Dollar Store Backlash

[US71]

https://www.citylab.com/equity/2018/12/closest-grocery-store-to-me-dollar-store-food-desert-bargain/577777/

Finally found the story I read.

I rarely shop there and usually only in the Fall when their flower pots are on clearance.

[ET21]

I've gone to the one next door to my apartment only twice since I moved in the summer of 2017, both times for Christmas gift supplies. Otherwise I don't do Dollar Tree shopping.

[nexus73]

One time I wanted a pair of glass candy dishes.  My sister told me the dollar store had them.  They did!  Later on I was looking over the goods at a Salvation Army store.  They had the same one and it was stickered at $1.50...LOL!

Rick

[abefroman329]

The baby loves it when we tie Mylar balloons to his hands and feet, so we get those at the dollar store. I don't get anything else there. Like I said in the other thread, it's substandard crap.

[US71]

One time I wanted a pair of glass candy dishes.  My sister told me the dollar store had them.  They did!  Later on I was looking over the goods at a Salvation Army store.  They had the same one and it was stickered at $1.50...LOL!

Rick

Thrift stores aren't always a bargain. I've known some Salvation Armies to actively shop around. If Wal-Mart has a similar item for $3, SA will price theirs at $2.50. Savers (aka Big Brothers/Big Sisters) is always overpriced.

[formulanone]

I don't get the appeal. I think the dollar stores figure that if you're paying just a buck for it, you're automatically getting a great deal. Once or twice I've found a few cheesy stocking stuffers and some odd Matchbox cars. It's usually substandard merchandise and the food is rarely a better deal (if edible).

I feel the same way about Dollar General and that ilk. No deals better than the typical big box nor grocery store, but in the small/unincorporated communities they're sometimes the only option...something is better than nothing.

[froggie]

Even in towns where they're facing public opposition and developmental regulations, the dollar stores are still finding ways to sneak in.  An example near me is Johnson, VT, where a large number of residents were against Dollar General building a store.  They managed to build a store anyway by building on a lot small enough (just under 1 acre) that it didn't trigger the state's Act 250 law for environmental/traffic review and mitigation for commercial development.

[US71]

I don't get the appeal. I think the dollar stores figure that if you're paying just a buck for it, you're automatically getting a great deal. Once or twice I've found a few cheesy stocking stuffers and some odd Matchbox cars. It's usually substandard merchandise and the food is rarely a better deal (if edible).

I feel the same way about Dollar General and that ilk. No deals better than the typical big box nor grocery store, but in the small/unincorporated communities they're sometimes the only option...something is better than nothing.

"There's a sucker born every minute" (maybe) PT Barnham.  People see $1 and think it's a great deal (same with 99 cent stores). Some people shop there to avoid Wal-Mart's "Made in China" merchandise (not knowing almost everything at $1 Tree comes from China).  Dollar General opened two new stores in my are within the last 6 months. One was an "expansion" of a smaller store, the other was at the far south end of town away from almost everything.
The last time I bought anything at $1Tree was a phone charge/sync cable because I was on the road and had left my good one at home. It did the job, but barely. My phone kept trying to reject it as incomparable. When I do my Renaissance shows, I sometimes put things in little zipper bags. The dollar store bags are cheap quality, but do what I need them to do for less money than Ziploc bags, though I would never use them for food storage). I bought flashlight batteries ONCE, and they didn't even work.

[jp the roadgeek]

The only true dollar store is Dollar Tree.  Dollar General and Family Dollar have items for more than a dollar.  I have a Dollar Tree within walking distance of my house.  And it's amazing how quickly Dollar General sneaks in.  My town didn't have one as of this time last year, but by September, we had 2.  There's even one now within sight of ESPN headquarters.

[US71]

The only true dollar store is Dollar Tree.  Dollar General and Family Dollar have items for more than a dollar.  I have a Dollar Tree within walking distance of my house.  And it's amazing how quickly Dollar General sneaks in.  My town didn't have one as of this time last year, but by September, we had 2.  There's even one now within sight of ESPN headquarters.

There used to be $! Shop that was based in Branson, MO and had several stores in the Springfield area. I have no idea if they are still around since all the Springfield stores have been gone a long time. They were more of a variety store than Dollar Tree is. They sold cheap Chinese boot knives, cloth tote bags, whoopie cushions, cheap necklaces and other jewelry, The selection was constantly changing. The Muzak was  always poking fun at Dollar General, though not by name.

[74/171FAN]

I will go to Dollar Tree for greeting cards (2 for $1).  Otherwise I believe that I am getting ripped off if I get them elsewhere.

[KEVIN_224]

Now the mayor of New Britain, CT, Erin Stewart (R), is complaining about these stores. Her point is how these stores pop up in urban areas, rarely offering any real healthy food options. I thought it was going to be cool to have a Dollar General open up only two blocks from my old house. Safe to say that store went "hood" pretty damn quick!

[ce929wax]

Dollar Tree's are hit and miss.  I have gotten some good stuff there and not so good stuff.  I don't recommend buying sour cream there.

[US71]

I will go to Dollar Tree for greeting cards (2 for $1).  Otherwise I believe that I am getting ripped off if I get them elsewhere.

You are!  

DT's are likely last years leftovers

[abefroman329]

I don't get the appeal.

