Shop At A Dollar Store, Gamble On Quality
Marlene Alexander will buy pretty much anything, at least once, from her local dollar store. Then depending on how well it holds up, she might write about it to warn others. She's put together a list of some of the biggest dollar store failures she's encountered over the past year.
You can see from her list—which includes pillow protectors, wall appliqués, a can opener, and light bulbs—that it's not like any one category is more suspect. Instead, the theme that emerges is that build quality is a real issue:
The can opener is a copy of the Star Frit one that leaves no sharp edges on the lid of the can. It's attractively packaged in a window box that's probably worth more than the can opener. The first time I tried to use it, it went completely to pieces and it hadn't even made a dent in the can.
It may seem self-evident that you shouldn't buy complicated or electronic items from your dollar store, but Alexander also found a package of 400 cotton swabs that wasn't worth the buck: "The sticks bend in half with very little pressure making them kinda useless."
Alexander notes that her local store doesn't offer a return policy, so she ends up having to eat the cost of these experiments in cheapness. One of her commenters, however, points out that Dollar General stores do offer refunds. You might want to make sure your own local dollar store is willing to back up shoddy merchandise before you buy it.
"Don't buy these dollar store duds" [WalletPop]
Dollar Store Style
(Photo: Loozrboy)
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Comments:
... I heard about a guy who bought a home lobotomy kit from a dollar store... seems he didn't need to use it after all.
You mean that buying the cheapest of the cheap Chinese crap might actually not be much of a value?
Shocking.
My rules of thumb with dollar stores:
- You shouldn't buy anything just because it's cheap
- You shouldn't buy anything mechanical or involving moving parts
- You shouldn't buy anything that should be sharp (like knives - dull knives are dangerous)
- You shouldn't buy anything that has to sustain heat (like microwavable bowls).
I knew buying that tooth care kit at the dollar store would not end well....
@pot_roast: wow, where are you shopping? My dollar stores only carry merchandise from Bangladeshi and Uzbekistan sweatshops.
we're not all rich like you, Mr. Moneybags.
@pecan 3.14159265: I add to that, anything you put in your mouth (including but not limited to: toothpaste, food, medicine) and anything you plug in.
I've tried to shop a the local dollar stores whenever the urge to be extra thrifty overcomes me, but I quickly regret my decision as a feeling of sadness/depression/dread engulfs me. There's something wrong about a store that sells stuff that's not good enough for Walmart.
Though I remember they had the coolest toys and games when I was a kid...
I hate cotton swabs that bend when you put pressure on them! I bought a pack of Target brand, and they worked great. After those ran out, we bought the Walmart brand, and they bent too easily, despite not being the plastic tube type that you usually associate with cotton swabs that bend easily.
Didn't we just have a very similar article recently? And people were talking about the $1 pregnancy kits you can get there? Perhaps I'm going insane.
I find that dollar stores are really good for things like wrapping paper and gift bags, as well as party supplies. You can also get theater-sized candy there as well as larger packages of gum.
@missdona: Good one. Also, any product that has a feature in which its failure to work would result in toxicity, like cleaners that are pet-safe. If you're betting on it being 100% pet-safe, it's better to go to a grocery store or at least do your research online first. Saving that $4 isn't really worth the vet bills or the life of a pet.
The only two good things I bought from A Dollar Store is a big plastic cup and the foams for earbud.
@pecan 3.14159265: also,
- You shouldn't buy anything that you plan to give to others (no gifts!)
- You shouldn't buy anything that you plan to eat
Did she get that website at the dollar store?
After reading Ms. Pi's post, i wanted to make a list of things that you SHOULD buy from a dollar store...
and the only thing that i've ever bought from a dollar store that was useful/worth the cost was a 5-lb bag of glass marbles, the kind you'd put in a vase
@MissPeacock: $1 pregnancy kit? As in test? Holy crap! That's like eating steak at a cheap buffet. If you paid $4.95 for a buffet, you didn't pay enough to eat the steak...so don't. It won't be good. Likewise, if you didn't pay for a pregnancy test, don't expect to get one.
