Their slogan is "That was easy"?

The Staples near our house closed last month. The next-closest Staples closed a few years ago. The Staples that I pass by all the time in Watertown closed recently. The Staples in New Hampshire that we drove past on Sunday had recently closed.

Before the Staples near our house closed, they gave me a coupon for $30 off a $60 online purchase. I also had a Staples gift card to use up, so I went on the Staples web site and found a bunch of things I needed. The site was painfully slow. And when I went to check out, the site told me that my coupon wasn’t valid online.

So I called Staples, but their phone line wasn’t open, because nobody wants to order office supplies off hours. When their customer service line opened a couple of hours later, they confirmed that their coupon saying “not valid in stores” was only valid in the store. They offered to take the order over the phone and override the coupon, but the third item couldn’t be ordered over the phone (only on the web site).

Today I went to a third-closest Staples location, which is still open. Two items I wanted were 30% more expensive in the store than on the Staples website. Out of the five items I bought, two rang up at higher prices than the posted non-sale prices.

<sarcasm>I’m not sure why Staples is closing so many stores.</sarcasm> Personally, I use Uline for shipping supplies and Costco for most office supplies.