Hi! This will be my first year teaching and I am trying to buy supplies for my classroom as inexpensively as I can. Scholastic is having a warehouse sale next week about two hours from my home. If anyone who has been to one of their sales could tell me more about it and if it is worth the drive I would love to hear about it. Thank you!
I don't know if Scholastic Canada's warehouse sales are the same as yours, but I have loved the sales I have been to. At the May one you could fill a box for $20. There were lots of 2$ books. At the October warehouse I bought tons of pencils and rulers and knick-knacks. If you really need to fill your classroom with books, then I would suggest you go. If you have enough, and really shouldn't be spending anymore money, then don't go. On that note, call your local education supply stores (if you have any) and check if they are having any back to school sales this summer. I just went to one of our 4 (?) stores yesterday and it was 25% of the whole store.
I went to a Scholastic Warehouse two years ago. I was a little disspointed because they didn't have the box of books for $20. I did get a lot of books but they were not as cheap as I would have liked. I have had my best luck on ebay. Search scholastic book lots. There are many people that are selling brand new books. A few months ago I got 89 books for $50. They will still in the plastic. I'm not saying you shouldn't check out Scholastic Warehouse, but don't forget to check out ebay!
Hello fellow Indiana teacher! I've been to several Scholastic Warehouse sales and they are totally worth it! It isn't too crowded and you'll meet a lot of other teachers and some parents. There are books EVERYWHERE! You'll never feel as if you've exhausted the place! There's a section with huge dumpster-style bins that you can search and you can fill a box for $20 to $30. They also have teacher resource items, computer software, pens and other items that you see at Scholastic book fairs or in the Scholastic book orders. There are so many deals. I've gotten books for small groups for under $10 - for five to six books for a total of $10 or less. And the books aren't poor sellers. Magic Tree House, Ramona, books by Cynthia Rylant, the Harry Potter series, etc. Typically even the hardback books are under $5. Very inexpensive. They take credit cards and purchase orders. It's definitely worth it. Now as far as when to go - who knows. Colleagues and I have went different days and enjoyed the selection. You CAN find something there to stock your library! Heck, it is easy to shop because they even have carts!
Thank you all so much for your advice. I will definately be checking out ebay and the teacher store sales. IndyJo, thanks for your detailed description. I had never heard of the warehouse sales until I was searching this web site. It is nice to hear everyones opinions.
BE CAREFUL!! I am in Saint Louis, and go to the one here at Christmas time and in May. These are always really worth it. Lots of books cheap. Yesterday my daughter and I went to the one here now. It is being billed as a Tent sale, nothing over $5. Yesterday was the first day. It is about a 45 min drive for us, but since it has always been good in the past, no problem. It was awful!! There were 6 large boxes that books were poured into that you could root down in, and maybe 20 cases to pick stuff out of. BUT...what was in the cases was all the same and most of it is what was in the boxes. We left after about 10 minutes and did not buy a thing. There was nothing there that I was interested in. There were a few cartoon books, minimal reading books, but mostly just stuff that had been picked through that no one wanted. They were selling them for $20 for a small box, bigger than a shoe box but much smaller than the normal scholastic box. The other option was $2 a hardcover or $1 a paper back. My advice, before you drive 2 hours call, see what the program is, ask about the selection. If you have particular items that you are looking for ask. However, do put the Christmas and May sales on your calendars. They are well worth it as they open the entire warehouse up and you can get great deals! Sorry to be a bummer but I was very dissapointed yesterday and would have been 10X more so if I would have drove 2 hours for that.
I just went to one in Markham, Ontario. It was 2 warehouses full of inventory. You get a bag for $30 and fill it with as much as you can. I read it in the newspaper. Where in Canada are you?
I have to agree with Loneil115...the December and May sales are great! I also went to a "warehouse" sale they were having this week... 45 minutes away... and it was just a tent! Before I could even get out of the car, we were getting a severe thunderstorm along with drenching rain, so they closed down the tent for the day. I didn't get to see what was inside, but it was such a small set up that there couldn't have been much of a selection. I'm not going to try and go back just for that. However, it is worth it in May and December, when they open up the whole warehouse, it is hard not to spend tons of money there!