Can't afford to shop anywhere else, don't have the time to take 3 buses to get to the nearest grocery store...It's not all beer and skittles when you're poor.

[US71]

I don't get the appeal.

Can't afford to shop anywhere else, don't have the time to take 3 buses to get to the nearest grocery store...It's not all beer and skittles when you're poor.

Their produce and meat departments leave a lot to be desired, though. Closest thing they have to fresh oranges is Sunny D

[jeffandnicole]

I've seen steaks in the freezers at Dollar Tree for $1! I would love to hear from someone who ate one and survived!

If your bring a dish or a platter to someone's house and don't mind leaving it there, some of the Dollar Tree platters are actually really nice. And you don't care if you never see it again or it breaks the next day.

Mylar balloons for $1 are nice as well.

[abefroman329]

I've seen steaks in the freezers at Dollar Tree for $1! I would love to hear from someone who ate one and survived!

If ever I was going to eat a steak that was cooked beyond medium rare, it would be a frozen steak purchased from Dollar Tree.

[hotdogPi]

The only true dollar store is Dollar Tree.

There are a few non-chain dollar stores. I know of one in Lawrence that has a lot of items on the ground; they must not have enough workers. Everything's $1 (plus tax or bottle deposit), except they have a few "2 for $1" or "3 for $1" items, and their 2 liter sodas are $1.19.

[US71]

I've seen steaks in the freezers at Dollar Tree for $1! I would love to hear from someone who ate one and survived!

If your bring a dish or a platter to someone's house and don't mind leaving it there, some of the Dollar Tree platters are actually really nice. And you don't care if you never see it again or it breaks the next day.

Mylar balloons for $1 are nice as well.

My neighbor the "cat whisperer" buys the cheap cereal bowls to feed her "colony". If the bowls get damaged, she just trashes them.

[jp the roadgeek]

I've seen steaks in the freezers at Dollar Tree for $1! I would love to hear from someone who ate one and survived!

If your bring a dish or a platter to someone's house and don't mind leaving it there, some of the Dollar Tree platters are actually really nice. And you don't care if you never see it again or it breaks the next day.

Mylar balloons for $1 are nice as well.

Those mylar balloons last FOREVER.  Something about the helium they use.  I've received a balloon from them for my birthday in early November, and the thing stayed afloat till April. 

An update to my Dollar General post upthread: just got a mailer today advertising yet another new location opening next Saturday just across the town line from me.  That makes 3 now within a 5 mile radius.  Might as well just pair them with Dunkins and be done.

[nexus73]

Safeway store brand frozen garlic bread on sale is $1.99 for 8 slices.  The close-to-it dollar store sells frozen garlic bread for $1 with 6 slices being in the bag.  Given that the quality is better from the dollar store, then it just remains to do the math to figure out the really best deal.  If the dollar store garlic bread was 8 pieces, the price would be $1.33.  That is 66 cents cheaper than Safeway's best sale price. 

Guess where I buy my frozen garlic bread at? 

The deal gets even better when comparing to the Texas Toast brand.  How that product ever sells is beyond me.  I used to catch it on a super duper sale occasionally but that was it.  Quality was no different.  Why pay more?

Shop selectively and get the best of what someone has.  It works across the board for anything.  Hey, if I can get a truly great deal for $1, I will.  Wasting $1 is not in my wheelhouse though.

Rick

[abefroman329]

I've seen steaks in the freezers at Dollar Tree for $1! I would love to hear from someone who ate one and survived!

If your bring a dish or a platter to someone's house and don't mind leaving it there, some of the Dollar Tree platters are actually really nice. And you don't care if you never see it again or it breaks the next day.

Mylar balloons for $1 are nice as well.

Those mylar balloons last FOREVER.  Something about the helium they use.  I've received a balloon from them for my birthday in early November, and the thing stayed afloat till April. 

An update to my Dollar General post upthread: just got a mailer today advertising yet another new location opening next Saturday just across the town line from me.  That makes 3 now within a 5 mile radius.  Might as well just pair them with Dunkins and be done.

I feel like they only last forever if they inflate them immediately before you buy them - when I buy them "off the rack,"  they're dead within a week.

[US71]

Safeway store brand frozen garlic bread on sale is $1.99 for 8 slices.  The close-to-it dollar store sells frozen garlic bread for $1 with 6 slices being in the bag.  Given that the quality is better from the dollar store, then it just remains to do the math to figure out the really best deal.  If the dollar store garlic bread was 8 pieces, the price would be $1.33.  That is 66 cents cheaper than Safeway's best sale price. 

Guess where I buy my frozen garlic bread at? 

Aldi?

[hbelkins]

Guess I need to go copy and paste my comment in the Sears thread in this one.

I like Dollar Tree for a number of things. And yes, I bought one of the Dollar Tree $1 3 oz. ribeyes, ate it, and survived. It was a little tough but not too bad. Dollar Tree recently bought out Family Dollar, and existing Family Dollar stores are being remodeled to include "Dollar Tree dollar spots" where you can find some decent buys, although Family Dollar already had a decent section of $1 merchandise.

They are hit and miss, though. I've been in some really nice, clean ones with a decent selection of merchandise. And some look like they're in perpetual tornado cleanup mode.