# How does Dollar General stay in business? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 21, 2016, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-dollar-general-stay-in-business/755336 "2016-05-21T22:23:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2016, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-dollar-general-stay-in-business/755336/41 "2016-05-23T12:34:28Z")
> [@Accidental\_Martyr](#): > > Yes, it’s been pointed out multiple times in this thread but people who apparently have never been to a Dollar General keep referring to it as a “dollar store”. Dollar General’s have one aisle with items for $1.00 the rest of the store is basically general merchandise like you would find in a Walmart. > Here is their website: > [http://www.dollargeneral.com/home/index.jsp](http://www.dollargeneral.com/home/index.jsp) > Take a moment to look at it and you will see that it is not a “dollar store”. Yes, people, it’s very simple. At a “dollar store,” everything costs $1. At Dollar General, nothing costs $1. For chrissake, try paying attention. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2016, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-dollar-general-stay-in-business/755336/42 "2016-05-23T13:28:55Z")
I’ve worked as a cashier for the local discount store for over two years. We buy things at auction and closeouts and sell them for the lowest price we can. We count on volume business, and we get it. We don’t do business on-line or have sales (except after the December holidays on that stuff). ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2016, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-dollar-general-stay-in-business/755336/43 "2016-05-23T13:49:56Z")
> [@Enola\_Gay](#): > > I think teachers & room moms keep dollar stores in business. Every time we have to decorate the classroom for this holiday or that, dollar store is our go to place. Its also great for getting materials for classroom projects QFT. Dollar General is where I stop to restock my classroom tissue supply, for example. You’d be amazed at the amount of tissue 150 high school seniors can go through during cold/flu season. They’re worse than toddlers. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2016, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-dollar-general-stay-in-business/755336/44 "2016-05-23T13:57:14Z")
We sell single aluminum tins with no bar code jut three or four digit codes we put into the computer for the cheapest prices anywhere. I must have counted and rung up a million of them. My first year there, I though Thanksgiving was bad. Then we hit the December holidays, and I thought “Nothing could be worse than this.” Then Passover came…Nothing that has touched any non-Passover food can be used during the eight days of Passover. I was ringing up orders of two or three hundred tins. ---
**Author:** ![Personal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Personal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Personal)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2016, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-dollar-general-stay-in-business/755336/45 "2016-05-23T13:59:04Z")
Someone’s probably mentioned this, but Dollar General is easy in easy out. No need to tromp two miles to the back of the store for a gallon of milk at a decent price. Run out of laundry detergent, need batteries, little things like that. Cheaper than Walgreens and no frequent flyer card. Very convenient. ---
**Author:** ![MeanJoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanjoe/32/5693_2.png) [@MeanJoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanJoe)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2016, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-dollar-general-stay-in-business/755336/46 "2016-05-23T15:14:59Z")
You can get more at the poor people’s store, the poor people’s store where you can get it some knock off jeans with irregular seams chairs made of beans and some beauty creams Christine Auguilera black mascara corn tortillas and some brown alovera Poor People Store - Shinyribs. ---
**Author:** ![Casey1505](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dc4da7/32.png) [@Casey1505](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Casey1505)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2016, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-dollar-general-stay-in-business/755336/47 "2016-05-23T18:02:27Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally Posted by Casey1505 View Post > But $1 for a box of 10 generic bandaids looks like a better value than $2.99 for a box of 20 BandAids at Walmart. \* > > :dubious: Yeah, that came out wrong…but the point remains. Paying less for an inferior product isn’t really a value. ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2016, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-dollar-general-stay-in-business/755336/48 "2016-05-23T18:02:38Z")
They don’t seem to have made it to my new corner of the U.S. (and it is a corner), but back in the Midwest their store positioning was incredibly savvy. They have a marketing department that really pays attention. In the small town I lived in, they opened a location right beside a large trailer park that was two miles away from any other retail outlet. Plenty of people who lived there didn’t have cars, so they were happy to do all their shopping there. Then a year or two later, in the small town where my husband worked, they opened a store right on the highway that goes through town. Now, the town had a mom & pop grocery store–but it was about three blocks off the main road, down in the dinky-streets “historical” district. I predict that local grocery will be kaput sooner rather than later. ---
