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Best Back-to-School Deals on Amazon: Shop Notebooks, Backpacks, Calculators and More [CNET]
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Desiree DeNunzio is the gift guide editor for CNET’s Commerce team. When she’s not writing and editing, she’s either hiking through the redwoods or curled up with a good book and a lazy dog.
Expertise Desiree has been a writer and editor for the past two decades, covering everything from top-selling Amazon deals to apparel, pets and home goods. Credentials
- Desiree’s previous work has appeared in various print and online publications including Search Engine Land, PCWorld, Wired magazine and PBS MediaShift.
Summer is speeding by quickly, and school will be starting up before you know it. And that means it’s time to start thinking about back-to-school supplies. If you want to avoid the chaos of busy stores and empty shelves, you can find plenty of back-to-school savings on Amazon. We’ve found discounts on laptops, notebooks, backpacks, water bottles, dorm essentials and everything in between, and we’ve compiled them all right here.
Don’t forget that it helps to have a Prime membership to take advantage of many of these deals. If you’re not a Prime subscriber, it’s worth it to sign up for Amazon’s free 30-day trial. And college students can sign up for Prime Student, which lets them use Prime at half the cost after a free six-month trial.
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Make note-taking and doodling a breeze with these gel pens from Paper Mate. This 8-pack offers a variety of colors to suit your needs, and the ink goes on cleanly and dries quickly, for those who are worried about smudges.
Back-to-school supplies deals
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If your student will be in middle school, high school or college, chances are they’ll need a scientific calculator. But if you’ve ever shopped for a scientific calculator, you know how expensive they can be. This Texas Instruments model is reasonably priced and does the job. It’s easy to use and a great size that fits nicely in your hand.
- Crayola colored pencils (36-pack): $6 (save $4)
- Sharpie permanent markers, 12 pack: $7 (save $14)
- Bostitch compact electric pencil sharpener: $13 (save $11)
- Elmer’s Disappearing Purple School Glue Sticks, 12 pack: $4 (save $9)
- Five Star spiral notebook, 3-subject, college ruled paper: $5 (save $5)
- Five Star spiral notebook, 5-subject, college ruled paper: $7 (save $5)
- Easthill high-capacity pencil case: $10 (save $6)
- Post-It sticky note pads, 24 pack: $20 (save $22)
- Paper Mate Pink Pearl erasers (12-pack): $6 (save $7)
- Expo Dry Erase Markers, 8 pack: $6 (save $14)
- Sharpie Highlighters, assorted colors, 12 pack: $19 (save $13)
Back-to-school tech deals
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Battery Life/Runtime 1,039 minutesWeight 2.7 poundsDisplay size/type 13.6-inch 2560 x 1664 Liquid RetinaProcessor tested Apple M2 8‑coreGraphics tested Apple M2 8‑core
A full laptop is a splurge, but if you’re looking for the best bang for your buck — and to get something with more computing power and longevity than a Chromebook — the M2 MacBook Air is tough to beat at this price. Back at its lowest price ever, this is a whopping $200 less than you’d pay at the Apple Store (though the education discount there and Apple’s back-to-school gift card might even that out a bit). Yes, this is a 2022 model, but even this second-gen Apple chip is a bump up from M1-powered models.
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The AirPods 3rd Generation have new drivers and mesh covering their microphones to reduce wind noise.
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Most students carry around a phone these days, which means they’ll need a decent set of noise-canceling earbuds, too. While the third-gen AirPods aren’t quite as feature-rich as the AirPods Pro 2, they’re down to just $120 on Amazon right now, or $49 less than the list price.
- Soundpeats Air3 Deluxe HS earbuds: $38 (save $22 with on-page coupon)
- Anker 622 MagGo portable charger: $36 (save $14 with on-page coupon)
- Apple Pencil (2nd-gen): $80 (save $49)
- Acer Chromebook Spin 513 2-in-1 laptop: $243 (save $27)
- Hatch Restore 2 sunrise alarm clock and sound machine: $170 (save $30)
Backpacks, lunch boxes and water bottles
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This classic backpack is durable, comfortable, and has enough space to fit plenty of supplies without becoming too unwieldy. A nice-to-have feature is the padded laptop compartment, since a lot of students now need to bring Chromebooks or tablets to school. Plus, there’s a handy USB port with a built-in charging cable so students can charge their devices on the go.
- Under Armour Loudon backpack: $26 (save $9)
- JanSport Cross Town backpack: $28 (save $8)
- Amazon Exclusive Kids Backpack: $20 (save $5)
- Bentgo Kids lunch bag, multiple patterns: $25 (save $15)
- Bentgo Kids Bento-Style 5-compartment lunch box: $26 (save $14)
- Hydro Flask insulated lunch box: $38 (save $7)
- Contigo Aubrey 20 oz. Kids water bottle with spill-proof lid, 2 pack: $25 (save $3)
- Hydro Flask 32 oz. wide mouth bottle: $40 (save $5)
- Stanley Quick Flip Go 24 oz. water bottle: $21 (save $4)
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