Dollar stores are everywhere. That's a problem for poor Americans

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

As dollar stores sweep across America, they are facing growing scrutiny from opponents who argue that discount chains stifle local competition and limit poor communities' access to healthy food.

Dollar stores have never been more popular. Yet a wave of cities and towns have passed laws curbing the expansion of Dollar General and Dollar Tree, which bought Family Dollar in 2015. The companies are the two largest dollar store operators in the country, combining for more than 30,000 stores throughout the United States, up from under 20,000 a decade ago. By comparison, Walmart, America's largest retailer, has 4,700 US stores.

Advocates of tighter controls on dollar stores say the big chains intentionally cluster multiple stores in low-income areas. That strategy discourages supermarkets from opening and it threatens existing mom-and-pop grocers, critics say.

"The business model for these stores is built on saturation," said Julia McCarthy, senior policy associate at the nonprofit Center for Science in the Public Interest and a critic of dollar stores. "When you have so many dollar stores in one neighborhood, there's no incentive for a full-service grocery store to come in."

Opponents also express concerns that dollar stores don't offer fresh produce. Dollar General and its dollar store rivals mostly sell snacks, drinks, canned foods and vegetables, household supplies and personal care products at rock-bottom prices.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/dollar-stores-are-everywhere-thats-a-problem-for-poor-americans/ar-AAEzZ2F?li=BBnbfcN

[procon]

1. They are not really offering any savings

to budget crunching shoppers. Read the package info carefully and see the amounts or quantity is often shorted compared to regular products. Often these dollar deals are more costly on a unit basis.

There are some bargains to be found for wary consumers, but you need to scrutinize everything. I only shop there for specifics like canned fishes for a snack plate. Certain canned goods and cookies are OK if you pay attention to the sizes. No spices, tea or beverages and I'm very suspicious of the quality of their groceries.

[cwydro]

15. They usually have pretty good deals on name brand laundry detergents, pet supplies, items like

laundry baskets, clothespins, bird feeders, fairy lights...I’ve bought all those things there. Inexpensive doormats, small rugs, and things like that are cheaper than even Walmart.

I usually don’t buy food items there, but I see all the regular brands you see in the grocery store so I’m not seeing the quality issue.

[Blue_true]

66. You make a good point.

My oldest brother is a penny pincher and he loves those stores. I have gone in with him, they do seem to sell name brand stuff that is nearing an expiration date or which them seem to have gotten a big volume deal on.

I guess they are like everything in life, use them for some things but get other items elsewhere.

[Kaleva]

18. A 16 oz bottle of Clover Valley peanut butter costs $1.50. 16 oz Jif is $2.65

I could provide many more examples but the truth is that these stores offer significant savings to budget crunching shoppers.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

36. What are the sell by dates?

[Kaleva]

64. Unless one is stockpiling for a long term emergency, sell by dates often don't come into play.

Because the product will be used well before that. My 40 oz jar of Clover Valley peanut butter has a sell by date of 12/27/19 but it will be consumed next month. A 30 ounce jar of mayo I just bought this morning has a best used by date of 3/18/20 but that too will be long gone before that. The 10 cans of Clover Valley tuna I bought have a best used by date of 01/03/22.

[Blue_true]

69. Good observation.

Places like that buy up inventory that is nearing an expiration date and discount the hell out of them to sell them out.

The question that I have for you. Is that a problem? I don't think that it is. Expiration dates on food products and drinks have a decent time buffer. If a person is planning to keep something for a year or two then maybe there is a problem, but a person buying a jar of peanut butter likely won't have the stuff around for longer than a month or two (I don't particularly like peanut butter, so a person like me would likely have it around longer, until I throw it out).

[Kaleva]

79. What do you base your comment on?

Your comment:

"Places like that buy up inventory that is nearing an expiration date and discount the hell out of them to sell them out. "

I bought tuna at Dollar General last Saturday and the best buy dates on them is 01/03/2022.

Chili beans have a date of 27/11/2021.

The elbow macaroni has a date of Mar 19 2021.

Diced tomatoes has a date of Aug 28 2021.

Pork and Beans has a date of Mar 16 2021.

The canned luncheon meat has a date of 2023-11-07 stamped on it.

All the cans of condensed soups I bought have dates in the year 2021.

[Blue_true]

80. I bought some stuff for my brother that had an empire date a year away.

I knew that Publix stuff usually have expire dates several years out, so when I got back to my house I looked up why a store has low expire date stuff, the reason a source gave was bulk inventory purchase and sale by stores that specialize in selling off expiring inventory or buying up large quantiles of over stocked inventory.

