Staples Review: Graduation Invitation Stores

Staples, an American office supply retail company based in Framingham, Massachusetts, has been a top choice for workspace essentials for more than 35 years. Founded by Leo Kahn and Thomas G. Stemberg, it opened its inaugural store in Brighton, Massachusetts on May 1, 1986. Renowned for its vast selection of office supplies, furniture, technology, and cleaning products, Staples is also known for its extensive print services. One of the benefits of using Staples is the large number of brick-and-mortar locations available, so you can choose in-store pickup to avoid paying for shipping.

200+ design styles

With over 200 different designs to choose from, Staples offers a competitive variety of graduation invitations. You can simplify your search by using the filters for color, number of photos, orientation, card type, and size, and whether or not you want a design on the back of the card as well as the front. However, there's no way to limit by price, and pricing details are hidden until you click through to the individual invitation page. So, this could create a lot more back-and-forth browsing that may frustrate some shoppers on a budget.

Some customization flexibility

The design tools at Staples are pretty useful. You can move around and add text as well as move and change clipart as much as you want. Only a few things stay the same: the background, which may include some clipart depending on the design you picked initially, and the locations of the photos. Staples also offers a helpful visual of a "safe area" where you can put new elements for your design. This helps you maintain a good positioning so pieces of your invitation don't get cut off or warped during printing.

Prices start at $27.99 for 25 cards

For most of the graduation invitations at Staples, you have to buy a 25-card minimum. So, starting prices for the lower-cost cards will sit around $27.99 for 25 cards. This is for the lowest-tier size option and the cheapest stationery. The price also includes in-store pickup. If you want your cards delivered to you, the price will immediately go up. If you add all the top-tier upgrades, the cards can go up to $54.99 for 25 cards.

Return policy lacks transparency

The return policy for custom invitations is hard to find on the Staples website. For items that can be returned or qualify for refunds, you have 14 days. However, things like custom furniture can't be returned at all. So, there's a high chance you might run into return trouble for custom invitations too. You may want to reach out to Staples' customer service to double-check the policy there.

Free same-day pickup in-store

With Staples, you have two ways to get your graduation invitations. First, you can sign up for in-store delivery. This allows you to pick up your invitations the same day if you order before 12pm. If you choose shipping, Staples only offers one option: 5-7-day delivery. However, with shipping, you do get more styles for designs than you do if you choose in-store pickup.

Solid reputation for quality prints

In general, Staples gets 3.5 stars out of 5 for its print services across different review sites. However, the buzz for Staples online is dependent on specific locations. So, the reviews for your local Staples may be completely different than the reviews for Staples overall. As a business, Staples has an "A+" rating on the Better Business Bureau, and in general, customers who used the print services for invitations said that the process was quick and easy and the prints were exactly as they were pictured online. While some of the poor reviews were related to long lines or poor customer service at specific Staples locations, none of these reviews were related to the print services specifically.

Top option for quick delivery

With a large variety of designs and some flexibility with the design tool, Staples stands out as a place where you can get some unique graduation invitations. On top of competitive reviews for their print services and pricing, Staples also offers free in-store pickup, completely negating the need for shipping costs. For these reasons, it earns a solid rating in our review as it offers multiple ways to get high-quality graduation invitations (and get them quickly if you're in a pinch).

On the Staples website