The Truth About Those Dollar Stores

[NurseJackie]

https://www.consumerreports.org/dollar-stores/the-truth-about-those-dollar-stores/

The Truth About Those Dollar Stores
Dollar General, Dollar Tree, Family Dollar, and others offer low prices but also raise concern in communities that feel choked by them
By Brian Vines
October 06, 2021

But a dollar store on almost every corner also raises concerns. For some people, especially those who have low incomes or live in rural areas, these stores are the only option, or one of the only options, CR’s survey found.

Food access advocates worry that the stores’ skyrocketing growth means businesses with broader offerings—more fruit and vegetables in addition to dollar store mainstays such as candy, soda, and other heavily processed packaged foods—get squeezed out. Some communities are now pressuring the big three dollar stores to better serve the areas they operate in.

What critics and fans can agree on: Dollar stores are changing the way we shop. And given that they appear to be here to stay, it pays to know how to shop there, whether they are your only option, or one of many. Our six-month investigation provides insights that can help you navigate their aisles.

Dollar stores, of course, play up their low prices. And until recently, just about everything at Dollar Tree really was a dollar or less, something that they could do by selling most items in travel or other smaller-than-usual sizes. While the company announced in late September that it “will be testing price points above $1 in select stores,” low-prices are still a major selling point for the brand. And Dollar General and Family Dollar, which have long sold many items for more than a buck, also still try to keep prices low.

(more at link above)

Here's the Consumer Reports poll question (along with the reader response percentage):

QUESTION: About how often do you shop at dollar stores?

73 votes, 1 pass | Time left: Unlimited
	Never (CR Readers say: 12%)
	28 (38%)
	A few times a year, but less than once a month (35%)
	29 (40%)
	About once a month (19%)
	3 (4%)
	More than once a month, but less than once a week (15%)
	6 (8%)
	About once a week (10%)
	3 (4%)
	More than once a week (9%)
	4 (5%)
	1 DU member did not wish to select any of the options provided.
Show usernames Disclaimer: This is an Internet poll

[H2O Man]

1. Never.

However, there are new ones popping up every five miles in rural, upstate New York, and more people I know shop at them.

[jimfields33]

12. Bottom line is no matter what, people will find something to complain about,

Dollar trees were not designed to be grocery stores. I find it hard to believe that cities don’t have a grocery stores as well as a dollar tree. I never thought I’d see the day where complaints are items are too inexpensive.

[H2O Man]

37. Interesting.

That is distinct from my understanding of the OP. I think it is entirely focused on the food options available for low-income communities, including in urban and rural areas. I admit from the giddy-up that I'm not an expert on cities, and agree that there are almost certainly grocery stores in most -- even all! -- cities. But that does not equate to there being grocery stores in low-income neighborhoods. It would be as short-sighted to say that low-income citizens could always drive to where those higher-quality and -priced grocery stores are, as to say that everyone can use their drivers licenses as voter ID. For drivers licenses are a tad more rarely found in low-income neighborborhoods, as are automobiles.

I won't debate if dollar stores were intended to sell groceries or not. Certainly, things change. In my youth, most communities had gas stations and Mom-n-Pops stores with some groceries and things like batteries and penny candy. In the 1970s, these were largely extinct. In the 1980s, Red Barrel stores became common, offering gas, groceries, pizza, subs, beer, smokes, cat and dog food, etc. Local towns had grocery stores, of course, but for someone needing gas and one or two items, these new stores were handy.

In the 1990s, Wal-Marts started popping up. One could be found within twenty miles of where ever one was. During the George W. Bush years, the middle economic class would increasingly do their grocery shopping at Wal-Mart. The majority of the grocerie stores in local towns went out of business. This increased the pace of dollar stores in the villages and towns here in upstate New York. I am unaware of any that do not sell groceries, as well as batteries, beer, smokes, pet foods, etc. Thus, whatever the original intent may have been, the reality is that low-income folks in rural communities -- who do not have the option of frequent twenty mile drives to the nearest Wal-Mart -- absolutely use dollar stores for a significant amount of their grocery shopping.

