Dollar Stores Are Getting Too Expensive For Many Americans

[LiberalElite]

Source: Huffington Post

At first glance, the fortunes of American families have significantly improvement recently. Household net worth has rebounded back to roughly where it was before the financial crisis.

Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/11/dollar-stores-income_n_4582086.html

[840high]

1. People watch their pennies. This

economy is far from good.

[LiberalArkie]

2. I have been seeing this also at Family Dollar. I saw a family come in today and

walk out with 4 cans of tuna. They had to count out change to get it.

[AnalystInParadise]

6. I don't want to throw the BS flag

but I go to the dollar store to buy things on occasion and I use the change from my ashtray to pay. I am "counting change" when I go there and I am pretty financially stable. I am not discounting that this story is true as you saw it, but there are variables.

[LiberalArkie]

8. See things as you wish

But when her SNAP card was declined and she and her husband had to dig through their pockets and had to put a can back. I call that a problem.

[cstanleytech]

9. Perhaps you should have included that detail in the first place. nt

[AnalystInParadise]

12. Exactly

the poster said nothing about a SNAP card, the poster said they were counting change. I count change all the time. I pay Taco Bell in pennies because I don't feel like using my Debit Card. I use nickels at the dollar store, SO it is very logical that I would see someone using change to pay for something and not see desperate poverty at play. I smell embellishment, but I will let this go.

[democratisphere]

3. This country is in very sad economic shape...

regardless of what the happy propaganda machine is pushing.

[lunasun]

4. +.99

[bvar22]

5. The Real Story:

65 percent of working families are living from paycheck to paycheck

95 percent of the economy’s gains have gone to the top 1 percent
http://billmoyers.com/2014/01/10/why-conservatives-old-divide-and-conquer-strategy-%E2%80%94-setting-working-class-against-the-poor-%E2%80%94-is-backfiring/

Billionaire wealth doubles since financial crisis
http://www.upi.com/blog/2013/11/12/Billionaire-wealth-doubles-since-financial-crisis/5011384268135/?spt=hts&or=12


This does NOT happen by accident.
It is the calculated and predictable result of Economic Policy.

You will know them by their WORKS,
not by their excuses.

[El_Johns]

13. It is the calculated and predictable result of Economic Policy. = +~!

[bucolic_frolic]

7. My Shopping Experiences

I shop in a town that is overpopulated with grocery retailers.

One of Europe's biggest has 2 stores in town.

There are also Walmart and Target.

One or two dollar stores.

A regional grocer, which was among the first in town and is now
struggling.

One of the biggest European owned discounters.

Two deep discount closeout grocers: surplus, recently or soon-to-be
expired items, as well as overstocks. They have all categories, but
selection is varied and thin. Name brand Egg nog was $2 - a gallon.

I don't shop Walmart or Target, but I can say that all of the others have
closeout shelves, areas, baskets, items. Generally these seem to be local
"manager's specials" or at management's discretion, the goal being to
MOVE the goods!

The two deep discount stores do a BRISK business. Prices can be 20% off,
to 50% off, even 75% off on some older items. In the past 18
months they have added more and more items at better and better prices, and
they have hired more employees, which I am very happy to see.

My point being, that as the discount stores sell more, the regular retailers sell less.
The merchandise backs up. Some raise their prices to make up the profit loss. The
biggest has become in my view outrageously priced, except for sale items.

So yes people are squeezed. Big grocers who can't move product must waste a
terrible amount of food. Spoilage being a major cost of doing business. We all pay
for inefficiency. The poorest try to, or must, pay less.

[Fumesucker]

10. Flea market, yard sale, thrift store

That's the new dollar store.

Even Craigslist is overpriced these days.

[840high]

11. Love thrift stores. Bought

lovely curtains today for $1.49.

[El_Johns]

14. Interesting thing though, at least where I live; independent thrift stores are going out of

business & being replaced by ones connected to semi-corporate concerns (big hospitals, Hospice, etc.)

They're big thrift stores & get big donations because they're "name". Free stuff and nearly-free labor (probably subsidized) is how they undercut locals. Locally thrift stores are no longer really "local" -- they're all connected to big national or regional organizations.