It is possible that the stuff you bought was from a manufacturer that does contract large quantities for the Dollar store you bought it at, but I would doubt that food was well known national brand food. The way that I look at it is that food is food in the USA, all meet high safety standards (at least until Trump eliminates them all), there may be insignificant differences in taste or texture, but all the stuff is very much edible, that is why I hit back at the Dollar store haters, the places seem to save people money, people that typically don't have excess money to begin with.

[Kaleva]

82. I think we both said inseperate posts that sell by dates may not be that improtant

Particularly if the items will be consumed well before that date. I would think that many of us on a tight budget cannot afford to stockpile items and just let them sit until past their best used by dates. I have a 16 day emergency food supply, along with a 30 day water supply, for my wife and I but it consists of items we use on a regular basis so there is a constant rotation of stock.

[Blue_true]

83. The way that you live is how all normal people live.

Doomsday preppers make other choices, but they are not normal.

I was technically bankrupt relatively recently, $20 per week was good money for me as I slept on a brother's couch. So I know about pinching pennies, even now that I don't have to. Pinching pennies is not the same thing as being cheap, lots of people don't realize that. Being cheap is looking regularly to get something for below it's rightful value.

[Blue_true]

68. They have their place.

The argument against them is sort of like the one against buying grocery from Walmart. Yes Walmart's stuff is not remotely close to what one can find in a good healthfood grocer, but a lot of Anericans don't have the grocery budget to shop at places like healthfood grocers. Walmart allow people to feed their families.

Sometimes I think about how I grew up versus where I am at now. When I was a child my parents bought hotdogs that turned the water pink or red when they were boiled, the bought hamburger that was so high in fat that a patty almost shrunk by half when cooked, or icecream that had what I would now call a weird texture, or meat from discount meat sellers that was treated and put up for resale. The meat likely was offered for sale in the big grocery chains and when it was approaching rotting it was treated with chemicals and packaged off to the places that my parents shopped for meat. But my parents kept us alive and allowed me to get an education and become an engineer. My health statistics today don't show any damage from the food that I ate as a child, food that I would not touch today.

People are going to buy what they can afford. Stores like Dollar stores sell expiring or over-produced items at a massive discount, that help the people that have to shop in those places.

[Generic Brad]

20. They have a few bargains

I go to dollar store in my neighborhood to buy 8 ounce packages of frozen scallops for $2.50 each. I’ve noticed that I can find the majority of their products elsewhere and for less. But I confess the scallops keep bringing me back.

[meadowlander]

35. +1. I never saw the appeal personally.

I guess if I had kids, they would be a good source of cheap toys and art/school supplies? Mostly they seem full of stuff I don't really need, nevermind how cheap the price is. I've never seen "savings" in there that I couldn't do better waiting for a good price and buying in bulk or shopping online.

When I was poor I waited until toilet paper went on sale half price at the supermarket that delivered, the savings just on that paid for the delivery twice over and then I would order everything shelf stable I needed for the next four months including 50lb bags of rice, bulk beans and baking ingredients. Then on ordinary weeks all had to do was buy milk, eggs and some produce and could carry it home in my backpack.

And that was basically all I bought for like four years - no party supplies, no costume jewelry, no make up, no novelty home decorations, no fake flowers, etc. Cooking your own food if you possibly can is a million times cheaper and better for your health than anything you are ever going to find in a dollar store. And you're almost always going to be better off saving up to afford a decent quality version of whatever you need (pots and pans, etc.) than buying some cheap crap that falls apart almost immediately and that you have to keep replacing. Get the real stuff from a second hand store.

If you're in a really dire financial situation, what difference does it make that you can get that bottle of soda or potato chips or bag of Halloween candy you don't really need for $1 instead of $2? Also, why make a separate shopping trip on the off chance you can get a dented can of soup for half price when you can make your own soup that tastes as lot better for a tenth of the price? So what if you can buy a .10 packet of Ramen noodles if eating it doesn't keep you full for more than half an hour?

I feel for people who live in neighborhoods or areas where there are genuinely no other options but the dollar stores in every neighborhood I've ever lived in have been right next door to the normal supermarket and still seem to find lots of customers. But if you do have any other options, and you're trying to save money, the Dollar store is not the place to do it. It just suckers people who don't have the money to be shopping in the first place into spending on what are essentially frilly extras because they are "cheap".