There is one dollar store in the three-county area I inhabit that does offer a good selection of fresh fruits and vegetables, I am told. But that serves one very small community. Most sell the types of things that do not provide for all around healthy diets. Now, caring about the needs of low-income populations has largely gone out of style since the 1960s. We are in a colder, less-caring social environment. One can debate if LBJ's Great Society programs assisted people in escaping poverty, or if they created huge, top-heavy bureaucracies that self-perpetuated self-growth. That is a valid topic for discussion.

It connects, of course, with other important issues. Why don't children from low-income families tend to have more problems in schools? Providing free breakfasts and lunches is important. The school district that I served on the BOE was doing so during the summer months, until covid. The virus caused internet learning, denying this option even during the school year. Thus, even good programs are not perfect. There are no easy answers.

I grew up poor. My children think it's a giggle that I refuse to eat pancakes, something that made for breakfast, lunch, and supper too frequently when we lived in town. Moving rurally allowed us to garden, raise a couple cows, and harvest "wild" foods, such as apples, strawberries, and blu- and blackberries. A healthy diet changes children's lives. There can be the option of "community gardens" in towns and cities. Not perfect, of course, but with real potential.

Maybe I am a product of the era I lived through. Feeding the poor matters to me. I hope it comes back into style.

[Kingofalldems]

40. Good response.

[H2O Man]

51. Thank you!

It's one of the most important social-political issues our country is confronted with, in my opinion. I could puke when I see how expensive food is when I make my monthly trip to the grocery store. I count myself lucky that I can add to my garden every year, plus harvest other foods that grow wild. I've been busy, with help from one of my sons, canning things for the winter months.

I am impressed with some of the young adults that I know -- including my daughter in Boston. She was recently offered two jobs, with one paying significantly more, but involving sitting in an office or in meetings, versus one that pays less but involves more direct contact with children from low-income families. Despite having university loans that she could have paid ahead on, she took the lower paying job.

Note: her and one brother tease me about the first day we went out to breakfast with Marvis Frazier, Smokin' Joe's son. He said he'd order for us, as the place had the best pancakes. My kids were curious how I'd respond. I ate a couple, agreed they were great, and noted how filling they were. The other three consumed far more than I did.

[LeftInTX]

53. I'm in San Antonio and you pretty much need a car here, even to get to a dollar stores

However, almost everyone lives within walking distance to a convenience store, but they are like this:

[url=https://postimg.cc/ctdGztfh][img][/img][/url]

Hubby worked at one in the 70's...There weren't healthy options back then. Here is a movie about hunger in San Antonio from 1968. The only options for many people were beans and kids were buying junk food at convenience stores.

[H2O Man]

56. Thanks for this!

I'll watch the movie later tonight. It looks like good evidence of how caring about these issues was in style in the 1960s. I appreciate that.

Your post reminded me of something that Oren Lyons, the Faithkeeper of the Six Nations Iroquois Confederacy said to an audience in Binghamton, NY, 40 years ago. He said that in the near future, the corporate government would begin to treat non-Indians in the same manner they were then treating Indian people. More and more people are experiencing that these days.

[luvs2sing]

2. There is a Dollar Tree..

right next door to our favorite Chinese place. We have a habit of wandering over after our meal, just to browse. Most of it is junk, but I’ve found a few cool things from time to time. They carry these delicious German lemon cookies that I’ve never found anywhere else.

I also hit the dollar stores every time I’m involved in a charity drive. I recently filled a big box with school supplies from the dollar store and only spent $50.

I probably shop in dollar stores about six times a year.

