I'm all about saving money, but there are some things I just wouldn't trust to purchase at a dollar store. While I was shopping at one yesterday, I was perusing the beauty aisle, which also has some medicines. I'm fine with purchasing some of my health and beauty items there, such as headache and allergy remedies, pedialyte-type products, and a few other things. While I was looking around in the aisle, I noticed they sell pregnancy tests and drug tests. I'm assuming the drug tests are so parents can test their children/teens, and perhaps also so people can test themselves ahead of work or legal related mandatory tests. I started thinking about it, though, and wondered if I would want to rely on a $1 test to tell me whether I was pregnant, or if I'd trust one to ensure that I'd pass a mandatory test that could determine whether I'd lose my job or freedom. What do y'all think? Would you trust inexpensive tests such as these for such important matters?
I would put as much faith in it as any other.. they all have the potential to give false results and it would need to be confirmed by a doctor anyway, so the pregnancy can start being monitored. I don't even really see the point of them.. it doesn't take long for a woman to just know and if it's suspected, a doctor would give you a 100%. But then, I don't have to pay to see a doctor..
Isn't there a chance that a pregnancy test of any order can be incorrect anyway? I think there is a chance that a cheap one could be wrong and that an expensive one could be wrong too, unless I am mistaken. Perhaps the test at the doctors is the only one that is 100% accurate. I am just thoroughly happy that I don't have to worry about pregnancy or pregnancy tests, and that I don't have to spend money on them
Well, I think maybe buying two for good measure would be in order. It is doubtful that both would be wrong, and as DreekLass mentioned, it would have to be confirmed by a doctor anyway. I am not sure why someone would want to cheap out on an important thing like a pregnancy test, but I guess if you need to, you need to!
Absolutely not! There are just somethings in this life that you should not scrimp on - and this is just one of them. My girlfriend thought she might be pregnant a couple of years ago and she ended up taking FIVE of these tests while she waited for a doctor's appointment and three of them said he was and two of them said she wasn't. How can they be as well put together and sold for such a cheap price as the more expensive versions?
I'd be on pins and needles waiting to see the doctor for a true answer regardless of how much I spent on a pregnancy test.
Time does often seem to be of the essence in these cases, where someone really wants to know one way or the other. @Ke Gordon has a good point. It would still be cheaper to buy two of them and the results would seem to be somewhat reliable if both tests produced the same result. That's a good point, @deansaliba, sometimes it's not all that easy to get an appointment with a doctor, and no one I know would want to wait a week, two, or even more, to have their suspicions confirmed. As @JosieP mentioned, she doesn't have to pay to see a doctor, so she might just make an appointment and be seen quickly. Others might be on a tight budget, and prefer to spend a dollar or two to have their suspicions confirmed or denied, before spending much needed money on a doctor's appointment, only to be told they're not pregnant.
It might sound strange, but I have never been to a Dollar store in my life. I've traveled and lived in many different countries over the years, but these types stores seem to be invisible to me. Mind you, obviously I have been to many similar stores, checking out their products, but I've rarely felt inclined to buy anything there, as in the back of my head I have this thought that it won't last very long. So why waste a few dollars when I can save them and get something more "substantial" for it. As far as cheap pregnancy tests are concerned, I would say: "How desperate are you to find out whether you are pregnant or not?"
I'm with Diane Lane on this one. I think even though there's every chance that any pregnancy test will almost certainly not be 100% accurate, I'd be more confident if I paid a little extra for it. IDK, maybe it's a psychological thing because I know some Pound shops carry some of the better brands, so it should be the same thing, right? Even still, I'd rather go to a pharmacy and pay for a pricier one for my own peace of mind. Then I'd also follow it up with a doctor's visit. It may be silly, but it makes sense to me.
I would rather buy a pregnancy test kit from a trusted pharmacy than be plagued with doubts and mistrust because I bought a pregnancy kit from a dollar store. In normal situations, however, even if you do believe the results, you'd still get second opinion from or check with the doctor just so the truth would sink in and also to have conclusive proof that you really are pregnant.
