# What's one thing sold at the dollar store that you would NOT buy there? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 11, 2013, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-one-thing-sold-at-the-dollar-store-that-you-would-not-buy-there/650023 "2013-02-11T21:19:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Nawth\_Chucka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c57346/32.png) [@Nawth\_Chucka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nawth_Chucka)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2013, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-one-thing-sold-at-the-dollar-store-that-you-would-not-buy-there/650023/41 "2013-02-12T19:02:17Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > Mmm, Pinot Tartare. I can see the ad campaign now - “Never worry about pairing your wines and meats again!”. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2013, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-one-thing-sold-at-the-dollar-store-that-you-would-not-buy-there/650023/42 "2013-02-12T19:05:52Z")
Could you use it as a cooking wine for a beef dish? ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2013, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-one-thing-sold-at-the-dollar-store-that-you-would-not-buy-there/650023/43 "2013-02-12T19:12:47Z")
> [@DiosaBellissima](#): > > One time, they had this weird, pink wine at the dollar store. Being adventurous and in college, we bought it on a whim. I don’t know what the hell kind of wine that was, but I can tell you this much: it had a raw meat after taste. Seriously, the flavor it left in your mouth was one of raw ground beef. > > Never, ever again. /DollarStore Spokesman “No, no, no, the color comes from\* myoglobin\*, not blood!” \dollarstorespokesman ---
**Author:** ![DiosaBellissima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@DiosaBellissima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiosaBellissima)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2013, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-one-thing-sold-at-the-dollar-store-that-you-would-not-buy-there/650023/44 "2013-02-12T20:26:57Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > Could you use it as a cooking wine for a beef dish? Let me clarify: this didn’t taste like some sort of alright tasting raw meat-- a fancy steak or what have you. It had the aftertaste of cheap, old, undercooked ground beef. Trust me, you don’t want that in anything. ---
**Author:** ![Incubus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c68b51/32.png) [@Incubus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Incubus)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2013, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-one-thing-sold-at-the-dollar-store-that-you-would-not-buy-there/650023/45 "2013-02-12T20:51:45Z")
Blow jobs ---
**Author:** ![JackieLikesVariety](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackielikesvariety/32/296_2.png) [@JackieLikesVariety](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JackieLikesVariety)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2013, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-one-thing-sold-at-the-dollar-store-that-you-would-not-buy-there/650023/46 "2013-02-12T21:04:45Z")
> [@DiosaBellissima](#): > > One time, they had this weird, pink wine at the dollar store. Being adventurous and in college, we bought it on a whim. I don’t know what the hell kind of wine that was, but I can tell you this much: it had a raw meat after taste. Seriously, the flavor it left in your mouth was one of raw ground beef. > > Never, ever again. oh, Sweet Mother of God _appalled face_ meanwhile, I just wanted to say Why Not? I love the idea of > [@](#): > > cushy camping that sounds most excellent. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Lukeinva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lukeinva/32/17872_2.png) [@Lukeinva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lukeinva)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2013, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-one-thing-sold-at-the-dollar-store-that-you-would-not-buy-there/650023/47 "2013-02-12T21:33:10Z")
Fish. And… those ginormous plastic barrels of cheese puffs. ---
**Author:** ![Fir\_na\_tine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Fir\_na\_tine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fir_na_tine)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2013, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-one-thing-sold-at-the-dollar-store-that-you-would-not-buy-there/650023/48 "2013-02-12T22:06:30Z")
Tools of any type. Guaranteed to break on first use. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2013, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-one-thing-sold-at-the-dollar-store-that-you-would-not-buy-there/650023/49 "2013-02-12T23:30:13Z")
> [@bump](#): > > FYI, the best way to go if you use a lot of batteries is probably Harbor Freight NiMh rechargeables with a name-brand charger from somewhere else. Lots of my equipment, including those box fans, specifically forbids the use of rechargeables. I don’t know enough about electricity type things to know if they’re serious and I could damage/inflame something, or if they own the non-recharageable battery companies. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2013, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-one-thing-sold-at-the-dollar-store-that-you-would-not-buy-there/650023/50 "2013-02-13T14:14:47Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > Lots of my equipment, including those box fans, specifically forbids the use of rechargeables. I don’t know enough about electricity type things to know if they’re serious and I could damage/inflame something, or if they own the non-recharageable battery companies. 🙂 Really? I haven’t run across that yet. The voltage is slightly different between rechargeables and regular alkaline batteries, but I can’t imagine that would make something as simple as a fan any difference at all. I could see that possibly being an issue with sensitive electronics, but most items that sensitive usually have their own proprietary rechargeable batteries anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2013, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-one-thing-sold-at-the-dollar-store-that-you-would-not-buy-there/650023/51 "2013-02-13T16:13:28Z")
