Office Depot Business FAQ: 6 Questions Answered by Someone Who's Made Every Mistake

I've been handling office supply and vendor orders for my company for six years. In that time, I've made fourteen documented mistakes totaling roughly $12,000 in wasted budget. I keep a checklist so I don't repeat them—and so our team doesn't have to. These are the six questions I get asked most by other business owners, answered with what my mistakes taught me.

1. Is Office Depot going out of business? I keep seeing "going out of business sale" posts.

No. Office Depot is not going out of business. The company has closed some underperforming store locations over the past few years—around two dozen stores were shut down in 2023 alone—but it still operates hundreds of stores plus a full e-commerce site.

So where do the "going out of business sale" posts come from? Mostly third-party sellers using a popular phrase to get clicks, or old news about one specific store closure resurfacing. A store closing in one city is not the same as the company liquidating. Real liquidation sales are announced by the company itself, not by random sellers on marketplaces. If you're unsure, check Office Depot's official newsroom or investor relations page first.

I know because I made this mistake. In early 2023, I saw the chatter, panicked, and moved a chunk of our purchasing to another vendor. The new vendor's pricing on staples ran about 8% higher, and we lost our Office Depot business account perks in the process. It took a year to switch back. (Note to self: verify before you act.)

2. Is an Office Depot business cards coupon actually worth using?

Look, I'm not saying coupons are bad. I'm saying the coupon isn't the whole story.

My worst example: in 2022, I used a 25% off business cards coupon and uploaded a logo that was—I checked later—about 96 DPI. I skipped the proof because I was in a hurry. The cards arrived and the logo looked like a blurry potato. Reprint cost: $210 at full price, plus a week of handing out those cards at a trade show. The coupon saved me maybe $35. Net loss: $175 plus the embarrassment.

Now I follow the industry standards:

• Images need to be at least 300 DPI at final size. That's the commercial print standard. A logo pulled from a website is usually 72–150 DPI, which won't cut it.
• US standard business cards are 3.5 × 2 inches. Most online printers default to this, but confirm before approving.
• Cardstock weight: 80 lb cover (216 gsm) is the entry point. 100 lb cover (270 gsm) feels noticeably more premium.

Online printing services work well for standard products—business cards, brochures, flyers—in quantities from 25 up to 25,000. If you need custom die-cut shapes, quantities under 25, or same-day in-hand delivery, a local print shop is usually the better call.

So the coupon is fine. Just add the reprint risk into your real cost. And order a physical proof. Every time.

3. How long will mail take from zip code to zip code?

There's a USPS calculator for exactly this question. Enter the origin zip, the destination zip, and it estimates the delivery window based on mail class. It's not a guarantee, but it beats guessing.

My mistake: I sent a signed contract via First-Class and assumed two days because the distance was only about 300 miles. It took four—or rather, five when you count that the mailing day was a federal holiday I hadn't thought about. The contract landed two days after our client expected it, which, honestly, was mostly embarrassment but still a very awkward phone call.

I've also pulled the classic move of saving $6 by choosing First-Class over Priority Mail on a time-sensitive package, then spending $60 on an overnight courier to fix the delay. Penny-wise, pound-foolish. Now anything that matters goes out with tracking, and I check the calculator first.

4. How do I connect an HP Deskjet printer to WiFi?

This looks like a five-minute job and can eat an hour if you miss one step. I've done it enough times to have a checklist:

1. Turn the printer on and position it within range of your router.
2. On the printer display, open Network or Wireless Settings and run the Wireless Setup Wizard. Pick your network name and enter the WiFi password. (On many Deskjet models, holding the Cancel and Start Copy buttons for three seconds toggles WiFi on/off if the menu isn't where you expect it.)
3. Install the HP Smart app on your phone or computer, and it should find the printer on the same network.

The mistake I kept making: my phone was on the 5 GHz band while the printer joined the 2.4 GHz band. If your router broadcasts them as separate network names—or has client isolation enabled—the app won't find the printer. The fix is to make sure both devices are on the exact same network name.

Oh, and print the network configuration page after setup. It shows the IP address and connection status, which saves you from a second troubleshooting round when something seems off later.

5. What is a snow day calculator, and does my business actually need one?

A snow day calculator estimates the probability that a school district—or a whole region—will close for weather, based on temperature, snowfall rate, wind chill, and ice risk. These tools are popular in the Northeast and Midwest, mainly for parents who need to know if school is happening before they plan their own day.

Does a business need one? If your employees have kids, or your work depends on everyone getting to the office, yes. A heads-up the night before lets you set up remote work in advance instead of scrambling at 6 AM. The calculation isn't magic—it's historical data applied to current forecasts. But that's exactly why it's useful: it replaces "feels like a snow day" with a number you can plan around.

I learned this in February 2021. A storm hit, six of my eleven staff couldn't make it in, and nobody had remote access set up. I burned most of the day coordinating by phone—roughly two days of lost productivity overall. A five-minute check the night before would've prevented most of it.

6. Should I consolidate all my purchasing on an Office Depot business account?

Probably, but not automatically. Let me explain what changed my mind—and what didn't.

When I first started managing office purchases, I assumed the lowest quote on every item was the right call. I spread orders across five suppliers. That meant five invoices, five shipping fees, five portals, and about four hours a month of reconciliation. At any reasonable value for your time, that overhead eats whatever the "cheap" line items saved.

The formula I use now: Price + shipping + setup fees + time to manage it + risk of a bad order = the real cost. That's total cost of ownership.

Consolidating the bulk of our orders at Office Depot made sense because of one practical shift: instead of five vendor relationships, I have one account manager, one portal, business perks I actually use, and free shipping once we hit the threshold. Our spend dropped by around 15%—maybe 18%, I'd have to pull the spreadsheets—even though some individual items cost more than what the cheapest vendor charged.

That said, I keep a short list of specialists for specialized work: custom branded merchandise, unusual marketing materials, anything with a non-standard specification. General supplies at a general supplier; specialized work at specialists. It took me about three years and 200-odd orders to find that balance.