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Dollar deals
For all you closet bargain shoppers, good news: It is now cool to shop at your local dollar store.
The stores have begun expanding into new areas and even suburbia has caught on, changing the profile of the typical dollar store shopper.
“In today’s economy, we see that same customer that may shop in a luxury outlet or a luxury store might also shop at a dollar store,” [National Retail Federation president Dan ] Butler said.
This upswing in business for discount stores is being fueled in part by growing economic concerns. Where I live, there are several closeout stores that I shop at to stretch our dollar a little more. Are any of you doing the same? Is the current economic situation causing you to modify your spending habits in other ways?
Topic: Culture, WorldMagBlog
Keywords: Economy
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back to top13 Comments to “Dollar deals”
Kristin, my wife is no closet bargan shopper. She shops at the Dollar Store. She also clips coupons and buys on sale. It’s a sport with her.
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I’m with Chas’ wife!
But there’s good Dollar Store stuff and there’s bad Dollar Store stuff. A good shopper knows the difference!
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I discovered that cleaning supplies were cheaper at the dollar store than they were at the grocery store. However I have recently discovered that they are even cheaper per unit at Sam’s. Of course, you have to buy enough to supply the Waltons for a year.
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It depends on where you go. I’ve seen maybe one nice dollar store in my shopping career. The others I wouldn’t go into for anything. I would rather pay a little more money and get quality merchandise or stuff my family likes and will use than cheap stuff that doesn’t work.
I also would rather pay a little more and have a nice, safe shopping experience. It’s not worth it to me to save money if while I’m shopping I feel unsafe.
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My husband hangs out at the dollar store, and has come home with some useful stuff. (And he will certainly react protectively to anyone experiencing lack of safety in the store.) One he goes to is nice. The other one is not so nice (he doesn’t want me to go there by myself).
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There are two dollar stores on my daily route from home to work, but as there are few things there that I want that aren’t just as cheap at Wal-Mart, I rarely go there.
Dollar stores are good for stocking stuffers at Christmas, especially toys. They’re good for wrapping paper and party supplies (since there’s no party supply store close by and the dollar store has a wider selection than Wal-Mart). They’re fine for school supplies (no better than Wal-Mart, but usually as good).
As others have said above, you have to know what’s good and what’s not, and whether a dollar really is a good price for an item. I got kitchen stuff from the dollar store when I had my first apartment and decided I’d find better quality at garage sales. But the hand puppets and kids books I’ve bought there, and a few books on tape that normally cost far more, have been very good deals.
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My aunt taught me that when shopping, time and money are in inverse proportion. You can spend a little money and a lot of time (as she did) or a little time and a lot of money. I struggle with shopping for bargains, especially with gas getting more expensive. How many stores should I go to in order to get the best prices? How much time should I spend clipping coupons and reading ads? It’s all a balance.
As for the dollar stores, we had one here, but now have three. I’m with Pauline (must be the name). They are great for little gifts. My little ones love to do their Christma shopping there, and I like to add a little something to the books I give for birthday party gifts.
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I definitely check closeout places like Big Lots–we just bought a storage ottoman there that was actually from Ashley Furniture. Half-price of the twin we had seen the week before at Ashley.
Whether dollar stores or Big Lots or whatever, shoppers need to know the price in the ‘real world’. Many times dollar stores sell for 99 cents what WalMart or Meijer sells for 88. Big Lots is often a deal, but many times is the same price as regular retailers.
This is especially true when we went to fill our shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child–we can do better at Big Lots than the dollar stores. They have more toys, at better prices, plus the hygiene stuff for the box.
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I have three dollar stores (plus a Big Lots–and two Walmarts) on the main street near me. The dollar stores have different things. One is great for cleaning supplies and toiletries (though I have to know prices, since its items aren’t really a dollar); the other is wonderful for kids’ stuff and household things.
I stocked up at the kids’ one when I was preparing for foster kids. Everything in the store is a dollar, and they had everything from hand puppets to glow-in-the-dark puzzles. They also had those glass blocks with laser-created dots forming a picture in the middle, an item that used to be available only to the wealthy!
As a Scottish person, I have no problem whatsoever with telling people I saved money on something. A “successful” grocery shopping trip is when I have more bags than I can carry to the house in one trip, but it all cost me $20.
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My wife does most of our shopping, and would heartily agree with the comments above about knowing product prices. Big Lots is good on some stuff, Dollar Tree on others, but neither beats Wal-Mart or ALDI (the funny little grocery stores that carry a lot of non-grocery items in lots) all the time.
I think it’s the Tightwad Gazette lady who recommends the practice of keeping a pricebook: a little memo book that you take with you whenever you shop, with each product that you buy regularly listed at the most you’ll pay for it. (Hamburger, milk, eggs, dishwasher soap, you name it)
Grocery examples for our family: our top price for boxed cereal is $2.25; twelve-pack soda, $2.99. We don’t pay more, ever, which means that we sometimes wait until it’s on sale again. Which is OK; give ‘em a couple of weeks, and it will be.
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Giving the great economic situation on my side of the border, I don’t feel the need to go to a dollar store. When I do go to a dollar store, the image of 12 year Chinese girls living in an overcrowded factory dormitory working 12 hours a day in conditions reminscient of 19th century England makes me want to leave.
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#11,
HRW,
I often put down items I have been considering purchasing for that reason, when I find the tag MADE IN CHINA. But that’s not at the dollar store particularly – I find that no matter where I shop (though “where I shop” is pretty limited as it would require using way to much gas to drive to another city to shop).
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Right on, Chas! I’m another one who’s never been embarrassed to shop at a dollar store. But others rightly point out that there are big differences in these stores. Some are truly awful, nothing but cheap Chinese junk and trinkets. Some are in between. But I love Dollar General. Where I live, we have an expanded one with a big grocery section, called Dollar General Market. I’d rather go there than Wal-Mart any day of the week. Of course, they have a smaller selection, but most things I need are there. You can park closer to the store, you get in and out faster, the aisles are less crowded, and the prices are usually about the same, many times even cheaper.
A couple years ago I read that Dollar General stores make more money per square foot than Wal-Mart. I can see why. They’re by far the best of the dollar stores in general.
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