@gStein: I remember watching a clip from some morning show in which a cook demonstrated how to make "fancy" things from food you can get at the dollar store, and the hosts of the show taste tested the food. One host looked like she would rather eat someone's foot than to eat half the things made from the dollar store, and the other one was just very, very quiet.
I get my greeting store cards from the Dollar store at 50 cents a pop. Quality doesn't really matter there.
@gStein: I buy wrapping paper from dollar stores. It's going to be torn apart anyway, why spend $5 on something that is meant to look nice? The key to getting good Christmas wrapping paper is to not buy white paper. Dollar store wrapping paper is usually so thin that you can see right through to the items underneath, so get red, green, blue, etc. The dye makes up for the thinnness. Also, learn how to wrap properly. Because the paper is so thin, it can rip easily at the corners. Measure it out before you cut, and if it doesn't fit, don't force it.
I'm glad she put this up. I'm always nervous about quality from the dollar store. Sure it LOOKS ok, but is it really?
@SagarikaLumos: Actually pregnancy tests are a huge ripoff in the drug store. The dollar store ones work just as well as the $5 ones, and they make a lot of sense when you are using them regularly. They all work in the same way, and one of my friends found out that she was pregnant using a $1 pregnancy test.
The West Coast chain 99 Cents Only Stores carries mostly decent-quality stuff (and a lot of name-brand closeout items), and nothing's over a buck.
They also have a good return policy, although I'm guessing most people won't think it's worth the drive to get their dollar back.
@SagarikaLumos: @MissPeacock: We used them several times - both positives were positive and we presume the negatives were, too.
@sares14: I've read that the name brand ones work just as well as the generic store brand ones, but not that the dollar store ones work as well as the ones you geet from a grocery store.
Don't fall for the cheapo dollar store "chair protectors." My grandma only puts
2.7-inch pink bedazzled Wilsons on her walker.
I don't get all the dollar store hate, there's a lot of gems there.
@pecan 3.14159265: It (should be) FDA regulated, as long as you check the dates, you should be fine. This is not shocking the actual price of a test is mostly in the packaging See [www.dealextreme.com] 10 for under $2 shipped to your house from far away. Of course those aren't FDA approved, still work fine
@TedSez: I have one in the next block. I don't even have to drive (but then again, this is Houston, and we drive everywhere, as if we were lunar explorers).
But I agree, 99 Cents Only has a lot of decent stuff. I use a face powder that I have only found there, but it easily outperforms stuff I've bought at Sephora. I never buy wrapping paper anywhere else for occasional gifts during the year. Some of their produce is local and quite fresh. Cans of olives, Mexican tomato sauce, red beans, all have good turnover and can be trusted. Tape for moving boxes is usually worth it in the long run.
@SagarikaLumos: Like most things, very few companies make these things, so they will re-sell/repackage them under different names/prices to increase the chances different retailers will buy at least one kind.
@gStein: Gift bags are good dollar store purchases, same general principal as above.
Plain old chemicals are pretty good purchases too. Just about anything can clean your floors/dishes honest, especially if you don't care too much about softness
The random candy can be fun, not necessarily a deal though, but often different stuff.
The random cheap DVDs can be ok if you are stuck with a kid unexpectedly.
@gStein: Wrapping paper, tissue paper and gift bags. The store near me also has shampoo and hairspray (White Rain brand - Not expired) which can save you some money over the grocery store or Target pricing. We have also had food luck with plastic food storage containers to store fruit for the kids lunchbox.
@gStein: I have the complete set of NSYNC bobble head dolls that I got from a dollar store for $1 each when I was in High School... they were selling retail for like $25-30 each IIRC.
Totally worth it.