[lark]

3. Dollar Tree is the star of the cheap stores, they have the best stock.

They have these interdent brushes that I love, they are the only thing that works to clean out this one problem area. Plus we get our favorite brand of toothpaste there, and it's expensive at the regular store. When hubs was managing a brake shop, he brought 2 cases of water for the guys every week. Around Christmas I always stock up on gift bags, tape and paper there. I've also found some cute platters & tin boxes I use for giving treats. I'd really miss them if they closed and hubs would be devastated. He just loves a good deal.

[Freddie]

17. That's when I go, holiday season

Stock up on gift wrap and misc holiday crap. I am very forthcoming to have several “real” supermarkets nearby.
Years ago my then-teenage son had a PT job at Dollar Tree. His boss treated her staff very well so it was a good experience for him, I imagine it could be horrible with a bad boss. He used to come home with bags full of “stuff” (mostly candy bars) that she let them have. I imagine the inventory control isn’t so great.

[Mopar151]

4. I can't afford to save that much money!

There is so little value in most "dolla" store products, that the low prices are irrelevant.

[UpInArms]

5. Until the pandemic

I shopped there frequently … but the aisles are narrow and I live in a red maskless area …

Until the Dollar Store opened here, just buying shoelaces was a 60 mile roundtrip

[Sherman A1]

6. Like any other stores

They are good for some things, less so for others. I like them for greeting cards and gift wrap. Also a good source of cayenne pepper to keep the squirrels away.

[GoCubsGo]

31. Yep. They're good for cleaning supplies and hair accessories, too.

I like their imported jellies and preserves, as well. They're the right quantity for one person, and have no weird ingredients like many of the supermarket brands have. The same goes for candy, cookies, and other treats. The dollar stores are a good place to go if you want to splurge, without having to buy a family-size package. And, yes. They're not always the best deal, otherwise, especially when it comes to other food products, like some of their canned goods and other grocery products.

[Wounded Bear]

7. Never these days...I did in the past when I was essentially homeless...

but never any more. I never lived on the street, but I couch surfed for a while and as the old saying goes: If your name isn't on the lease, you're essentially homeless.

[FakeNoose]

8. I grew up in the 50's and early 60's - so this is for Baby Boomers

Does anyone remember going to the old Woolworth's stores that used to be in every small town main street in America? Woolworth's is long gone but in those days it performed the same service as today's "Dollar Stores." It sold an assortment of small low-priced items, mainly for the household. For us kids it was our favorite source of penny candy.

Here's the thing: my Mom - who was born in 1928 - used to call Woolworth's "the dime store" and that always puzzled me. Just about everything in that store cost more than 10 cents, except for the penny candy. Most items cost more than a dime but less than a dollar. So why call it a dime store? Because that's what Mom grew up with during the Depression years, and that's what she taught us kids in the 50's, even though it was no longer relevant.

So now we have Dollar Stores and our grandkids will be doing the same thing in a few years. They'll be scratching their heads, saying "Why is this called a Dollar store, when everything costs more than a dollar?" I guess it's the price of inflation.

[hlthe2b]

10. The entire type of store was known as a "five and dime" from the depression forward...

At one time, a lot of things actually WERE a nickel or a dime--in our grandparent's or great-grandparents' day.

Like "Kleenex" for facial tissues, it "stuck" as a name for those kinds of stores.

[Polybius]

49. My mother said "5 and 10"

Seems most here heard "5 and dime."

[House of Roberts]

13. Here in Huntsville, we had two Woolworths at two different malls.

Even if we didn't need anything there, we'd end up in their lunch counter.

There was also G.C. Murphy's, which was a direct competitor to Woolworths. They had a nice lunch counter too. Murphy's was my go to place for records before stores like Carousel arrived.

[yonder]

20. Yes, we called them dime stores also, never knew why.

There was another large chain which I just can't remember. H or K was in the name I think. This would've been in the West.

[Crepuscular]

24. 5 and dime

Growing up in the 60's, we had 3 local Dime stores, Woolworths, Kresge's and Ben Franklin. This was in the midwest. I believe Kresge's eventually morphed into K-Mart. Was that what you were thinking of?

