Which 90s school supplies can you still buy new?
Half of what a 1990s classroom ran on is still manufactured, and the half that is not has quietly become a collectors’ market. This page separates the two, because the difference is the difference between paying $18 and paying $120 for what looks like the same thing.
Still in production — buy it new
The Trapper Keeper is the headline here: Mead makes them again, in prints styled after the 1980s Designer Series, and they undercut most of the vintage asking prices while having rings that still close.
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| Item | Retailer | Asking | Condition |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mead 3-Ring Trapper Keeper Binder, 1" Round Rings, Animal | Office Depot and OfficeMax | $18.39 | New |
| Mead 3-Ring Trapper Keeper Binder, 1" Round Rings, Shapes | Office Depot and OfficeMax | $18.39 | New |
| New Mead Original Trapper Keeper Binder Retro Vintage Sty… | Poshmark | $23 | New |
| Mead 3-Ring Trapper Keeper Binder, 1" Round Rings, Palm T… | Office Depot and OfficeMax | $18.39 | New |
The classroom bookshelf, still in print
These are the ones people misremember as rare. They are not rare; they never went out of print. What is scarce is an early printing, and that is a different search.
| Book or supply | Cheapest verified seller | Asking |
|---|---|---|
| Richard Scarry 'What Do People Do All Day?' book | eBay | $10 |
| I Spy picture book | Galiano Island Books | $5 |
| Miss Nelson Is Missing book | Amazon.com | listed, price on request |
| Chicka Chicka Boom Boom DVD | Amazon.com | $5 |
Resale only — the originals nobody makes any more
Both rows below are the 1990s articles. Current Lion King backpacks are still sold new at around $20 and are a different object — we separate the two in vintage or current?
| Item | Cheapest verified seller | Asking |
|---|---|---|
| Lisa Frank rainbow unicorn folder | Mercari | $21 |
| Lion King Simba and Nala backpack | eBay | $35 |
Last verified 31 August 2026, against 10 listings checked by eye. Prices move; read them as the market on that date, not a promise.
What we would actually spend on
If you are buying for nostalgia rather than for a child: the vintage Lisa Frank folder is the only object on this list where the old one is meaningfully better than the new one, because the 1990s lacquered stock is genuinely different to look at. Everything else, buy new. A reissued Trapper Keeper at $18 does the whole job; a $120 vintage binder with tired Velcro does not.
Read next
Where to buy a vintage Trapper Keeper · Lion King backpack: vintage or new?