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

38. Yes. And thank you.

If you have a place to live that has a kitchen, meaning a stove and refrigerator, cooking your own food is incredibly cheap.

When I first moved here (Santa Fe, NM) after a divorce, I was on an extremely limited income. I packed a peanut butter and jelly sandwich to work. I ate out maybe two times in the first nine months I lived here. It wasn't fun, but it was a good lesson in frugality. My money goal became $2.00 per meal. I don't always achieve that, but it's a useful benchmark.

An example. A couple of days ago I bought boneless chicken breasts. $8.02 for six of them. Three of them I cut up today, marinated in oregano, garlic, lemon, and olive oil. Several hours later I grilled them on my nifty table top grill. I made Rice-A-Roni rice pilaff, and stir fried vegetables (onion, red pepper, zucchini, pea pods, and carrots) along with Pillsbury refrigerator rolls (small container, 5 rolls). This will provide three meals in the immediate future, and I've frozen enough of the chicken to make at least three, maybe four more meals. I also bought a catfish fillet, which cut in half will give me two more meals. The catfish was a bit pricey, and came to $4.71 for a bit more than a half pound. I'll make that as a blackened lemon-pepper catfish.

It's a bit tricky to figure in the cost of the add-on stuff, like the oregano and the olive oil, but these meals will average out at less than $3.00 each. Not bad.

Oh, and I now have three boneless chicken breasts frozen for future use. I will probably make a curried chicken and a Chicken Caruso (chicken generously coated with seasoning, fried and added to fried potatoes (which were previously boiled), green pepper, and onion. Excellent!

So overall, I am pretty close to my two dollar guideline. But to achieve that I need a kitchen (which homeless people don't have) and I need adequate cooking skills, which I suspect a lot of poor people don't have. In short, I'm fortunate.

[Blue_true]

70. Dollar stores take advantage of people's psychology.

Using an example that you gave about cheap pots and pans versus higher quality pots and pans. Yes, a person can save up for the stuff that will last for years, but most people that go into dollar stores are already hard up for money, so the regimen of saving money in a jar until they have enough to buy good cook wear likely is not going to happen, they are likely going to use that money for some other need. Dollar store Execs realize that people that don't have a lot of money likely won't wait to buy better stuff, so they sell the cheap stuff that breaks within a year, but the buyers pay 1/4 of what they would pay for the stuff that lasts 10 years, so for the now, buying the cheap stuff solves a need, even if it is financially clueless.

[DBoon]

77. by saturating a neighborhood, they drive out competition

comparison shopping becomes impossible then

[WhiskeyGrinder]

2. The Institute of Local Self Reliance does a ton of research into how dollars stores actually lower

a region's standard of living. Dollar stores are a scourge and should be fought.

[Blue_true]

71. Those stores provide a source of inexpensive products for poor,

(or in the case of my oldest brother, cheap) people that don't have a lot of money. Maybe the focus should be on why are people poor (we know that answer, jobs that once lifted people out of poverty are or have vanished).

[Sneederbunk]

3. While you are at it, might as well as go after convenience stores and coffee shops too.

[TygrBright]

4. The quality of what food they sell is scary, too.

While most have a few 'loss leader' items that are big name brands (mostly high-margin stuff like soda and candy) a great deal of their shelf-stable food stock- things in cans, boxes, pouches, etc.- comes from China and other less-than-well-regulated production hubs and contains a lot of dodgy ingredients and outright nasty stuff.

But it's CHEAP.

And if there's no grocer or farmer's market nearby with reasonable prices on wholesome food items, it's going to be a successful business model. So naturally, the dollar store strategy involves keeping them out.

disgustedly,
Bright

[Blue_true]

72. As a boy I ate food that had a chemical taste.

I really did not know what good nutrition was until I started helping a man that lived on the rich side of town. I did not find consistently good nutrition until I went off to college (food that many here decry). I am a healthy man.

Now that food from China stuff is scary because unlike food suppliers when I was a kid, the regulations on what goes into packaged food there are a workin progress. I think that Chinese consumers and the government now care, but for a longtime that was not the case and a lot of the whatever mindset among companies that produce food for China and export still exists.

[shraby]

5. They are stepping into an area that the regular grocery stores refused to

fill for many years. Refused long enough to make a term "grocery deserts" to hit the vocabulary.

Now that dollar stores are filling the niche, they are screaming bloody murder. They should have stepped up a long time ago.

The people who shop at them are aware they are getting smaller amounts but they are also paying less.

Are the large grocers stepping up the plate as well? Not so far that you can see.