@OmniZero: If it's food, and you can see inside the package, touch it, and/or smell it, and it looks/feels/smells OK, it's usually OK. Cans and boxes of food, meh. Brand name goods, usually OK, depending on freshness (I buy a lot of hand and bath soap, hair stuff, and seasonal goods this way). Textiles... Chinese, what can I say, examine the workmanship. Kitchen goods... nothing plastic that will contact heat, or anything that depends on moving parts. Glassware... better off avoiding, on the whole; especially if it's for the microwave. Baby and feminine hygiene articles... weirdly overpriced. Household chemicals... better off avoiding, except for all-purpose cleaners, which are usually OK. Electronics... generally avoid.
I got some laundry baskets at the dollar general for a $1 a piece, I thought that was a good deal. The $1 stores can be a rip off, you just have to know that value of stuff. Sometimes walgreens has better prices but I like to check out the $1 for stuff.
@pecan 3.14159265: peeonastick.com maintains that the dollar store ones work just as well. I just buy the cheap dip stick ones in bulk on the internet, they come out to about $.40 each.
Our local Canadian "Dollarama" sells 1$ pregnancy tests. I always wondered, how well they work...
@SagarikaLumos: The pregnancy tests at the dollar store are not as sensitive as the ones they have now... for example, they work three to seven days after a missed period where the new tests work one day after. But they still work, if they're fresh enough.
Dollar stores are a college student's best friend. One of my roommates in college bought vanilla-scented garbage bags from the dollar store. They smelled really good, but the smell was probably horribly toxic. But they held up surprisingly well.
@arstal: Just make sure to read the entire card first. It would not be a good deal if the card read "CONGRATULATIONS!" on the front cover and "Sorry to hear about the passing of your father" on the inside.
@El_Red: Not bad, but they can't be used as early as the expensive ones. Last time I had to buy a test (it's been a while), I found the same exact ones at the grocery store for eight times the price.
@pecan 3.14159265: Yeah, and you get ten of them in a package, where the same bags in a normal-sized package of 40 in the grocery store cost three dollars. Watch this sort of thing, they do it for feminine and baby products too.
@GitEmSteveDave_IsWaving: but is that a _real_ gap in your front teeth? long story, but for Halloween 2006, i was missing a front tooth.
so i took out the temporary tooth and went as a redneck.
@TheOrtega: Q-Tip is the name brand for cotton swabs. Kinda like Kleenex v. tissue. Puffy cotton balls are just called cotton balls.
@MissPeacock:
Dollar store pregnancy tests are amazing! They work earlier than a lot of name brand tests. At $1 apiece you can afford to get plenty if you're trying to conceive.
[www.peeonastick.com]
Personally I've tried a number of brands and the New Choice tests from the dollar store were the best!
@Saboth: Q-Tips are one item you do not want to skimp on. I bought some dollar store swabs several years ago, and as I was cleaning my ears, the cotton tip popped right off inside my ear. Any attempt by me to remove it only shoved it farther down my ear canal. You couldn't even see it, it was in so deep. My dad finally got the cotton tip out after about an hour of delicate home surgery.
It was extremely painful and uncomfortable and I learned my lesson-- top of the line Q-Tips from now on.
@missdona:
I used to buy ibuprofen, naproxen sodium, any kind of generic med, including sudafed (when you could still buy it from the shelf). I checked to make sure they weren't short exp. dates. There was nothing wrong with it, worked the same as if bought from a grocery store or pharmacy.I finally realized that I could get larger quantities at Target for just about the same price.
Generally, I feel that you get what you pay for, something I cannot get my folks to ever understand.
That pic reminds me of tennis balls my son purchased at the dollar store. The balls were very hard and did not bounce. We played baseball with then and they broke because they were so stiff and weak.
We usually do a Dollar Store shop on vacations when we need to buy stuff that we won't feel bad about leaving in a hotel room.
...Floats for the beach, cheap towels, snacks for the room, etc.
Dollar General is not a dollar store.