Early August is the best time to load up on notebooks. I'm a retired teacher and I used to load up for my h.s. students who often showed up without supplies (even better when it was a 25 cent deal) as well as for my own children when they were in school because that's when the price was right. I still load up for my family bc we tend to use them for all sorts of notes. Anyway if you need notebooks at any time of year the time is now. Even at 50 cents each it's worth buying as many as you can if you know you're going to need them at some point in the next 12 months.