Hour Print) offer standard and premium paper grades, Pantone color matching, and resolution up to 300 DPI. Here's what I check before ordering:

• Paper weight: For business cards, go with 14pt (≈ 270 gsm) uncoated or 16pt matte. Anything lighter feels flimsy.
• Color matching: If your brand uses a specific Pantone color (e.g., Pantone 286 C for corporate blue), ask for it. Their standard printing uses CMYK conversion, which can shift colors. Delta E should be under 2 for brand‑critical work.
• File resolution: Always supply images at 300 DPI at final size. If your logo is 180 DPI, it'll look fuzzy. Use the formula: print size (inches) = pixel width ÷ 300.

The platform's biggest advantage? Certainty. When I order event invites, I know the deadline will be met. That's worth more than a 10% discount from a print shop with “estimated” delivery.

6. Why should I choose Staples Advantage over Amazon Business or Office Depot?

I work with all three, so here's my honest take without attacking anyone:

My advice: use Staples Advantage for everything you buy in bulk or repeat orders, and use Amazon Business for one‑off or specialized products. The two complement each other.

7. Any hidden pitfalls with Staples Advantage?

Yeah, a few. Here's what I wish someone told me:

• Shipping minimums: Some categories have order minimums to get free shipping. We aim for $50+ per order.
• Contract pricing: Don't assume the listed prices are final. Negotiate your contract based on annual volume. I got an extra 8% off after showing them my previous year's spend.
• Invoice accuracy: The third time I got charged for rush delivery I didn't authorize, I created a verification checklist. Now I approve every order summary before it ships.

But overall, it's a solid platform. The biggest win? Time. I used to spend 3 hours a week on ordering. Now it's 30 minutes, and I have pricing visibility for every cost center in the company.

“Still think price is king? I used to. Then a $2.50 difference on a ream of paper turned into a $240 expense report rejection because the vendor's invoice didn't match our PO. Real cost of that paper: $242.50. Learn from my mistakes.”

Final thought

Staples Advantage isn't perfect, but for most B2B office needs—especially if you value quality, consistency, and time—it's a solid choice. Start with a small contract, test the categories mentioned above, and negotiate your pricing once you see the numbers.

— An admin buyer who's seen it all (and survived).