> [@Skammer](#): > > They sell brand-name cereal, candy, toothpaste, aluminum foil and plastic wrap at dollar stores like Family Dollar or Dollar General. Those are as safe to buy there as anywhere else. Don’t count on it. Billions of dollars of counterfeit products are sold in the US every year, and many of them make their way to dollar store shelves. No food. No personal products. I buy batteries and household junk at dollar stores. Great place for hangers, plastic pitchers, cheap glassware, etc. ---
**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 13, 2013, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-one-thing-sold-at-the-dollar-store-that-you-would-not-buy-there/650023/52 "2013-02-13T17:52:57Z")
> [@NitroPress](#): > > Don’t count on it. Billions of dollars of counterfeit products are sold in the US every year, and many of them make their way to dollar store shelves. I’d be interested in verified examples/cites, if you’ve got any. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2013, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-one-thing-sold-at-the-dollar-store-that-you-would-not-buy-there/650023/53 "2013-02-13T18:29:28Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > I’d be interested in verified examples/cites, if you’ve got any. I don’t have anything current on hand but a few Google searches will turn up high-level (blog and mass market article) examples to start with. I’ll do my best to follow up with some specific cites from regulatory and enforcement bodies, but I need to get to a block of free time to do so. Remind me if you don’t see anything in the next day or so. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2013, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-one-thing-sold-at-the-dollar-store-that-you-would-not-buy-there/650023/54 "2013-02-13T20:29:37Z")
> [@Fir\_na\_tine](#): > > Tools of any type. Guaranteed to break on first use. I got a dental tool at one. It was pretty good. ---
**Author:** ![Poysyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Poysyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Poysyn)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2013, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-one-thing-sold-at-the-dollar-store-that-you-would-not-buy-there/650023/55 "2013-02-13T20:38:37Z")
> [@NitroPress](#): > > I don’t have anything current on hand but a few Google searches will turn up high-level (blog and mass market article) examples to start with. I’ll do my best to follow up with some specific cites from regulatory and enforcement bodies, but I need to get to a block of free time to do so. Remind me if you don’t see anything in the next day or so. Here’s one: > **[Find recalls, advisories and safety alerts - Canada.ca](https://recalls-rappels.canada.ca/en)** ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2013, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-one-thing-sold-at-the-dollar-store-that-you-would-not-buy-there/650023/56 "2013-02-13T21:06:30Z")
I won’t have time in the short term to make a convincing case, but it’s not hard to establish that a lot of counterfeit grooming and personal hygiene products are imported, sold and seized here and that it tends to be small and discount merchants that usually sell them. (They are sold by traveling jobbers at steep discounts.) I know that any number of bad products have been found in dollar store inventories and they would seem to be prime locations for deep-discount, outdated-packaging and otherwise salvage-level goods to end up. I know I’ve seen more than a few suspicious-looking products with bond-paper labels, faded color bottles, poor molding, etc. I wouldn’t buy anything that goes in me or on me (or near me - laundry, dish soap, etc.) from a flea market, eBay seller, indie discount store or dollar store. The risk is real, higher than it should be and saving a few bucks is just not worth it. ---
**Author:** ![Terra1041](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Terra1041](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terra1041)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2013, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-one-thing-sold-at-the-dollar-store-that-you-would-not-buy-there/650023/57 "2013-02-14T01:10:13Z")
Any knockoff product. You know, Penesamig batteries instead of Panasonic, or Gilnghey razors instead of Gillette. I figure, if they have to masquerade as a well-known brand to sell anything, they can’t be very good. ---
**Author:** ![nonacetone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nonacetone/32/2819_2.png) [@nonacetone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nonacetone)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2013, 10:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-one-thing-sold-at-the-dollar-store-that-you-would-not-buy-there/650023/58 "2013-02-14T10:56:26Z")
I wouldn’t buy anything like radios, CD/DVD players, cellphones, etc. ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2013, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-one-thing-sold-at-the-dollar-store-that-you-would-not-buy-there/650023/59 "2013-02-15T04:24:04Z")
I’d say quite a few of the shower gels, body sprays, and lotions made in China. They look like crap and have weird scents. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2013, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-one-thing-sold-at-the-dollar-store-that-you-would-not-buy-there/650023/60 "2013-02-15T16:37:36Z")
The canned foods at these places come from weird places-like China, Pakistan, India. I once bought a can of Chinese bamboo shoots-and my American can opener could not open it! (The sealing seam had different dimensions than American cans). In general, its stuff that nobody else can sell-or old stock from bankrupt distributors. Consume at your own risk. I wonder when the canned horsemeat from Europe will wind up in these places? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-one-thing-sold-at-the-dollar-store-that-you-would-not-buy-there/650023.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-one-thing-sold-at-the-dollar-store-that-you-would-not-buy-there/650023.md?page=4)