[yonder]

27. Thanks, I'll go with Kresge's, though it doesn't have the mental "feel"

It will keep me from racking my head all day trying to remember.

[mopinko]

23. i lived in kresge country, but yeah.

my folks called it a 5 and dime, but mostly just called it kresges.
dont think anything was a dime by the time i could walk to the one half a mile away.
i think parakeets were about a $1.50, which was what i was always dreaming about. had a few.

[hlthe2b]

9. I went in to buy some candy for Halloween last year--for the first time.

I think the candy turns over pretty frequently and with COVID-19 I wanted individually wrapped everything-- so I did buy it and I'm not sure there were any issues.

But then I tooled through the store and found a lot of out-of-date canned and frozen food and obvious "seconds" for other items--or those with clearly flimsy construction. So, while they may be the most affordable option for many, I don't think they are any "bargain."

[FakeNoose]

14. You're right about that

Dollar stores are unloading a lot of stuff cheaply that the retail stores can't sell for the normal price. The Dollar stores carry cut-outs, discontinued items, odd lots and out-of-date food.

I noticed several years ago that toilet paper, paper towels, and tissues were actually priced higher at the Dollar store than they were (in some cases) at the grocery stores.

[NurseJackie]

16. That's an important distinction! Cheaper is not always a bargain.

[Demovictory9]

42. I think the smaller sizes allows the poor to buy a lil bit to get by

[House of Roberts]

11. I have a Family Dollar four blocks from my house.

I buy all sorts of household items, and sometimes snacks and drinks. I keep comparing their prices to Kroger so I don't get burned on individual items.

During the pandemic, they have had shortages, just like everybody else.

[Totally Tunsie]

15. We have an alternate to the dollar stores nearby called

Ocean State Job Lot that is very reasonably priced and carries much better quality than the dollar stores, so they usually get my business.

I will occasionally go to the dollar store with a friend* who fills her basket with toiletries and the like so she can make up gift boxes to send to servicemen/women, and I split the cost with her. It's not often enough that any of the poll answers were suitable.

*She's a bit of a nut, and we spend the time there asking each other "Hey GF, how much is this?" "Why, I think it's a dollar!" Sounds like even that isn't true anymore with the changes these stores are testing.

[Politicub]

18. Dollar Stores are the Facebook of retail

Some people love Facebook for various reasons important to them, while others see it as negative or outright hostile to society. The list of reasons why people like or dislike Dollar Stores are not that dissimilar.

For every person who says Dollar Stores are bad for the community, another will say they love shopping at them because of convenience, proximity or prices.

I’m from a rural area and notice the proliferation of Dollar General stores when I go back to visit. They are moving into communities that never had a local supermarket and that don’t have the population to support one. Towns have supermarkets, and some people live many miles away.

The closest thing to a local market in some far flung communities is a gas station with an overpriced convenience store attached. Dollar General is a lot more affordable for people in places like that.

I like that I can pop into a Dollar General that is two miles away from where my parents live rather than driving 15 miles to get to Walmart or a full-service grocery store. I don’t like their labor practices and reported mistreatment of employees, though. But, to be fair, retail labor practices are pretty shitty in the town, too.

Dollar Stores have their place. The business model has good and bad aspects. Both FB and Dollar General have the mission of making money and returning shareholder value. In capitalism, ethics get cast aside more often then not. These businesses are all about building a customer base and growth.

[NurseJackie]

19. I enjoyed reading your post. Thanks.

[Politicub]

26. Thank you for the feedback.

It is much appreciated.

[LeftInTX]

55. Good to know

I live in an urban area (San Antonio) and dollar stores are not competing with grocery stores. We have the unhealthy convenience stores which have been around for 50 years that are sources of junk food.


We hear stories of grocery stores closing and dollar stores moving in, but if there was never a grocery to begin with it, it's a different story.

