‘16 items for under $10’: Back to School deal as cheap as 10 cents

As budget-conscious Aussie parents seek bargains during this year’s back to school shop, big retailers battle over low prices on popular items. See some of the deals and how they compare.

Retailers are locked in a battle for your back to school buck as they compete over record low prices on popular items.

It comes as new research conducted by Officeworks shows 46 per cent of Aussie parents are actively seeking bargains during this year’s back to school shop due to ongoing cost of living pressures.

Officeworks is throwing down the gauntlet, with exercise books from as low as 10 cents, rulers from 20 cents, glue sticks at 25 cents for two, water bottles from 49 cents, and a pack of 10 pens for 49 cents.

Showing considerable value for money, customers can purchase at least 16 stationery items for less than $10.

Not to be beaten, Coles is offering half price stationery in store from Wednesday this week, with more deals to drop in the next five weeks.

The supermarket giant is running online and in-store back to school offers, including scissors for $1.85 (down from $3.70), Spirax notebooks for $2 (down from $4) and a 10 pack of Paperpate Inkjoy pens for $2 (down from $5.25).

Kids are returning to school soon, which means it’s back to school shopping time. Picture: Getty Images

Woolworths also has a range of affordable stationery items in store and online, and starting Wednesday back to school offers also include half price on BiC colour pencils for $4 (down from $8), half price on Bonds Kids’ low cut socks assorted pack of three for $7 (down from $14) and 30 per cent off all their Smash lunch and hydration products.

Big W is offering stationery items from 25 cents and a Canon PIXMA Wireless Printer for $49, which is down from $69.

Outside of office supplies, Big W also offers school polos from $2.50, school shoes from $6.50, and backpacks from $5.

Kmart has a wide range of school uniforms and apparel, including school polos in a range of colours from $2.25, a splash-proof art smock for $9, school shoes for $6, and school crew necks for $5.50.

Target is offering back to school knit skorts for $10, hoodies for $14, and double knee track pants for $12.

Sydney mum Nadene O’Neill, from the city’s inner west, is shopping for her two sons Cooper, 13, and Lachlan, 11, and is on the lookout for a good laptop for Cooper.

Mum Nadene O’Neill is shopping for her two sons Cooper Walsh, 13, and Lachlan Walsh, 11. Picture: Supplied

“That’s our most expensive thing for back to school this year. Cooper’s been trying to save up a little bit of his Christmas money, and his birthday is coming up, so he’s happy to have that as a little bit of part of his birthday as well,” she said.

“He’s been searching around for something that will be a good product for him to use at school. But it also has to be budget-friendly.”

Officeworks has devices starting at under $200 and their Price Beat Guarantee means that if parents do happen to find the same item stocked elsewhere for a lower price, Officeworks will beat it by five per cent.

Aldi has deals on big-ticket tech items too, including a Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 14” Laptop for $299, 7” Kid’s Tablet for $89.99, and Samsung Galaxy Tab A9 64GB for $189.

JB Hi-Fi’s back to school specials include a HP 14” HD Touchscreen Chromebook for $279 (saving $200) and a Dell 15.6” Full HD Laptop for $649 (saving $350).

Harvey Norman has hot deals for back to school too, including a Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3 Chromebook for $268 and a Lenovo Ideapad Flex 5 14-inch Pentium laptop for $648.

Research shows that 34 per cent of parents said they enjoy shopping for school supplies with their children, a notable increase from 22 percent last year, highlighting the excitement many families share ahead of the new school year.

“Shopping together for back to school stuff is a nice way to get excited about the new year and helps with that motivation especially when you’re heading out of the holidays,” Ms O’Neill said.

“It’s a motivator to get organised and get into the right frame of mind for the school year.”