Okay. I admit it. I have been known to grocery shop at the Dollar Tree. I just stir clear of some of the perishables that easily expire. But, I love the fact that you can buy a bag of french fries for a dollar! This is almost a 75% savings for me, compared to when I go to a brand name grocery store, like Publix or even Walmart. If you buy food from the Dollar Tree, what are some of the products that are much cheaper to buy?
I buy some items from Dollar Tree such as tacos, frozen vegetables, hash browns and sometimes they have boxed mac and cheese, two for a dollar. It depends on the size of the store and sometimes they have a dozen eggs which are really good value.
Nothing wrong with buying food at the Dollar Stores, especially when they carried exactly the same National brand as the grocery stores do. My Dollar Stores only carried a few things.
We dont have a dollar tree but we have a similar one. I buy from there but food it depends. It seems some of the food aisles look EXACTLY the same when I go, while other aisles you can tell have been "used". I steer clear from those. But by the register they have the snack area which always looks different with empty bins and then being stocked. They sell this medium bag of delicious white cheddar cheese popcorn they sell therefor 99cents. I always get those.
We have similar store in the UK and whilst I can't get everything I want there, I do get as much as I possibly can. The savings to be gained are fantastic and it cuts around 30% off my grocery spend. More and more people seem to be shopping at these type of stores these days.
Unfortunately the dollar Tree where I'm at does not have a freezer section (Darn it!). I do buy snacks there quite often though. And, if I happen to be somewhere where the Dollar Tree does have a freezer section I have been known to walk out with a few packs of frozen vegetables.
I mostly buy office supplies and toiletries from Dollar Tree and not much else. I wouldn't buy food from there because they don't carry what I tend to eat, and that's not really their fault. I only visit the local Dollar Tree every few weeks, though. I was there a couple nights ago amusingly enough!
Sure, I buy food at Dollar Tree if it's decent and the price is actually a deal. The French Fries are a good value, and my kids like them. I don't make them often, but I bake them (not fry) when I do. They turn out nicely, even in the oven. It's a full size bag for a buck. I buy frozen fruit and vegetables there too. It's no sugar added fruit and it's a lot less expensive than the ones at other stores. Some "dollar stores" (where everything isn't a dollar) offer stuff that isn't necessarily a good deal. It's only a buck, but you get a small package. By volume, it's not a good value. So far, the food I've purchased at Dollar Tree has been good and a good deal, so why not?
Exactly. Just because something is a dollar does not mean it's a deal. Size, ingredients, & quality are super important aspects. Also, not to rain on your parade but I wouldn't buy a frozen back of potatoes for a dollar when I can get a 8 lb sack for the exact same price.
I purchase some food items there, but as JoanMcWench pointed out, you need to be careful you aren't overpaying for some food items vs. your standard grocery stores. Also you have to pay attention to the quantity of food you are getting for that price as well. For example, recently my mom was making cookies from a pouch of cookie mix she had purchased from one of our local dollar stores - there was only enough product in the pouch to make 6 modest size cookies. The cookies mixes at our regular grocery stores would make at least a dozen cookies. So even though they looked comparable in terms of packaging, there was half the amount of mix in the dollar store version. In some cases, the quantity issue is more obvious - Dollar Tree for example may carry some Kraft brand salad dressings for $1 a bottle, but they are smaller size bottles, roughly 1/3 the size of their brand of dressing that you see in the grocery store. And in cases such as more commonplace canned goods like Black Beans, these are typically under $1 to begin with at many places - so you are likely paying more for those items at places like Dollar Tree.
Well, I can't get a sack of potatoes here for a dollar (more like $3), but I get what you're saying. It's definitely better to buy a bag of potatoes. I buy a bag most weeks. I only buy the frozen ones occasionally, for a treat, and they're about a third of the price for the same size bag. So, if I was going to buy them anyway, it is a better deal for frozen potatoes. As compared to whole, raw, potatoes, you are right, frozen will always lose.
I do buy some food items at Dollar Tree. We like their chips, ect and find they are a good deal. I also get flour tortillas at the Dollar Tree here and have found them to be good. We also like the small boxes of cupcake mix. A regular size box of cake mix at the grocery store just makes to many for my family and we usually end of tossing about half of them, so this small box makes just the right amount for us. We also occasionallly buy the 2-3 liter size bottles of soft drinks.
Those tortillas are good. I have purchased those as well. They have the very same ones at my local grocery store. I forgot to add that I like the pizza crusts, which are about a third of the price of the ones found at other stores. They're perfect for a quick meal or snack for the kids, and they have a decent taste and texture.
Location, location, location. That's the truth. While my potatoes are a dollar (likely due to location) your *fill in here* can be found for the cheap because you are in a certain area. Always a good idea to do the research & find out.
Sure, that makes sense. I was just saying, in this particular instance, I find the item to be a good deal. It may not be for someone else. I try to be careful of "bargains" that aren't really bargains, like you. Sometimes, that dollar price tag looks tempting, but when you dig deeper, you find it isn't the best value. I completely agree with you.
I buy the packages of salami and pepperoni, and those huge bottles of soda that are 3 liters. As long as you know what things cost at a real supermarket, there are deals to be had at Dollar Tree. Obviously you should avoid the $1 packages of Nissin Chow Mein and Yakisoba because those range from 50 cents to 80 cents in an actual supermarket. The spices are a decent deal because they come in larger bottles than you usually see at the supermarket.
When I was single, I bought many boxed items at the Dollar Tree. They were often still the name brand item, just in a smaller size. The smaller size usually worked just fine for me when I lived alone. Now, I do a lot of boxed item shopping in bulk. However, I'm still amazed at what I can find at the Dollar Tree sometimes!
