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Stupid question from someone who doesn’t live in the US. Do they actually only sell sub-$1 products? It seems they have been operating for 30y. Inflation must s

by cm2187 5y ago

Stupid question from someone who doesn’t live in the US. Do they actually only sell sub-$1 products? It seems they have been operating for 30y. Inflation must severely restrict the range of products you can offer over such a long time.

acover 5y ago
No
jcims 5y ago
No and I think the article is banking on this confusion. Dollar General is like a micro walmart and stocks the exact same stuff for more or less the same prices. They are actually great little stores that, around me anyway, service communities that would otherwise have to drive 10+ miles to get what they need most of the time.
mumblemumble 5y ago
In some, everything costs exactly $1. But it's more common nowadays that they're just selling very inexpensive goods.
michaelmrose 5y ago
They sell stuff that is cheap but not everything is a dollar.
Broken_Hippo 5y ago
Dollar tree used to sell everything for $1: I don't know if they still do or not. The products they sell are limited, and very, very, very cheap. It is amazing, really. Dollar General and Family Dollar both sell things over a dollar.
- stronglikedan 5y ago
  Coincidentally, I just heard on news radio this morning that Dollar Tree was one of the few, if not the only, still sticking to the max $1 per product model.
- DaveExeter 5y ago
  Just came back from the Dollar Tree! Yes, everything is $1.
NortySpock 5y ago
In addition to the replies you already got, there is a new store around here (I'm in the Midwest) called Five Below (with cold weather theming), which uses the "dollar store model" but for $5 USD or so.
dwater 5y ago
30 years ago, maybe 90% of the products in most dollar stores were exactly $1. The rest were usually $2, $3, maybe $5, and were clearly marked so that the default was if it wasn't marked, it was $1. That is no longer the case, now they usually operate like regular stores with prices on all the items, and they are no longer trying to price items at exactly $1.
ergot_vacation 5y ago
This has been mentioned elsewhere in the thread, but to clarify: the business model used to be "everything (almost) is a dollar." Now it has shifted to "Everything is a (seemingly) low price, and all prices are rounded off." The strategy is predatory: You take a product like name-brand dish soap, divide it up into smaller containers (but not small enough to be obvious!) and presto, your soap is "cheaper" per unit, when in reality, you're charging more per oz. Then you make it as convenient as possible: more locations that Starbucks, nice rounded off prices so customers don't have to do math, and so on. The bottom line is that you end up profiting by over-charging poor people who either don't realize what's happening or have no other viable options.
- Turing_Machine 5y ago
  > The strategy is predatory: You take a product like name-brand dish soap, divide it up into smaller containers (but not small enough to be obvious!) and presto, your soap is "cheaper" per unit I'm not sure why this is especially "predatory". It is totally normal for smaller quantities of an item to sell for a higher unit price. Wheat is trading for $229.00/metric tonne right now. Loaves of bread are selling for about $5.00/kilogram, or $5,000/metric tonne. Is that "predatory"?
- DaveExeter 5y ago
  >You take a product like name-brand dish soap, No, it does not work like that. They take no-name soap and water it down so a 32oz bottle is $1. The stuff is more stepped-on then frat house cocaine. They also have smaller, more concentrated bottles. That is what I buy.
kingaillas 5y ago
Part of the business model is to work with manufacturers to offer smaller packaging, i.e. less product, for the same price. Consumers are more sensitive to price and not unit price. Another strategy would be "shrinkflation" (great Planet Money coverage on this: https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2021/07/06/1012409112/beware-of-shrinkflation-inflations-devious-cousin https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2021/07/06/1012409112/bew...). Over time you'd just sell less stuff for the same price point. But yes, some of the various Dollar stores have left the strict $1 product rule.
maxlybbert 5y ago
As Walter Bright mentioned in another comment, they used to be “dime stores” or “five and dime stores.” The dollar store label worked well for several years, but you’re right that it’s hard to sell a lot of merchandise for $1.

by cm2187 5y ago

acover 5y ago

jcims 5y ago

No and I think the article is banking on this confusion. Dollar General is like a micro walmart and stocks the exact same stuff for more or less the same prices. They are actually great little stores that, around me anyway, service communities that would otherwise have to drive 10+ miles to get what they need most of the time.

mumblemumble 5y ago

In some, everything costs exactly $1. But it's more common nowadays that they're just selling very inexpensive goods.

michaelmrose 5y ago

They sell stuff that is cheap but not everything is a dollar.

Broken_Hippo 5y ago

Dollar tree used to sell everything for $1: I don't know if they still do or not. The products they sell are limited, and very, very, very cheap. It is amazing, really. Dollar General and Family Dollar both sell things over a dollar.

stronglikedan 5y ago
Coincidentally, I just heard on news radio this morning that Dollar Tree was one of the few, if not the only, still sticking to the max $1 per product model.
DaveExeter 5y ago
Just came back from the Dollar Tree! Yes, everything is $1.

NortySpock 5y ago

In addition to the replies you already got, there is a new store around here (I'm in the Midwest) called Five Below (with cold weather theming), which uses the "dollar store model" but for $5 USD or so.

dwater 5y ago

30 years ago, maybe 90% of the products in most dollar stores were exactly $1. The rest were usually $2, $3, maybe $5, and were clearly marked so that the default was if it wasn't marked, it was $1. That is no longer the case, now they usually operate like regular stores with prices on all the items, and they are no longer trying to price items at exactly $1.

ergot_vacation 5y ago

This has been mentioned elsewhere in the thread, but to clarify: the business model used to be "everything (almost) is a dollar." Now it has shifted to "Everything is a (seemingly) low price, and all prices are rounded off." The strategy is predatory: You take a product like name-brand dish soap, divide it up into smaller containers (but not small enough to be obvious!) and presto, your soap is "cheaper" per unit, when in reality, you're charging more per oz. Then you make it as convenient as possible: more locations that Starbucks, nice rounded off prices so customers don't have to do math, and so on. The bottom line is that you end up profiting by over-charging poor people who either don't realize what's happening or have no other viable options.

Turing_Machine 5y ago
> The strategy is predatory: You take a product like name-brand dish soap, divide it up into smaller containers (but not small enough to be obvious!) and presto, your soap is "cheaper" per unit I'm not sure why this is especially "predatory". It is totally normal for smaller quantities of an item to sell for a higher unit price. Wheat is trading for $229.00/metric tonne right now. Loaves of bread are selling for about $5.00/kilogram, or $5,000/metric tonne. Is that "predatory"?
DaveExeter 5y ago
>You take a product like name-brand dish soap, No, it does not work like that. They take no-name soap and water it down so a 32oz bottle is $1. The stuff is more stepped-on then frat house cocaine. They also have smaller, more concentrated bottles. That is what I buy.

kingaillas 5y ago

Part of the business model is to work with manufacturers to offer smaller packaging, i.e. less product, for the same price. Consumers are more sensitive to price and not unit price. Another strategy would be "shrinkflation" (great Planet Money coverage on this: https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2021/07/06/1012409112/beware-of-shrinkflation-inflations-devious-cousin https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2021/07/06/1012409112/bew...). Over time you'd just sell less stuff for the same price point. But yes, some of the various Dollar stores have left the strict $1 product rule.

maxlybbert 5y ago

As Walter Bright mentioned in another comment, they used to be “dime stores” or “five and dime stores.” The dollar store label worked well for several years, but you’re right that it’s hard to sell a lot of merchandise for $1.