A few weeks ago, we presented you with a list of 15 things that you should buy at the dollar store. Okay, great, but it’s a big store: there must be something that you should avoid, either because of crappy quality or because paying a dollar isn’t such a good deal. Right? [More]
dollar stores
15 Things You Really Should Buy At The Dollar Store
By 2.3.14
Dollar stores: they sell almost everything that you might want, and a lot of things that you didn’t know you wanted. There are items available at these cheaporiums that you don’t need, or didn’t even think you needed before you saw them. Then there are items that, if you can find them in a dollar store, you shouldn’t even bother to shop for them anywhere else. [More]
99¢ Only Stores Offer Actual Healthy Food, Big Savings, Weight Loss
By 6.11.13 — Updated: 2.28.14
If I’ve learned anything in the last week, it’s that we really need to import California’s 99¢ Only Stores to the East Coast. They hadn’t even crossed my mental radar screen until this week, when I saw two articles that presented it as not just a money-saving option, but a valid place to get edible, whole foods, which helped two different people save money and lose weight. [More]
Dollar Store Owner In Trouble Because Food Stamps Shouldn’t Be Used To Buy Electronics
By 5.8.13
The thing about food stamps is, they’re called “food” stamps. Not “smartphone” or “iPod” or “tablet” stamps. You can’t eat those things (please don’t try), as they aren’t what’s known as “food.” As such, the owner of four dollar stores in New Jersey is in hot water after allegedly allowing customers to ring up more than $5 million fraudulent food stamp transactions. [More]
Did The Recession Create A Dollar Store Bubble?
By 2.5.13
Seven years ago, we were flipping houses with loans we received for passing the “Are you currently breathing?” underwriting requirements. Then it all collapsed and we transitioned from shopping at Neiman Marcus to the local dollar stores, which have ballooned in numbers due to a misguided belief that people will remain thrifty. [More]
Dollar Stores Existed In 1870, And They Were Pretty Classy
By 9.6.12
The late 19th century gave us the five-and-dime store, where everything cost five or ten cents. Those are the ancestors of what we think of as a “dollar store” today. What you might not know is that dollar stores have been around for more than 140 years. It’s just that back then, a dollar could buy you a lot more, so they were rather swanky. [More]
What's The Best Way For A Cashier To Handle Problem Child With Complaining Mom?
By 8.10.12
Learning how to handle problem customers in retail isn’t easy. If you treat them with even a fraction of the lack of respect they show to you, it can balloon into a full-on “situation.” And things can get especially complicated if that bad consumer has a little kid in tow. [More]
Would You Shop In A Store Hot Enough To Turn A Snickers Bar Into A Beverage?
By 7.3.12
For at least five days, the employees at a Family Dollar store in the St. Louis area claim they have been working without proper air-conditioning and that temperatures in the store have been in the triple digits. But that hasn’t stopped some customers from coming in. [More]
Do Dollar Stores Always Offer The Best Deal?
By 6.18.12
The allure of the dollar store for some shoppers is the idea that they will save money compared to what they would spend going to another retailer. But that may not always be the case, especially if you’re buying larger sizes of some products. [More]
You Can Probably Find A Dollar Store Faster Than A Drugstore
By 12.9.11
Need something quick? You might be able to dash out and find a dollar store faster than you can spot a chain drugstore location. A new study says drugstores are being outpaced in numbers by the total amount of dollar stores in the U.S. [More]
Dollar Tree Recalls 117,000 Glass Candles For Shattering
By 7.13.11
117,000 glass votive candle holders sold at Dollar Tree, Dollar Bill$, and Dollar Tree Deal$ stores have been recalled. They can shatter when they’re lit, leaving glass and fire all over the place where it can cut and/or burn you. [More]
Extreme Couponers: Dollar Stores Are For Suckers
By 7.12.11
With many people still looking for ways to save in this tough economy, you might expect bargain-hunters lined up to buy things at dollar stores. But some practitioners of the dark art of extreme couponing (soon to be an X Games event, we hope), say that you can often do a lot better by going to your regular grocery or big box store so long as you come armed with coupons. [More]
Dollar Store Grand Opening Attracts Hundreds Of Shoppers
By 11.13.09
To promote the opening of a new store, ultra-discount chain 99 Cents Only stocked a few things they don’t normally carry, and sold them for 99 cents. Things like iPods and scooters. When they opened a store in San Jose, Calif., this sale proved popular. Very popular.
Shop At A Dollar Store, Gamble On Quality
By 10.8.09
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.
Save Money On Groceries By Buying The Ugly Ones
By 8.7.09
Salvage grocers are stores that stock all the dented, crushed, slightly past their “best by” date products that consumers have been trained to avoid. Because of this, they’re the Dollar General or Big Lots of supermarkets, with prices up to half off regular store prices, says the Associated Press.
Are Dollar Stores Really That Cheap?
By 7.14.09
Kim McGrigg at Blogging for Change took a look at the dollar stores in her neighborhood and found that it can take some work to make sure you’re actually saving money. In fact, on a couple of items she actually paid a fraction more than what she would have at a superstore like Walmart. This matches what Consumer Reports’ shopping mag, ShopSmart, discovered in their recent “Dollar Mania” report (free PDF download).
This Discount Store Enjoys Messing With Its Customers' Minds
By 4.23.09
Shelley just sent us this photo of a store she saw in New Jersey this afternoon. We particularly like that the neon signs in the window are just as contradictory as the roof signs. It’s like a decorating theme.
99 Cents Only Stores Raise Prices To 99.99¢, Narrowly Avoid Having To Buy New Signs
By 9.10.08
99 Cents Only, the L.A.-based chain of not-quite-a-dollar stores, has come up with a novel approach to the growing losses it faces as the economy worsens: they’re raising their top-priced items to 99.99 cents.
