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02-15-2010, 09:33 AM
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#1
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Pasadena CA
Posts: 3,346
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99 Cent Store
Do you have one hear you? Not everything is a bargain but some things certainly are, ipod case for 99 cents. What good deals have you found? Sometimes things look so cheap I leave with more than I intended going in.
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T.S. Eliot:
Old men ought to be explorers
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02-15-2010, 09:49 AM
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#2
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jul 2006
Posts: 11,401
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I normally stay away from such places as they induce impulse buying of things I don't need. However, a few weeks ago I visited one while waiting for my car to be serviced. I picked up some kitchen items that I needed anyway, like nice coffee mugs for $1 each. I would avoid buying imported knockoffs of plastic food containers, because you never know what nasty chemicals might leach out. And I would never buy anything electrical at a dollar store.
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02-15-2010, 10:06 AM
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#3
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Oct 2008
Posts: 1,608
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We have Dollar Tree stores in my area and I think the greeting cards at 2/$1 are a great deal.
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02-15-2010, 10:23 AM
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#4
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: East Nowhere, 43N Latitude, NY
Posts: 9,037
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I don't have a 99 cent all item store close by.
I use other dollar type stores for cleaning products, laundry detergent, health and beauty name brand items, paper goods, candy, plastic storage containers, decorations, and name brand only dry goods and canned/bottled foods.
If it is edible and labelled Made in China, no thanks.
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"All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them." - Walt Disney
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02-15-2010, 10:58 AM
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#5
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Denver
Posts: 3,519
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The NY times had an article on 99c stores a while ago. I walked through one, and found that there were a lot of things I could have used - especially food items.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/26/dining/26ninety.html
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02-15-2010, 11:16 AM
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#6
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Denver, Colorado
Posts: 6,258
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Meadbh
I would avoid buying imported knockoffs of plastic food containers, because you never know what nasty chemicals might leach out.
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I would also be cautious of materials used in the manufacture of other items that touch food.
Let me Google that for you:
ceramic dishes lead - Google Search
more specifically:
http://cchealth.org/topics/lead_poison/pdf/ceramics.pdf
Quote:
Homemade and hand-crafted tableware, either from the U.S. or a foreign country, unless you are sure the maker used a lead-free glaze.
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In any event, I, personally, am very leery of any "bargain" product that touches something I intend to eat.
__________________
"It's tough to make predictions, especially when it involves the future." ~Attributed to many
"In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice. But, in practice, there is." ~(perhaps by) Yogi Berra
"Those who have knowledge, don't predict. Those who predict, don't have knowledge."~ Lau tzu
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02-15-2010, 12:04 PM
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#7
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Moderator Emeritus
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: At The Cafe
Posts: 6,873
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Quote:
Originally Posted by yakers
Do you have one hear you? Not everything is a bargain but some things certainly are, ipod case for 99 cents. What good deals have you found? Sometimes things look so cheap I leave with more than I intended going in.
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There are two of them near me. Thanks, Yakers, you’re inspiring me to take another look, inquiring/retiring minds want to know. My first impression, some time ago, was that they have dusty stuff that doesn’t move and a lot of cheap wine that is not very good, we did try one or two bottles. Two Buck Chuck is very competitive with that. btw, I’ve heard that Trader Joe’s Charles Shaw brand (Two Buck Chuck) wins tastes tests and seems good enough to me for table wine, if that is where you want to cut expenses. I’ll take another look at the dollar stores sometime.
Regarding the cheap iPod case; I spent $9.99 including free shipping at Amazon, for a set of iPod accessories; it included three skins, a case, cord chargers for car and home, and screen protector. Once I got over the fear of using magnets around the iPod I chose the case over the skins and like it very much. So it’s possible that there are a lot of good inexpensive cases out there to be found at .99 stores.
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02-15-2010, 01:30 PM
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#8
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Dec 2008
Posts: 12,657
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Friends from work got me into the dollar store (a true one; everything was $1.00, no more, no less). Our purpose was to buy decorations for the office holiday party, but i gave the whole place a pretty good once-over.
1. Laundry, bath, or food items - anything that gets used up over time - were a very poor value in $1 packages, compared with buying larger containers of same stuff. I feel for people whose budgets/dwellings force them to buy such things at the dollar store.
2. Cheap holiday decorations (stockings, Santa/reindeer hats, colored tissue paper, red and green plastic candy dishes, and a paper menorah for our Jewish vice-director) were a pretty good buy. It's not like you are going to keep these things around for posterity.
3. Small household/office/school items (stirrers, spatulas, pot holders, notepads, pencil sharpeners) were OK if you just need something to tide you over till you get a decent one. Like, when you are between homes or something. The exception is a paper scissors I bought for my husband, so he would stop raiding my sewing basket for something to cut coupons. We really like it.
4. Everything else = not worthy of house room, as my mother liked to say.
I've heard there are "Dollar stores" that have better stuff, but it costs more than a dollar, which seems like cheating
-A.
__________________
If you understood everything I say, you'd be me ~ Miles Davis
'There is only one success – to be able to spend your life in your own way.’ Christopher Morley.
Even a blind clock finds an acorn twice a day.