[Ron Green]

21. I think a Dollar store means a town or neighborhood has failed

at providing and sustaining locally owned retail stores; and perhaps also at supporting other institutions that build community wealth.

[Sympthsical]

28. Maybe true in rural areas?

Not sure, hence the question mark.

In the Bay Area, they're everywhere. Before I moved here, there was a Dollar Tree across the street from a Safeway. In my current town, there's a 99 cent store across the street from a Food Maxx and Target.

Berkeley has them everywhere. One on Shattuck in the heart of downtown. Useful for UCB students. Two others a few blocks away from a Whole Foods.

I use our 99 cent store for school and office supplies. Cheap pens, pencils, notebooks, etc. for days.

[jimfields33]

43. That cannot be true.

Our dollar tree is right across the street from publix. And the next block is dollar general with winn Dixie. Our community is relatively middle class with 7 gated communities along the street. I think you are way off saying that. I even heard rich actors love going to dollar stores.

https://www.supermarketnews.com/blog/real-life-celebrities-love-dollar-store

[Ron Green]

46. There are 2 issues, I believe:

First, these companies (only 1 or 2, I think, own all the stores) are extracting value from mostly poor areas all over the country, paying low wages and keeping the riches for their shareholders.

Secondly, the very act of consumption on this scale, especially of cheap imported things, is a major driver of the untenable situation humans have created on this planet.

Dollar stores may be fun slumming for Hollywood stars, but poor people deserve communities of dignity and local economic opportunity. I don’t think these stores are a way to further that goal.

[Jilly_in_VA]

22. When I was a travel nurse

I stayed in furnished apartments for my 13 week assignments. These places were furnished right down to the forks and bedsheets, and I carried a box of spices and some odds and ends with me, but they always forgot something I knew I needed, so as soon as I set up and took an inventory of the place, my first stops would be the grocery store and the local Dollar Tree. I knew I'd find what I needed at one or the other. And thank all the gods for the Dollar Tree then, because having to pay full price for something I would likely leave behind would be silly. Now I visit them on odd occasions (they are in the same strip mall with a grocery and the locally owned Ace Hardware) for pens and pencils, notebooks, greeting cards, socks for me and for the homeless shelter, cat toys for the shelter, baby blankets likewise, etc.

[mopinko]

25. i've only shopped there a few times.

before i needed real glasses, i would buy readers there. once in a great while for some holiday thing.
i mostly never shopped there because so many products, esp back in the early days, were stuff made w chinese slave labor. and they sold toxic crayons and toys w lead paint.
i had 5 kids. no way i was bringing that shit in my house.

[Sympthsical]

29. Funny story about this

An ex of mine was a Japanese major. He had to do this project where he set up a traditional Japanese tea ceremony. He had to buy all this stuff. Not authentic or expensive - just get the gist of the thing. So we end up at a huge Dollar Tree in last minute desperation. he finds this platter. He could use it, and hey, we can use it for vegetable platters or whatever later.

We get home, I go to wash it, and on the back there are two stickers. One in (I think) Chinese, the other in English.

Yep. Lead. Do not eat off this thing. For decoration only.

He did his ceremony, and then it went right in the trash. I still wonder how many people looked closely enough to know it was a "decorative" platter. I was surprised as hell it was even sold in America.

[mopinko]

38. a ceramic plate?

yeah, lead is the cheapest possible glaze. not likely to rub off a platter, but a pitcher, coffee cup, anything that holds liquid, very bad.
it's cheap and easy to make colors out of toxic elements. much harder to do w/o the cadmium, manganese, lead, etc.
there's a potter right now who is rich and famous because he found a formula for a high-fire bright yellow that doesnt use uranium.
i believe he has kept the formula a deep dark secret.

