Industry Trends

Why I Think Bankers Box Sizes Are a Trap for Small Businesses (And What to Do About It)

The Bottom Line Up Front

Buying Bankers Box at Staples is a solid, convenient choice for standard office needs, but you'll pay a 15-25% premium for that convenience compared to bulk office suppliers. For routine, small-to-medium orders where time is more valuable than money, it's a no-brainer. If you're outfitting a new department or have predictable, high-volume needs, you're leaving significant savings on the table.

Here's the breakdown from my cost-tracking spreadsheet: a standard Bankers Box letter/legal file box costs about $4.50-$5.50 at Staples (in-store or online). The same box from a dedicated office supply wholesaler or through a business procurement portal like Office Depot Business or Grainger averages $3.70-$4.20 when buying by the case. That's a 22% difference on a single box. Over our annual order of 200+ boxes, that's real money.

Why You Should Trust This Take

Look, I'm not an industry blogger. I'm the procurement manager for a 150-person professional services firm. I've managed our office supplies and equipment budget—roughly $180,000 annually—for six years. Every invoice, every vendor quote, every "rush fee" gets logged. I've negotiated with two dozen vendors and built our TCO (Total Cost of Ownership) models from the ground up. When I audited our 2023 spending, I found we'd overspent on "convenience purchases" by nearly $8,400. Staples was a major contributor.

This isn't a hit piece. We still buy from Staples. But we're strategic about it.

The Staples Advantage: When Convenience Wins

Let's be fair. Staples earns its premium. For certain situations, paying that extra $1 per box is the most cost-effective decision when you factor in all costs.

Scenario 1: The Urgent, Small-Batch Need

Last Tuesday, our HR department needed 10 storage boxes for archived personnel files—by Thursday. Our quarterly bulk order wasn't due for three weeks. I had two options: place a rush order with our wholesaler (minimum $75 freight charge + a 15% rush fee) or send an admin to Staples.

The math was simple. Wholesaler cost: ~$37 for boxes + $75 freight + $5.55 rush fee = $117.55. Staples cost: ~$55 for boxes + $0 in gas (it's on the commute). Staples saved us over $60. The time saved in processing a special PO and coordinating delivery was just icing.

Scenario 2: The "See It Before You Buy It" Factor

Bankers Box has a wide range. Is a "Literature Sorter" what you actually need, or is a "Magazine Holder" better? The product descriptions online can be vague. I've been burned here.

We needed to organize product catalogs. I ordered 25 "Literature Sorters" from a web-only vendor based on the specs. They arrived, and they were all wrong—too shallow, wrong configuration. The return shipping cost ate 30% of the refund. The third time a similar problem happened, I finally created a rule: first-time purchases of a new Bankers Box product type must be made in-store. The ability to walk into Staples, look at the physical item, and know exactly what you're getting eliminates a huge hidden cost: the cost of being wrong.

The Hidden Cost of "Easy": Where Staples Gets Expensive

Here's where my gut initially disagreed with my data. My instinct was, "It's just boxes, keep it simple." The spreadsheet told a different story.

After tracking two years of orders, I found a pattern. Our "miscellaneous" Staples runs for 5-10 boxes at a time happened monthly. They were always justified individually ("urgent," "just need a few"). But when I summed them up at year-end, we'd bought 160 boxes this way at the premium price. We could have made two planned bulk orders and saved over $300. The convenience was creating a costly habit.

Furthermore, Staples' in-store selection, while good, isn't exhaustive. For specialized items like the Bankers Box Playhouse (a great, if offbeat, team-building or client event item) or specific high-capacity file boxes, you're often forced online anyway. At that point, you're paying the Staples premium without the instant gratification benefit.

The Smart Hybrid Strategy: How We Buy Now

Our current policy is a direct result of this analysis. It's not elegant, but it saves thousands.

1. Annual Bulk Contract: We forecast our standard box needs (the classic 12" x 15" x 10" file storage box) for the year and get a locked-in price from a regional office supplier. This covers 70% of our usage.
2. Staples for Exceptions & Emergencies: We maintain a corporate Staples account for: urgent needs, first-time purchases of a new item type, and purchases under 10 units where freight from the bulk supplier would be prohibitive.
3. The "Dimensions" Check: Before any purchase, we verify the exact dimensions of a Bankers Box model. Not all "file boxes" are the same. A misfit box that doesn't stack or shelve properly is a waste of 100% of its cost. The Staples product page (and in-store label) always has this info.

Important Limitations & When to Look Elsewhere

Honest talk: If your situation falls into one of these categories, the Staples path might be a misstep.

• You're a Non-Profit, School, or Government Entity: You likely have access to cooperative purchasing contracts or specific wholesalers (like GovSpend) with pricing far below any retail channel, including Staples Business. Not using those programs is like refusing a discount.
• Your Primary Need is "Heavy-Duty" or "Plastic": While Bankers Box at Staples is durable cardboard, if you're storing items in a damp basement or moving them constantly, you might need plastic. Staples' own house brand or competitors like Sterilite might offer better value for that use case. I'm not attacking plastic—it's just a different tool.
• You're Ordering 50+ Units of Anything: At this volume, even Staples' own business sales team can often quote a better price than the website or store. But you must ask. And once you're asking for quotes, you're in the territory where dedicated industrial packaging suppliers will compete aggressively.

A Quick Note on Stamps, Envelopes, and Foam Board

Since the keywords brought it up: yes, Staples sells stamps, envelopes, and foam board for signs. And yes, the same principle applies.

How many stamps do I need for an envelope? As of January 2025, according to USPS (usps.com), a standard 1oz letter is $0.73. A large envelope (flat) starts at $1.50. They have a postage calculator online—use it. Don't guess. We overpaid on postage for months because someone was "pretty sure" it was two stamps.

Foam board for signs? Staples is competitively priced for single sheets. For a webinar flyer or a few event signs, it's perfect. Need 50 identical signs for a trade show? Go straight to a wholesale sign or print shop. The per-unit cost will be half.

Simple.

Ultimately, buying Bankers Box—or anything—at Staples is a question of what you're optimizing for. Speed and simplicity? It's a great solution. Pure cost control? You have homework to do. For us, the hybrid model works. It accepts that sometimes, the "premium" is the cheapest option when you count all the costs, especially your time.