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We live in a ritzy town on the SF Peninsula where hhi is routinely 400k and up, and our dollar store is constantly mobbed. Sometimes it's so mobbed that it act

We live in a ritzy town on the SF Peninsula where hhi is routinely 400k and up, and our dollar store is constantly mobbed. Sometimes it's so mobbed that it actually backs up traffic on El Camino Real because so many people are waiting to pull into the parking lot. I think a lot of shoppers rely on it for basics like toiletries and other items you'd get from Target or Walmart. The markups on Amazon for these items are actually pretty outrageous. Amazon, imo is not cheap - and also way too high of a risk of getting a fake and knockoff product. At least in a brick and mortar store you can be confident in the supply chain and know you're not getting some sketchy reseller from China. We bought some decorations for our wedding there and they were perfectly adequate. No lesser quality than anything we would have gotten from amazon or a party store, imo.

solarkraft 7y ago
> At least in a brick and mortar store you can be confident in the supply chain and know you're not getting some sketchy reseller from China. Isn't this exactly what makes them so cheap?
- randycupertino 7y ago
  I'm no expert, but I don't think so. I'm pretty sure Dollar Stores get their inventory from almost expired products that didn't sell via traditional retail channels, same with overorders or discontinued products. It's coming from real companies and is not knockoffs, but it's more the same style stuff that doesn't sell in Target etc. Whereas in Amazon I've gotten faked products- instead of Jeffree Star lipstick is "Deffree Star" etc. Or just completely accurate looking banana powder but it smells off and doesn't work correctly - after investigating on reddit some other people had gotten the same knockoff- turns out it was just baby powder died yellow. Since getting so many fakes on Amazon, we stopped buying anything from there that goes on your body or in your body. It sucks, tbh. I'd rather pay a way higher markup and be guaranteed the product is legitimate than be rolling the dice with who knows what from China.

solarkraft 7y ago

> At least in a brick and mortar store you can be confident in the supply chain and know you're not getting some sketchy reseller from China. Isn't this exactly what makes them so cheap?

randycupertino 7y ago
I'm no expert, but I don't think so. I'm pretty sure Dollar Stores get their inventory from almost expired products that didn't sell via traditional retail channels, same with overorders or discontinued products. It's coming from real companies and is not knockoffs, but it's more the same style stuff that doesn't sell in Target etc. Whereas in Amazon I've gotten faked products- instead of Jeffree Star lipstick is "Deffree Star" etc. Or just completely accurate looking banana powder but it smells off and doesn't work correctly - after investigating on reddit some other people had gotten the same knockoff- turns out it was just baby powder died yellow. Since getting so many fakes on Amazon, we stopped buying anything from there that goes on your body or in your body. It sucks, tbh. I'd rather pay a way higher markup and be guaranteed the product is legitimate than be rolling the dice with who knows what from China.