The free labor is of course, volunteer -- but also people on probation, people who are supposedly "training" (though what they do is basically retail-type work & manual labor, it's not like anyone really needs to be "trained" to do it or that doing it will help anyone land anything but a minimum wage job), older people who are out of work & trying to get back into the workforce, etc.

They make minimum wage & work part-time, unbenefited. Some of the work is actually somewhat dangerous (moving furniture, etc). Though I've seen it be helpful in some individual cases, the majority of workers seem to pass through with nothing much happening for them.

I just feel like there's something not quite right about it.

[madrchsod]

15. another crappy headline from huffington post

if the dollar stores are losing customers it is because things are getting better not worse. the store i go to has customers who range from upper middle class to food stamp people. when i drive up and there`s over a hundred thousand dollars worth of cars in the lot parked next to junkers i`d say, at least in my neighborhood, people shop for convenience and price.

[mdbl]

16. Some really sad people making comments on that Huffpo article

Like the A-hole that said this:

Give a "working family" a fish you'll feed them for the day, Teach them to fish, thus decreasing their need for government hand-outs, and you'll feed them for a lifetime. That's when democrats will INCREASE the cost of a fishing license.

The dumb-a$$ forgot to mention that the fish were contaminated by the republicans making the license unnecessary. Oh, sorry, I'm not supposed to be name calling. We are all supposed to be nice and civilized and discuss things logically with deranged people.

[riversedge]

17. "Dollar’s revenue is tied to low-margin sales of necessities like food."

Interesting to say the least--and sad. Not any fresh fruit or veggies at the Dollar store. And yet, I shop there for cat supplies, bathroom supplies, but not food--


....Economists argue that things like food stamps and unemployment act as crucial bits of stimulus when the economy is weak. Cutting them can act as a headwind to growth. That’s certainly the case for low-end retailers such as Family Dollar. The store chain’s shares fell sharply this week after it reported disappointing earnings. Family Dollar CEO Howard Levine had this to say on the subject:

For the last several quarters, we’ve discussed the economic challenges our customers are facing. Over the last two years, I think we’ve seen a growing bifurcation in households. Higher-income households who have benefited from market gains, better employment opportunities, or improvements in the housing markets have become more comfortable and confident in their financial situation. But our core lower-income customers have faced high unemployment levels, higher payroll taxes, and more recently reductions in government-assistance programs. All of these factors have resulted in incremental financial pressure and reduction in overall spend in the market.

Translation? As poor Americans come under more and more pressure, more and more of Family Dollar’s revenue is tied to low-margin sales of necessities like food. (Sales were strongest during the first fiscal quarter in Family Dollar’s “consumables” category, especially in areas like frozen food.)

[greiner3]

18. At first I thought the OP was referring to 'Dollar Tree' stores;

But after reading I too agree Family Dollar is too expensive as I've priced a many items in their store and found they charge maybe 5-10% more than say Kmart and are about the same as CVS, etc...

FD needs to charge up so they can claim they price most everything as their ads proclaim, to the 'dollar'.

I'd say the about the only thing they don't round up is their pay as 'minimum wage' is the rule and a big reason for the 'grumpiness' of their employees.

[Karma13612]

19. I agree that Family Dollar is more expensive

for some stuff than if you went to WalMart, etc.

I have one near work that I rely on for quick emergency stuff but do not shop at regularly.

They are located within walking/scooter distance of a low-income housing project and they have a very thriving business. In fact, they expanded and renovated in late 2013. So, with the economy bad, they are doing just fine! I feel really bad for the bulk of people who rely on them because they don't have transport to get themselves to more economical choices like WalMart and Aldi's.

They are great, have a massive selection, but are no better than an overgrown price-gouging 'convenience store', like at the gas station.

[Ilsa]

20. The millionaires in Congress aren't feeling the pinch.

They don't care and are unwilling to reverse legislation of corporate welfare when the "job creators" aren't doing what they claim to do.

[Myrina]

21. Products sold for $1 are most often in smaller packages, so you end up paying as much

... as you would of the 'normally priced' brand-label stuff, in the end, especially for things like laundry detergent, soda, dry goods.