Do you shop at the .99 store?

[Moemg]

I go there for greeting cards , wrapping paper and storage containers.

 

[Silver]

I go there for greeting cards , wrapping paper and storage containers.

Dollar Tree for these things as well as cleaning brushes and plastic spray bottles. I go maybe once a year and stock up.

 

[Sunset]

No, it would be at least a 150 mile trip to go to either a 99 cent or dollar store.

You are not missing much, mostly the opportunity to waste $10 on a bunch of meaningless junk.

Occasionally I will find an item that is as good as in a regular store, but cheaper. Mostly regular paint brushes, small foam roller refills, SD card readers (but how many does one need?).

 

[RetireAge50]

I get reading glasses there as they tend to be a high turnover item from losing or breaking.

 

[aaronc879]

I live 1 mile from a Walmart Supercenter so do 99% of my shopping there. No Dollar Store for several miles. When I stayed in Florida the last couple winters, I had a dollar store closer than the Walmart so I went to the Dollar store more often. I go to what's closest since the cost of gas out ways any savings in most cases. It's like driving across town to save 3 cents per gallon of gas. Stop and do the math, it doesn't make sense.

 

[athena53]

Nope, not me. I never seem to find very good bargains there and often I am tempted to buy things I might not otherwise buy at all.

I agree- we have one in town and I haven't been in it in the 4 months since it opened. DH and I did a good job de-cluttering before we moved here and it greatly simplifies cleaning. I don't want more stuff. We also have a Costco membership and I trust their merchandise more.

 

[Ally]

I go to dollar tree for wrapping paper, tape, greeting cards, and frames for photos. Occasionally, I see other items worth buying, too. You never know what they may have.


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[REWahoo]

Just got back from a visit to Dollar Tree. About all I buy there are disposable paint brushes.

 

[gauss]

I'll go the Dollar Tree, but all of the other "dollar stores" seem too trashy for my taste.

 

[travelover]

I'll go the Dollar Tree, but all of the other "dollar stores" seem too trashy for my taste.

My experience, too. Dollar Trees seem to be consistently stocked, reasonably clean and cheap. Some of the so called dollar stores are not even cheap.

 

[Tadpole]

I have one not too far from me. Is it better than the .99 store? If it is and it certainly might be, how is it better? I am always looking for better deals to make my dollar go further.

I don't know. I don't think I have ever seen a .99 store. I've never been in one.

 

[Elbata]

Just got back from $.99 store and Costco.

The $.99 store is different than most of the other dollar stores in that it sells a lot of fresh vegetables. With my way of eating, I buy most of my groceries here. Today I got a few different squashes, pineapple, oranges and salad stuff. Wife bought an outfit for a GF's newborn.

At Costco we buy ~30 lbs of bananas at a time (freeze them for later use). The oranges are $7 a bag while I can get the same amount for $2 at $.99 store.

 

[NW-Bound]

We do get some food items from 99c stores. Occasionally, they have some surplus items that are super cheap such as 28-oz canned roasted organic tomato, or inexpensive produce such as packaged prewashed salad. I also get household items there, such as an occasional tool like a rubber mallet, or a garden hose coupling mender kit, which you cannot get anywhere for 99c.

The above said, not every item is a good deal. I do not buy batteries there anymore, as for 99c you can now get only 2 alkaline batteries (zinc carbon batteries are still 4 for 99c, but who wants them?). I can go to Fry's Electronics and still get 4 for $1.

 

[6miths]

Yes. Don't buy much there but it is interesting to see what items they have. Some times they have surprisingly useful things for a buck. Last purchase there was gift boxes at Christmas. We recycle these and save on wrapping paper and more importantly time! They are nesting too so don't take up much space.

 

[NW-Bound]

One thing that I want to make clear. There is a chain called "99 Cents Only Stores", in contrast to generic 99c stores that sell only cheap Chinese imports, gadgets, toys, and no food. This chain sells a lot of canned food, and snacks. Many of their canned food items are made in the USA, not Chinese imports.

