Is "stationery" the name of the store that sells pens, pencils, paper, school things, etc.?

Question

In Brazil we call this store by the generic name of papelaria, something like "paper store".

What is the correct name for this? Is "Stationery" the name in any country that speaks English? I read about it in Wikipedia, but I am still not sure.

Answer 1

In America, the place you're looking for is usually called an "Office Supply Store".

Unless you are looking for construction paper, drawing pencils, inking pens, and other supplies for creating art. Then you would go to an Arts & Crafts Store.

You might find such supplies in an Office Supply Store, but a store that more specifically caters to the arts would be an "Arts and Crafts Store".

Stores that sell only paper and drawing tools would be called a Stationery Store, but are fairly rare. So there isn't really a name for those kinds of stores beyond that. More common are stores that offer supplies for businesses (Office Supply Stores) or artists/craftsmen (Arts & Crafts Stores).

Answer 2

In the UK, a shop that sells stationery is a stationer’s, but there are few shops that sell stationery and nothing else.

Answer 3

The traditional U.S. term was stationery store or simply stationer; however, use this term carefully. Margins on ordinary paper are very low, as it is a commodity good and many uses have been rendered obsolete by computerization. As such, the U.S. market has diverged.

The establishments which call themselves a stationer or stationery store are likely to focus on "social stationery"— greeting cards, high-end gift wrap, and other specialty and luxury papers, cards, envelopes, and the like, as for handwritten letters. It is not the kind of store where one would buy ordinary loose leaf printer paper, for example.

If purchasing from a retailer, you are likely to buy paper from an office supply store which in addition to paper will sell office furniture, calculators and other electronics, printer toner, business software, and the like. In some areas you may find a school supply store, selling ruled paper and notecards as well as bookbags, flash cards, maps, and other assorted goods for use by schoolchildren and teachers.

The shift is reflected in industry classifications; NAICS code 453210 for "Office Supplies and Stationery Stores" supersedes four former SIC codes.

This U.S. industry comprises establishments primarily engaged in one or more of the following: (1) retailing new stationery, school supplies, and office supplies; (2) selling a combination of new office equipment, furniture, and supplies; and (3) selling new office equipment, furniture, and supplies in combination with selling new computers.

• 5049 School supplies stores (retail)
• 5112 Other office supplies stores (retail)
• 5943 Stationery stores
• 5943 Office supplies stores

Art paper, furthermore, is not likely to be found at either a stationer or an office supply store. Construction paper or origami paper, perhaps, can be found at a school supply store, but otherwise you'll need to check at an art supply store (industry term) or arts and crafts store (vernacular term).

Answer 4

In the UK a paper shop, which you could literally translate papelaria to, is a shop that sells newspapers. They may also sell stationery as well as other things found in a convenience store. Someone selling just newspapers at a railway station operates from a paper stand.

This abbreviation of newspaper to paper, can be heard in phrases such as

it's what they said in the paper!

Answer 5

I still call it stationery. Don't confuse between stationery and office-supplies.

An office supply store sells furniture, candy, peanuts, M&M dispensers, office party paraphernalia, software, phone cards, facsimile and copying services, public notary services, UPS/Fedex services, coffee makers/strainers, toys to keep your kid busy/happy when you have no child-care for the day, printers, computers, shredders, office-kitchen supplies, cameras, iphones, androids, at&t/verizon/t-mobile services, etc

and, guess what, stationery too.

Walk into an "office-supply superstore", there will be an aisle or two labeled "stationery".

When you walk into an "office-supply superstore" (and even Walmart), and you feel so bedazzled, you would ask the nearest store "associate", "Excuse ma'am/sir, could you show me the stationery section/aisle ?"