This is one of those places that can either be very good or very bad. I used to live near one that would have organic salad mixes, salmon singles, and all kinds of Overstock name brand foods. And gallons of milk were always .99 cents there while I was paying at least $2 everywhere else. It was hit or miss however. One week I could get a large tubs of greek yogurt, frozen turkey and half gallons of coconut milk and the next week it would be gone. But the best thing is that they carry produce and "day old" bread that's at least half what it would cost elsewhere. I think there's even a blog, the 99 Cents Chef, just a foodie who shops there and come up with good meals. If you have one near you and you want to eat better on a budget, give it a try.
I've been very hesitant to buy groceries at the 99 cent only stores. I may buy packaged nuts and bottled water, but that's about it. I never knew they had organic vegetables. Perhaps I should take a good look the next I'm in the store.
I would never buy meat or dairy from the dollar store. Just can't. Won't risk it. However, I have bought frozen foods from them. A bag of Pillsbury rolls to be exact. I was willing to give that a try after considering how long frozen foods supposedly can last.
I don't buy fresh goods from .99 stores, but I do buy a lot of other things. It's kind of odd that you can buy some of the stuff you mentioned, but perhaps you live in an especially upscale location.
I don't have anything like this near me unfortunately. I'd be weary about buying too many of the meats and dairy products, simply because having them in transit might drop their temperatures enough, even if they were just barely past expiration dates. I would love if I could get other products for that cheap, though.
Our dollar store doesn't really sell food. Well they have chips and candy, but no freezer or milk or anything. I wish they did. I would give it a shot. YOu never know. The budget I am currently on is not easy, and .99 milk would really be awesome. I would actually be able to drink coffee again.
Our local dollar stores don't carry too much in the way of food. It is mostly just snacks and pop that I really don't buy anywhere anyways. I am not too sure I would be comfortable in purchasing produce or dairy products there even if they did sell them.
Unless I actually saw the Utz truck sitting outside the store, I wouldn't buy chips from the dollar store either. I prefer fresh chips and there is a reason why the stuff is a dollar, right? I just assume that the stuff at the dollar store are there after they spent some time at another type of store for some time. Even if it was only two to three weeks, that's too much for chips.
I'm always a little wary of the food at ninety nine cent stores. Everything just always looks so dusty. It makes me wonder how long it's been sitting there. I think for my health I'd rather spend the few extra cents and go to the grocery store. Usually it's not much of a price difference anyway.
I don't know if it's fortunately or unfortunately, but out dollar stores up here in Canada don't sell the things you are listing. It does sell items like bread, noodles, soup, cookies, sauces, pesto, chips, couscous, rice, etc. However, even if Dollarama started selling meat or salad I would not purchase it whatsoever.
There is generally nothing wrong with the edible goods at a dollar store, they aren't old or anything only the excess - kind of like buying from one of those places that sells wholesale. If you don't trust it then check the expiration date on the bag.
The Dollar Tree near my house sells brand name bread products - they are close to, but not past, the expiration date. Since we go though bread pretty quickly, that's a good place for us to buy. Sometimes I have gotten bagels and thin sandwich rounds there as well as loaves of bread. All that stuff freezes well, so when they have something unusually good I buy extra and pop it in the freezer.
The thing to remember is that, if you get your purchases home and they are unfit for consumption, you have exactly the same rights as you would have if you'd paid more from another store. Also, the food has to be transported and delivered under the same conditions as stores such as Walmart and other big players, so I don't see a problem here. I always check out the food sections in these stores, and I've never had to return anything because it wasn't fit to eat. You can save yourself at least half of the regular price, so put aside your concerns and try it out.
That's a good reminder. I think a lot of people probably don't realize they could simply return the food if it wasn't what they expected or something was wrong with it. I've never had to return anything either. Honestly, I probably wouldn't even bother just for a dollar usually, but at least the option and right to is there.
I don't buy food from dollar stores either, but I do think something else to remember is that you can always look at expiration or sell-by dates to try to determine how fresh things like chips or milk are. My budget is not so tight that I am willing to 'risk' this either (you might have the same rights if the food is bad at a dollar store, but it's kind of too late to undo a lot of the damage, in my opinion, once you've already been made sick) but I wouldn't judge anyone for doing it or be too afraid to do it if I were in a real financial pitch. My dollar store mostly only sells snack foods- I'm actually really surprised some people can find fresh produce there! It's something to consider either way
I don't usually trust those stores with foods that can be spoiled in short time, but I will go there for something cheap like ramen. Otherwise, I'll go to a regular grocery store for things like fruits, dairy, bread, and meats.
Like you said, it's always a hit and miss with the 99 cent store. Sometimes when I go there I'm able to get fresh vegetables and fruits for 99 cents. If you see something something good there you better pick it up because there's a huge chance that it won't be there the next time. It's all on a first come first serve basis.
These stores are definitely great for families on a tight budget but still wish to be able to have proper meals at home. Most of their food there is actually still rather fresh and suitable for consumption, perhaps maybe a day old only and cleared from up-scale supermarkets which always have fresh stock coming in daily. Breads and fruits definitely last longer than a day, so if they still look good and fresh, I wouldn't think twice about buying them. In fact if I were to plan to make french toast for breakfast, some overnight bread might even be better since they are more robust! Chips, canned foods and juices are also fine since they usually have expiration dates of a few months to years. But if you're talking about dairy products such as milk and yoghurt, make sure you check the expiration dates before buying them and for meats and fishes, make sure they are not bad smelling or discoloured already! If you are willing to look hard enough, you'll definitely be able to get some great deals from such .99 cent stores!
When I lived in Arizona I shopped the 99cents stores and did buy grocery items. I never had anything that was bad or expired, and always found some new things to try. The 99cent stores in Ohio don't have much of grocery selection, it's only dry and canned foods. I wish they'd have the same items as the stores in Arizona. Even Dollar Tree in AZ had frozen and fresh foods. Here, snack foods, juices and pop pretty much other than canned and boxed foods. I miss getting those good deals!
I don't buy meat from the .99 cents store because I'm not sure it's fresh. I know well know grocery stores that have spoiled meat, so I know the .99 cents store has it share of bad meat. I only shop at there to pick up some junk food, but I would never shop to buy any kind of meat, bread, or anything that could possibly spoil. I'm not saying all .99 cent stores have bad products, but I wouldn't trust the one in my area.
