I know for some people, sending cards and letters through the mail is a thing of the past. Well, call me old-fashioned, but I love receiving mail in my mailbox, especially when it’s not bills! There’s just something about opening my mailbox and seeing a card, letter or package from a friend or family member that makes me feel loved. It’s not the same with a text or email, although I do appreciate any positive messages in any form.
This post is for those of you who feel like I do and enjoy getting and sending “snail mail” delivered by the good old U.S. Postal Service. I am always on the lookout for inexpensive cards and stationery to send to people. Yes, I know, writing letters is also a thing of the past for many, but I enjoy it.
So here are the top 7 places I have found to buy inexpensive cards and stationery products:
Dollar General:
The name of Dollar General stores confuses many people because they think they are going to get everything in there for $1.00. Well, that’s not the case but they do have great prices and sales on many items and I love shopping here. They have a variety of items including food, toiletries, health and hygiene products, toys, and household products. They have a flyer that comes out each week with sales just like grocery stores and pharmacies. They also give customers digital coupons, have an online website and have fantastic markdown sales after each holiday and at the end of each of the four seasons.
I write a lot of thank-you notes because I am an eBay seller and I like to include a thank you note in every package I send out. That is why I am thrilled to get thank you cards here ( and at Dollar Tree) for $1.00 per package even though the price stamped on the package from the company is often $3.95 or more! This is the same price for invitations and blank note cards.
Dollar General also has individual cards at great prices including a section labeled 2 for $1.00 and $1.00 each. That beats the $2.97 to $3.97 price stamped on the back!
Dollar General offers a weekly flyer, and a coupon on their register receipts to save $5.00 on your purchase of $25.00 or more on certain Saturdays. And you can sign up to get digital coupons to save even more money at Dollar General.
According to the Dollar General website, there are Dollar General Stores in all but 7 of the 50 U.S. states. To find out if there us a Dollar General near you, you can use this store location link:
http://www2.dollargeneral.com/About-Us/pages/storelocator.aspx
Note cards for $1.00 at Dollar General and Dollar Tree!
Dollar Tree:
Dollar Tree is not misleading in its title at all. Everything in a Dollar Tree store is $1.00, and sometimes candy is available at 2 for $1.00. They carry anything from food to kitchen goods to health and beauty, to paper goods and school supplies.
This store again offers deals on cards and stationery. Cards are $1.00 each but there us also a smaller section with cards that are 2 for $1.00. Can’t beat that very easily in this day and age of high prices. Are these cards as good as those Hallmark cards with the $6.99 price card on the back? Um, no, but then again, why would anyone want to spend that much on a greeting card when the recipient may soon throw it away?
Dollar Tree stores also have great prices on pens, pencils, and shipping items like envelopes and padded envelopes to ship those letters in.
According to the Dollar Tree website, there are Dollar Tree stores in 48 U.S. states, and you can also order online. There is a Dollar Tree customer loyalty program called the Dollar Tree Value Club and if you join the Value Club you will get notified of in-store specials, contests and can also write reviews for a chance to win gift cards.
To find the nearest Dollar Tree store near you, or to sign up for the Dollar Tree Value Club, click on the link below:
https://www.dollartree.com/custserv/custserv.jsp?pageName=StoreLocations
Christmas Tree Shops:
I must say that my favorite store in the whole world is the Christmas Tree Shops. When people haven’t heard of this chain store before, they think it only has Christmas items but that’s the wrong assumption. Christmas Tree Shops do carry Christmas items in the Fall and up until Christmas, but they also carry many other items that you won’t find anywhere else. And you never know what you might find there. They have seasonal decorative items for the home and garden throughout the year and are stocked to the gills as Christmas nears, but they also have furniture, home decor, food, games, books, stationery supplies, paper goods, craft supplies, trial sized items, etc. I could go on and on, but I think you get the point. You just never know what you might find at a Christmas Tree Shops store and that’s why I love them so much.
Christmas Tree Shops originally started on Cape Cod in Massachusetts in the 1950s, and every year when my family went there for a vacation, my mom and I loved stopping by at least one or two of their stores. At the time, there were 6 Christmas Tree Shops but they have now branched out to other states in New England, and even farther out in the U.S. I have heard that there is one in Georgia now, but since it is about five hours from me I will have to be in the area to go.
As far as stationery, they have cards that are $1.00 each and sometimes 2 for $1.00. They also have boxed stationery that is really nice to give as gifts. These can run anywhere from $1.99 for small note cards to $6.99 for a box of 5″ by 7″ cards. They even have stationery with female names on them which is fun for kids.
