Oh How I Hate Back-To-School Shopping At Wal-Mart
I don’t exactly know what happened, but I do know when it
happened. It was sometime between the
years when my older daughter stopped needing crayons for school each year and this
year, when my younger daughter and I shopped for her Kindergarten supplies. I’ll admit, it’s a span of approximately 6
years and a lot can happen in that amount of time. And apparently, the guys at Crayola put the
time to good use.
Even though I despise shopping at Wal-Mart (I’d rather run
through hell with a gas can than endure the horror of empty shelves, endlessly
long lines, self-checker stations that don't work, and the “people of Wal-Mart.” But I digress.), they do have
incredibly low prices on school supplies.
So once a year, I succumb and find myself weaving through the school
supply aisles in an effort to get everything on the school supply list as
quickly and as cheaply as possible. With
the prices being so low, I usually stock up with extras to get through the
year. Fifty cent loose leaf paper? Yes, of course! Ten cent notebooks? I’ll take ten please. Folders for fifteen cents? Hooray!
The list wasn’t that large for my Kindergartener: Paper towels, a couple of folders, a marble
composition book, pair of scissors, washable markers, and an 8 count of Crayola
crayons in classic colors. Not that hard, right? Wrong.
I did find it odd that there weren’t
any pencils on the list. I mean, how is
my kid going to practice writing without a pack of No. 2 pencils and those
smooth pink erasers? But that's another topic.
Most of the items were on the shelves, although Wal-Mart doesn’t
make it easy to find them. Some items
are in the “school supply section” in the front of the store while others are
in the office supply section. And even
more of the items can be found in those middle displays that run along the
other aisles –right where you wouldn’t expect to find them, nor would you be
looking.
But when I got to markers and crayons, the shopping
experience changed from “I might be able to get out of here with my sanity” to “WTH.” As you may know, markers come in many
varieties by many brands, in washable or permanent
and in every color of the rainbow.
Unfortunately, Wal-Mart only has odd colors, odd brands, and odd quantities
left on the shelves. Sorry, but my
school isn’t asking for 48 count packs of neon/fluorescent markers in ultra skinny point –and
I’m pretty sure none of the other schools are either. So, on to crayons we go.
One simple package of 8 count Crayola crayons in the classic
colors. (And not the chubby ones Mom, ‘cause
those are for babies!) That's it. You would think this wasn't a hard order to fill. But you'd be wrong. In classic colors, Wal-Mart only has the huge
64 count (note to Wal-Mart: Teachers don’t want these!!), the 24 count, and the
8 count chubby ones. But you can find
the 8 count packs in the color varieties (neon anyone?) that the teacher’s DON’T
want. Oh, how I hate Wal-Mart.
So before I go trudging from store to store, I go online to
see who does carry the 8 count of Crayola crayons in classic colors. Whoa! Crayola
has more color varieties than ever! Like
Dinosaur Roar, Over The Rainbow, Sports Fan, Pink Princess, Mermaid Shimmer,
Glitterari, Neon Dreams, Pirates Treasure, Metallic Magic, and Born To Rock. And
they all come in 8 count packages. Back
in my day, you had to talk your mom into splurging for the 64 pack to get all the
fancy colors. Another product they carry
is dry erase crayons. I’m not sure how
these even work (the concept —and the need for this product— evades me), but
they have them. And a 150 count telescoping
crayon tower. And Washable Gel
markers. I am amazed.
And yet, I still can’t find anyone that carries a simple 8
count package of Crayola crayons in classic colors.
