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Dollar General is not a dollar store though. You really can’t compare them to Family Dollar or dollar tree. I get their own brand of paper towels, body wash, toilet paper etc. which are very close to the name brand. I've also gotten rugs and things like that (I got a 6 foot runner for something like $4) But they’re not a dollar there probably five or six dollars still cheaper than the name brand. But they are more akin to a small-scale Big Lots than a dollar store. I can’t see any difference between their version of Olay body wash and the real thing, or their version of Charmin and the real thing.
Actually, Dollar Tree is the outlier of those three: it's the only one of the three chains that maintains an "everything's $1" policy - IOW, it remains a true dollar store.
Family Dollar and Dollar General resemble each other. Dollar Tree owns Family Dollar.
Actually, Dollar Tree is the outlier of those three: it's the only one of the three chains that maintains an "everything's $1" policy - IOW, it remains a true dollar store.
Family Dollar and Dollar General resemble each other. Dollar Tree owns Family Dollar.
Oh I thought Family Dollar was all $1.00 too! In that case Dollar Tree is the only actual dollar store of the three.
Technically Dollar Tree is $1 or less. Some things like baking soda, plant seeds, and greeting cards are priced much less. But yeah it's like 99% $1, and absolutely nothing is priced over that.
OK, thanks. At least I know I'm not alone in what I saw. This one did look like a cheat, and it was dark, but not crowded. It was just me and one other customer in the store. It's not in a bad area. It's in a prime location on the highway. The building looks nice. It's the only new construction I have seen in this town in the five years I have lived here. It might be the only new construction in the last 10, 20, 30 years, I'm not even sure.
When I walked inside, the first thing I noticed was the narrow dark aisles, but that wasn't the worst thing about the store. The worse thing was the very limited selection, and the sticker shock when I looked at the prices. Everything I saw was over $3, most over $5. It's like shopping in a convenience store both in terms of selection and price.
I don't see how this store can be suscessfull. Yes, there aren't many alternatives around here. But everybody has cars and can drive the 20 miles to Walmart or Fred Meyers to shop. The price difference will easily pay for the gas. I know that was the first and last time I will be in that store.
Many dollars generals are going up in rural areas for convenience. The closest grocery to me is 6 miles, a store where I can get a variety of things, grocery, paper products, etc. is 15+ miles one way. The Dollar General opens at 7am and closes at 10pm. Prices are comparable to the other stores. So if I need laundry detergent, TP, a birthday card and a loaf of bread I can drive 1 mile to the DG at 9:30 pm.
Many dollars generals are going up in rural areas for convenience. The closest grocery to me is 6 miles, a store where I can get a variety of things, grocery, paper products, etc. is 15+ miles one way. The Dollar General opens at 7am and closes at 10pm. Prices are comparable to the other stores. So if I need laundry detergent, TP, a birthday card and a loaf of bread I can drive 1 mile to the DG at 9:30 pm.
This one is open 8AM to 10PM. Which is a normal closing time around here, but other stores are open as early as 6AM. I have never been back to it, and don't intend to go back. But from driving by it often, it seems to have become moderately successful in the last year, it's been open. The parking lot is never full, but not empty either. Which is true of most stores here.
I guess what I have learned from this thread, is that all dollars stores are not equal. But even if I could find a true dollar store, I'm not sure I really need it. eBay is my dollar store.
Last edited by Cloudy Dayz; 11-22-2019 at 12:08 PM..
I have in the past but RARELY go into them now. I had two products I would purchase from Dollar Tree religiously, Softsoap and The Works toilet cleaner. The toilet cleaner changed the formula and is useless now, and I find Softsoap the same price at my Walmart Neighborhood Grocery where I do a lot of my food shopping. I've got a near lifetime supply of gift wrap, boxes and cards already that I've accumulated over the years so I can't even take advantage of that anymore. I went in a few months ago just to look around but walked out empty handed.
We have a very large Dollar Tree near us and we love it. I usually get all of my trash bags, paper goods like parchment paper and aluminum foil, paper plates, freezer bags, etc. there. MUCH cheaper than the bloated prices on those items at the grocery store.
I also frequently get cleaning products, bar soap, body wash, dish detergents, hand soaps, etc. there; name brands that I know. HOWEVER, I only buy if the product is made in the USA or Canada. I don't buy those kinds of goods from China.
I also buy some snacks there, but again, I don't buy food products from China of any other strange country.
We've used Assured ibuprofen, etc., for years and have had no problems. I suspect the name brand drug companies don't like the fact that many people don't want to pay their bloated name brand prices when they can get the same item for $1. Our Dollar Tree is carrying more and more products all the time. Lately the quality of their stationery items like greeting cards, and gel pens, has improved. It truly helps me stretch my budget each week to shop there.
We also have Dollar Generals about every five miles of so around here in the rural South (I'm not kidding). I frequently get grocery items there, laundry soap, toilet paper, paper towels, and other items most people would go in Wal-mart for. I can't stand going in Wal-mart and avoid it like the plague.
I like the rubber finger work gloves for $1 but mostly the liquid laundry detergent for $1 is a real bargain.
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It's like shopping in a convenience store both in terms of selection and price. 