[forgotmylogin]

6. I agree with that.

Though the local dollar store is not where anyone should do all their shopping, in my area, they are serving the role as a local bodega. If you just need eggs and milk, it's quicker to run in there on the way home than to park and make the trek into the slightly further mega grocery.

Stores like Walgreens have also been trying to fill this niche, basically becoming mini Walmarts in the breadth of product offerings, and they are everywhere. At Walgreens, I can fill my prescription, get milk, toothpaste, a new hairbrush, an electric kettle, some spare socks and a pool noodle that happens to be on sale.

[zackymilly]

7. Dollar Store came to our area when the grocery stores refused to.

They claimed there wasn't enough revenue to be made in our area. Our Dollar store has refrigerated and frozen sections just like the grocery stores, and have milk, meats, etc. and they even have a small amount of fresh local produce. Now that our area has grown, Food Lion finally built a store across the road from the Dollar Store. I still shop at Dollar Store if I'm in a hurry and after a few items.

[elocs]

8. Well, I'm poor and I know that the dollar stores save me money.

I can read labels and everything. Sorry I can't jump on the bandwagon here. And the 2 dollar stores in my community are both near large supermarkets.

I wonder how many who post here at DU are actually poor, as in under the 100% federal poverty level? I bet the percentage is pretty small.

[cwydro]

16. I'm not poor, but I love going to the dollar store lol.

People here love to hate on things like this...I’ve seen posters even insult what kind of beer people drink.

Pay it no mind.

[Raine]

22. Same with me

I don't have to shop at dollar stores for lack of money, I shop in them because like them. I like that dollar stores carry lesser known brands that can't afford to pay the high rack fees that super markets charge.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

52. Same here. In my case, it's the Dollar Tree.

Until the effects of Trump's tariffs kick in, everything is $1 or less.

For that, you get 1.5 pounds of pasta. The fudge-striped cookies are 13 ounces for $1. Baby powder is $1 for something like 14 or 15 ounces. Price Johnson and Johnson to see how much they want.

The real bargain is in the card section. Cards for birthdays, deaths, weddings -- $1 each or sometimes two for $1. The price you would pay at any other store is on the back.

Day old copies of the Sunday Washington Post: $1. Since it's 95 percent features, it's still good.

Dollar Tree even sold TV remote controls for $1.

Not all Dollar Trees have freezers. You can do better at Walmart on frozen food.

I think Dollar Tree has its headquarters in Virginia. Everything in the store has an address of Chesapeake, Virginia, on it. Just as everything at Aldi has an address of Batavia, Illinois, on it.

Things might be changing:

Dollar stores warn they will have to raise prices over tariffs

Two of the largest U.S. dollar store chains warned that shoppers might face rising prices as a result of the ongoing trade war between the U.S. and China, Reuters reported Thursday. Executives from both Dollar Tree and Dollar General told analysts on their post-earning calls that tension with Beijing will likely hit their businesses. The warning comes after President Trump announced an increase in tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese goods earlier this month.

Dollar General executives said the retailer was working with vendors to “mitigate the impact."
“Even with these efforts, we believe our shoppers will be facing higher prices as 2019 progresses,” Dollar General Chief Financial Officer John Garratt said on the call.

Dollar Tree president and CEO Gary Philbin said in a statement that new tariffs Trump has levied against China will be “impactful” to their business and consumers in general.

Trump earlier this month announced tariffs on $200 billion of goods from China will rise to from 10 percent to 25 percent. He also warned of tariffs on an additional $325 billion of Chinese goods "shortly." Other major retailers, including Costco and Walmart, warned that the tariffs may cause a hike in prices.

https://thehill.com/policy/finance/trade/446445-dollar-stores-warn-that-they-will-have-to-raise-prices-over-trump

Also:

Dollar Tree to raise prices over $1 amid US-China trade dispute

I just can't take all this winning.

[essme]

23. We were

So, yeah- I hear you. I'll tell you who else saves a ton there- parents and teachers buying school supplies. I am a school librarian- I can get 8 dry erase markers for two dollars.

[panader0]

60. Well I make $840 a month from SS.

My land and house are paid for. I have a small garden. My sweetheart
Jeannie pays the electric and cable, I pay the propane, garbage and land
taxes (About $2600 a year). I occasionally pick up a bit of work, but the truth
be told, it hurts more than it used to, after nearly 50 years in construction, mostly
bricklaying. I consider myself rich. I have 4 wonderful kids, all who make good
money. I burn mesquite from my land for heat--I'll never run out. My health
care is provided free by the state because I'm poor, but I don't have any issues
and have only been to the hospital twice in 30-plus years.
Poverty level, but I've got it made.