 

[UpAnchor]

We do shop at the dollar store, but with care. Some items the quality is suspect... DW bought some dishwashing detergent and it doesn't suds well at all so we won't do that again.

I hear you. I picked up two bottles of orange-colored "citrus" dish detergent from the dollar store, having been happy with similar products from other sources. And yep, mostly suds-less. But being too frugal to just pitch it, I use a standard sized squirt of the cheap stuff followed by a few drops of the high-rent brand from ALDI and all is well. I'll use up the cheap stuff this way and the good stuff will last darned near forever. Yes, I could probably combine the two to reduce hassle but I was never that good at chemistry and am already trying to live down one explosion...

 

[splitwdw]

We've got a Dollar Tree near us. Many of the items can be bought else where for $1 or slightly cheaper so you have to watch. I go there for plastic ware for molds for decorative cement classes, glo sticks, balls for neighbors dog, Halloween decorations (I really like the plastic rat. I cut it in half and put one piece on each side of a cake or loaf of bread. Looks like the rat is eating it's way through. Kids and adults love it), mardi gras beads for throwing at parades, glass vases/candle holders for sand blasting. The dollar stores in our area don't sell produce like Rodi's.
Forgot to add the beach balls are great for making hollow cement spheres.

 

[Walt34]

Very rarely. Most stuff is low quality junk from China and when possible I try to avoid buying Chinese made stuff. I suppose someone in China makes high quality stuff but I haven't seen it yet.

 

[daylatedollarshort]

One thing that I want to make clear. There is a chain called "99 Cents Only Stores", in contrast to generic 99c stores that sell only cheap Chinese imports, gadgets, toys, and no food. This chain sells a lot of canned food, and snacks. Many of their canned food items are made in the USA, not Chinese imports.

I shop about twice a month at the 99 Cents Only store. Our local ones have have many name brand items that Safeway carries only their regular prices are the "sale" prices at Safeway. Our local 99 Cents Only have great prices on produce and even some organic produce and other organic grocery items.

We shop mainly at Costco, 99 Cents Only store and Grocery Outlet and our grocery bill is now less than half of what it used to be for the same or probably even healthier food than when we shopped at Safeway or similar retail type chains. I wish we would have realized the price differences for the same food years ago. Grocery Outlet shows the corresponding retail price for items so last week I spent $128 and saved $149 off retail prices. We also supplement some items from Trader Joe's.

 

[John Galt III]

I used to get 16 ounce bags of pretzels there, for $1.00. Now they have downsized the bag size to 12 ounces, for $1.00. Still way lower than grocery store ripoff price.

 

[GravitySucks]

I stop at the Dollar Tree if I'm driving buy and need Spic n Span.
Some good deals. Greeting Cards, Gift Bags and wrap, Kitchen and Glass cleaners, Snacks.
Some bad deals . Pens, Batteries, Plastic Wrap

 

[Dreamer]

The $.99 store is different than most of the other dollar stores in that it sells a lot of fresh vegetables.

I have never heard of the $.99 store. I just assumed they were talking about the dollar stores.

 

[brucethebroker]

I go to Dollar Tree for reading glasses-$1 each. Also snacks (trail mix) for biking and smuggling into (senior day) movies. Scotch tape (double side) is a good value also.

 

[Nodak]

You are not missing much, mostly the opportunity to waste $10 on a bunch of meaningless junk.

Occasionally I will find an item that is as good as in a regular store, but cheaper. Mostly regular paint brushes, small foam roller refills, SD card readers (but how many does one need?).

That 150 mile trip applies to Walmart and Arby's too. I make that trip about every 6 weeks to stock up at Walmart because I can save enough to pay for the trip. Arby's is just a side benefit, I love their sandwichs.

 

[W2R]

That 150 mile trip applies to Walmart and Arby's too. I make that trip about every 6 weeks to stock up at Walmart because I can save enough to pay for the trip. Arby's is just a side benefit, I love their sandwichs.

Wow! What a drive. At 55 mph, that would be almost 3 hours of driving. And then, there's the gas, not to mention wear & tear on the vehicle.

If it was me, I'd lean towards buying online and foregoing Arby's.