Are Dollar Store Items Worth a Buck?

“I wish I had a dollar for every time I spent a dollar, because then, Yahoo!, I'd have all my money back.”
-Jack Handy, Saturday Night Live

Dollar Stores used to be fun to visit. You could buy many items and still get change from a $20. But with the rise in oil price and inflation most stores have raised prices - sometimes posted, sometimes not - so I'm no longer sure just what "dollar store" items will cost anymore.

Michael Z. Williamson at SurvivalBlog.com  notes another change at dollar stores:

At one time, dollar stores (former called "five and dime" stores) sold closeouts, leftovers, seconds and special deals.  Increasingly, though, they're selling purpose-made, second-rate, third world junk made just for that purpose.  I would never trust any tool from such a store--they're of pot metal and guaranteed to fail.  They are not, in my opinion, "better than nothing", because they cost money, give you a false sense of security, and don't accomplish anything.

For example: a 2nd rate dollar-store hammer might take a few hits and break. And there's no lifetime replacement guarantee. I've noticed the same problem with brand-name Outlet stores. They used to sell left-over items and items with minor imperfections that failed to sell at the parent stores. You could find bargains on "real" merchandise. But now Outlet malls have sprung up all over America and there's no way there's enough remainder items to fill these stores. So instead the brand-names make their own cheaper knock-offs to sell at Outlets.

Check out an old post of mine about the importance of buying for quality, not price.
Bottom Line

Michael Z Williamson offers this advice,

I would recommend finding both actual overstock and closeout stores, and thrift stores, as well as frequenting garage sales.  At the latter two, older tools without the shine and modern high-tech shaping are perfectly functional, usually better made, and often available even cheaper than at dollar stores.  You can often find kits missing one or two pieces, pick them up separately for a mismatched but complete kit, and have name brand quality for pennies on the dollar.

For me old tools are often the best - enduring quality that just needs some polishing and perhaps sharpening.  Be sure when shopping at flea markets that you're paying for "used" goods, not antique value. I don't want an antique hammer to put on a display shelf; I want one I can use. 

My wife loves finding bargains at garage sales and thrift stores. Last week at a flea market we saw the price on old LP records vary quite a bit from vendor to vendor. The highest was $3 per album. We "scored" with 12 records for a buck which we'll use in craft projects with cub scouts. We're going to melt them and turn them into bowls in the oven.

Can You Afford to be Cheap?

“What we obtain too cheap, we esteem to lightly.” - Thomas Paine

In the posting Why I Can't Afford Cheap, blogger Andy Budd writes,

I remember reading a story once about an octogenarian discussing her most prized possessions with a researcher. She shows the researcher an iron that’s been going for over 40 years and explains how she had to scrimp and save to buy the product and how it ended up out living even her husband. Quizzed on why she spent so much money on the iron she said, “I’m too poor to buy cheap!”

My grandparents on my father’s side shared this philosophy also. They bought very few material items but what they did buy was always top quality. Grandpa was also serious about maintaining his belongings with proper care and repairs. As a result the items he owned lasted for decades. The one exception to this rule was cars; Grandpa liked new cars. Every few years he would give the old model one of his adult children who were happy to get it since it was a quality machine and well maintained.

Twenty years my wife was given a top-of-the-line VCR that still works and that we continue to use for selecting signals from our TV antenna and DVD player. Ten years ago when it ate a tape we figured it was reaching old age and tried to replace it with the cheapest model available. We gave the new VCR away because it produced so much digital signal noise that we could not view open-air channels 2 and 4. We discovered that quality did make a difference.

Bottom Line

Going cheap means being wasteful by definition. Cheap equals flimsy & breakable resulting in repair or replacement costs. Cheap is sometimes desirable for convenience and time saving but don’t fool yourself that you’re saving money in the long run.