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For me, buying supplies for my business is a chore. I have to think about all the things I need to buy and how I want to store them. When I come across supplies I don’t already have, it becomes a battle of what to buy next. I end up buying things that I don’t need, I buy things that I really, really don’t need, like the bathroom scale and the dog leash.
For me, the same problem is true for office supplies. I know that I need a computer with a screen, a printer, and a toner. I also know that I need a few office supplies that will help me get my job done. However, I dont want to have to think about these things, because it takes up time that can be used in other work-related tasks.
This is where the power of buying office supplies comes in. You need to research the type of office supplies that you need, what they will look like on your desk, and their function in your workplace. In most cases, when you need to buy something, chances are you have already seen it before. That means you can be sure that you wont be spending more than a few minutes getting to know the product you’re about to buy.
I remember this one. Back in college I had a friend whose job was to research the new office supplies that everyone had on their desks. He would go to the stores and research and research and research. He never bought anything. I never bought anything. I figured that if he was like mine he was a failure, but looking back at it, I see that he was completely in the right place at the right time.
This is exactly the kind of thing that our source checker does for us. Every time you go to a store and see a product that is out of stock, you have to research it. And in order to do this you have to know what your sources are so you can find what you need. You just dont look for something that you might actually need. You just research and research and research and you get it.
You may be thinking, “how do you know that he was right for our job?” The answer is that you have to be honest with yourself. As a source checker you need to know what you are looking for and you have to know what your sources are. So when you go to a store and see something that you think might be out of stock, you are looking for what you think is most likely going to be out of stock.
You have to be very careful about this in the office supply section. Some people just want to look at the things they can get cheap and are willing to pay what it takes to get their hands on them. They have no qualms about giving you a deal and then not using you. Some people really want you to use the stuff they offer for free. But again, you need to check.
Most of the time when you’re shopping for office supplies at a store like Staples, Office Depot, OfficeMax, or Lowes, you’re buying the stuff to fit your own needs. But when you’re shopping at a big chain store (say, Costco, Walmart, or BJ’s Wholesale), you’re buying the stuff to sell. The reason is obvious: you want to make as much money as possible.
One of the most powerful forces behind all of this high-priced/free stuff is the customer. It’s no surprise that the average Staples customer spends $2,000 a year on supplies. It’s also no surprise that Costco, BJs Wholesale, etc. all have a huge portion of their sales coming from their customers. But what the biggest surprise is that most of these customer spending habits actually make sense when you think about it.
The most common way Staples customers spend money is actually to buy something they need and then pass it on to their friends, family, co-workers, etc. It’s actually a pretty cost-effective way to get people to buy things they actually need.
