The office and home stationery industry is in collapse, especially in the USA. This has little to do with increasing office automation (which does put exertion on the trade), but more to do with the way that office stationary has been sold in the past.

Today Staples is the largest supplier of home and office stationary in the USA, second only to the international sales and hegemony of Amazon.com. They alone have the ability to raise prices because of their dominance in the market. Unfortunately, this situation has come as a result of the habits of wholesalers, stationers and manufacturers. Businesses and families initially purchased all stationary from stationers who made profits as a result of buying in bulk from manufacturers. However, wholesalers began to sell products at a markedly more expensive price, but with better service. Stationers, in turn, began to drastically undercut the prices offered by wholesalers, making much more sales but at less profit. This left many stationers as well as wholesalers going bankrupt, leaving the majority of sales to the larger wholesalers who managed to stay afloat; such as Staples and Office Depot. We see a similar situation unfolding in South Africa too.

This issue may be curtailed by purchasing directly from manufacturers. Manufacturers are known to charge directly at list price, which is sometimes more expensive for the smaller office and family, but is unmatched in terms of service. Many manufacturers, like Design Packaging & Tapes, are committed to delivering customer satisfaction, and all of our home and office stationary and packaging materials can be delivered to your address. Purchasing directly from office stationary manufacturers is also likely to sustainably support the trade, leading to long-term profits, healthy competition, and low costs for all. The same can be said of the packaging industry where support for the local packaging business will benefit all.

For all your packaging materials and corrugated cardboard office supplies, make sure that you contact Design Packaging & Tapes today!