[iscooterliberally]

30. I have only walked through one of those stores a few times.

My wife goes there maybe once a month. They have a few things that she likes that she can't find elsewhere, like a cleaning solution called 'Awesome' of all things. My wife was a restaurant manager for many years and now does home and office cleaning on the side. She also buys the food bowls for our pets there. She found some rubber sink strainers that fit our sink perfectly. Most of the stuff in that store that I saw was junk, but there are plenty of items that are not. To me these stores seem to be a sort of 'retail flea-market'. The fact that so many are popping up all over the place is a symptom of an economy where people are paid too little. We are a society that loves things and uses people. We have it ass-backwards.

[Ka-Dinh Oy]

39. Awesome is actually really good.

I do agree that having those stores around does show there is a poor economy.

There was one that went up a mile from me on a road you would never think a store would be. Another one is going up in a place that is going to create a traffic problem. We already have one at a shopping strip.

If people in the community were paid enough to have more than bare survival they could afford to buy better quality things and not need to buy from places like dollar stores.

When you think about it, you spend more money there because you have to keep replacing the items that have no quality.

[radicalleft]

32. We go frequently...

We camp a lot in different areas with a travel trailer and they are a nice go to when we forget/need something on the road.

[Kaleva]

33. I like them, shop there weekly and know how to shop there as the article stresses.

"Dollar stores are changing the way we shop. And given that they appear to be here to stay, it pays to know how to shop there, whether they are your only option, or one of many. "

I keep tabs on my stock at home and write down what I need to replenish that stock and how much of each item. DG usually gives $5 off for each $25 spent for the following Saturday so Saturday is my big shopping day. I'm in town often doing errands so I'll stop at the DG to purchase an inexpensive item I actually need to get a coupon. I do this to get as many as I need during the week. Then Friday I look at my need list and break it up into sections just over $25 each. Last Saturday had 3 such lists in hand with 3 coupons. I went into the store with list #1. Spent just over $25 but with the coupon, the final cost was just a little over $20. checked out, put the purchases in the car and went into the store again with list #2 and a coupon and repeated the process for list #3. So, in the end, instead of spending a little over $75, I spent a little over $60. With the DG digital coupons I sometimes download to my app, I can save even more.

My wife prefers brands like Dawn, Cascade, Tide, Bounty, Honey Nut Cheerios and a few other name brands so I'll look at the DG website for digital coupons for these items and with the $5 off for every $25 spent coupons, I can reduce the price of them a good amount.

"Even as a third-generation dollar store shopper, I’ve been dubious about these stores being places to save. So I was surprised that all of us CR shoppers found that a dollar store was less expensive, on a unit-cost basis, than supermarkets for our items."

The big reason why I shop at the local DG store. Those who read my posts in the Frugal Living group know that I strive to be frugal. Living on SSDI and trying to get the biggest bang for the money I have is a priority.

"We had more trouble at dollar stores finding what we needed. For example, many of us found that a dollar store might have only one brand of dish soap, or just single-serving containers of popular breakfast cereals."

I haven't had that experience shopping at the local store. It carries a number of brands of dish soap along with the store brand. As for breakfast cereal, there's a row with a wide variety of brands. My wife prefers Honey Nut Cheerios so that's what I buy.

https://www.consumerreports.org/dollar-stores/the-truth-about-those-dollar-stores/

[pidge]

34. I like Dollar Tree .

[mnhtnbb]

35. I used to go in the Dollar General store

at least once a week when I lived in a downtown high rise apartment. The store was one block away. Then COVID and then a fire was lit in the store during protests/ riots after George Floyd was murdered. That closed the store all summer a year ago until it could be cleaned out to fix smoke/water damage and finally restock everything.

I moved out of downtown to a house last January and haven't been in a Dollar store since.

It was very convenient.

[Kaleva]

36. It's a 24 mile round trip to DG. It's a 90 mile round trip to the bigger grocery stores.

[LeftInTX]

62. You is out in the boonies...LOL

That's about how it was with my parents cottage way up in the middle of nowhere in northern Wisconsin......

[Kaleva]

63. I live north of Wisconsin in the western part of Upper Michigan

People call this area "Some Place Special!" It's also called "Some God Forsaken Place!"

