The Notebook Rant

[WARNING: Rant ahead!  Proceed at your own risk!]

As many of you know, there are some things in life that I am very particular about.  One such thing is my school supplies - folders, notebooks, and pencils.  I still have enough of the world's best pencil, and I found basic folders that are suitable at Wal-Mart back in early August.

While purchasing my folders, I was also looking for my spiral notebooks for the year.  I have a few basic specs that make up the ideal spiral notebook:

1. College-ruled - wide ruled is way too huge and drives me crazy
   
2. Single subject - I'm only working on one subject at a time
3. Color - must be a plain color and coordinate with the folders; colors are in some way are associated in my mind with a particular class
4. Cheap - I refuse to pay upwards of $2 for a single spiral

Doesn't sound too difficult, right?  I've been using those same criteria since high school, and I've never had any trouble finding them... until this year.


Wal-Mart put out their school supplies in mid-July, so in early August when I was there I searched for spiral notebooks.  Wal-Mart does not carry single subject, plain, college-ruled spiral notebooks!  None.  Period.  Zip.  Not in the school supplies section, and not in the office supplies section.  I purchase them there last year, but apparently they are no more.

A few weeks go by, and a week or so ago Bill and I went to Staples so I could get spirals.  Wouldn't you think that a true office supply store would have them?  Nope!

We thought we found some, but they were only sold in packs of 6 - one each of 6 different colors.  I need 4 particular colors, but I was happy to find some that fit my criteria that we bought them.  It was $1.98 for 6 notebooks (remember that).

Tonight I go to unpack them and gather all my school supplies together, and luckily before I opened the package's shrink wrap, I saw that they were wide ruled!  Yikes, I have no idea how that slipped by us.  So I went to Staples and returned them, and set out in the store to find something similar but college-ruled.  Would you think they'd have them?  Nope!  They sell my ideal notebook in packs of 3, but naturally the colors in a 3-pack don't line up with the 4 colors I need... not to mention that they're $5.49 for a 3-pack!

OK, let's think about this... $1.98 for 6 wide-ruled notebooks (roughly $0.33 each), or $5.49 for 3 college-ruled ones (roughly $1.83 each)... huh??  I'm quite confused by that, but I double- and triple-checked those prices and they're correct!  I asked a store associate for help, and all he could point out to me is their $1.99 each spirals that have fancy plastic covers, and are 0.5" longer and wider than standard ones (only wide-ruled ones come in the normal size).  I said thanks but no thanks, and bit the bullet to purchase the expensive 3-pack.

While on that side of town, I thought I'd try Meijer.  In their school supplies section they had a whopping total of 4 college ruled spiral notebooks... and yes I looked through them all.  I grabbed them and went back to the office section, and nearly heard the Hallelujah Chorus - a whole stack of college ruled, single subject, plain-colored spiral notebooks, in the 4 colors I'm looking for!  And the best part?  They were marked $0.97 each, but rang up at $0.50!  I pinched myself, and I'm not dreaming! :) They do have the Meijer logo on the front which I'm really not fond of (whatever happened to good ol' Mead??) but it'll do.

I did not go back to Staples tonight to return the expensive notebooks, but believe me I will.  This whole process is very annoying to me why stores can't carry one of the world's most basic school supplies, and for a decent price!


But it made me feel better that on my way home I got a free chocolate chip cookie from Quizno's... they sent me a coupon for my birthday and I used it. :-)