[elocs]

62. To tell the truth, my situation is exactly the same.

I have a little more money coming in but am still under the 100% federal poverty level. I live alone in my own home so I pay all the bills myself.
You always read of the advice to not retire early but some of us have worked hard, physical jobs that take a toll on our bodies over the years and we can't wait to retire.

I don't have lots of stuff, but I have what I need. I apply for every benefit I can get and do what I need to do to get by. My health is still pretty good so I can't complain.

[Grammy23]

9. I don't buy food from Dollar Tree very often unless it is a name brand.

What I do buy there regularly are greeting cards and gift bags. You cannot beat the price. They even started carrying Hallmark cards recently. They are not the very best but they are suitable for most occasions. Some of the smaller cards are 2 for a dollar. Unless it is someone I know who keeps the card forever and displays it proudly (like my Mother-in-Law), Dollar Tree cards are just fine. Their gift bags from the small ones to giant size are only a buck. Across the street at Wal-Mart the only bags that cost a dollar are very small, plain bags.

[SoCalDem]

51. I like the imported cookies..

and Ajax dish soap 28 oz bonus bottles for a buck..you bet

I also buy the "fashion" bath net bath scrubbers They are mini versions 5 in a tube for a buck..I use them to wash dishes..hang the look over the faucet handle..

[guillaumeb]

10. Recommended. eom

[VarryOn]

11. the few mom-and-pop grocery stores I've been in...

were more expensive and very limited on product selection.

Give me a Walmart Supercenter any day.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

39. Mom and Pop grocery stores are completely different

from things like a dollar store.

And yes, I know from experience they tend to be more expensive and limited in produce. And my experience goes back to 1967.

[Hotler]

12. I was in a dollar store the other day and they had a small frozen food section.

I wonder how many times that stuff has been thawed and frozen again. Not me.

[Captain Zero]

27. I never thought about thaw/freeze

but you might be right. Ever been in a trashy dollar store where more stuff is sitting in the aisles all boxed up than is on the store's shelves??

[RussellCattle]

28. Why do you presume that the Dollar Store management is less ethical than the big grocery chains...

...or, for that matter, the boutique grocers? Or the convenience stores. They buy from the same wholesalers. A frozen bean burrito is a frozen frozen bean burrito. Some small towns in southern Ohio have banned dollar stores and claim it's because of the junk food poor people eat. Give me a break. The local small grocers are twisting the arms of their pals on city council.

[gulliver]

13. I'm skeptical of this analysis.

My old hometown has a couple of these now and also a main "chain" supermarket. In the not-too-distant past, the grocery store would have been considered very disruptive of "Mom and Pop" shops. Regardless, people love the dollar stores and the supermarket.

Fresh produce is overrated. Frozen and canned are just as nutritious. Many things are actually better tasting frozen, because they are frozen while they are fresher than the "fresh" produce is by the time it gets to the store. Corn is a good example.

People need to be able to choose what they want to eat, period. And if they really want to choose fresh produce, it will show up somewhere near them...under one circumstance. They need to have the money to buy it. Getting them the money is what we need to be doing. Then they can buy the mix of good stuff and crap everyone else buys when it comes to food.

[Texasgal]

26. I agree.

If people in general are worried about poor folks being in food deserts, then why don't they advocate for more grocery stores?

I'm in Austin, TX and there are no Mom and Pop grocers in this city anymore! The property taxes are outrageous! Small business is becoming a thing of the past here.

I'm not upset about Dollar Stores.. it seems to fill a niche that others have not been able to. Build more grocery stores and stop whining!

[cwydro]

14. What's strange is that in the town where I live, the dollar stores are right next to grocery stores.

Go figure.

[X_Digger]

17. Ahh yes, let's shit on the poor people for being poor.

"That strategy discourages supermarkets from opening" -- like they're just waiting to open a Kroger or Albertson's but can't fight off the competition of a shitty dollar store? Pull the other one, it's got bells on it.

As someone who grew up dirt poor, dollar store fare was better than doing without. For a lot of poor coal mining families, dollar store toys, clothes, and sometimes food was all you could afford.

[MicaelS]

19. Fuck this bullshit.

I have used Dollar stores many times when money was tight.