[LeftInTX]

64. My parents' place was west of Minocqua and east of Park Falls in Chequamegon Natl Forest

LOL..."Some Place Special".

[Kaleva]

66. I sometimes drive through Minocqua on the way to Wausau or Rochester MN

But I usually go through Rhinelander.

[MerryBlooms]

41. I care for 2 feral kitties that survived the fire that hit our mobile home park...

I buy their Temptations treats, canned Friskies food, sardines, and other items for them at Dollar. Our Dollar has a large variety of cleaning items, so I purchase bleach, etc... They have a wonderful selection of craft supplies- my sister and I do a lot of craft projects, big money saver for us there. I grow a lot of plants, indoor and out. I can find small bags of sand and decorative rocks that are perfect for my cactus and succulents.

I save a lot of money per month, just on kitty supplies. I'm very grateful we have a well-stocked Dollar Store.

[48656c6c6f20]

44. I peruse the offerings more out of curiosity

Sometimes you'll find some bizarro stuff.

[babylonsister]

45. I try to buy cards there, and almond cookies.

[LeftInTX]

47. I buy my stretch jeans, shorts and anklets from Family Dollar! Can't find these anywhere else!

I've got chronic sciatica and peripheral neuropathy in my feet.

This jeans are comfy and are not tight on my waist. They also make cuts Daisy Duke shorts and the capris also come white. These are actually stylish. And look good. The picture looks like hick, but they aren't. I only weigh 110 pounds and I'm 65 years old.

I used to buy these kind of anklets at Walmart, but they stopped selling them probably because Hanes stopped making them. These thin ones don't bunch up on my toes and they're fit just right. I used to buy my jeans at Walmart, but now everything they sell is too big or junior size. I still get shorts now and then at Walmart. Keep in mind I have chronic sciatica/nueropathy and finding anything is a challenge.

[url=https://postimg.cc/QBctGhG4][img][/img][/url]

[url=https://postimg.cc/SnBsvj5Y][img][/img][/url]



When dollar stores first started showing up, I bought a bunch of cheap art from them. I also bought tons of those Sterlite drawers and recently could only find a certain type of container at Dollar General.

I don't buy groceries there because I have grocery stores close by. There is a Dollar Tree near our nearest grocery store, but I mostly buy picture frames from Dollar Tree. Consumers go to Dollar Tree to buy cheap household junk and party stuff etc. After my dad died, I bought cute little 4 by 6 photo albums for a buck and put collections of photos in them and gave them as Christmas gifts to my siblings and kids. Once again, I could not find these kind of photo albums anywhere else. https://www.dollartree.com/mini-fashion-photo-albums-4x6-in/197409These stores fill a niche

[Polybius]

48. I read the article and didn't see why it could be bad

I'm still tired, please excuse me. Can someone explain why they can be bad?

[LeftInTX]

52. They have replaced some grocery stores in some places.

But I don't think it's the dollar store problem as much as a grocery store going out of business.

[ProfessorGAC]

50. The Dollar General Near My Golf Course...

...started selling fresh produce & packaged meat about 5 months ago.
Dinky town down there and the nearest supermarket is in my town 10 miles away.
What they carry at that DG is quite different than the one in our town.
Seems that is catering to the needs of their customers.

[jmowreader]

54. I buy drinkware there

Dollar store drinkware is no bargain - a case of glasses runs about $8-$9 (12 glasses) at a regular store, or $12 at a dollar store. But if you don’t need 12 of them, it works better to buy them at the dollar store.

[Raine]

57. I love dollar stores. 🙂 👍 no

[cinematicdiversions]

58. Dollar Tree is a great place to get hardcover books. Here are some other ideas

[lame54]

60. Dollar General is not a dollar store

[maxsolomon]

65. LOL, I'm in a bougie neighborhood in a bougie city.

There isn't a dollar store within 5 miles of my house.

Unless Daiso counts...