**Author:** ![Orwell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/dfb087/32.png) [@Orwell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orwell)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2016, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-dollar-general-stay-in-business/755336/49 "2016-05-23T18:12:39Z")
> [@Accidental\_Martyr](#): > > Yes, it’s been pointed out multiple times in this thread but people who apparently have never been to a Dollar General keep referring to it as a “dollar store”. Dollar General’s have one aisle with items for $1.00 the rest of the store is basically general merchandise like you would find in a Walmart. > Here is their website: > [http://www.dollargeneral.com/home/index.jsp](http://www.dollargeneral.com/home/index.jsp) > Take a moment to look at it and you will see that it is not a “dollar store”. But “dollar store” is the accepted and recognized generic descriptive name for Dollar General and Family Dollar (neither of which stick to $1 items), as well as Dollar Tree (which does sell everything for $1). These three are the largest names in the dollar store industry, and are all growing fairly rapidly. The term “dollar store” isn’t restricted just to stores that sell everything for $1. Dollar stores are pretty much replacements/successors for the old neighborhood five-and-dime stores. They fill a niche between convenience stores and big discount stores like Walmart, in terms of store size, product item selection and pricing. Buying stuff at a convenience store is very expensive. Buying stuff at Walmart is cheap, but you have to park 50 yards away and walk through a 100,000-150,000 square foot store. And Walmarts tend to be a lot more spread out than dollar stores. Dollar stores locate in small towns or even crossroad locations, and are doing very well. As with c-stores, they are getting larger and larger, and carry more and more products. Many dollar stores are adding more and more food items, and now compete with supermarkets as a quick-stop alternative for certain food and cleaning items. Contrary to the OP’s hypothesis, dollar stores are doing very well now, and are adding locations all across the country. ---
**Author:** ![Accidental\_Martyr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ce7236/32.png) [@Accidental\_Martyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Accidental_Martyr)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2016, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-dollar-general-stay-in-business/755336/50 "2016-05-23T18:38:27Z")
> [@Orwell](#): > > But “dollar store” is the accepted and recognized generic descriptive name for Dollar General and Family Dollar (neither of which stick to $1 items), as well as Dollar Tree (which does sell everything for $1). These three are the largest names in the dollar store industry, and are all growing fairly rapidly. The term “dollar store” isn’t restricted just to stores that sell everything for $1. I consider “dollar stores” to be stores that sell all items for $1. (Dollar Tree, Everything’s A Dollar). ---
**Author:** ![Orwell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/dfb087/32.png) [@Orwell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orwell)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2016, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-dollar-general-stay-in-business/755336/51 "2016-05-23T18:53:14Z")
> [@Accidental\_Martyr](#): > > I consider “dollar stores” to be stores that sell all items for $1. (Dollar Tree, Everything’s A Dollar). You are free to make up your own terminology for anything, but it tends to make discussions confusing. In the retail and real estate worlds, as well as (from my experience) in general conversation, the term “dollar store” is not as limiting as you suggest. What is your general term for Dollar General and Family Dollar type stores? [Dollar Store Sector Cashes In | National Real Estate Investor](http://nreionline.com/retail/dollar-store-sector-cashes) Real estate industry article about dollar stores, specifically naming Dollar General and Family Dollar. [Corporate Innovation Programs | Babson College](http://www.babson.edu/executive-education/thought-leadership/retailing/Pages/the-high-price-of-dollar-stores.aspx) Retail industry article about dollar stores, not limited to stores that only sell for $1. [When $1 can be much more: The dollar-store divide](http://www.cnbc.com/2016/03/21/when-1-can-be-much-more-the-dollar-store-divide.html) Business news article about dollar stores, specifically naming Dollar General and Family Dollar. [Readers Sound Off On Dollar Store Merger's Impact On Walmart, Retail Sector](http://www.forbes.com/sites/barbarathau/2014/08/15/readers-sound-off-on-dollar-store-mega-mergers-impact-on-walmart-retail-sector/#d70a01f47c8b) Business news article about dollar stores, not limited to stores that only sell for $1. [Deconstructing Dollar Demographics](http://www.cspdailynews.com/industry-news-analysis/corporate-news/articles/deconstructing-dollar-demographics) Demographics news article about dollar stores, not limited to stores that only sell for $1. ---