According to the website, there are currently over 70 Christmas Tree Shops in the U.S. If you are the type of person that loves to browse for good deals, you should definitely check out a Christmas Tree Shops store if there’s one near you, or near where you are going in vacation. In fact, their motto is, “Don’t you just love a bargain?” Hey, that’s sort of my motto too. No wonder I love them so much!
To find a Christmas Tree Shops store near you, click the store locator link below:
http://www.christmastreeshops.com/store-locator/landing.do
Ollie’s Bargain Outlet:
This store is a new one for me and one recently opened near me in Georgia so I just had to check it out. Ollie’s Bargain Outlet offers great deals on closeout merchandise and they buy excess inventory from retailers and offer it to customers at bargain prices.
In this store, you can find anything from food to clothing, pet supplies, tools and household goods. They have a fantastic selection of books for children and adults. I love to buy gift books there because the prices are so good. And of course they have stationery and cards. You can get cards for $1.00 each there and nice note cards at a good price.
They have a customer loyalty program. To join, you can get a card and information sheet at the store. Fill out the card with your email address and other standard information. Then when you get home, log onto to website on the card, enter your card number, and you will then receive emails about upcoming events and special discounts throughout the year.
Also, each time you shop at Ollie’s and scan your card, you will earn 1 point for every dollar you spend. When you hit $250 in the amount spent, they will send you a coupon for 10% off your next purchase.
According to their website, the first Ollie’s opened in 1982 in Pennsylvania and there are now 243 Ollie’s Bargain Outlets in 20 states.
To find an Ollie’s Bargain Outlet near you, click the store locator link below:
http://www.ollies.us/locations/
Ocean State Job Lot
Ocean State Job Lot is another one of my favorite stores. Like Ollie’s Bargain Outlet, it is also a closeout store and you never know what you might find there. It again offers closeout deals and carries items from food to cleaners, clothing, health and beauty, books, stationery products and so much more!
Ocean State Job Lot has a customer loyalty program called the Insider Club. Sign up for the club for free at the store with your name, phone number, and email address. You will get over fifty coupons downloaded to your account each week and will be notified of special events and discounts coming up.
Since moving to Georgia from Connecticut three years ago, I haven’t been in an Ocean State Job Lot recently enough to give you a quote on the price of their cards and stationery products, but they are along the lines of some of the other stores mentioned in this post.
There are 127 Ocean State Job Lot stores in the following states: Rhode Island, Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, New York and New Jersey.
To find an Ocean State Job Lot store near you, click on the store locator link below:
http://oceanstatejoblot.com/locate/
Thrift Stores/Goodwill:
Thrift stores and Goodwill stores are an amazing source of all types of items including stationery products such as invitations, Christmas cards, note cards, computer paper with a design on it, etc. Of course, you won’t find these items every time you shop, but each time you go to a thrift store or Goodwill, it is certainly worth checking out the shelves in this area.
You don’t find individual cards here but I often find thank you notes and invitations in unopened packs of 6 to 8 for less than $1.00. And I like to write letters so I find packages of decorated computer paper that I buy and use for handwritten letters to friends and family. I have also found boxes of envelopes and stickers for great prices.
To get the best deals at Goodwill or thrift stores, check to see if they have any bargain days and shop then. Goodwill has a markdown color every day of the week, so whatever is marked with that color tag is 50% off that week, and they also have a Senior Day, Student Day, and Military Members day with a discount. Check with your local store on which days they offer those special discounts because they vary state to state.
There are Goodwill stores all over the United States. To find the nearest Goodwill to you, you can click on this link:
Walmart
I wouldn’t be honest if I didn’t mention Walmart for cards. They are worthy of a mention because they have a 99 cent group of greeting cards and that is a really nice deal. The regular prices on cards and stationery aren’t that great but Walmart has some wonderful discounts on all kinds of items on their clearance shelves, especially after a holiday. The after Christmas sales are 50% to 75% off and I have gotten some very pretty Christmas cards there for great prices then and just save them till the next year.
According to Statista.com there are 4,672 Walmart stores in the U.S. in 2017! You probably already know the closest Walmart to you, but here’s a Walmart “store finder” link for you just in case you are headed somewhere and need to know the closest Walmart in that area:
https://www.walmart.com/store/finder
So there you have it: the seven best stores I know of to find cards and stationery at great prices. Since some of these stores are closeout stores, if you see something you like there, you had better grab it because it won’t be there when you return.
If you have any other suggestions that I have missed for great deals on cards and stationery products, please leave a comment and share the savings with other readers.
