If you’re looking to save on every day items the dollar store is a great place to start but…they don’t always have the best deals. When comparing sizes and quality of products there are times where your dollar can go further elsewhere. Here’s our list of items to avoid at the dollar store.
10 Items Not to Buy at the Dollar Store
Or, go here to see our list of 67 things you SHOULD buy at the dollar store.
Canned Goods – My kitchen pantry is stocked with canned goods, because we buy them when they’re on sale. Often you can score canned goods for half off on sales at the grocery store where they can be as low as $0.25!
Soda – Dollar Stores typically charge $1 for a 1 liter bottle of soda. This is not a good deal because you can score a 2 liter bottle for $1 at the grocery store when it goes on sale. I’ve even seen name brand soda such as Coke and Sprite on sale for $1.
Pens – At Walmart you can score a pack of 15 ball point pens for $0.74 while the Dollar Tree has a 10 ct. pack selling for $1.That’s a difference of $.05 per pen! Buying pens at the dollar store is actually more expensive, especially when you’re choosing between generic brands.
Dog Food – Dollar General has Purina Prime Cut dog food for $.80 per 13.2 oz can but you can get the exact same product for only $0.59 at Stop & Shop. If you’re looking to score deals on pet food you’re better off visiting bulk stores such as Costco or looking for coupons at local pet supply stores. The Dollar Store usually doesn’t have a great selection OR the best price.
Chewing Gum – 20 sticks of gum for $1 ($.05 per stick) or 54 sticks for $2.24 ($.04 per stick)? It’s only one cent difference but you’re still score a better deal when you buy gum in bulk at the store. The dollar store advertises that they’re selling 4 packs of gum but these packs only contain 5 pieces each! Being able to have a larger pack of gum (usually 18 pieces) and not carry four at a time would be worth buying the larger packs at the store.
Folders – The dollar store offers a good deal on two-pocket folders with a 3-pack costing only $1 but you can often find better deals elsewhere. Right now, you can score Office Max Brand two pocket folders for $0.1 each! That’s $.03 for three folders compared to $1! While you can’t always find 1 cent folders you can score better deals elsewhere. I grew up with 3 brothers and sisters so my mom would always buy us plain colored folders in bulk. You can get 25 two-pocket folders for just $3.75 at Staples which works out to about $0.15 per folder. That’s less than half of the dollar store’s price of $0.33 per folder. If you’re looking to buy in bulk the dollar store is not your best bet.
Toothpaste – While $1 for a tube of toothpaste may seem like a great deal, you might not be getting the most for your money. The Dollar Tree sells a 3.5 oz tube of anti-cavity Crest toothpaste for $1 ($0.28 oz.) BUT you can get three 6.4 oz tubes of the same brand at Walmart for $5 ($0.26 oz.). If you go for the cheaper brand of Aims toothpaste the difference is a little greater. The Dollar Tree sells a 6 oz. tube of Aims for $1 BUT you can get a 4 pack of the same brand for $3.40 which equals $0.85 a tube.
Dry Pasta – Generic Brand pasta at the grocery store is often on sale for two for $1 making them half price compared to dollar store brands. Even when it’s not on sale though, generic pasta at the store is under $1 (my store’s brand is normally $.89).
Toothbrushes – At Stop & Shop you can score six toothbrushes for $2.79 ($0.47 each) while at the Dollar Tree they are 2 for $1 ($0.50 each).
Sandwich Bags – The Dollar Tree has 20 ct. packs of sandwich bags for $1 but you can score a 50 ct. pack from Stop & Shop for only $1.69. That’s more than double the amount of bags for only $0.69 more! This comes out to a $0.5 or $0.3 per bag. Buying more is ultimately the better deal.
Seeing a $1 price tag makes it hard to believe that there could be a better deal out there, but sometimes there are indeed greater bargains at other retailers. When buying items at the dollar store it’s important to consider quantity and quality instead of just the price tag. What products do you avoid at the dollar store?
Welcome to Bargain Babe! I’m Mara, and I’m so glad you’re here. I am an obsessive bargain hunter and penny pincher, and I am determined to live a full life without EVER paying full price.
It is important to always look at the package count, even if the box of the same product is the same size at the grocery store. For example, a box of cocoa may have only 6 packets at the dollar store, and same sized box at the grocery store may have 10. It often ends up being more expensive at the dollar store.
Interesting… I know at the beginning of the school year, you can get notebooks at WalMart for 10cents, while they are 99cents apiece at the 99 Cents Only store. And you will get better deals on glue and glue sticks at Target at the beginning of the school year, too.
Or office depot/max for a penny or a dime.
Good post and comments. Thank you.
Thanks Diane! I’m glad you enjoyed it. 🙂
Sorry, but I couldn’t finish reading this article because the writer is not correct in this: $0.5 is fifty cents not five and $0.1 is ten cents not one. The proper way to write five cents is $0.05 and one cent is $0.01!
I don’t buy food, toiletries, electrical, automotive or similar items at the dollar store. USPTO has training workshops on counterfeits which are hard to detect by officials. They don’t recommend purchasing those kind of products for safety and security concerns. I would not feed my kids food from the dollar store or buy toiletries, electrical and automotive items. This past December cheap Christmas tree lights burned our Christmas tree in seconds! It was horrifying and really quick!