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02-15-2010, 02:51 PM
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#9
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: South Texas~29N/98W Just West of Woman Hollering Creek
Posts: 6,674
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I prefer Goodwill. Better merchandise. Better Prices.
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Part-Owner of Texas
Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read. Groucho Marx
In dire need of: faster horses, younger woman, older whiskey, more money.
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02-15-2010, 03:15 PM
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#10
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: North-Central Illinois
Posts: 3,228
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Quote:
Originally Posted by powerplay
We have Dollar Tree stores in my area and I think the greeting cards at 2/$1 are a great deal.
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Same here. We buy some stuff there....greeting cards are our #1 purchase there, but we also buy a lot of stuff that we normally use too....snacks, some soaps and cleaning supplies, kitchen utensils, etc.
It's really convenient for us too, since it's right next door to Aldi's and across the road from Krogers.
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02-15-2010, 03:29 PM
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#11
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: New Orleans
Posts: 47,500
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When I was a kid, we used to go to "dime stores". Now they are "dollar stores". Maybe soon they will be "ten dollar stores".
__________________
Already we are boldly launched upon the deep; but soon we shall be lost in its unshored, harbourless immensities. - - H. Melville, 1851.
Happily retired since 2009, at age 61. Best years of my life by far!
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02-15-2010, 04:25 PM
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#12
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Indialantic FL
Posts: 1,330
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the best thing we've found at 99cents stores and the like are reading glasses.
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JimnJana
"The four most dangerous words in investing are 'This time it's different.'" - Sir John Templeton
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02-15-2010, 05:12 PM
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#13
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: North of Montana
Posts: 2,769
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Paint brushes. Cheaper to throw them away than clean them, at least oil paints
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There are two kinds of people in the world: those who can extrapolate conclusions from insufficient data and ..
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02-15-2010, 07:49 PM
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#14
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gone traveling
Join Date: May 2008
Posts: 3,864
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99 Cents stores better watch out, they just lowered the bar...
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02-16-2010, 08:30 AM
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#15
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Feb 2007
Posts: 1,250
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I second the holiday stuff. Also, the little cotton facial pads are perfect for toner - but I have to be careful of the texture. Found a Bill Clinton hardback for Mom for Christmas there too. The coloring books and puzzle books are great for stocking stuffers too!
__________________
Make no mistake, my friend, it takes more than money to make men rich. - A. P. Gouthey
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02-16-2010, 09:14 AM
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#16
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Mar 2007
Posts: 3,323
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I love the Dollar Stores! Bought 5 sticks of bamboo that are green, put in water they grow for ages for $1 each vs. the ones I bought at Chinatown in Houston for $3 a piece.
Bought a number of kitchen utensils that are strong plastic like spoons and containers. Good deal.
Bought a set of 6 12 oz. Coca Cola glasses that are green and thicker glass that we use daily. Love them!
Have purchased some cookies from Belgium and Canada maple leaf cookies that we ate. Good.
Purchased some name brand household cleaners there that would have cost $3 in a regular grocery story, but buy only name brand there as I know the quality.
Tissue paper for wrapping gifts is cheap there.
Once in awhile they have a magazine for $1 there that is recent and would cost $3 at a stand.
Some great deals at the dollar stores if you really find a good one.
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02-16-2010, 09:34 AM
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#17
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: New Orleans
Posts: 47,500
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Dollar Stores are fun because I feel like I can afford anything in them. The challenge for me in shopping at a Dollar Store is to refrain from buying anything that I would not otherwise buy.
If I buy 3 things that are junk and going to end up in the trash, I would be wasting $3+. Not that I can't afford that, but it could add up if I made a habit of doing that.
__________________
Already we are boldly launched upon the deep; but soon we shall be lost in its unshored, harbourless immensities. - - H. Melville, 1851.
Happily retired since 2009, at age 61. Best years of my life by far!
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02-16-2010, 09:41 AM
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#18
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: North Oregon Coast
Posts: 16,483
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RonBoyd
In any event, I, personally, am very leery of any "bargain" product that touches something I intend to eat.
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This is especially true based on the disturbing news stories regarding stuff made in China (and probably elsewhere) where lead paint has often been used, including on toys. I wouldn't be surprised if some of these cheap-labor imports have lead paint on stuff that comes into contact with food.
In this case, cheapskates may be getting what they paid for.
__________________
"Hey, for every ten dollars, that's another hour that I have to be in the work place. That's an hour of my life. And my life is a very finite thing. I have only 'x' number of hours left before I'm dead. So how do I want to use these hours of my life? Do I want to use them just spending it on more crap and more stuff, or do I want to start getting a handle on it and using my life more intelligently?" -- Joe Dominguez (1938 - 1997)
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02-16-2010, 10:08 AM
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#19
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Jul 2006
Posts: 1,901
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I was in one yesterday. I bought gallon, quart and 30 gal. storage and trash bags. 30 ct of ibuprofen, 10 pack of twin blade shavers and two 10 oz wine glasses. $7 plus tax.
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“I guess I should warn you, if I turn out to be particularly clear, you've probably misunderstood what I've said” Alan Greenspan
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