[GulfCoast66]

21. I'm not thinking this represents the entire story. At least in my experience.

I guarantee you a dollar store won’t put the grocery stores out of business in my middle and upper middle class area. Or any area with a diet educated population.

And where my family lives in very rural Louisiana and Arkansas they have brought options to areas where there were none before. They don’t have to drive 15 miles to by basic goods. And no way a Publix or Winn Dixie can afford to build a store in these areas with the low population density they have.

And there are other stores providing options in the small or medium towns in this part of the country. Brookshires is a rapidly growing new comer and Piggly Wiggly is the old stand by. Both have healthy options for those who want them.

In my opinion, at least in the South, the biggest problem is a decades or even centuries long habit of preferring really unhealthy food. The average rural person I know in the south does not long for fresh vegetables and salads. A typical meal, and the meal preferred by many in my family is fried meat of some kind. Fried potatoes of some kind and bread. If a veggie is served it is drenched in cream, butter and/or cheese. That is considered a healthy meal. Even for those who can afford better.

Attend any church dinner in the south, white or black, and often not a single dish offered would be considered healthy in my household.

And what passes as a salad? Some will not believe this, but it is common in the rural south. A small bed of iceberg lettuce, half a canned pear with the ‘pit’ filled with mayo topped by a cherry. All sprinkled with cheddar cheese. Not shit. That a salad. Grew up with it.

Had my dad not moved away and become educated that’s how I would eat.

Most Americans eating shitty stuff do so because that is what they want to eat. My family ate like this when they were poor and still do once they got educated and gained some wealth. And they gained some Education and wealth usually because of Democratic Party policies!

In my experience and where I am from, poor people eat unhealthy for the same reason their better off neighbors do, it what they prefer.

[essme]

24. I have my masters- live in NC-- work in education

and I freaking LOVE the canned pear on lettuce!! Holy crap- it's desert during dinner fatty awesomeness.

I do use veganaise now-- instead of Dukes (I know, I am going to hell)--but, omg, that is one freaking amazing salad.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

53. "... instead of Dukes (I know, I am going to hell)...."

This is an outrage!

100 years of Duke's Mayonnaise: the South's favorite spread celebrates a century

I got a quart jar of the stuff back in June for $1.40 after the sale price and the doubled coupon took their combined effects.

[essme]

25. Do you remember

The jello molds that were shaped like pineapples, and fish?

Yeah. I love that stuff too!

Btw, we are vegetarians, and I am trying to follow the forks over knives meal plan now.

but, omg, your description of the salad just killed me. I am jonesing for one now.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

40. Very interesting post.

We all tend to prefer the food we grew up with. And you've carefully explained one group of people and their preferences.

[Blueplanet]

45. Here you go

Pear salad:

[GulfCoast66]

46. LOL. That's it. And now I want one! It been over 30 years!

[MissB]

67. I've never even heard of this before.

That’s amazing.

Living in the PNW, I’m used to actual salad. We throw fruit in ours, but it’s like fresh blueberries or chunks of fresh apple or pear. We also throw nuts and seeds in salads too. Just depends on what is available seasonally. I grow a lot of our greens, including kale, chard and arugula.

My husband’s family just doesn’t do salad of virtually any kind. Certainly not green. They are into meat and potatoes, and salad is canned fruit with cool whip. I used to bring a green salad but I gave up. They just didn’t eat it.

[radical noodle]

76. Not only in the south

Go to a church dinner almost anywhere and it's a collection of unhealthy comfort food (and soooo tasty!).

[JCMach1]

29. It's a go to for me for inexpensive cleaning supplies

I only buy the things that I know are good deals. Everything else I spread around between Walmart, our upscale United store called Marketplace and Kroger. Staples at Walmart, meats at Marketplace and produce at all 3. There are no local grocery stores at all. The exception are Indian and Halal markets where we also occasionally buy

[Doreen]

32. I love their Awsome cleaner.

It works on everything and does not discolor anything.

[rufus dog]

30. I must confess I use them often

1. Car wash supplies - towels, tire cleaner
2. Chocolate bars to give to hotel maids with a $5 bill
3. Thank you card packs - you would be amazed how many maids won't take the tip without the card
4. Advil packs to put in my golf bag.
5. Medical tape for golf bag
6. Misc. shit to put in my workout bag. Deodorant, body wash

Really hard for me to complain.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

41. How do you know the maid won't take the tip without the card?

When I'm in a hotel, I simply take a piece of paper, fold it up from the bottom and write: For housekeeping, thank you. And I put the tip money, usually $10.00 inside the fold.

