# What do you buy at the dollar store? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 10, 2013, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-buy-at-the-dollar-store/649842 "2013-02-10T02:50:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![kiz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/7feea3/32.png) [@kiz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kiz)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2013, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-buy-at-the-dollar-store/649842/21 "2013-02-10T13:51:27Z")
I don’t shop at them very often, but when I do, it’s mostly for gift bags/wrapping paper/holiday stuff. For some reason I can’t buy anything edible there – I’m sure it’s OK, but I don’t know, it seems skeevy to me. I have a friend who does partial grocery shopping at our local dollar store, and she’s still alive and kicking, but I don’t know :shudder: ---
**Author:** ![EmilyG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/emilyg/32/364_2.png) [@EmilyG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmilyG)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2013, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-buy-at-the-dollar-store/649842/22 "2013-02-10T13:53:14Z")
Craft supplies and coffee mugs, mostly. And plastic organizing drawers. I love dollar stores. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Lsura](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7993a0/32.png) [@Lsura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lsura)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2013, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-buy-at-the-dollar-store/649842/23 "2013-02-10T14:12:32Z")
> [@Avarie537](#): > > She’s EIGHT?? I still remember the original thread wherein you announced her birth. My oh my how time flies. Heh, I thought the same thing! As for the OP, they just opened a Family Dollar up the street from me. I tend to go there for the Family Dollar brand Magic Erasers (they work just as well as the Mr. Clean brand) and those “crap, I’m out of…” moments when I’m doing housework and stuff and don’t feel like driving to a bigger store when a quick walk should be able to get me what I need. Last weekend my colander (which was at least a decade old) decided to fall apart, so I walked up there and picked up one that feels much sturdier than the one that died. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2013, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-buy-at-the-dollar-store/649842/24 "2013-02-10T14:26:21Z")
Brand-name soymilk in aseptic (shelf-stable, juice-box-style) quart packages. At a dollar, that’s close to half the usual cost. 2-packs of disposable “emergency” rain ponchos. Nice for carrying in my bag to work, for those days where I didn’t plan ahead, or for giving to some hapless person in a similar situation. Foldable brush-mirror combo, for tucking into a bag. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2013, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-buy-at-the-dollar-store/649842/25 "2013-02-10T14:32:33Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > Notebooks with the squares covering the whole page (in Spain class notebooks have squares 4mm to the side). Erasers. English vocabulary for the day: graph paper. 🙂 (You are so fluent in English that it makes me chuckle when we find a word/phrase you don’t know!) I like Family Dollar, and get quite a few things there, including scrubs when they have 'em, but I agree that they’re not a “real dollar store.” ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2013, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-buy-at-the-dollar-store/649842/26 "2013-02-10T15:51:41Z")
Photo paper Plastic storage containers, most for food but sometimes for other crap too Ziplock bags (but avoid the tinfoil!) Christmas balls for the outside tree (they either get ruined or stolen) Mikes & Ike’s, Junior Mints A couple of months ago I actually bought two bras for 2$. I personally hate bras and find them all uncomfortable in the extreme. As a result i own a wide variety of some expensive, some cheap bras. My needs, in this department are minimal and I am always on the look out for minimalist bras. You know like a sports bras only not as tight. These things looked so minimal I had to give them a try. And I’m so glad I did. I now own four, and think they are the bomb. Only available in black, of material only slightly heavier than nylons, Sizing strictly S,M,L, straps are literally just elastic, no adjusting on the straps, which crisscross on the back, and no clasp, just step into or over the head entry. Total minimalist bra, perfect for me. From China I think, and I probably find it a good fit for me, as I’m somewhat built like an Asian body type. $2 ! I’ve easily spent 100 times that for a drawer full of stuff I hate and don’t wear. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2013, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-buy-at-the-dollar-store/649842/27 "2013-02-10T16:10:57Z")
I go to the dollar store for gallon sized food storage bags that specifically are _not_ zip-lock- I really dislike zip-lock bags. ---
**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:** [February 10, 2013, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-buy-at-the-dollar-store/649842/28 "2013-02-10T16:11:48Z")
socks ibuprofin cleaning products trail mix gift bags & wrapping paper alkaline batteries kitchen utensils and the occasional “thing I didn’t know I needed until I saw it at the dollar store” ---
**Author:** ![Sahirrnee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sahirrnee/32/13937_2.png) [@Sahirrnee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sahirrnee)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2013, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-buy-at-the-dollar-store/649842/29 "2013-02-10T17:40:34Z")
Dollar General is my first stop for grocery shopping. I buy almost all brand names and they are anywhere from 25 cents to $1.50 cheaper there than in the other grocery stores. Soda, juice, canned soups, shampoo, conditioner, soap, toothpaste, rice, crackers, noodles, canned veggies, chocolate, anything on my list that is not fresh or frozen. ---
**Author:** ![actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e79b87/32.png) [@actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/actualliberalnotoneofthose)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2013, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-buy-at-the-dollar-store/649842/30 "2013-02-10T18:01:53Z")
Seasonal items and household stuff like cleaning supplies and paper products, other disposable stuff that gets used and thrown away with no point spending extra for crap. As somewhat if an aside when I was a kid Dollar General was one of the “major” stores and I always considered it and Family Dollar as more discount general stores than “dollar stores.” The only thing I recall being “dollar” about it was that prices were all in dollar amounts and low. Things were $5 or $10 instead of $9.97 or $4.99 but rarely $1. When I think I dollar stores I think of places where everything is exactly $1 or less ( dollar tree has some 2 for $1 and odd 69 cents things here and there). I think before I ever heard of a dollar store I stepped foot in several 99 Cents stores, which is the same thing. ---
