Five of the Best... Office Supplies Websites - Office Furniture, Photocopiers and More

Monday, 14 February 2011 08:00

Photocopier News - General News

Internet shopping can be something of a minefield. For the domestic consumer it’s bad enough – there are now so many price comparison websites it’s almost time for a ‘compare the comparison’ or a ‘go compare…. comparisons’ to launch its own memorably irritating TV advertising campaign. But at least there are certain brands out there we all know we can rely on – the likes of Amazon, Rightmove.com, eBookers etc are now the first port of call for many online shoppers tired of frequent disappointments on the high street. But for office equipment, there aren’t so many of those ‘household’ names that have sprung-up in the consumer sector and so those responsible for procuring new products and services on behalf of their companies often find it’s safest to rely on the list of suppliers they’ve inherited from their predecessors or handed by their colleagues. But such an approach can leave organisations ill-equipped and invariably out-of-pocket. So we’ve put together a list of what we consider the top five office supplies websites around today, so that buyers looking for those essentials, be it company stationary, office furniture or printing and photocopying solutions, have a tried-and-tested place to turn.

Office Furniture - www.officesupermarket.co.uk

Short of a few office chairs?  Is your business bucking the economic trends and you now require some extra desk space?  At officesupermarket desks can be bought for as little £50, adjustable office chairs for under £25 and tall office cupboards for under £100. There’s a huge choice of computer desks and workstations, office chairs, storage units and other office furniture and all delivered quickly and at reasonable prices. At officesupermarket, all office furniture comes with a five year guarantee and for those shoppers who require a bit of guidance deciding how to arrange everything, there’s an office planning service as well. We recommend officesupermarket as a great office furniture one-stop-shop.

General Office Supplies - www.officewinner.co.uk

officewinner is still in development but when we heard about this new office supplies website we were pretty astonished by the proposition. Not only does officewinner aim to provide every product that the office buyer could wish for – with everything from telecommunications equipment to tools and audio-visual products – but they’re also unique in that they give cashback on all purchases. No trashy free products with purchases over £30 but cashback on all orders – 5% of everything in your basket. What’s more, if a customer recommends a friend by sending on a special weblink from their account area, the recommending user can earn 5% of the total value of all their friend’s office supplies purchases as well. Best of all, it’s not a scam. We’ve tried it and it works. Despite the basic look of the website as it stands, officewinner is fully functional and the offering, pretty unbeatable. All of the office supplies products you can think of from all the best suppliers, at affordable prices and cashback on all your orders and those of your friends you recommend. Amazing.

Printed Stationary – http://uk.moo.com

Many will have heard about those printed stationary scams. A customer is lured in with the offer of free business cards – they turn out to be poorly printed, flimsy – not much of an advert for a business, then 4 months later the he/she discovers they’re being charged a monthly amount of £10 for some dubious-sounding ‘rewards scheme’ they inadvertently signed-up to – it’s a wonderful feeling. You won’t get many freebies at Moo, you will however find high quality printed stationary that’s actually worth something to your business. From business cards to greetings cards, Moo provide quality branded stationary that can give a business that competitive edge. For organisations without the huge marketing budgets of old, Moo business postcards are a great way to get a message directly to customers either through maildrops, magazine inserts or by simply leaving them in your office waiting room. Moo stationary, we believe, makes a great impression.

Photocopiers – www.canoncopiers.co.uk

canoncopiers are currently undergoing a major revamp but the basic proposition remains the same – great Canon photocopiers and multifunction printers to buy or lease from a company with a very straightforward, customer-focused business model – by selling Canon photocopiers and only Canon photocopiers, canoncopiers can offer very competitive pricing, unbeatable service expertise and the widest choice of photocopiers from a manufacturer renowned for quality and reliability. canoncopiers are also often the first supplier to bring news of new Canon photocopiers to the UK market and are one of Canon’s most trusted accredited business solutions partners. For those organisations not wishing to spend hours choosing between numerous manufacturers, canoncopiers is the ideal port-of-call.

And all the rest…. www.viking-direct.co.uk

It seems like Viking have been around forever. But they are still one of the best places to pick up deals on all those essential items that any office will require. While officewinner is great for office supplies such as toner and consumables and office machinery for example, Viking still have the most complete array of all those little things that most other sites neglect and which businesses cannot do without. For cheap books, pads and forms, pens, envelopes and even postage stamps, Viking is perfect. And with free delivery on orders over £30, when ordering in reasonable quantities, Viking should be considerably cheaper that the local office supplies store.

Online shopping, for most of us, will have been a fairly hit and miss experience. But for the office supplies sector in particular, shopping for supplies online sometimes feels like much more of a stab in the dark than it should be. Falcon hopes this ‘Five of the Best’, will give companies both large and small a solid basis for making some more confident office supplies purchases online.