The Office Max website has a huge range of office supply products, including furniture and fixtures, helping it to earn the TopTenREVIEWS Bronze Award. As an added convenience that a storefront can’t offer, Office Max has an online printing service that can handle several common print jobs for home and business use.
Office Max has an impressive line of office supply products, with all the major brands represented in addition to the Office Max brand. In addition to general office supplies like paper, ink, binding supplies, mailing supplies, and filing supplies, Office Max carries a wide-ranging selection of electronics and office machines and a fairly extensive collection of office furniture.
Because they require frequent replenishment, two of the most common office supply purchases are ink/toner and paper. Office Max carries ink for over 100 brands of printers, fax machines, and copiers and it’s easy to find the right cartridge using “shop by printer model” function. When it comes to paper, Office Max has it covered. They carry basic bulk paper for printers/copiers, in addition to hundreds of styles of specialty paper including printable certificates and photo paper. Office Max carries recycled products, but there is no special section on the website for them.
In its furniture section, Office Max has lots of accessories, like wall clocks and foot rests, besides the basic office furniture selections (desks, chairs, bookshelves, printer stands, etc.). For anyone setting up a home office or a fairly basic business office space, Office Max can provide all of the necessary furniture and fixtures.
Office Max has a fairly extensive custom printing service offering customizable business cards, stamps, postcards, checks/forms, banners/signs, name badges, and invitations. For business cards alone, there are several thousand templates to choose from. To use this service, you simply upload your artwork, enter your text, and request the quantity to be printed. Your order can be shipped or picked up in a local store. Each Office Max store also doubles as a drop-off point for FedEx.
Small Electronics Recycling
Office Max has a program for recycling small electronics products like used toner cartridges, MP3 players, and cell phones. To participate in this program, you must request a container from Office Max (which will be mailed to you at no cost). Simply fill the container with approved electronics devices and Office Max will pay to have it shipped back. For every electronic device you mail in for recycling, you are eligible for “Office Perks” credits (either store coupons or cash rebates).
Like all other office supply websites surveyed, the Office Max website has both a search function and a set of links for browsing families of products. When you hover over the top navigation bar, drop-down menus automatically pop up, allowing you to jump to a certain set of products. For example, the “technology” tab has links to computers, printers, shredders, cameras, and other electronics and office machines. Once you’ve moved into a subcategory of products, you’ll have several options for sorting and comparing products, including customer rating, price, and brand name. Alternately, you can select the products you like and then click “compare selected products” to examine your top choices side by side.
In addition to the top navigation bar containing the main product categories, there is a secondary navigation bar across the middle of the page for the online printing service, seasonal products, and the weekly ad containing special discounted product listings. The secondary navigation bar is the only way to find the sections of the site covering services and sales, and unfortunately it only appears on the home page. The site lost points during analysis because of this rigid navigation structure and the fact that certain information was difficult to find. For example, information about the electronics recycling and teacher rewards programs can only be found by researching the “Office Perks” policies in detail.
Office Max has excellent discount programs, including bulk discounts and store brand discounts on several items. Office Max also has an e-mail coupon program that highlights sales and special discount items. The Office Max customer rewards program “Office Perks” provides gift certificate coupons that can be used for future purchases. There are two main programs, one for businesses and one for teachers. Max Perks credits are not calculated as a percentage of every dollar spent, but rather are added as a set amount for each purchase tier. The award amounts may vary.
To show appreciation for those teachers who go above and beyond to provide exceptional supplies for their classrooms, Office Max offers as much as double rewards for teachers (compared to the standard program for businesses). Reward balances can be combined and used at any time, but they expire at the end of each calendar year. Rewards can be earned or redeemed both online and in stores.
On the Office Max home page, the secondary navigation bar in the middle of the page contains a link to the “weekly ad,” which features special pricing on selected items during that week. Thus, even if you aren’t signed up for the e-mail coupon program, you can still take advantage of temporary special discounts.
Office Max offers a great selection of office products, from basic supplies to electronics to furniture and accessories. Within the product categories, it is easy to compare individual products using the various sorting and comparison functions. Office Max also offers a range of services through the website, although it can be tricky to find them if you don’t notice the middle navigation bar on the home page. The online printing service, particularly the business card section, is a great resource for businesses and individuals. The free electronics recycling service is useful and shows a commitment to eco-friendliness, but again it is difficult to find information about the service on the website.