Well, don't get ahead of yourself lol.. free doesn't mean quick. I've never been seen by a doctor quickly and I won't step foot in a walk in. I don't even have a family doctor anymore. My life long doctor retired and all of us were transferred, but we moved and it's impossible to find someone taking new patients unless they're brand new.. and then the list of hopefuls will span the entire province and you'll likely still end up with nothing lol. In this case, I can see someone opting for a pregnancy test.. but I worry about those who don't want to be pregnant and the time wasted with a false negative. Or those who may be high risk, the time lost when they could be getting the care they need. Wanted or not, every day is crucial. You'll be taking a risk no matter how much you spend.
@JosieP It's funny, because after I typed that, I started wondering about how long it would take to get an appointment. I think if I were in this situation, I'd probably go with @kgord's suggestion and purchase 2 or 3 of them. If I got 2, I'd probably still wonder, but 3 tests at $3 would be a reasonable cost to assure my mind that the results were accurate, assuming all of the tests agreed. I'm still not sure whether the $1 drug tests would be a good deal. If I'd been using drugs and took one prior to a work- or legal-related test, I'd still wonder about the accuracy of the results. I know that even allergy medication can set off drug tests, and I wouldn't think a $1 test would screen that out, so I'd probably end up with a false positive. I don't use illegal drugs anyway, so this wouldn't be an issue for me, but I guess if someone's desperate enough for an answer, perhaps it would be worth the cost.
I have never thought to buy a pregnancy test from a dollar store and always thought it was weird that they had them available there. I have known people who have used them from there but I do not know if they were any better than from other more expensive versions. I agree it makes sense to just go to the doctor or to a free clinic if you cannot afford to go to the doctor.
Well that would certainly be one where I would have to double check, especially if it is for something of that magnitude. Of course I would probably double and triple check with something that I got anywhere, and I would really not stop until I was looking at a picture of the thing. Maybe they are good products though and not subject to the same dollar store effect that other products seem to have.
I sure would! They are just a strip of cotton with a chemical that reacts to the HG (human growth) hormone. They're all the same... getting the postive test isn't the most important. You miss a period and take the test, if it comes back positive then immediately schedule an appontment with your doctor for a blood test and ultrasound. If it's negative and you still don't get your period soon then you still need to see your doctor because there could be something seriously wrong.
I always love the lists of "what you should and should not buy at the dollar store". Invariably "Pregnancy Tests" come up as things that are a great value and 100% safe to buy at the dollar store because they're all made to the same specifications. I simply can't imagine what would make the mark-up so large at the regular store - packaging? Who knows. But what I can say is there are very many people who can attest to the fact that dollar store Pregnancy Tests are reliable and trustworthy.
I think it's alright. As long as it has passed quality tests of the government then I'm sure it's equally just as effective as any other tests you can buy from more expensive stores. I heard that all of them tend to give out slightly different results sometimes so it really is much better to just buy multiple ones and take the test more than once anyway so I guess this would be a good enough choice since it's probably cheaper. At the very least I think I'd buy a few there first and maybe just move on to something more expensive if I'm unsatisfied.
As far as I know, any pregnancy test can be wrong but I'd still prefer a more expensive pregnancy test. I'd buy a different brand if it didn't show the result I was expecting, though. If it is still negative, then I'd schedule a doctor's appointment to make sure that nothing is wrong.
I'm pretty sure a pregnancy test can be a false negative but not false positive - so it can tell you you're not if you are but it can't tell you you are if you're not. On both my children I used cheap tests. I used at least four cheap ones on my first (just to be absolutely, positively sure) then my mum bought me a Clear Blue one but there was no need, all the tests had the exact same result. On my second I took a load of cheaper ones again and I never had a result that was wrong. When I saw my midwife I asked if she needed to confirm the pregnancy and she told me there was no need since pregnancy tests are all accurate enough. Like I said, you won't get a false positive, that's impossible. You need enough HCG in your pee for it to show that you're pregnant on the test and you get that by being pregnant.
I hear ya, but there are just some things that people think are going to be better if they are more expensive. I used to think the same thing about over the counter medicine. "It just couldn't be as good, or they wouldn't sell it so cheap." Even if the pregnancy test were the same brand name that you paid $15.00 for at the drug store, some people would still swear it wasn't as good. I've seen people here say they wouldn't buy food at the dollar store even though some of the brands offered are the same ones sold for more in grocery stores. If they'd rather spend 3 to 4 times as much for the same exact thing, who am I to argue? There are also many items that are made by the same companies and wrapped in different packages, but there are people who would still pay more for the branded package even after learning this.... It's all about perception.
