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Two months into 2011 many of us in offices and small business are being extra careful this year in our newly revised annual budgets. When it comes to spending money on office essentials most people work hard to keep within their monthly or annual expenditure allowance for the office consumables.

But not all it appears as a damning report into the office spending habits of Australian MPs in late 2009 has recently emerged confirming that our politicians aren’t the ones guilty of overspending taxpayers money.

And with our countrys upcoming election in the news and general consciousness, this story from down under is worthy of mention, if only as a shining example of the importance of every department and business imposing a budget for office essentials. It appears that in a 3 week period in late September 2009, in an event now dubbed “toner-gate” by the local media in Australia, many Liberal MPs, from all parties spent a huge amount of taxpayers money on office ink consumables (just ink and toner (priced between $27 and $350 each at a discount)), in preparation for the summer election. In total in just 3 weeks many Australian MPs managed to spend a combined amount of almost $300,000 on office ink toner with one MP in particular having spent a whopping $25,414.96 on toner cartridges alone.

This overblown spending spree came a month before the Labour led government was to impose a budgetary cap of $26,178 on the then limitless government budget for office consumables, in October 2009 in order to prevent/stop unnecessary overspending in local government offices. The 3 weeks spending frenzy appears to have been a case of spend as much as you can while you still can.

What is most noteworthy about this is that this combined cost came despite a “discount” on toners for government offices.  Only in the strange world of politics could this happen. And in election time in Ireland with our country overloaded with numerous election posters and many a promise of change, it makes you wonder what our own TDs budget on their office consumables is set at.

Whatever the case may be, at least back in the real world, we can be guaranteed that most businesses and people who work in an office do respect and keep to their office budgets. No matter how hard it can be at times.

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At the moment Abbey office supplies have a number of interesting deals for the Nobo, Acco and Rexel branded office supply goods. These offers are to be found in their new online catalogue dedicated to products from the ACCO brand. These special offers work thus: if ones spends a certain amount of money on products from the aforementioned brands in one go, one receives a free gift which is determined by the amount spent.  Basically if you spend big, you win big!

These deals work as follows.

• Spend 1000 euro and receive a DLP Projecter estimated at 531 euros for free.
• Spend 750 euro and receive a Mercury Shredded which is priced at 499 euros for free.
• Spend 500 euro and a GBC Quickstart Laminator worth 247 euros is free.
• Spend 250 euros and a Style Shredder worth 96 euro comes free.
• Finally spend just 100 euros and you still get a laptop bag worth 26 euros for free.

So for those of you who intend to spend a good deal on office supplies, need to buy a large amount of products in bulk or were intending to blow your cash on expensive but essential office items now may be a good time to check out the catalogue and the offer details in full. At the very least you could save yourself the price of a decent laptop bag or a projector that you couldn’t justify buying solely. Sometimes it pays to buy in bulk.

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With all the research on the delivery services and advice post i was writing previously I completely forgot to mention one main iota of news from the office webscene as you can call it from over 2 months ago, that of one of my favourite office suppliers  File Ones special summer offer. So late this piece of news may be, but relevant it still is.

All through this summer  until the end of August (31st August 2010 to be exact) in celebration of the launch of their new online store  a few months ago, Fileone are offering all new online customers  a discount of 10% off their online purchases when they open an online customer account with them  in their new online store. That I reckon and the many offers they have at the moment is good enough to at least look through and find a bargain while taking advantage of the 10% discount still on offer.

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Now that the main points on delivery service was completed last week we thought it would be worthwhile to add a few more points on what to expect when it comes to heavier bulkier items. Depending on the company you bought from in general, when it comes to buying bulky items from an office supply store expect to wait between 2-5 working days for delivery.

With regards to cost, most bulkier items especially safes, filing cabinets and office furniture may need two people to deliver and lift them to destination thus incurring an extra service delivery cost. With office furniture be aware that it comes delivered flat-packed and requires self assembly. Another point to note when ordering bulky items is to inform and discuss with your supplier their stance on delivering bulky items to different floors of a building. As a general rule most suppliers will only deliver to the door on the main floor and won’t carry the items upstairs or any further.  However the office supplier will contact you upon ordering to outline the delivery details beforehand so include all information especially on the exact location of your office. By discussing these matters with the supplier and knowing their exact delivery terms and conditions in advance you can avoid any misunderstandings along the way.

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This week we thought it might be helpful to take a look at the main delivery points to note when it comes to ordering general stationary office supplies from the main online office suppliers. Why, you may ask, is knowledge about delivery services of office suppliers important?

Well in the past you may have ordered a bargain online but have lost all the profit or worse spent more on delivery charges. Or miscalculated when the delivery arrives and missed the deliveryman and your order. By being aware of the delivery times and hidden charges you can (A) determine the delivery dates and arrange for someone to be around to sign for the delivery on the day it arrives and (B) manage your orders to the point where you can organize in bulk deliveries that are free of charge,

Being aware of what to expect with calculating delivery times, extra costs etc. when it comes to delivery services with different office suppliers can be a good thing to know, so with that in mind we have looked at different websites and gathered some information important delivery notes when it comes to general stationary supplies.