I find it quite annoying that low end motels never have any kind of paper in the room.

I stay in both high and low end motels. The high end ones tend to be ones connected to some kind of event or con that I'm attending (I go to various science fiction cons each year) and the low end ones are what I choose otherwise. I have decided that a $10.00 tip is a basic, not matter what kind of hotel I'm in. The people cleaning the rooms work very hard, and I'm sincerely grateful I have never had to do that kind of work.

I probably should be increasing my tip by at least $5.00. And it's still not enough.

[rufus dog]

44. concur, should increase

I have tried using the paper with a note, about 1/3 of the time it isn't taken.

[cwydro]

58. I never even use paper. I put it under the remote.

I’ve never seen the tip be left behind.

[Grasswire2]

31. I buy up their Hungarian cherries -- beautiful, delicious jarred morello cherries for a dollar.

Imported from Hungary, and Hungary knows cherries..

And the wonderful oyster crackers that come from an old New England company.

[Doreen]

33. The dollar store where I am at has never sold fresh produce.

Mostly canned then some refrigerated, and I think there might be some frozen. I am careful about some of their candy. I really do not like eating candy from China. I love the dollar store during holidays. You can find inexpensive decorations for Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and any other holiday.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

55. Dollar Trees near me have obscure brands of candy.

Mars, Hershey, and Brach's have bought up the shelf space at the big grocery stores. You can't find Atomic FireBalls at them. Dollar Tree has them. It also has these terrific peppermint candies from some company in Lexington, North Carolina. Darn, are those good.

Red Bird puffed mints

I see that Ferrara Candy owns Brach's. I don't know why all they push in the big grocery stores is the Brach's-branded candies.

Atomic FireBalls

Warning: do NOT try to enjoy Atomic FireBalls one after another. If you limit yourself to a single Atomic FireBall, you'll be okay.

[wishstar]

34. Wonder why there aren't more articles decrying the high prices of regular supermarkets

Dollar Tree provides a convenient service to my family. They have name brand fresh bread and cereals with whole grain options and cleaning and health care items, even LED lightbulbs at a fraction of the cost of other stores. This week I bought Healthy Choice chicken noodle soups, Old Orchard low sugar Ice Tea in a 64 ounce bottle and sugarless (no aspartame) electrolyte drinks out of their cooler to keep us hydrated. They have good quality kitchen utensils, potholders, towels and dishware.

Aldi has them beat on most cookies, crackers and condiments and I have noticed several Dollar Tree items that have been downsized by a few ounces this year, but at least they are price consistent unlike the supermarkets that constantly jerk prices up and down on many items.

[JI7]

37. many people go to dollar stores for crafting and decor stuff

especially seasonal and other temporary things. its cheaper and they can be creative.

quality is not that important becsuse it's temporary.

[Retrograde]

50. That's something I don't understand

buying decorations for every season. Either I have to find a place to store them in my not large bungalow (whoever built it back in the early 1900s didn't think storage space was necessary) or buy them new every season, which runs up the expense and waste.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

42. I go to the local dollar store for sunglasses.

I occasionally buy something else there. It has occurred to me that I perhaps ought to buy more things there, like maybe canned tuna, but I'm not well enough organized to do so.

[cwydro]

43. I even shopped at the pound stores in Wales when I was there, and the Euro stores in Ireland.

My friends in Ireland were especially devotees. They had perfect access to grocery stores as well.

I found them great for various travel items I’d run out of or forgotten. I even bought a laptop case, which I actually used for travel books and pamphlets. I expected it to fall apart, but it’s still going strong. Bought a bunch of reusable grocery bags that are still holding up too.

Not knocking cheap stores.

[shanti]

47. Well, I'm in CA

and many of our dollar stores have fresh produce and bread/tortillas, as well as a refrigerated section with basic stuff. It's always busy.

[Niagara]

48. I've never purchased groceries at any dollar store

I purchase fresh fruits and vegetables at my local Farmers Market and other food items at the grocery store.


There have been plenty of other savings purchases that I made at the dollar stores.


Outdoor Planters@ Family Dollar- I recently purchased several black and red marble effect outdoor planters for $5 a piece. The same sized outdoor planters at other retail stores can range from $20 to $80. Also, the planters at other retail stores were not that visually appealing.


Greeting Cards@ Dollar Tree & Family Dollar- The Dollar Tree has a wide selection of greeting cards for .50 a card. The Family Dollar doesn't have a wide selection but I can usually find a nice one for $1 or $2 and most of them have a plastic sleeve on them. I once went to Wal-Mart to shop for a Valentines Day card and the price was almost $8 for one card. I didn't purchase that card.


