I don’t buy anything for pets there. All that I’ve seen are made in China and with critters who eat / chew on anything like that, a few extra bucks are worth not putting them at risk. Stuff meant for babies / toddlers is subject to similar scrutiny.
Batteries, most dishes (they’re kings of the ultra-cheap-use-it-once-or-only-for-decoration ceramics) and most tools are better purchased somewhere else too.
On a mad day of errands, when I hadn’t eaten, I was tempted by an ice cream on a stick at the dollar store. I was sick for 2 days.
Awwwwwww.
This, as my previous post suggests. OTOH those Chinese almond cookies that come in the pink box are pretty good.
Lasts you a year?!?!
What are you brushing once every other day or just buying a ginormous tube? I can’t make it a month…but then again, my wife’s very wasteful and also buys smallish tubes.
Not a dollar store, but I once bought a pad of watercolor paper at a job lot for $4. I used the first sheet and threw the rest out. It had no sizing on it, so it acted like a freakin’ sponge. I would have done better with copier paper.
I have come to the conclusion that they sell already dead batteries. Regardless of type.
There are only a handful of things I WOULD buy there- cheap reading glasses, primarily. Otherwise, I find that:
The generic stuff they sell is crap that either doesn’t work or will break/fall apart quickly
The name brand products they sell are NOT particularly cheap, if you check the prices. Seriously, a can of Campbell’s soup or a tube of Crest isn’t really any cheaper at a typical dollar store than at a normal supermarket.
I’ve been ripped off by batteries and off-off-off-brand cookies.
Ketchup
Things that are supposed to be sharp. I bought a knife there before and it was about as sharp as a butter knife. And I haven’t tried buying scissors there but I expect they would suck.
Razors. I bought some disposable razors at a dollar store once. They were beyond aweful. My face looked like I had shaved with a belt sander. With extra-course sandpaper. I threw the whole bag in the garbage.
Trust me, it’s worth the extra money to buy your razors from somebody who has a reputation to protect.
That’s more than likely because most dollar store batteries are old-timey zinc chloride batteries, (usually listed as “Heavy Duty”) and not modern alkaline batteries, which have something like 5x the capacity at the same output voltage.
Dollar store alkalines are fine, but they’re not much of a bargain compared to other discount stores like Wal-Mart or even Home Depot, not to mention places like Amazon.com or woot.com when they have them.
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.
I’m with Soul Brother No. 2- there’s no way on earth I’d buy off-brand condoms at a dozen per dollar at a dollar store.
I have had great luck with Sunbeam alkaline AA and AAA cells from Dollar Tree. They nearly exclusively get used in remote controls and a wireless mouse which may explain their long life.
My husband, and daughter, LOVE the Butterfinger cookies from Dollar General. I think they’re vile. I don’t even know what brand they are, but it doesn’t matter. That’s the name on the box. Butterfinger Cookies. They’re $1 per box.
VILE. Really.
They also really like the fruit pies from Dollar General. I think the brand is J.J.'s. I’m told that there is actually more filling in the pies, than air-space.
That is what I get and use them for the same purpose. They work fine for that.
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.
Agree about the aluminum foil-- it’s as thin as gold leaf! But I definitely appreciate these stores when they get close outs of name brand stuff.
The plastic knives and forks are a joke-they break when you take them out of the box!
Mmm, Pinot Tartare.