Rapid Supplies is an online-only store carrying office supplies, machines and furniture. The website is easy to use and the product selection includes most of the basic supplies and equipment needed to keep a home office or workplace stocked.
Rapid Supplies carries all the general supplies and materials like paper, writing tools, mailing supplies, labels and calendars. The selection of electronics does not include computers or netbooks, but the site does sell peripherals and supplies for computers, such as monitor and keyboard stands. The “Computers/Software” product category doesn’t have computers or software. It was surprising to find digital cameras since the site does not carry ink/toner or computers, which are common purchases for individuals rather than businesses.
The office furniture selection contains all the essentials like desks, bookcases and chairs, as well as accessories like footrests and safes. Warehouse furnishings like shelving, carts and some tools are also available.
There is an impressively wide selection of first aid and “personal care” items as well, to keep the break room/kitchen and first aid stations well-stocked. This site seems to be targeting business customers more than individuals, based on its product offerings.
This site does not offer any services.
The Rapid Supplies website uses the same product categorization scheme as many office supply sites. A main product menu appears along the left of the screen, and when you click on a product family, a series of subcategories comes up. Each subcategory has more subcategories within it. The selections can be sorted by price or name once you reach the actual products. This navigation can be cumbersome because it takes so many selections (in some cases, up to 5 clicks) to reach actual product listings.
The search function takes the shopper directly to product listings, but it is not always accurate. A search for “paperclips” worked well, but a search for “paper” yielded an entire page of Scotch tape and Post-it products.
They do offer credit accounts with terms (for example, 30 days) for businesses, but not a store credit card. You must fill out a credit application online to sign up for credit (which can be found in the left navigation under “more information”) and provide business information, banking information and credit references.
The customer resources on the website are adequate enough to figure out basic information about shipping and payment options. However, the FAQs page is blank.
This site offers a quantity discount on all products. The option to “Click for Quantity Discounts” is under each product listing, allowing shoppers to obtain a lower unit price by buying in larger quantities.
Rapid Supplies is a streamlined supplier of office products, equipment, and furniture. The product selection contains most of the basic equipment required for workplace or home offices, except for computers and printer ink. The website is functional and includes helpful product descriptions, however, the resources are skimpy and some pages either contain no information (FAQ) or misleading information (“Computers/Software”). Overall, this site seems designed to serve business customers, although individuals who use large volumes of certain supplies would find the quantity discount option desirable.
