Do you think $1 stores are the great bargains they once were?

We have Dollar General, Family Dollar, Five Below, and DollarTree. I shop most often at Dollar General - paper products, cleaning supplies, toothpaste, etc. And they have good sales on breakfast cereals.
Forgot, Big Lots too.
 

I regard dollar stores as the equivalent of a yard or rummage sale; you never know what you’re going to find there! A Dollar General is located within a few miles of my home, so I sometimes go there if in need of an item or two to save a longer trip to town. They do carry some brand names, such as a name-brand of donuts at $2 a box less than the grocery store. While supply chain problems have stripped their shelves a bit, my local dollar store is conveniently located, and I can usually find an approximation at least of what I’m looking for…
 

Absolutely! Dollar Tree, even though items now cost $1.25 and they have started selling items for more than that, there are still some great bargains to be found. I don't bother with other so called "dollar stores". They stick the word dollar in there to fool customers into thinking they will find most items for $1. Some of the best bargains at Dollar Tree are: 1/2 gallon of ammonia, disinfectant spray (in a fragrance I like), reading glasses (even got a pair of sunglass readers), sticky notes, Reynolds wrap, parchment paper, vanilla scented 4 gallon trash bags, two types of sandwich bags, greeting cards, shower curtain liners, gel super glue and night light bulbs. A few years ago I got a set of 4 nice, colorful mugs. Glad I had passed on a set of mugs that would have cost me about $14 or $15 at Bed, Bath & Beyond. I also love the lobster egg rolls and individual serve Edwards key lime pie , when I can find it.
 
A recipe called for Jello Pistachio Pudding. It wasn’t in any regular stores and I spotted it in a dollar store. Date was fine. No name brands and spices don’t interest me.
 

Do you think $1 stores are the great bargains they once were?​


Never thought they ever were

There are, however, some 'buys'
I can get safety glasses matching HDs for less than half the price
Same with paint brushes (the throw away kind)

My lady took Dollar Tree off her grocery route after comparing over all prices
 
When I was doing flea markets as a seller, I would buy large bulk containers of popular spices at the wholesaler and then make smaller bags to sell. Buying a 5 pound container of pickling spices, then repackaging it into 8 ounce bags meant my price per bag was cheaper than any store could match. No over head, and once the bags were sealed, they would last for a month, if I didn't sell them on market day. I also bought 40 pound boxes of cashews from a importer, and repacked them into one pound bags. A 75 percent profit margin. Jimb.
 
I don't frequent them much at all except for envelopes, stationery, and occasional canned goods. Most of the store items are flimsy, made of plastic and break after using them a couple of times. Even the batteries only last 3 months. Where's the bargain when you are replacing them?
 
A Dollar General just opened a couple years ago 5 miles from my house. Prices and quality vary, occasionally better than the closest grocery, although generally, the prices are slightly higher it seems, but not over the top. I don't shop at Dollar General often, and it's not about saving money. It saves me a 36 mile round trip to Walmart when I need a loaf of bread or have a late night craving for ice cream. I did find a whopping good deal on some liquid dish detergent that I had never heard of, and wondered what must be wrong with it, so I bought a bottle, and once convinced that it was as good as any of the others, I went back a week later and cleaned off the whole shelf. It lasted over a year, but it was only on the shelves that one time. I suppose there might be other really good deals there, but when shopping for groceries, I'm usually just there to buy things on my list, and one of my objectives is just to get it over with, and get home.
 
JustDave said:
Dollar General just opened a couple years ago 5 miles from my house. Prices and quality vary, occasionally better than the closest grocery, although generally, the prices are slightly higher it seems, but not over the top. I don't shop at Dollar General often, and it's not about saving money. It saves me a 36 mile round trip to Walmart
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That was us at the cabin
The native American town of Chiloquin had two 'grocery' stores
They were pretty much a front for their real items of beer, wine, and one was a bonafide liquor store.
The groceries were all pre century and horribly priced

Then Dollar General moved near the outskirts
Saved us the 100 mile round trip to a real town
But only for needful things tween trips to the city, and only when doing the weekly stop to get our mail
 
I commented about the Dollarama stores here in Canada being very profitable. I bought 500 shares of theirs when it was priced at $21 a share. To day it is at $55.98 a share. A increase of $34.98 a share, times 500 equals $17,490 . Not bad over a 4 year period of time for a $10,500 investment. JimB.
 
Nope..not only is hardly anything a Pound .. one of the stores ''Poundland'' sells stuff that costs up to £10.. it's mainly clothing for the higher prices, and it's rubbish clothing too.. very poor quality...
 