Please do some research and write about it on your blog,- you may be able to save a family from a tragedy. Remember a couple of years back an incident with toothpaste in China?
I get really worried about the lack of knowledge of people regarding counterfeits and their “amazingly cheap finds” at the dollar store. If the price is too good to be true it probably is and honestly it is a risk that I would personally prefer to avoid. The officials who are chasing after the bad guys are not able to catch up on time since the counterfeit industry is able to “camouflage” products quite easily.
I’m not interested in starting a discussion here. I’m sharing my real experience with you all in hope that somebody may be able to walk away from cheaply made products. I’m a Mom and the incident with the tree lights would have killed me and my baby daughter if not for a visitor who stopped by at our home and who was able to get things under control.
I’m just curious …. does Dollar Tree sell counterfeit food?? And as far as the Christmas lights…..that could happen with even expensive lights!! I’ve been buying things at Dollar Tree & other dollar stores for years & I’ve learned which items are cheaper to buy elsewhere! I’ve never encountered any issues & neither has anyone I know! In fact, Dollar Tree now sells many “name brand” items ESPECIALLY in foods!
p.s. I will note that you should not buy those clear report covers with 3 holes for notebook at Dollar store! Lol
Thanks for your list!
Susan
Do not buy the canned pumpkin unless you are making pie.
It says it just pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling, but it has added ingredients not listed.
Buy Libby’s plain pumpkin at the grocery store or you will ruin your healthy recipes.
Anything you buy at the dollar store for that great discounted price should be items that don’t really matter. Pens, dishes, plastic ware and the likes. I would never trust security and safety to the dollar store. That being said, anything electrical, door locks or chemicals for your car I would buy from a known retailer. Use your judgement. Sometimes the cheapest is not the best.
The tin foil I’ve purchased at the dollar store has left little pieces of silver on the to of a casserole before. What a waste of food!
I do like to purchase air freshener and foaming bathroom cleaner there.
Great post, thanks!
Let’s face it, there is only one true dollar store anymore (Dollar Tree). The Dollar General should be renamed $5.00 & Up General Store. Proctor and Gamble has taken over and given a snow job to the top dogs, plus the owners and absolutely ruin it. If you check out the ounces of product you’re buy at any of these stores and the dollars you’re paying, you’re getting ripped off. You can buy the same product at the grocery stores on sale and pay less. But, let’s face it, we are all getting ripped off because the manufacturers keep lowering the ounces on their product and raising their prices. We live in a world of greed and big business is only interested in one thing, making a profit on top of their big profit they’ve already made. Thanks,
I have had bad experiences with the women’s summer flip flops (plastic strap sliced my foot open), scented hand soaps that are off brand (allergic reaction), the off brand spray air fresheners (induced a massive asthma attack….the name brand ones never have).
I purchased potting soil and it was full of millipedes undetectable until I used it for bathroom house plants. Every day I’d find them on my walls and in the tub
Gross.
Okay, yeah, that is really gross. I don’t think I’ve ever seen potting soil at my dollar store, but now I know to avoid it!
-Dollar Tree sells 5-packs of toothbrushes for $1. You can’t beat that anywhere else.
-The aluminum foil at Dollar Tree is low quality; it tears too easily.
-Spiral notebooks are less than $1 at many other stores in August. Most school supplies can be bought in August for less than DT elsewhere, such as Walgreen’s, Staples and Office Depot/Office Max. However, when it isn’t back-to-school time, DT might be cheaper.
-Sudoku books are cheap at Dollar Tree, but aren’t goof for gifts because the printing quality is bad. They are good to keep for yourself.
-Most toys at Dollar Tree are low quality. Puzzles seem good.
-DT sells 5-pack of pencil sharpeners for a buck. They are not top quality; the sharpener part separates from the container.
-Baking soda is cheaper at DT than at Target, much less than Walgreen’s, but cheapest of all at Aldi.
-Don’t buy Dollar Tree glue sticks unless they are Elmer’s. Their own brand (Jot?) doesn’t stick well.
-Contrary to what another poster wrote, I always buy bar soap at Dollar Tree, but I have no allergies. You can’t beat 3 bars for a buck.
6im not sure if someone’s mentioned this one yet or not but the “3 pack cup of noodles” for a $1 compared to .28 cents each for the name brand or only .24 each cents for the off brand that tastes the same anyways lol at Wal-Mart an sometimes at Safeway you can get them for as low as .20 cents each. Doing the math at .28 cents for 3 is .82 cents at .24 cents is only .72 cents and at .20 is only .60 cents so all the way around it’s a huge rip off..
I use the Dollar Tree for many items but please do not buy any of their pet items. They are cheap and dangerous. Toys come apart and are choking and strangulation hazards, which is dangerous for your pet, food is not of the best kind to keep your pet healthy and the flea and tick preventatives are downright dangerous as are imported.
I agree. I stopped buying DT toys for my dog when I saw how easily he could tear most of them apart! I never buy food for him there either. Pets are so expensive so I know it’s very tempting, but it’s just too risky in my opinion.
I have bought several dog pet toys at several stores, spending about $7 to $10. All but 2 of them were ripped to shreds in 15 to 30 mins. So like everything else, it is trial and error. Just because you spend more doesn’t mean it is a better product and vice-versa. Just because you spend less doesn’t mean an item is cheaper quality.