Dollar General Stores

I don't know if this was posted, but I found it worth the 20 minutes if you have any interest at all.

One of the things I found most interesting was that in some ways, they have more bargaining power than Walmart - because there customer base literally has no other option so they will buy whatever brand DG offers in many cases.

They also go into how it can be negative as well, because they often drive out the last independent grocer, which likely offered fresh foods rather than just packaged stuff that DG offers.

I didn't necessarily agree with their conclusion, which they seemed to be portraying DG as generally a negative phenomenon, but worth a watch IMHO.

 
MrQuackers said:
Select Dollar Trees around here have Oroweat, Thomas english muffins, bagels, even Entemens donuts and other quality name brand bakery for &1.25, elsewhere >>$3
Click to expand...
Not my experience with Dollar Tree, which I don't frequent very often. Dollar General sells plenty of national brand products and their prices are competitive with Kroger, Walmart, etc and lower than the across-the-street, former IGA.

The vast majority of food stuff at Dollar Tree are brands I've never heard of and generally don't buy anyway. I did make the mistake of grabbing a can of their Pringles-knock-offs and they were HORRIBLE. Open the can and it smelled like paper or glue (??). I tried to eat them but ended up throwing away 3/4 of the can. They do sell dollar candy like M&Ms, Swedish Fish, Mike & Ike, and so on.
 
SC Maintenance said:
I don't know if this was posted, but I found it worth the 20 minutes if you have any interest at all.

One of the things I found most interesting was that in some ways, they have more bargaining power than Walmart - because there customer base literally has no other option so they will buy whatever brand DG offers in many cases.

They also go into how it can be negative as well, because they often drive out the last independent grocer, which likely offered fresh foods rather than just packaged stuff that DG offers.

I didn't necessarily agree with their conclusion, which they seemed to be portraying DG as generally a negative phenomenon, but worth a watch IMHO.

Click to expand...


Their other videos are good watches as well, I follow them on YT.
 
There's at least 6 or 8 in the town of 75k I reside in. Might be as many as 10, and maybe as many Family Dollars. There are 2 between my town and my girls town (60 miles) and they are pretty much the only places in that 60 miles to buy a roll of TP or a gallon of milk if you forget when you are going to the "big city". There really should be a third in between them and I have fleetingly thought about looking into franchising one because one of them is 10 miles outside of my city and the other is 10 miles out of her town. If I put one roughly dead center of those 2 I might even make a profit.....

I understand those 2, but I don't understand the ones across the street from Wal Mart. Yet the ones in my city are freaking packed, even the ones really close (literally across the street or even in the same shopping center) to other places. Yes, I would run into one to buy 1 thing if I was in a hurry even knowing that it's 50 cents to a buck cheaper at the Mart, but I wouldn't go in there and buy 10 things because that's just throwing 5-10 bucks on the ground and setting it on fire.

Dollar Tree is God's little gift to us when it comes to bleach. A gallon of Walmart brand bleach is like 6 bucks. A half gallon of Dollar Tree bleach is a buck.25 and its bleach for the Good Lords sake.....

Someone above mentioned Aldis. The ones in my town are pure d chimpanzee bottoms. They have zero produce and what they have is usually rotting, the beef tastes funny (last year I got 3 prime rib roasts after the Great Christmas Clearance) and a few packs of skirt steak. The skirt steak was ok but that prime rib was off of a small bear or a Peruvian Boar or something. It sure wasn't good beef. I still have a prime rib roast that I plan on using for testing my next carry round that I get on sale somewhere. We also have this place called Lidl. It's an upscale Aldi. Prices are upscale too. I no longer bother stopping in either.
 
mr_boring said:
Dollar Tree is God's little gift to us when it comes to bleach.
Click to expand...
Check the % concentration of sodium hypochlorite" on the dollar store bottle.

I was at Menards a week ago and my wife asked me to grab a bottle of bleach. They had (3) choices, Clorox (7.5%) and two Menards-branded. One was a little cheaper than the Clorox and was also 7.5% while the other was 1/2 the price of Clorox and nowhere on the bottle did it state the "bleach" concentration. Being a chemical like that, I was pretty surprised.
 
I really enjoyed watching the video. Of course, every single thing we read, hear, and watch should be done with sceptical thinking. Very few things are published with the intent to inform, but to influence.