The first time I went into a Five Below I was disgusted. The tv commercials were a bit salacious and then the products I first saw in the shop were kind of vulgar.

It was another four years or so before I ventured into a 5B, which was moved into a shopping center in my circuit.

I needed a new key chain, had looked in various other shops, bought some which were falling apart, made some, too.

I spotted a Rubik's Cube with a butterfly design. It was that or something, ummm, dirty or weird. So far the RC is holding up, it's nice and blocky so I find it in my bag pocket even in the dark.

The odd thing about 5B is that all the registers are self checkout and their are about 3 employees standing around near the customer service area with nothing to do.

The products are political and liberal, not a conservative viewpoint in sight. There are lots of cell phone things, none of which fits my phone. There are cheapish wall shelves, cosmetics, tiny cropped tee shirts and some other assorted items. What used to be $5.00 or less is not the case their, either.
 
Usually the only thing I ever buy at the Dollar Store is greeting cards. You can still (occasionally) get a cute birthday card for 50 cents.
 
Owlivia said:
It was another four years or so before I ventured into a 5B, which was moved into a shopping center in my circuit.
I spotted a Rubik's Cube with a butterfly design. It was that or something, ummm, dirty or weird. So far the RC is holding up, it's nice and blocky so I find it in my bag pocket even in the dark.
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As a side note, I decided to learn how to solve the cube last year using a 4 part Utube instruction, by a guy claiming it was the easiest system to use. He kept repeating how easy it was. Maybe that's true if you already know how to solve it. In my case, I found the instructions difficult and had to watch the different parts of the solves more times than I could count. My first solve took me one week spending 4 to 6 hours each day. Subsequent solves required re-watching parts of the videos again, and I practiced the algorithms over and over much the way one practices riffs on a musical instrument. I still try to do a solve once a day, just so I don't lose it, and a good solve would be under 4 minutes. 6 minutes would be a long one.

It was a challenge I just wanted to take on. Being able to do it oddly feels like an accomplishment, although a rather useless skill for anything actually meaningful in one's life.
 
I like Dollar Tree for cards, envelopes, gift bags, first aid items & seasonal items. I also like the name brand dog treats that are USA made. I have also found a few items at Family Dollar that I couldn't get at Walmart over the past couple of years. Like everything else, you have to compare everything to get the good prices.
 
Another thing I like is the Awesome Orange degreaser Dollar Tree sells. Although I don't need them, I notice they have very nice gift bags and party supplies. My honorary daughter found Beefeaters Lickables cat treats at a dollar store in Newark, N.J. which hadn't changed prices to $1.25 yet. So she paid $1 for something that's on Amazon for $5.80. Oohh...oooh and I can;t forget socks. I've gotten some cute ones from DT.
 
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Let's see.

Cheap umbrellas, yes, that's right a REAL umbrella. I bought 9 years ago. I still have 5, but ones getting tossed soon. Still a REAL umbrella. I've had $20 obes blown out in storms. Yeah, just wear a hat.

Any kitchen appliance. Can openers, colander and spatulas, knives, spoons, forks. Birthday, graduation, sympathy cards, I've found some as nice as $10 types.

Readers. Instead of $18 types, Even $1.25 is fantastic. Also sunglasses. As I'm older, the ones with yellow tints also help with rainy weather driving at night.

Glassware, drinkware, plates. Then....DRUGS they have sleep aids. 36 for $1.25 a local grocery has the same 100 for $5.78 so, I bought 5 bottles. Do the math! Toothbrushes, paste and a myriad of other toiletries.

I do appreciate the travel sizes from Walmart, but giving such to the homeless, I want them to have enough for several usages. Got luckyxa few times at a local casino, swept half an entire shelf into a basket.

So, my opinion is. "Yes, they're still worth it"

Oh BTW trash bags. Now.....
 
Gee, when I was a kid our local small town had 2 G.C.Murphy's Five and Dime stores. Of course, most items were higher priced.
 
Pepper said:
What? How is that even possible? No politics on here but I never heard of ordinary mdse being considered as left or right.
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All the books were to the left if you get my meaning. Yes, the 5B I visited had two tables of political books and other assorted books.
 
I forgot about the 2 for 1.00 cards, they haven't gone to 1.25 and most are Hallmarks. Have bought them since the regular cards at triple and more the price are just not something I'm willing to spend for at the moment.

When my plastic containers were smooshing the tops of my muffins and cupcakes I bought cupcake carriers storage holders one I got at a 1.00 and then a few weeks ago I broke down and got the second one. The only issue I have with them is they only hold 9 cupcakes each and I usually bake 12 or 24 at a time, so now I am making the cupcakes bigger and making 18 as there is no room in the freezer.
 

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