**Author:** ![missred](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/missred/32/14096_2.png) [@missred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missred)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2013, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-buy-at-the-dollar-store/649842/31 "2013-02-10T18:46:50Z")
At Dollar Tree, Dollar Bill’s and the $.98 stores, I buy gift wrapping supplies, sugar free hard candy, eyeglass repair kits, sewing kits and anything else that looks like it might fit somewhere in my home for less money. Living close to Dollar General headquarters, they are all over the place here. I tend to stop in for name brand stuff that would take me half an hour to pick up at the supermarket. Fred’s Dollar Store has the best hair care stuff for me. I’ve never really lived or worked in the path of a Family Dollar, but the one in my parents’ town up north has a bit of everything and the added bonus of being the only non-convenience market, non-specialty store in town. There are a lot of things I don’t buy there simply because the price is higher than the major stores and some that the quality sucks badly enough that I just don’t bother, but dollar stores have some pretty good stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2013, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-buy-at-the-dollar-store/649842/32 "2013-02-10T19:08:52Z")
Boxes of Christmas cards. A dollar for twenty is a pretty good deal. ---
**Author:** ![jack\_tardiff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/43a26b/32.png) [@jack\_tardiff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jack_tardiff)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2013, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-buy-at-the-dollar-store/649842/33 "2013-02-10T19:27:05Z")
> [@Dendarii\_Dame](#): > > Boxes of Christmas cards. A dollar for twenty is a pretty good deal. Really? Good find. I never have cards around so make my own but I can’t draw and have no design abilities. Add: above, 3x5 and 5x7 cards. Disposable razors. Soap. Big bags of sponges/scrubby pads, and shampoo. Also sometimes the Scripto 2-packs of lighters – they are less crummy than the kind that come in the 3-pack, but still, not that good. Oh, plastic combs, ditto eyeglass repair thingies, those ungrounded-\>grounded adapters, and probably some other stuff. These are all at Dollar Tree – a real dollar store owned and operated by people whose language I don’t understand IMHO has way cooler stuff. Ping pong balls, basic home fix-it stuff like bubble levels, needle-nose pliers, the latest hits of Katy Perry, earbuds that suck, and boots, for some weird reason, and snow shovels. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2013, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-buy-at-the-dollar-store/649842/34 "2013-02-10T19:35:14Z")
Canned food, especially pinto or kidney beans. I’ll also take a look at the paperback books, I’ve found some interesting selections. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Girlfriend](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.girlfriend/32/193_2.png) [@Dr.Girlfriend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Girlfriend)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2013, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-buy-at-the-dollar-store/649842/35 "2013-02-10T19:53:21Z")
Christmas cards, bows, and gift bags. I bought a plastic tablecloth at Dollar Tree this past Christmas to wrap a large, awkwardly shaped gift for my niece. Covered foil pans for taking food places. Sometimes Dollar Tree has candies I can’t find other places, and they have these awesome almond cookies that taste just like the ones my favorite Chinese place serves. ---
**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:** [February 10, 2013, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-buy-at-the-dollar-store/649842/36 "2013-02-10T19:59:56Z")
Betty Crocker dessert candles. I love them! And Wyler, Snapple, etc. sugar free drink mixes. ---
**Author:** ![Blackberry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecd19e/32.png) [@Blackberry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blackberry)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2013, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-buy-at-the-dollar-store/649842/37 "2013-02-10T20:06:49Z")
Once my kid needed a disposable plastic rain poncho for some reason (well, the reason was equestrian camp, in case you’re dying to know) and I was like oh great, where on earth am I supposed to find that (she thought to mention it the night before). I walk into Dollar Tree and what’s the very first thing I see? A pack of 2 disposable plastic rain ponchos. That was pretty cool. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2013, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-buy-at-the-dollar-store/649842/38 "2013-02-10T21:09:42Z")
Cleaning supplies, various kinds of cards (holiday, birthday, etc). Glassware like vases or glass cups if I need them. Plastic silverware. Some items though are no cheaper than what you get at walmart, and are sometimes lower quality. Some of their cooking supplies fit this bill. I got higher quality spaghetti forks and other large pieces of cookware like that for less money at walmart. Same with neosporin, it is $1 for 0.33oz at dollar tree but $2.40 for 1oz at walmart. Not a big deal, but not a savings either. Hygiene supplies are no cheaper than at other entry level dollar and thrift stores but I do get my toothbrushes and toothpaste there. Things I wouldn’t buy there: condoms. I don’t know if they sell them, but I wouldn’t want them. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2013, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-buy-at-the-dollar-store/649842/39 "2013-02-10T21:54:10Z")
Cheap plastic gloves, like the kind that come in a box of hair dye. A package of 100 for $1. I use them for cleaning chicken, chopping onions, all that kind of kitchen stuff for which rubber gloves are too unwieldy and I’m too allergic or squeamish (mostly the former) to do barehanded. I have about a thousand of them right now under the sink against the time I won’t be able to find them. Plus, gift wrap. ---
**Author:** ![jack\_tardiff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/43a26b/32.png) [@jack\_tardiff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jack_tardiff)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2013, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-buy-at-the-dollar-store/649842/40 "2013-02-10T23:34:29Z")
> [@dalej42](#): > > Canned food, especially pinto or kidney beans. I’ll also take a look at the paperback books, I’ve found some interesting selections. You’ve got to be kidding that you can’t find canned beans \< $1 at a grocery store. I cop to occasionally, food-oriented, some of the frozen breakfast sausages (yes, I worked out price per ounce and it’s occasionally a good deal) and corn tortillas. Yes, sometimes scan the book titles – some weird stuff sometimes that occasionally gets a second glance. Dollar Stores – Costco for poor people. You always spend more than you planned. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-buy-at-the-dollar-store/649842.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-buy-at-the-dollar-store/649842.md?page=3)