Paprika@ Family Dollar- If I remember the price correctly, I apply this $1-$2 seasoning to any areas in my yard when I spot skunks digging for grubs. There is a 3rd shift worker in my household and we don't want anyone to be surprised and sprayed. Skunks don't like paprika because it's too strong for their noses and they move on.


Plastic Butter Dishes@ Dollar Tree- I prefer $1 plastic butter dishes over glass butter dishes because unfortunately I'm like a bull in a china shop and I'm not a graceful person. I drop stuff all the time.


Kitty Litter-@ any dollar store- Inexpensive kitty litter (that I don't let my cats use) is great for disposing leftover paint in a can, soaking up oil spills in driveway and comes in handy for traction if one's vehicle is ever stuck in snow. Our cats actually prefer a brand called Paws Happy Life that's more on the expensive side and that's okay.


Index Cards@ Dollar General- When needing flashcards for any studying purposes, one can find a 100 count packages for .50 or two packages of 100 count for a $1.

[dwayneb]

49. Watch for expired food

Went to a Family Dollar the other day and got some Boost supplement drinks, got them home and they were months expired. You really have to watch what you are buying there.

One thing they do have that I buy are greeting cards at $1, $2 and $3. Hallmark cards at $7 is ridiculously overpriced.

[zackymilly]

56. I've found more expired food at Aldi's than any other place I have been. nt

[zackymilly]

57. We buy artificial flowers for cemetery arrangements at the dollar stores.

Cheaper than Walmart or craft stores. We are usually making arrangements for at least 6 graves at a time throughout the year, and this can add up.

[Liberty Belle]

54. I don't buy food there but do buy:

Items for our nonprofit when we have fundraisers such as ribbons, gift bags, wrapping paper, sometimes things to round out a raffle basket such as wine glasses, coffee mugs, candles, cut glass vases, and seasonal items such as a BBQ towel and tongs if, say, someone donated a BBQ to raffle or auction off.

The food is generally poor quality and I would also never buy dog food, treats or toys that could have toxic fillings made in China or be items that were recalled.

[drray23]

59. Its a simplistic analysis.

In my little town of 1200 in rural virginia that's all we got. The alternative is 20 miles away. We are grateful we have a store in town to get necessities A lot of poor people don't have means of transportation, they would be sunk without it.

[Indykatie]

61. Critics of Dollar Stores Assume Other Options Would Exist in Poor Neighborhoods If Not For $$ Stores

That's a fallacy. There were few if any other grocery store choices before the $$ Stores appeared on the scene in many urban and poor communities. It's incorrect to blame them for the absence of other retail outlets now.

[lame54]

63. Dollar General is not a dollar store...

It's actually quite pricey

[Kaleva]

65. I've found it to be at least competitive with and sometimes even beats Walmart prices

[KentuckyWoman]

73. I miss small grocery stores

Even Kroger here is blossoming into a "marketplace". They are just too big for me. Bread is on one side and eggs / milk way the other side. I'm exhausted by the time I have things put away at home. Tried both click list and delivery. I don't know what they do, but the milk lasts 2 days tops and goes bad. If I pick it out of the milk case we can get a day or two beyond the date. That tells me they aren't handling perishables well so I stopped.

Instead I hit the local Dollar General. They have a small grocery including produce, meat, dairy etc. The offerings are few but it works to fill in until my niece is going to Kroger and will help drag the "big shopping" in the house.

I miss the old Five & Dime stores too.

Old stuff for old ladies.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

74. Sounds like your store is the exception

I have yet to see a dollar store with fresh produce.

[ck4829]

75. Kick

[democrank]

78. I'm so grateful for the Dollar Tree we have in a neighboring village.

I buy mostly brand-name necessities and save between 50 cents and $1.50 on each item. I save about $1.59 on Heinz ketchup, about $1.29 on each bar of Yardley soap, about $1.60 on Reynold’s aluminum foil, over $1.00 on masking tape. Since I temporarily have to buy drinking water, I save almost 70 cents on every gallon or over $12.00 each month. The Dollar Tree helps me (and many like me) survive.

They also carry several products made in the U.S.A.

[RobinA]

81. Maybe I'm Dense

but I don’t see how a dollar store equals a grocery store. I go to the grocery store once a week to buy food and some other things. I’ve been in a Dollar Store exactly once in my life. I don’t see how they are competitors.