Prices were checked at Target on Lake Street in Minneapolis on Aug. 17. Buying the off brand saved about 35 percent, but you might be sacrificing quality, said one teacher's aide.

3M Post-it Notes pastels (450 sheets) $4.79 (1.0644 cents per note)

Work.org notes pastels (400 sheets) $1.87 (0.4675 cent per note)

Crayola colored pencils (12 each) 89 cents

Rose Art colored pencils (12 each) 62 cents

Sharpie permanent markers (fine point, set of four) $3.44

Bic Mark-It permanent markers (fine point, set of four) $2.99

Fiskars kids' scissors (with point) $1.79

Target kids' scissors (with point) 74 cents

Crayola washable crayons (24 each) $2.04

Rose Art washable crayons (24 each) $1.79

John Ewoldt