**Author:** ![Accidental\_Martyr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ce7236/32.png) [@Accidental\_Martyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Accidental_Martyr)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2016, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-dollar-general-stay-in-business/755336/52 "2016-05-23T19:04:18Z")
> [@Orwell](#): > > You are free to make up your own terminology for anything, but it tends to make discussions confusing. In the retail and real estate worlds, as well as (from my experience) in general conversation, the term “dollar store” is not as limiting as you suggest. What is your general term for Dollar General and Family Dollar type stores? I don’t really call them anything in particular besides “store” or use the actual name of the store. It seems more confusing to me to refer to something as a “dollar store” when it isn’t a store that sells all items for $1. It’s not something that really concerns me. Sorry you spent all that time looking up those links. ---
**Author:** ![slash2k](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@slash2k](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slash2k)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2016, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-dollar-general-stay-in-business/755336/53 "2016-05-23T19:10:06Z")
> [@Orwell](#): > > You are free to make up your own terminology for anything, but it tends to make discussions confusing. In the retail and real estate worlds, as well as (from my experience) in general conversation, the term “dollar store” is not as limiting as you suggest. What is your general term for Dollar General and Family Dollar type stores? I tend to call DG/FD types “discount stores”; they are also called “variety stores” or “general merchandisers.” Dollar Tree and clones tend to sell a lot of overstock and clearance, with a changing inventory of whatever can be had cheaply, but a huge chunk of Dollar General’s inventory is goods made specifically for Dollar General. They have their own brands (e.g., Clover Valley for foodstuffs), as well as distribution agreements with major manufacturers. It’s not really the same business model as the sell-everything-for-$1 model. ---
**Author:** ![joyfool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@joyfool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joyfool)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2016, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-dollar-general-stay-in-business/755336/54 "2016-05-23T19:46:01Z")
> [@Accidental\_Martyr](#): > > I consider “dollar stores” to be stores that sell all items for $1. (Dollar Tree, Everything’s A Dollar). This. I only call places that just sell things for a buck a “dollar store.” The rest, I call by name or otherwise it does confuse people who don’t know the differences. And I get why, since they all have dollar in their names, I’m sure that anyone who has never been to one, assumes they’re all similar. ---
**Author:** ![Orwell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/dfb087/32.png) [@Orwell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orwell)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2016, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-dollar-general-stay-in-business/755336/55 "2016-05-23T19:51:26Z")
A dollar is the new nickle or dime, I suppose. Five-and-dime stores didn’t sell everything for 5 or 10 cents, either. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2016, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-dollar-general-stay-in-business/755336/56 "2016-05-23T22:29:27Z")
> [@boffking](#): > > They have popped up all over the place in rural areas of Maine. I occasionally have stopped in for a snack. When I have gone into one of their stores, there usually weren’t any other customers at all. Dollar stores are a volume business. Hoping that somebody pops in to buy a soda once in a while does not seem like a viable strategy. Especially since the roads they are on already have grocery, drug and convenience stores nearby. Whats going on here? Is Dollar General some kind of front? This should answer all your financial questions re their viability. [net lease advisor - dollar general](http://www.netleaseadvisor.com/tenant.php?t=10) > [@](#): > > Net Lease Advisor Overview > > From a net lease point of view, Dollar General is appealing given its lower price points, respectable sales record, and corporate expansion strategy in a growing market segment. Dollar General’s new store model is approximately 9,100 SF on 1.00+/- acre of land to accommodate a minimum of 30 parking spaces. DG net lease properties have high visibility and full ingress /egress along retail corridors with good traffic. The average cap rate for a net lease Dollar General is between 7.25% - 8.00%, meaning the average net leased Dollar General is priced below $1.0M. Higher cap rates and lower price points result in a larger pool of qualified buyers. > > All Dollar General net leases have a corporate guarantee and typically have either 10 or 15 year initial terms. Escalations and landlord responsibilities vary, but Dollar General’s net lease terms usually include bumps in lease year 11, while holding the landlord responsible for at least roof and structure. Dollar General went public on November 13, 2009 in what was called “the largest retail-store IPO in at least 15 years” by Wall Street veterans. At that offering Dollar General raised $716 million, its stock ended at $22.73, up 8% from its IPO price of $21.00. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2016, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-dollar-general-stay-in-business/755336/57 "2016-05-24T02:24:52Z")
Speaking of genuine dollar stores, I don’t know of any besides Dollar Tree that are still around. (Just recently, the local Deal$ store seems to have been replaced by another Dollar Tree.) In the dollar stores’ heyday (the 90s?), there were a whole bunch of different dollar stores that came and went, sometimes in malls, that had their own different inventory. I miss those days. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2016, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-dollar-general-stay-in-business/755336/58 "2016-05-24T03:23:29Z")
I LOVE Dollar General. Love it. It’s the only place I can find regular-size rolls of Bounty paper towels. They have great seasonal bargains like notebooks with actual good-quality paper for $1.50 or really great Christmas ornaments for $1.00. And I got some of my favorite clothes from there. Yes, really. I won’t set foot in Walmart, but Dollar General rocks. > [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Speaking of genuine dollar stores, I don’t know of any besides Dollar Tree that are still around. (Just recently, the local Deal$ store seems to have been replaced by another Dollar Tree.) In the dollar stores’ heyday (the 90s?), there were a whole bunch of different dollar stores that came and went, sometimes in malls, that had their own different inventory. I miss those days. It was around the early 2000s I think that I noticed that more and more items in dollar stores had been manufactured specifically for the dollar store industry instead of being overstock/clearance from regular manufacturing. With the latter, you could find some real bargains, but you had to be careful because some of the items were worth far less than a buck. At places like Dollar Tree, where most of the stuff seems to be made specifically for the store, EVERYTHING is worth far less than a buck. No bargains there. Real dollar stores are few and far between these days. ---
**Author:** ![Accidental\_Martyr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ce7236/32.png) [@Accidental\_Martyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Accidental_Martyr)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2016, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-dollar-general-stay-in-business/755336/59 "2016-05-24T04:38:59Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Speaking of genuine dollar stores, I don’t know of any besides Dollar Tree that are still around. (Just recently, the local Deal$ store seems to have been replaced by another Dollar Tree.) In the dollar stores’ heyday (the 90s?), there were a whole bunch of different dollar stores that came and went, sometimes in malls, that had their own different inventory. I miss those days. There used to be one in the local mall called (I think) Everything’s A Dollar, but the only ones around here now are Dollar Tree. They have an equivalent in Japan called “100 yen stores”. I checked one out when I visited Japan in the late 90’s. > **[100-yen shop](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/100-yen_shop)** > > 100-yen shops (100円ショップ, hyaku-en shoppu) are common Japanese shops in the vein of American dollar stores. Stocking a variety of items from clothing to stationery, housewares to food, each item is priced at precisely 100 yen, which is considered attractive to Japanese consumers because it can be paid for with a single 100-yen coin. However, the current Japanese consumption tax of 8% (food and drinks) or 10% (other items) is also added, making a 100-yen purchase actually cost 108 or 110 yen. La Th... ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2016, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-dollar-general-stay-in-business/755336/60 "2016-05-25T17:46:10Z")
No one is making up their own terminology. People in the business just extended the “dollar store” definition in ways that the general public did not. It’s like how certain businesses tried to extend the “dollar menu” concept. I don’t know anyone who uses “dollar store” to mean anything other than a store that sells things for a dollar. There’s otherwise no connection in the name. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-dollar-general-stay-in-business/755336.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-dollar-general-stay-in-business/755336.md?page=4)