Back to School Shopping Guide 2026: Best Cheap Supplies Under $5
Back-to-school season hits hard. The average family spends over $900 stocking up for a new school year — and a huge chunk of that is pure markup. The same composition notebook, colored pencils, and highlighters that cost $15 at a big-box store? FairCart has them for under $5 each. No Prime membership. No inflated retail prices. Just what your kid actually needs, at prices that make sense.
Composition Notebooks Under $5
The composition notebook is a back-to-school staple for a reason — 100 wide-ruled pages, a durable marbled cover, and a format that works for every subject from math to English. At $2.49 each on FairCart, you can grab one per class without breaking a sweat. Teachers love them. Students use them. And at that price, losing one isn't a crisis.
Shop composition notebooks at FairCartCrayola Colored Pencils for Less
Crayola has been the gold standard in colored pencils for decades — smooth, pre-sharpened, and true to color. A 12-pack runs just $3.99 on FairCart. That's the same Crayola your kid's teacher will ask for on the supply list, at a fraction of what you'd pay at a retail store. Perfect for art class, note color-coding, and every project in between.
Shop colored pencils at FairCartHighlighters, Glue Sticks & More
Round out the supply list without the sticker shock. A 5-pack of highlighters (yellow, pink, blue, green, orange — chisel tip, smear-resistant) is $2.99. Elmer's glue sticks in a 3-pack — washable, non-toxic, dries clear — are just $1.99. Mechanical pencils, pencil pouches, and more are all in stock and all under $5. One stop, full kit.
Shop highlighters & glue sticks at FairCartHow FairCart Beats Amazon on School Supplies
Here's the thing: Amazon carries the exact same Crayola, Elmer's, and generic composition notebooks. But to get anything resembling a good price, you need a Prime membership ($139/year), you have to sort through dozens of third-party listings with wildly inconsistent shipping times, and the prices still aren't that low.
FairCart is different. Same brands. Lower prices. No membership required. Every school supply on FairCart is under $5 — no sorting, no subscriptions, no surprises at checkout. It's how back-to-school shopping should work.
Build Your Complete Back to School Kit
Composition notebooks · Crayola colored pencils · Highlighters · Glue sticks · Mechanical pencils · Pencil pouches
Everything your student needs for under $25 total. In stock. Ships fast.
Shop all school supplies →Back-to-school doesn't have to be a budget blowout. With FairCart, you can stock your student with everything on the supply list — real name-brand items, not knockoffs — for under $25 total. No membership. No markup. Just school supplies that won't drain your wallet.
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