The thing that struck me most from the video was the buying power of DG. Seemed their buying power makes it near impossible for a mom and pop to compete. Appears just can't be done.

We all know the results when competition is eliminated and ogalopolies run the show..... Not so pretty. Easiest example I can think of is the pricing of package food and drink at the airport.
 
GON said:
I really enjoyed watching the video. Of course, every single thing we read, hear, and watch should be done with sceptical thinking. Very few things are published with the intent to inform, but to influence.

The thing that struck me most from the video was the buying power of DG. Seemed their buying power makes it near impossible for a mom and pop to compete. Appears just can't be done.

We all know the results when competition is eliminated and ogalopolies run the show..... Not so pretty. Easiest example I can think of is the pricing of package food and drink at the airport.
Click to expand...
the intent to inform...but to influence....you got that right...very true on this forum......
 
GON said:
I really enjoyed watching the video. Of course, every single thing we read, hear, and watch should be done with sceptical thinking. Very few things are published with the intent to inform, but to influence.

The thing that struck me most from the video was the buying power of DG. Seemed their buying power makes it near impossible for a mom and pop to compete. Appears just can't be done.

We all know the results when competition is eliminated and ogalopolies run the show..... Not so pretty. Easiest example I can think of is the pricing of package food and drink at the airport.
Click to expand...
Beats the heck out of your local gas station and convience stores as they aren't concerned about competing anyway.

Here we had only a few mom and pop stores in the very old days and when those people passed away the stores shut down so for many they are a positive and not a negative.

But I get it....
 
Mom and pop failed long before DG. Once wall Street could borrow directly from the Fed at Zero interest or close to it - they were already at a competitive advantage. Black Rock doesn't need to turn a profit - simply manage cash flow and wait till there debt inflates away.

McDonalds doesn't need the profit margin of a local restaurant because corporate can help franchisees get favorable rates from preferred lenders - for a franchise fee of course.

You see it here. First Brands and M&H bought up all the private oil filter companies using cheap leverage.

Its not that the playing field isn't fair. If your not in the club, your not allowed on the field at all.
 
Zee09 said:
I remember this post and it was brilliant. Why?
People do pull out on you and do go slow and turn shortly after.

It's just a pit stop and most people have one or two plastic bags sitting on their passenger front seat. If they drive to agreesive it will roll off the seat to the floor... lol 😆 🤣 😂

You nailed it...
Click to expand...
It happens all the time.
 
The Mom and Pop store isn't dead just yet . In my town we have an Aldi , a Winn Dixie , A Super Walmart , and a Walmart Neighborhood Market . Not to mention about four DG's within 20 minutes of each other . There's also a fair sized Supermarket that is family owned . They are probably the most expensive option around . The place is always packed and their customer base is fiercely loyal . Most of their success boils down to service . To their customer and to the community . It's not always about price .
 
I picked up a few large glasses today at Dollar Tree . I'm using them for my water instead of plastic. Great looking and clear and large for $1.25. But wait look at the sticker on the bottom...

1000002091.jpg
 
Last edited:
andrew_j said:
The downside is they put the general store or small grocers out of business who carry fresh foods and produce and then you are stuck with the awful canned, preserved food Dollar General sells. A $1 it’s not actually cheap always because of smaller size or portion
Click to expand...
Its called competition.

I love the stores. I see many in places where the only other choice3 within 5 miles is a Turkey Hill or Wa-Wa.
 
the one in my town was an old Eckerds drug store, it is dirty inside and things are never stocked on the shelves just piled up on the carts In the aisles. Although they do have a decent selection of oil for my OPE and every kind of soda and junk food you can imagine.
 
Lots of customers seem to love these stores and they are often very busy with long lines and shelves that need restocking because so much stuff is being purchased.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

K
  • Locked
Why Dollar Stores are bad for health, and aren't actually that cheap
2
Replies
30
Views
2K
Astro14
Jdeere562
Pay it forward
2
Replies
23
Views
2K
JeffKeryk
A
Are there counterfeit products at those discount dollar-type stores?
2
Replies
32
Views
3K
alarmguy
slo town
My experience 30 floors up during the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake
2
Replies
20
Views
947
wpod
Brons2
Best retirement states for lower property and income taxes specifically + climate consideration
4 5 6
Replies
113
Views
9K
Pablo
Back
Top