Why You Can Trust CNET Best Back-to-School Deals on Amazon: Shop Laptops, Notebooks, Backpacks and More
Score incredible savings on everything you need to set your student up for success this year.
- Desiree's previous work has appeared in various print and online publications including Search Engine Land, PCWorld, Wired magazine and PBS MediaShift.
Summer is almost over, and some schools are already starting. If you haven't purchased all your back-to-school supplies, it's time to get cracking. The good news is if you want to avoid the chaos of busy stores and empty shelves, you can find plenty of back-to-school savings on Amazon. We've found discounts on laptops, notebooks, backpacks, water bottles, dorm essentials and everything in between, and we've compiled them all right here.
Don't forget that it helps to have a Prime membership to take advantage of many of these deals. If you're not a Prime subscriber, it's worth it to sign up for Amazon's free 30-day trial. And college students can sign up for Prime Student, which lets them use Prime at half the cost after a free six-month trial.
Back-to-school supplies deals
Sharpies always come in handy for school, whether you need to label items like notebooks and water bottles or use them for art project and posters. This pack of 12 offers a variety of colors, perfect for your labeling and art needs.
If your student will be in middle school, high school or college, chances are they'll need a scientific calculator. But if you've ever shopped for a scientific calculator, you know how expensive they can be. This Texas Instruments model is reasonably priced and does the job. It's easy to use and a great size that fits nicely in your hand.
- Crayola colored pencils (36-pack): $6 (save $4)
- Sharpie permanent markers, black, 5 pack: $4 (save $7)
- Bostitch compact electric pencil sharpener: $17 (save $7)
- Elmer's Disappearing Purple School Glue Sticks, 12 pack: $4 (save $9)
- Five Star spiral notebook, 3-subject, college ruled paper: $5 (save $5)
- Five Star spiral notebook, 5-subject, college ruled paper: $7 (save $5)
- Easthill high-capacity pencil case: $14 (save $2)
- Post-It sticky note pads, 24 pack: $20 (save $22)
- Paper Mate Pink Pearl erasers (12-pack): $7 (save $6)
- Expo Dry Erase Markers, 8 pack: $6 (save $14)
- Sharpie S-Note Creative Pastel Highlighters, assorted colors, 24 pack: $17 (save $21)
- Amazon Basics Woodcased No. 2 pencils, pre-sharpened, 150 pack: $12 (save $5)
- Ticonderoga pre-sharpened pencils, 30 pack: $6 (save $4)
Back-to-school tech deals
A full laptop is a splurge, but if you're looking for the best bang for your buck -- and to get something with more computing power and longevity than a Chromebook -- the M2 MacBook Air is tough to beat at this price. Back at its lowest price ever, this is a whopping $200 less than you'd pay at the Apple Store (though the education discount there and Apple's back-to-school gift card might even that out a bit). Yes, this is a 2022 model, but even this second-gen Apple chip is a bump up from M1-powered models.
We ranked Apple's newest MacBook Air the best laptop overall in its class, and right now, you can get $249 the 13-inch model. That's not the lowest price we've seen, but it's pretty darn close, so you'll want to act fast before Amazon bumps the price back up on a laptop that delivers all the benefits of the M2 MacBook Air but with the faster performance of the M3 chip.
Most students carry around a phone these days, which means they'll need a decent set of noise-canceling earbuds, too. While the third-gen AirPods aren't quite as feature-rich as the AirPods Pro 2, they're down to just $120 on Amazon right now, or $49 less than the list price.
- Soundpeats Air3 Deluxe HS earbuds: $38 (save $22 with on-page coupon)
- Sony WH-1000XM4 headphones: $198 (save $150)
- M3 MacBook Air 15-inch: $1,050 (save $249)
- Samsung Galaxy Chromebook 2: $299 (save $250)
- Anker 622 MagGo portable charger: $35 (save $15)
- Apple Pencil (2nd-gen): $100 (save $29)
- Hatch Restore 2 sunrise alarm clock and sound machine: $170 (save $30)
- Apple iPad 9th-Gen: $224 (save $105)
- Apple iPad Mini 6th gen: $380 (save $120)
Backpacks, lunch boxes and water bottles
This classic backpack is durable, comfortable, and has enough space to fit plenty of supplies without becoming too unwieldy. A nice-to-have feature is the padded laptop compartment, since a lot of students now need to bring Chromebooks or tablets to school. Plus, there's a handy USB port with a built-in charging cable so students can charge their devices on the go.
- Under Armour Loudon backpack: $26 (save $9)
- JanSport Cross Town backpack: $25 (save $11)
- Amazon Exclusive Kids Backpack: $20 (save $5)
- Bentgo Kids lunch bag, multiple patterns: $23 (save $17 with on-page coupon)
- Bentgo Kids Bento-Style 5-compartment lunch box: $26 (save $14 with on-page coupon)
- Hydro Flask insulated lunch box: $22 (save $23)
- S'well 17 oz. Supernova water bottle: $23 (save $12)
- Hydro Flask 32 oz. wide mouth bottle: $40 (save $5)