Standard delivery charges – for items priced below the stated free delivery rates (75 euro or 60 in some cases (see below)), different office suppliers charge different rates: Viking direct – €5.00, Abbey Office Supplies – €8.99, File one Office Supplies – €7.50, Officespot – fixed rate of €6.50 applies. All of these charges exclude VAT.

Free Delivery services – Most office suppliers offer free delivery services if your orders cost over a certain amount which varies from supplier to supplier. For instance Viking Direct, Abbey Office Supplies, File one Office Supplies, Kellyofficesupplies  all offer free delivery for items over 75 euros while Officespot offers free delivery for items over 60 euros.

Delivery Times – Most office suppliers will deliver the items within working times between 9-5pm or in some cases before 5:30pm.

Delivery days – Delivery times vary with Vikingdirect – for the Dublin 1-24 and 6W areas items are usually delivered on the same day as ordered – for areas outside these region they promise next day delivery service, File one – state 1-2 working days with 99% delivered next day if ordered before 4pm, Abbey Office Supplies – 1-2 working days if ordered before 5pm, Kellyofficesupplies – next day delivery, Officespot.ie – dispatched within 24hours but allow for 2-3 working days, Huntoffice – 1-2 working days)

Ordering times to note – Another thing to note when it comes to ordering is the time at which you place your order. In general if one wants the item to be delivered on the following day then ordering before 4pm is a safe enough bet anything after that and the order will be sent the following day as with most posted items. These exact cutoff times vary but the following have been gleaned from the main company websites. Image Office Supplies before 4:30 pm, Hunt Office Supplies before 4:30pm, File one Office Supplies – before 4pm, Abbey Office Supplies before 5pm.

Delivery times for out of stock items – These obviously will vary as these depend on outside forces not within the suppliers control but the following companies have stated their policies. File one Office Supplies helpfully state on their website that they will email a delivery date confirmation – Abbey office supplies also have a policy of contacting customers about out of stock items and their renewed delivery dates, while Hunt Office Supplies have a 25 to 30 Working Days delivery timeline.

Remote Islands– an extra delivery charge may relate.

Other points for customer to be aware of.

There are a few things that one can do to make the delivery process simple and hassle free ,such as (A) being at the stated address at time of delivery or making sure someone is around to sign for it and (B) stating ones’ address clearly on the orderform i.e. when writing address it is important to note every exact detail including the floor in your office so the deliveryman can hand it to you personally to sign off. They two little realised actions can help the delivery to run smoothly.

This  information above only refers to general office supplies,  in later posts we hope to give more information on the conditions for delivery of larger office items such as safes, desk, filing cabinets etc .

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Viking copier Paper

All-purpose white copy paper for less money.

•   QUALITY. Standard paper for everyday use.
•   COMPATIBILITY. A multifunctional paper for all your standard office needs.

€2.29 per ream

http://www.vikingdirect.ie/catalog/catalogSku.do?id=9537&pr=Q81

source: www.vikingdirect.ie

Last week’s Special Offer on Filing Cabinets

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Price: €69.95

2 / 3 / 4 Drawer Filing Cabinets

Sirius Multi Drawer Filing Cabinets Pearl Grey

Sirius Metal Filing Cabinet. Flush front cabinet which features anti-tilt mechanism 100% drawer extension providing full access at all times smooth roller ball runners and fully lockable. 4-Drawer Cabinet. Colour – Grey. More info on our Sirius Filing Cabinets

source: http://www.fileone.ie

(this week long offer ends may2010)

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Alarmingly the recent earthquake in Chile and a  damaging Finnish port strike may propel pulp prices to a record high price , leading to all kinds of problems for paper manufacturers.

The price of European benchmark pulp rose to €657 a ton this week, the biggest seven-day increase in almost six years, according to Helsinki-based FOEX Indexes Ltd. Pulp in Europe could top €750 a ton, higher than 1995’s peak, within a few months, said Kurt Schaefer, who analyses the fiber industry at Bedford, Massachusetts-based paper researcher RISI.

Mills have ground to a standstill in Chile and Finland, which together account for 12 percent of world pulp sales. The spiraling pulp price, which in turn boosts paper prices, marks a turn in the market for papermakers including Stora Enso Oyj of Finland and Norske Skog ASA of Norway, which have both spent years cutting output to restore depressed paper and pulp prices. Read more on this article

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Looking for Office supplies in Ireland?

Below are a selection of the leading office supplies companies in Ireland.
Please feel free to add additional reviews through the comments section.

• Viking Direct
  Efficient service at great prices even if a little less personable.
• File One Office Supplies
  Reccomended by a friend – excellent service at surprisingly competitive prices. Cork’s #1 in my opinion.
• BizQuip
  Good service all round
• AOSL
  Friendly and efficient service
• Hunt Office Supplies
  One of Ireland’s best – very good service and prices.
• Hannigans Office Supplies
  Good service and friendly people.

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Here we will discuss all you need to know about office supplies in Ireland

For the cheapest office supplies in Ireland check back to this site where we will advise you on the best prices available.