Properly equipping your little ones at each start of the school year is expensive.

Between the purchase of equipment, sporting goods and stationery, it is necessary to pay more than 200 € for a child entering 6th grade according to the association Families of France.


But if the back-to-school allowance (ARS) gives a serious boost (3 million beneficiary families), it is not everything.

Fortunately, many good plans make it possible to limit the bill...

1 - We reuse our things

The first reflex to save supplies is of course to make a rigorous inventory of the stocks accumulated over the previous years to reuse as much material as possible.

At the top of the list, everything that is glues and erasers generally has a very long lifespan.

And if you had the good idea to invest in refillable pens, they too can be kept for years.

Similarly, if you can't reuse overused notebooks for new lessons, they will be perfect as a draft, which will mean as much less paper to buy.

2 - We target the right brands

After making a precise list of supply needs, the most patient parents will engage in a regular price comparison in department stores near them.

From one sign to another, we can indeed see a few cents of difference on a multitude of products, which quickly raises or lowers the bill.

In 2021, the standard stationery basket made up by Families of France thus cost an average of €47.32 in hypermarkets, compared to €51.71 in supermarkets and €58.81 in specialist stores.

3 - Take advantage of trade-in offers

Many stores offer trade-in offers over the summer for old school bags in good condition.

The amounts generally revolve around ten euros granted in the form of vouchers valid in the stationery and supplies departments.

This has long been the case at Géant Casino, Auchan, the U, Cora and E. Leclerc stores.


On the side of Bureau Vallée, the offer is 8 € in voucher valid on the whole store or 4 € in cash, from June to September for satchels and bags.

The specialized brand also buys back certain scientific or graphic calculators in working order for up to €25.

Be careful, however, to check whether a minimum purchase is not imposed to use the coupons.

4 - We hunt for promotions

With the start of the new school year approaching, supermarkets often offer vouchers in the departments dedicated to school supplies.

This can be, for example, €10 offered on your next shopping for €30 spent for your children's return to school, or even €20 from €50 of purchases.


Another good plan: the prizes, generally less expensive, which are a godsend for families with several children in school.

Clearance stores, such as Maxplus, Stokomani, Action or even Noz, are ideal here since they offer many lots of school supplies at advantageous prices.

5 - We buy online

Some e-commerce platforms specialize in school supplies and stationery and offer attractive prices.

The most well-known are in particular “rendreediscount” and “marentreescolaire” which offer a wide choice of equipment.

Let's also mention the scoleo online store, which works in partnership with many schools in order to organize group purchases of supplies at reduced prices, scholarships for books or even scholarships for second-hand business.

6 - We rely on mutual aid

In some departments, parent-teacher federations place group orders for “supply kits” at negotiated prices.

Find out more from the associations in your department or your child's establishment.


More broadly, many platforms now make it possible to obtain second-hand equipment in very good condition, even new.

Our file “BACK TO SCHOOL 2022”

Examples are donation and exchange sites such as geev or second-hand purchase and sale sites such as rakuten, leboncoin or geetbox (specialized in second-hand school books).


Finally, associations such as La Croix Rouge, Emmaüs or Initiative Précarité organize collections to help the families most in difficulty to equip their children for the start of the school year.

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