I was afraid it was just me or our warehouse! Thanks for the confirmation about the current fair in Connecticut. I agree it is so hard not to spend tons in Dec and May.
I just went to the Scholastic warehouse sale today in my hometown. I would think it's definitely worth the drive. Our warehouse had deals like "fill up a box for $25" and all books under $5.99 were only $1.00. Good Luck!
I think that it is worth it, but make sure you have money! For a classroom library, I would check out garage sales.
Teacherbell, I actually went to a scholastic warehouse sale yesterday which is an hour from my house and im going to another one that is 2 and a half hours from my house (im hoping they have different stuff). This too is my first year and i found it very helpful. I spent about 60 dollars and bought A LOT of books. Granted, i found a lot of books in spanish which i bought for my self, they did have a lot of boxes (not organized at all) and a lot of the same books. However, there was a good selection and the most expensive book there was 5.99. There were books for .93 (1.00 after taxes) and 1.86. You just have to have the patience to look through the boxes. I suggest taking a big teacher bag and finding a box to carry it all. The one i went to did not have the box deals. Also, if you go to the scholastic website and click on the shop cart smart card (or something like that) you can register online and dont have to worry about standing in the registration line once you get there. Hope all this helps!! (ps. if anyone thinks it would be dumb for me to go to two sales please let me know, im not sure if they all carry the same stuff?)
I love the warehouse sales. I've spent way too much money this summer, so I won't allow myself to go anywhere near the sales right now, but the December and January sales are wonderful. Every once in a while, they also have a "blow out" sale where all books are like $1 and $2. Of course, that isn't the whole warehouse, just selected books, but I can't complain! I've spent a lot of money at those sales, and I love them.
You get some excellent sales by going to the warehouse- before you go, perhaps make a list of what you would like to purchase in particular. Shopping there can get really addicting, and though it's mainly all 50% off, it adds up... and fast. There are several quality resources anyone can benefit from, though. I think I have collected every single book by Beverly Cleary over the years. Are the sales going on now, by the way? Maybe the one near me is going on and I don't even realize it. Besides that, I've gotten the majority of my books from Goodwill. The books cost only .50 in some places and maybe around .70 in other places. Some of the books people donate to Goodwill are in incredibly good shape or are brand-new. Which grade do you teach?
Make sure you go on the first day of the sale. I went to one this wed and then dwecided i would go today to another location near my house. BIG MISTAKE! i got there and there was nothing left (I drove 2hours to get there). So go on the very first day and go early!! GOod luck!
If anyone is interested I found information about the sale times and dates at Scholastic's web site. I think I will go to the sale on the first day it opens. Anyone have suggestions for must have books for first grade? Thanks for all of your help!
Just a tip: The Scholastic Warehouse by me employs teachers to work these big sales 2-3 times a year. They pay in books not dollars. Several of my friends have worked and gotten tons of books. Call or e-mail and see if that's the case where you live. It's a cheap and easy way to get books!
I just went to one about two weeks ago. It was about an hour drive. I was a little disappointed with the selection. I did get a few good deals, but I much rather save my expensive gas for the car and use bookcloseouts.com. They have books as low as 15 cents! I got hundreds of dollars worth of books for $25!
Anyone who is interested in finding out if a sale is going on near them can go to the Scholastic website to find out. Here's the link: http://teacher.scholastic.com/fairs/warehouse/ All you do is click on your state and it will tell you when and where the warehouse sales are happening. I happen to live about 15 minutes away from the warehouse in the Cleveland area. I go to the sale two times a year and usually get a lot of great stuff.
I've been to two in Edmonton. We got invitations to them after hosting book sales at our school. I'm not sure if you can find Canadian sales on the website.
Yes, they do. I went at the end of last year to buy books for every kindergarten student as an end-of-the-year gift (200+ kids) and I used a purchase order.
where in edmonton My family lives in edmonton so I am there quite often. Where in Edmonton were the Scholastic warehouse sales?
