Dollar Deals and Duds

I just read a few articles on shopping at various dollar stores. Here is a compiled list of the deals and duds and what to watch out for.

Deals
Cleaners (household)
Shampoo, soap
Spices
Kitchen utensils and gadgets
Party goods, wrapping paper, gift bags, cards, ribbon

Duds
Vitamins (near expiration dates, or manufactured in outside the USA)
Toothpaste (may be tainted or has a label look alike to a major company, read label)
Batteries (drain fast, low life)
Electrical products, Christmas lights (shoddy manufacturing could cause overheating, may not be UL compliant, or made in other countries)
Jewelry and lunchboxes (may contain lead)

Comparing
Some of the snack food is priced accordingly, meaning, you will get less at the dollar store than if you bought the package at the grocery store.

For instance -- a store brand 16 oz jar of nuts would cost $1.60 at the local grocery store. At the dollar store, for one dollar you would get 10 oz of the same type of product. If you had a coupon, that $1.60 jar could cost less and you would get more.

BUT . . . in smaller packages, the price per oz or pound is usually higher so you may actually only get 8 oz for a dollar.

Read labels carefully and compare prices.

There have been many items recalled by the dollar type stores due to lead, small parts (especially in toys) or some other safety reason.

You can check on recalled items at:

The Consumer Product Safety Commission

Recalls.gov